A series of video courses
within the project
USPS Lectorium
About the project
Ukrainian School of Political Studies is in a constant search for new ways of developing political and civil education in Ukraine. Which is why we have decided to launch a new project that will allow people to get to know us and what we do better.
That's how USPS Lectorium came to life – a free educational project where established School lecturers unfold different socially important topics that interline politics, culture and philosophy.
I. Public Policy Analysis
Video course
6 lectures
1 h 37 min
Within this course, we acquaint ourselves with the toolkit for public policy analysis.
We examine the distinction between policy and politics. We cover all stages of the policy cycle. We identify stakeholders. We discover the logic behind agenda shaping. We reflect on the search for policy alternatives. And finally, we build the framework for successful public policy implementation.
Speaker on the course:
“Public Policy Analysis”
Lecture 1
What is Public Policy?
Lecture 1. What is Public Policy?
What is public policy? And why is it ‘public’ but not ‘state’? The Ukrainian decision-making ecosystem bears certain distinctive features. We do not delineate policy from politics. But why? Does the discrepancy in translation reflect a difference in political thought? We explore this and many other topics in the first lecture of the video course.
II. Political science with Ivan Gomza
Video course
6 lectures
2 h 29 min
This course offers a brief introduction to political science. We will talk about political phenomena — populism, globalisation, instrumentalisation of violence, and the Russian-Ukrainian war — that directly affect our lives and analyse their mechanism in order to answer the question — what to do with it?
Can political science be considered a science? Why does populism not disappear? How do political regimes affect some public policies? What miscalculations from the point of view of political science did Russia make in preparing for the invasion of Ukraine? We will analyse these and other political phenomena within the framework of this course, with a brief introduction to political science.
Speaker on the course:
“Political science with Ivan Gomza”
Lecture 1
Tiresias’ spyglass
Lecture 1. Tiresias’ spyglass
Can politology be considered a science? In the course's first lecture, we discuss the criteria of scientificality, pseudoscience and how terrorist acts affect political scenarios.
III. Great books
about great politics
about great politics
Video course
6 lectures
2 hr 59 min
During this course, we explore 6 pieces from the XVII to XXI. Through the political lens, how the context of the time is revealed in those books and centuries through the political views of the authors influenced their work.
This course is focused on the pieces of William Shakespeare, Don DeLillo, Hilary Mantel, Philip Roth, Thornton Wilder and Pavlo Zahrebelnyi.
Speaker on the course:
“Great books about great politics”
Lecture 1
William Shakespeare,
Coriolanus
Lecture 1. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus
One of the latest works of the main classic of the Western world — William Shakespeare. This is a story of the rise and fall of the legendary ancient Roman general Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, whose political ambitions took him to the top of Roman society and then led to his exile and eventual death.