Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PL 101"
COURSE NAME: "Introduction to Political Science"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2015

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Michael Driessen
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 10:00 AM 11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS: by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course introduces students to basic concepts, methods, and theories of the scientific study of politics. In so doing, the class provides a systematic understanding of the foundations of government, political systems, and political behavior. The course familiarizes students with the functioning of political institutions and political power, constitutional frameworks and procedures to obtain public legitimacy, and approaches to different fields, problems and issues of—domestic, comparative, and global—politics in the 21st century.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

The course will be run as an introductory seminar, with emphasis on class participation through reading discussions and presentation of written work. Students will read four classic works from the various subfields and discover the wider field of inquiry and enduring problems that occupy Political Science research as a whole. Students will also be introduced to basic political science research methodology and writing styles.

In order to encourage deep, critical reading, students will be required to regularly reflect on the assigned texts and class discussions through a series (6) of short essays (2 pages each) as detailed in the syllabus below. In order to promote and assess active, engaged discussion, students will receive a mark for their participation in each class and the average of these will make up their final participation grade. Students, therefore, should come to class ready to discuss the readings. They should take notes, write down questions, form opinions and always, always bring the reading material to class with them.

Finally, the class is designed to promote the digestion and analysis of contemporary political dynamics. Students will be encouraged, therefore, to apply the classic theories to understand current events. To aid in this task, there will be weekly New York Times quizzes on the Global Headlines. Students can purchase a personal subscription to the New York Times or read the print edition available in the JCU library or the Tiber Café.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Following this course students should expect to begin thinking, reading, writing and acting like a political scientist!

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number
Why Nations Fail	Acemoglu and Robinson	Crown	978-0307719225
Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990-1992	Charles Tilly	Wiley-Blackwell	978-1557863683
Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy	Robert Putnam	Princeton University Press	978-0691037387
Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science	Stephen van Evera	Cornell University Press	978-0801484575

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Newspaper Quizes		10%
Reading Reflections/assignments (4)	Due on the day marked in the syllabus	30%
midterm		20%
proposal and bibliography		5%
Final Paper		25%
class participation	Attendance and Presence of Mind are mandatory for this class. The goal here is to advance towards the art of asking good questions. Quality, not quantity of participation is what counts, although some quantity is better than no quality. Students will be allowed 2 unexcused absences. Each unexcused absence thereafter will result in the lowering of the attendance grade by 1/3rd a letter grade. More than 12 unexcused absences will result in a failure to pass the course.	10%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the cour
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY!

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Course Calendar
August 31	Class 1	Course Introduction: What is Political Science?

Part I: The State
September 2	Class 2	What is a state? Read Tilly, ch. 1
September 7	Class 3	Where does a State come from? Read Tilly, ch. 2 New York Times Quiz 1
September 9	Class 4	What does a state do? Read Tilly, ch. 3 Short Essay 1 Due: Describe Tilly’s idea of State
September 14	Class 5	What do people do in states? Read Tilly, ch. 4 New York Times Quiz 2
September 16	Class 6	Are there different kinds of states? Alternatives to states? Read Tilly, ch. 5
Part II: The Regime

September 21	Class 7	What should* states do?* Read Larry Diamond and Leonardo Morlino (2004), “The Quality of Democracy: An Overview” New York Times Quiz 3
September 23	Class 8	What is Democracy? Read Putnam ch. 1
September 28	Class 9	What are Institutions? Read Putnam ch.s 2 & 3 New York Times Quiz 4
September 30	Class 10	What makes Institutions Perform Well? Read Putnam ch. 4
October 5	Class 11	What is a Political Culture? What is a Civic Culture? Case study: Italy Read Putnam ch. 5 Short Essay 2 Due: Reflect on Putnam’s study and weigh in on the debate – are culture or good institutions more important for “making democracy work”? Draw in evidence from the US and Italy.
October 7	Class 12	What is Collective Action ? Read Putnam ch. 6 Recommended: Mancur Olsen (1965) The Logic of Collective Action, pp.s 1-5, 53-60 New York Times Quiz 5
October 12	Class 13	MIDTERM EXAM
Part III: Political Science Methodology or How to Read, Think and Write like a Political Scientist
October 14	Class 14	Basic Assumptions Read van Evera pp.s 1-30
October 19	Class 15	Literature Searches, Bibliographic Work (Library Day) *Paper Proposal and Bibliography: Due Class 20* New York Times Quiz 6
October 21	Class 16	Qualitative Research & Case Studies Read van Evera pp.s 35-43, 50-71, 74-88
October 26	Class 17	Quantitative Research Read Driessen (2010) “Religion, State and Democracy,” skim pp.s 1-16, read pp.s 17-25 very carefully and closely study all the tables New York Times Quiz 7
October 28	Class 18	Writing Political Science Papers Read van Evera ch. 4
Part IV: Political Behavior & Public Policy
November 2	Class 19	How do people participate in politics? Classifying and Comparing Party Systems Read this introduction by Scott Mainwaring to Giovanni Sartori’s party theory (read 1-13 very carefully; skim the rest, make sense of the tables and read the conclusion): New York Times Quiz 8
November 4	Class 20	Why do people vote the way they do? Read this introduction to Anthony Downs’ Median Voter Theory: http://rdc1.net/forthcoming/medianvt.pdf
November 9	Class 21	PRESENTATIONS Group Activity and Essay number 3 Due: Count and describe the party and electoral system of your home country. Reflect on this portrait in light of Mainwaring’s article. Share with the Class what makes your country’s politics special
Part V. Economics, Poverty, Authoritarianism and the future of Politics
November 11	Class 22	Why are some nations rich and others poor? Read Acemoglu and Robinson ch. 1 New York Times Quiz
November 16	Class 23	What theories have tried to explain this? Read Acemoglu and Robinson ch. 2
November 18	Class 24	Critical junctures and the power of Institutions Read Acemoglu and Robinson ch. 4 New York Times Quiz 10
November 23	Class 25	Extractive Strategies Read Acemoglu and Robinson ch. 5
November 25	Class 26	Better Strategies? Read Acemoglu and Robinson ch. 7& 11 New York Times Quiz 11
November 30	Class 27	Why Nations Fail Read Acemoglu and Robinson ch. 13
December 2	Class 28	Conclusions Short Essay 4 Due: Reflect on Zakaria’s thesis and think about Russia today. Are illiberal democracies the future of global politics? Read Acemoglu and Robinson ch. 14 & 15 New York Times Quiz 12

	Final Exam	Final Paper Due