POLITICAL SCIENCE 250
COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Wednesdays – 2:30pm to 5:35pm
Fall, 2013
COURSE OUTLINE
DAVID C. ANDRUS OFFICE HOURS
OFFICE: Seco Hall -208 Tuesday – 12:30pm to 1:30pm
TELEPHONE: (661) 259-7800 x3052 – campus Wednesday – 1:15pm to 2:15pm
(626) 260-0029 - cell Thursday – 12:30pm to 1:30pm
E-MAIL –
COURSE SUMMARY/OBJECTIVES
Political Science 250 provides a comparative, analytical, and theoretical study of political cultures, government institutions, and political processes from selected regions of the world. It is not as simple as studying the various structures of differing governmental models from around the world; although that is a componenet of the course. But more so, many of the theories, concepts and systems that comprise the study of International Relations must be understood within this course in order to assess how various government, and forms of government, respond and react to these existing and ongoing variables. Concepts, such as, “the State”, nationalism, political-economy, culture, communism and socialism will all be discussed to create a foundation of understanding. This foundation will assist students when they begin understanding the mechanics of contrasting governmental systems.
At the conclusion of the semester, students will be able to speak knowledgeably of these subjects as well as the particular components and dynamics of a selected number of governnmental models.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
The following are the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) listed in the Political Science 250 course outline for College of the Canyons. SLO’s are similar to the objectives listed above. They are the intended learning outcomes a student can expect to achieve for this course. They are as follows:
Analyze and debate the strengths and weaknesses of world political systems, while evaluating the fundamental nature of politics within world political systems.
REQUIRED TEXT BOOKS
1. Essentials of Comparative Politics (4th Ed.), O’Neil, W.W. Norton & Co. Publishers
2. Cases in Comparative Politics (4th Ed.), O’Neil, et. al., W.W. Norton & Co. Publishers
PUBLISHER RESOURCES
For this course you can access online resources from the publisher for the assigned text books. Accessing these resources will enable the student to take practice exams in the form of multiple choice, essay, short answer, matching etc… It also provides important excerpts from the text book, as well as video resources explaining chapter topics. Feel free to use these resources to prepare for exams ans quizzes. There is also a possibility that you will be required to visit this web site for some weekly assignments. They are useful as they match the assigned readings in the syllabus. There are two links below for the two individual books::
Essentials of Comparative Politics: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/compol4/
ASSIGNMENTS/GRADE POINTS
3 Quizzes (10 Points) (Each quiz is worth 5 points. I drop your lowest score. Thus, the remaining 2 scores comprise how many points you earned out of 10 possible.)
Analytical/Research Paper (20 Points)
In-Class Presentations/Lectures (10 Points)
Mid-Term Examination (30 Points)
Final Examination (30 Points) - The final exam is not cumulative.
GRADING
90% - 100% A 90 - 100 Points
80% - 89% B 80 – 89.9 Points
70% - 79% C 70 – 79.9 Points
60% - 69% D 60 – 69.9 Points
0% - 59% F 59 Points or less
SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION EDUCATION WORKSHOPS
College of the Canyons is offering a series of skills building workshops (called Supplemental Instruction workshops) to promote student success in courses throughout the college. I will specify the workshops that are most relevant to this course and the dates by which they should be completed. Check in at the TLC, and you will be directed to the workshop location. If you cannot attend the workshop at the time it is held, you may complete the independent, self-paced Guided Learning Activity with the help of a tutor. Every workshop has an accompanying GLA which can be completed anytime during the open hours of the TCL. Check the Skills4Success website at www.canyons.edu/skills4success for the workshop schedule.
MAKE-UP EXAMS and DEAD LINES
Make up exams for the mid-term and final will only be honored for those excuses supported by documentation explaining the absence. The deadline for the required writing assignment will not be extended. Students are given advanced notice through this syllabus so that they prepare and organize their time accordingly.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
The policy regarding use of cell phones and lap top computers will be discussed in class. No ipods are allowed to be utilized during the class session. Do not rest your head on the desk, sleep or otherwise exhibit disrespectful behavior while in class. Do not maintain extended personal conversations while lecture is underway. These behaviors are unacceptable and disrespectful to the instructor, the other students in the class and the college as an institution.
ATTENDANCE, TARDINESS AND WITHDRAWAL
Student commitment to attending all classes is essential to a full understanding and comprehension of the material. This class meets once a week. One missed class can cause the student to immediately fall behind in their assignments. Furthermore, missing one class, for less than dire reasons, can reduce the student’s focus and commitment, thereby easily leading to continued absences.
School policy states that “any student absent for any reason for one more time than that class meets in one week may be dropped from the class providing the withdrawal deadline for the semester/term has not passed”. The instructor reserves the right to officially drop a student from the course for exceeding this attendance standard. If a student is absent for one more time than the class meets in two weeks, and the drop deadline has passed, the instructor reserves the right to reduce the student’s overall grade in the class by one full letter grade. If a student is absent for one more time than the class meets in three weeks, and the drop deadline has passed, the student will automatically have their semester grade for the course reduced by one full letter grade.
Tardiness disrupts the class lecture and discussion. The instructor reserves the right to treat a student’s habitual tardiness as absences.
CLASS DISCUSSION
Political Science 250 is both a lecture and discussion course, with some smaller assigned group projects. The general nature of the material demands class discussion. This course addresses matters of public affairs. If the course is at all representative of American society at large, then expect to listen to and hear a variety of opinions and political positions. The instructor welcomes all views and opinions. I only ask that you address these issues in a respectful manner and be mindful and sensitive of your classmates and their diversity of thought and background.
PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING
COC Statement and Policy on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Approved by Academic Senate in May, 2010
Students are expected to do their own work as assigned. At College of the Canyons, we believe that academic integrity and honesty are some of the most important qualities college students need to develop and maintain. To facilitate a culture of academic integrity, College of the Canyons has defined plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Due process procedures have been established when plagiarism or academic dishonesty is suspected.
At COC, we define plagiarism as follows: Plagiarism is the submission of someone else’s work or ideas as one’s own, without adequate attribution. When a student submits work for a class assignment that includes the words, ideas or data of others, without acknowledging the source of the information through complete, accurate, and specific references, plagiarism is involved. This may include dual submissions of a similar work for credit for more than one class, without the current instructor’s knowledge and approval.
To be specific, below are some of the situations that will be considered plagiarism at COC:
· Use information from any source, online or in print, in one’s own writing without acknowledging the source in the content and in the reference page of the assignment;
· Simply list the sources in the reference page, without parenthetical citations in the body of the essay;
· Take more than one printed line of words consecutively from the source without putting quotation marks around them, even though the student has put the author’s name in the parentheses or in the reference page;
· Turn in work done for other classes, regardless how big or small the assignment may be, without the current instructor’s approval—this is considered “self-plagiarism,” which is a form of academic dishonesty; or,
· Turn in work by another student, even by accident.
In addition, COC has strict rules against using electronic devices during exams without the instructor’s approval. To be specific, absolutely no cell phones or any electronic devices can be on the desk or in sight during test or exam without the instructor’s approval. The presence of electronic devices in sight during exams may be considered as intention to cheat and will be processed as a form of academic dishonesty.
Cases of alleged academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism or cheating, will be referred to the Dean of Student Services for investigation. See your syllabus for course specific policies, rules, and guidelines on plagiarism and academic dishonesty.
Plagiarism and cheating violate the inherent value and essence of education. The College and the instructor consider plagiarism and cheating to be serious offenses. You are expected to do your own work at all times. Any evidence to the contrary may lead to disenrollment from the course. Additionally, it is often the mere appearance of
impropriety that can place a student in an unfavorable light. In other words, during exams keep your eyes on your own paper even if you are not intending improper behavior. Don’t create doubt.
TEST MATERIALS
Scan Tron forms will be used for the quizzes, mid term and final exams. These forms have space for one hundred questions. You will also need two Blue Books for the essay portion of the mid-term and final exams. Failure to obtain these testing materials in time for the exam is not an acceptable excuse for a make-up exam. Only scan trons and blue books will be used for these exams. The Scan Tron forms and the Blue Books can be obtained in the bookstore.
STUDY APPROACHES/METHODS
In order to prepare for the quizzes, mid-term and final students must maintain an organized outline of their course notes. The notes should come from the class lectures, reading assignments, discussions and any video presentations made in class. The multiple choice portion of the exams requires memorization of established doctrines and facts derived from these notes. This is also true of the essay portion of the final exam and the written assignments. However, in those assignments students will be required to draw upon their own perspectives and positions in order to present their own thoughts in response to the assigned questions and topics.
SEMESTER SCHEDULE (Revised)
WEEK #3
Wednesday, September 11th
Chapter 2 – States (Essentials)
WEEK #4
Wednesday, September 18th QUIZ #1 (Chapters 1 and 2 Essentials)
Chapter 3 – Nations and Society (Essentials)
WEEK #5
Wednesday, September 25th
Chapter 4 – Political Economy (Essentials)
WEEK #6
Wednesday, October 2nd QUIZ #2 (Chapters 3 and 4 Essentials)
Chapter 5 – Democratic Regimes (Essentials)
WEEK #7
Wednesday, October 9th OP/ED #1 DUE (First Draft – Peer Review)
Chapter 6 - Non-Democratic Regimes (Essentials)
WEEK #8
Wednesday, October 16th MID-TERM EXAMINATION
WEEK #9
Wednesday, October 23rd OP/ED #1 DUE (Final Draft)
Chapter 8 – Advanced Democracies (Essentials)
WEEK #10
Wednesday, October 30th
Chapter 2 – United Kingdom (Cases)
Chapter 3 – United States (Cases)
WEEK #11
Wednesday, November 6th
Chapter 4 – France (Cases)
WEEK #12
Wednesday, November 13th QUIZ #3
Chapter 5 – Germany (Cases) (Chapter 8 Advanced Democracies & Chapter 5 France)
WEEK #13
Wednesday, November 20th IN-CLASS PRESENTATIONS/LECTURES
Chapter 9 – Communism and Post Communism (Essentials)
Chapter 7 – Russia (Cases)
Chapter 8 – China (Cases)
WEEK #14
Wednesday, November 27th IN-CLASS PRESENTATIONS/LECTURES
Chapter 10 – Less-Developed and Newly Industrialized Countries (Essentials)
Chapter 12 – Brazil (Cases)
Chapter 11 – Mexico (Cases)
WEEK #15
Wednesday, December 4th
Chapter 10 – Iran (Cases)
WEEK #16 FINAL EXAM
Wednesday, December 11th (OP/ED #2 Final Draft Due)
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