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Political Culture (SPS-REED-CUL-24)

SPS-REED-CUL-24

Purpose

Nomothetic accounts of politics have postulated a deductive framework to explain political outcomes, in principle applicable across space and over time.  In this framework, self-interest is the driving force of human action, dictating decisions based on two ingredients, both exogenously given: preferences and institutions. Within this set-up, culture has been treated as a residual quantity, devoid of any any analytical power. The purpose of this course is to unpack and scrutinize this residual, bringing culture to the forefront of political analysis.
The seminar offers an in-depth exploration of theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of political culture. Political culture, as a field of study, intersects various disciplines, including political science, economics, public policy, psychology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology. This course aims to define and understand culture using social science tools, addressing fundamental questions about its origins, transmission, and evolution.

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