Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po)

This course focuses on the evolutions of domestic politics and foreign policy in Russia since the collapse of the USSR. After a brief introduction to the nature of the Soviet political system, the course is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the period of political transition following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the genesis of the political system in contemporary Russia. Contrary to hopes of liberalization, Russian society was plunged into a financial, economic, political and social crisis, which favored a rapid return to authoritarianism. The second part looks at the genesis of Putinism and how the ruling elite came to dominate society. Finally, the third part focuses on post-Soviet Russia's foreign policy and the implementation of its ambitions on the international stage.

This is an intermediate level Italian language course for students who have previously completed two or more semesters of Italian. The listening comprehension section covers dialogue (in real or recorded situations) between at least two people, using relatively
elaborate morphosyntactic structures and using a political, social or cultural vocabulary; and the narrative of an anecdote, the summary and commentary of a newspaper article (easy language, medium length), television news (a newsflash, a weather report, an advertising message). The spoken production section includes talking about personal and professional projects; expressing feelings, preferences, tastes, opinions; expressing wish, regret, intention, fear, desire; presenting a plan; explaining the course of an action; presenting a written document (medium length text, newspaper articles); giving an opinion; expressing agreement and disagreement; establishing a comparison; expressing a hypothesis. Reading comprehension focuses on the essential elements of a text (press article, advertisement, fiction text or essay). Written expression includes writing a message to someone, make a request for information, send an email; writing a letter, a curriculum vitae and a cover letter; developing a simple comment from a given medium. The course also covers grammar (adverbs, pronouns, indefinites, prepositions, verbs, etc.), vocabulary, phonetics and spelling.
 

This course explores the security issues faced by South Korea through the examination of traditional and non-traditional threats. It covers the historical context of the Korean Peninsula, ongoing military threats from North Korea, regional security dynamics, and emerging security dynamics such as cybersecurity and economic security. It covers several key concepts (alliances, multilateralism, regional geopolitics, deterrence, human security) that are essential for understanding the country's complex security landscape while providing a foundation for analyzing South Korea's national defense strategy, its international relations, and its security challenges. Through case studies and in-class discussions, students gain a comprehensive understanding of South Korea's security environment, and the strategies employed to address these challenges, while preparing to engage with contemporary security issues in East Asia with a nuanced and well-informed perspective.

Digital technologies are more pervasive than ever, profoundly reshaping how people work and navigate today's job markets. Yet technological change is often framed as either a blessing or a curse, overlooking the complex ways it interacts with work. This course takes a step back to examine the foundations and stakes of contemporary, technology-driven changes in the domain of work. How are current technological changes affecting the nature of work? To what extent are they contributing to new or existing forms of labor market inequality? And what policy levers can effectively address new challenges posed by digital innovations in the area of work? Drawing on a multidisciplinary perspective, it explores the interactions between technology and labor market inequality, integrating insights from sociology, economics, and digital anthropology. Each class begins with a one-hour lecture and Q&A, followed by a one-hour student-led session. The second half follows a flipped-classroom format, in which a group of students designs and facilitates an activity (e.g., discussion, debate, case study, or mini-presentation) that engages peers in applying and critically examining course concepts.

At least since the 1980s, risk and its forms of calculation and management have been gaining ground as a relevant topic in the social sciences, which crosses different empirical approaches that include, for example, disasters and natural catastrophes, services and financial markets, to security policies and technologies. This course introduces the sociology of risk and offer a brief overview of the consolidation of this field of study and its main theoretical references, as well as exploring the issues, concepts and methodologies raised by the literature. The course is divided into three parts. First, it starts with a brief review of the two classic approaches of sociology and anthropology, namely, respectively, the theory of risk society (Beck, 1992 [1986]) and the theory of cultural risk perception (Douglas and Widalvsky, 1983). Next, it discusses some of the main contributions of governmentality studies to the development of research on risk governance technologies (Burchell, Gordon and Miller, 1991; O'Malley, 2009). While these three currents are more focused on ways of controlling and reducing dangers, threats and risks, in the third part, the course discusses studies that show the positivity of risk and uncertainty in the liberal tradition and the growing demand for “assuming” and “taking risks” in contemporary financial capitalism (Baker and Simon, 2010). Throughout the course, students are encouraged to use the concepts learned as analytical tools for building a sociological understanding of contemporary empirical facts.

As technologies change the way we live and generate vast amounts of personal data, privacy regulation has become a pillar of modern society. Among the patchwork of legal frameworks adopted worldwide, the EU has asserted its regulatory leadership by taking a singular stance. Through the GDPR, the EU has attempted to protect individuals' data rights, with the belief that this will increase trust in these technologies and in turn foster digital growth. This course explores the foundations of EU data protection law, from a critical legal perspective, sheds light on the ongoing challenges that shape this field and, most importantly, empowers students to become informed digital citizens.

This course provides an overview of some of the major changes, challenges, and evolutions of global media starting in the late 19th century and until the current moment. Drawing on historical and more recent examples of the best work of print and broadcast journalists, it explores the development of the institution of journalism and address topics such as: the changing economic pressures on journalism; the evolution of the role and work of the reporter; the shifting values, practices, ethical standards, and social roles that have been linked to the practice of journalism; and the changes of what core ideals of journalism mean, including truth and objectivity.

This introductory course on feminist theory offers a panoramic overview of the field, while maintaining sensitivity to the historical emergence of gender studies as an academic discipline. After a general introduction, the course begins with a session on women's becoming subjects of research and the implications this had for academic topics and approaches. The course sessions address topics such as: abortion, motherhood and reproductive justice; theories of sexual liberation; feminist, queer and trans materialisms; ecofeminisms; intersectionality; queer and feminist theories of the state and nationalism; sexual violence; the institutionalization of feminist thought; feminist theory at the crossroad of other political sets of theory (liberalism, Marxism, anarchism, Critical Theory and postmodernism) and feminist perspectives on far-right sexual politics. Although the course primarily follows a lecture format, interactive segments are regularly incorporated.

This course provides an overview of some of the main legal, ethical and policy foundations that shape public health debates in contemporary societies through a multi-disciplinary perspective. During thematic sessions, it explores how legal and ethical considerations structure public health policies and decision-making. The course provides starter tools in policy analysis and engagement with legal texts as well as with bioethical principles. The topics covered include an introduction to comparative analysis of healthcare systems, health policy debates such as the question of access to medicines and reproductive health care, the study of legal levers available to citizens through the example of the right to health, but also a specific focus on public health crisis. Finally, moving to a selection of main contemporary bioethical debates, three classes are devoted to the exploration of the rapidly evolving intersections between innovation, bioethics and legal frameworks. The reading materials include news articles, public organization reports, academic articles and book chapters that present diverse viewpoints on the topics presented. Students are expected to have completed all assigned readings prior to each class to ensure fruitful discussion and an interactive experience. This course is based on guided discussions enriched by concrete case studies.

People, alone and in groups, shape who we are, how we eat, heal, work, love, laugh, learn, and think, what we buy or believe, where we live, and how. Resistance, too, rarely happens in isolation; it requires coordination, collaboration, and communication. This course explores the interplay of individual lives and the social world. First, it develops conceptual dimensions—formal, relational, cultural, and institutional—for understanding collective processes. Second, it examines methodological approaches, from qualitative and ethnographic to quantitative and computational. Throughout, the course stays close to real social problems: the drivers of inequality and political activism, the dynamics of technological innovation and failure, and institutional change in financial markets and everyday work.