GUÍA DOCENTE CURSO 2012‐13 FACULTAD DE DERECHO SUBJECT INFORMATION SHEET Subject Details Name Political System and Politics in Spain. Degree Degree in International Relations and Translating and Interpreting. Course Second year Character Four months ECTS Credits 3 Department Shared Disciplines Area Political Science and Government Studies Lecturers José María Marco Tobarra Lecturer Details1 Lecturer José María Marco Tobarra Group A E-mail [email protected] Telephone +34 91 548 44 07 Ext.: 4216 Office D. 502 Tutorial Times This shall be announced on the first day of class SPECIFIC SUBJECT DETAILS Contribution to the Professional Profile of the Degree The subject “Political System and Politics in Spain” aims to facilitate students’ understanding of the Spanish political system. In this respect, the course offers them an introduction to government institutions, in particular the Prime Minister’s Office and the Cabinet, Parliament, the judicial system and various regional government bodies. The course also focuses on the role of parties and interest groups, analysing the factors that influence election results and the role that international politics plays within the realm of Spanish politics. Competences to Be Developed2 General Competences Instrumental Capacity to work within an international context Interpersonal Capacity for criticism and self-criticism Systemic Capacity to detect problems that derive from cultural differences. Competences Specific to the Subject Conceptual (knowledge) Understanding the behaviour of members of the political system. Procedural (know-how) Identifying members of the political system. Professional (know-how) Capacity to work within an international context. THEMATIC AREAS AND CONTENTS3 Contents – Thematic Areas AREA 1: Theme 1: Continuity, Diversity and Consensus in Spanish Politics. 1.1 Continuity, Diversity and Consensus in Spanish Politics 1.2 Factors of Continuity: The Transition 1.3 Diversity As a Political Factor. 1.4 The Constitution of 1978 1.5 The Head of State and the Monarchy Theme 2: Government Institutions. 2.1 Parliament: El Congreso and El Senado 2.2 The Executive: The Prime Minister’s Office and Central Government 2.3 The Judicial System and the Constitutional Court 2.4 The Regional Governments 2.5 The Municipalities Theme 3: Parties, Elections and Interest Groups. 3.1 The Parties 3.2 Elections 3.3 Interest Groups Theme 4: Spain and International Institutions 4.1 Spain in the EU 4. 2. Spain in the UNO 4.3. Spain in NATO and Other International Institutions. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES Basic Bibliography Textbooks Alcántara, Manuel and Antonia Martínez (eds.), Política y Gobierno en España, Valencia, Tirant lo Blanch, 2001. Gunther, Richard, José Ramón Montero and Joan Botella. 2004. Democracy in Modern Spain. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2004. Web Pages Elmundo.es; Elpais.es; LaRazón.es; ABC.es; ElConfidencial.es; LibertadDigital.es Notes Complementary Bibliography Textbooks Heywood, Paul (ed.). 1999. Politics and Policy in Democratic Spain. London, Frank Cass, 1999 Powell, Charles, España en democracia (1975-2000). Las claves de la Profunda transformación de España. Barcelona, Plaza y Janés, 2001. Román, Paloma (coord.), Sistema Político Español, Madrid, McGraw-Hill, 2001. TEACHING METHODOLOGY General Methodological Aspects Regarding the Subject Classroom Methodology: Activities a) Lectures: Exposition of the main theoretical aspects that make up the programme on the part of the lecturer. b) A piece of group-work consisting of tracking an important theme in the Spanish press in order to analyse Spanish government institutions. This work will be presented in class. c) Under the lecturer’s direction, the students will debate various topical issues extracted from the press under the lecturer’s guidance. Non-Classroom Methodology: Activities a) Personal study of the themes that are addressed in class. b) Current Affairs: Reading of news articles, opinion columns and press analysis. The study of all the themes will commence with the reading of some journalistic text. c) Preparation for the exam. Students will receive guidance, information and working material through the University’s Resources Portal. SUMMARY OF STUDENT WORK HOURS4 Nº Hours Activity Lectures Class Nº Non-Class Total Hours Hours 15 Current Affairs 10 25 10 10 Debates 7 7 Class Presentation 8 8 Individual Work Collaborative Work Evaluation: Exam 5 Evaluation: Exam Review6 3 7 7 8 8 10 13 2 2 Sum Total + 5 (80) ECTS CREDITS: Indicators 8 Evaluation Activities Competences Individual Work An individual piece of work on Capacity for - Comprehension of 20% analysis and the topic. comprehension of - Synthesis and . 7 Percentage of the Overall Evaluation Grade9 75 a current affairs topic current affairs. Debate Discussion in class of the themes tackled in the presentations and the lectures clarity of the exposition. - Documentation - Quality of the exposition itself. Effort comprehend participate. Capacity expression handling information. to 10% and for and of Class Presentation Presentation in class of a piece of work produced by two students together on a current affairs topic - Presentation in public - Clarity of the exposition and capacity for synthesis 20% Evaluation: Exam A written exam. The exam will consist of a fragment of a news item, which the student must comment upon by following four questions relating to themes that have been covered in class - Knowledge of the subject. Capacity for linking themes. Capacity for applying theoretical knowledge to current affairs matters - Precision and clarity of the exposition 50% Grading 1) Final Exam. Students must demonstrate their knowledge of the subject and mastery of the corresponding competence: capacity to manage information. Students must complete an exercise in which they produce a synthetic account of the subject’s contents. 50% 2) Students shall carry out a piece of individual work in which they demonstrate their capacity for analysis and their understanding of the Spanish political system and Spanish politics today. 20% 3) In groups of two, students shall produce a piece of work to be presented in class on one of the themes that has been tackled during the course. 20% 4) An extra 10 per cent of the final mark shall be added depending on students’ participation in debates regarding different topics and reading assignments.