30212

WiSe 13/14: The Political Relevance of Culture

Sophia Schubert / Uwe Ruß

Information for students

In the winter term 2013/14 three research placements will be offered. All of them will be presented at a joint session on Monday, 14. Oct 2013, 2-4 p.m., in room 22/G, at Ihnestr. 22. The aim of the first session is to provide a better overview of the thematic scope and methodological focus of each course and to secure an equal distribution of participants in the placements. Those students who are already decided which of the three courses they want to take can register in campus management before the first meeting. close

Comments

Outline: This research placement is an introduction into theoretically guided quantitative empirical research using international survey data. Students will learn to develop a relevant research question and to conduct empirical analyses on their own. The subject matter of this research placement is an aspect of comparative culture research that is often referred to as the "culture-matters" hypothesis. However, the political relevance of culture rarely is tested empirically. It thus remains unclear to what extent cultural differences do affect political systems and political behavior. We will therefore focus on specific macro- and micropolitical consequences of cultural differences by treating questions like the following. Does a worldwide spread of emancipative values lead to democratization? Is there a European identity and does this enhance the legitimacy of the European Union? To what extent do justice beliefs affect voting behavior? These and similar questions can be taken up and developed further by students, and will serve as starting points for their own research projects. Methods: The research questions that are gathered during the theoretical discussion will be answered with quantitative analyses of international survey data. Depending on the question, we will make use of ISSP, ESS, or EVS data. In order to be able to analyze these datasets, both SPSS and STATA will be at students' disposal in the PC-Pool. Furthermore, we will discuss challenges coming along with the measurement and comparison of cultures based on survey data. Language: The discussions in class and individual consultations can take place in English or in German, depending on the language skills and/or preference of the participants. However, at least passive German knowledge is necessary, as some of the literature is available in German only. Exam: Research report of appr. 10,000 words. Deadline: March 31, 2014. close