Cultural Perspectives on Politics
7.5 credits
Politics involves meaning: how human beings think, speak and feel about who they are, the kind of societies in which they live, and how those societies should be governed. Many current challenges to democracy – the rise and spread of xenophobic populism, waning political participation, democratic responses to climate change – are dependent on how citizens and political leaders conceive of the challenges in question. Yet this kind of socially and culturally constructed and mediated meaning has not been the focus of dominant approaches in political science.
This course introduces cultural perspectives on politics, including theoretical and empirical work in and around political science, cultural sociology and cultural studies, as well as literary fiction and non-fiction with political life in focus. In the course students will get to know and compare different theoretical and methodological approaches, and use these to identify and analyze political phenomena from a cultural perspective.
Växjö – the student city with a living campus
Just south of Växjö’s city centre you will find Linnaeus University’s campus. In Växjö, many students choose to live on campus.
Here you will have five minutes’ walking distance to friends, restaurants, lecture rooms, gym, grocery store, the University Library, nature trails, and student pubs. If you live in another part of Växjö, you can quickly get to the university by bus or bicycle.
With its 90 000 inhabitants, Växjö is one of the fastest growing cities in Sweden. Here you will find the famous Småland entrepreneurship spirit and a lot of companies, for instance within the IT industry – perfect for when you are looking for an internship position or a job. Växjö is also a picturesque city where you are always close to forests and water.
Build your own degree
Did you know that you can combine single-subject courses to build your own degree? In this way, you can design your own degree based on your interests and the career you are aiming for. This does not apply to all courses so make sure to check with a study counsellor at the faculty. Learn more about how you can build your own degree and become unique on the labour market.