PART I: THE STATE
WEEK 1
January 19: Introduction to the Course
January 21: What is the state?
Readings:
· Tilly, Chapter 1
WEEK 2
January 26: Where does the state come from?
Readings:
· Tilly, Chapter 2
January 28: What does the state do?
Readings:
· Tilly, Chapter 3
WEEK 3
February 2: What do people do in states?
Readings:
· Tilly, Chapter 4
February 4: Are there different kinds of states? Alternatives to States?
Readings:
· Tilly, Chapter 5
PART II: THE REGIME
WEEK 4
February 9: What should states do?
Readings:
· Larry Diamond and Leonardo Morlino (2004), “The Quality of Democracy: An Overview,” http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20729/Diamond-Morlino.QoD.intro%28book%29.drft1.pdf
February 11: What is democracy?
Readings:
· Putnam, Chapter 1
WEEK 5
February 16: What are institutions?
Readings:
· Putnam, Chapters 2 & 3
February 18: What makes institutions perform well?
Readings:
· Putnam, Chapter 4
WEEK 6
February 23: What is political culture? What is civic culture?
Case Study: Italy
Readings:
· Putnam, Chapter 5
February 25: What is collective action?
Readings:
· Putnam, Chapter 6
WEEK 7 – Midterms
March 1: Midterm Prep / Review
March 3: Midterm
PART III: POLITICAL SCIENCE METHODOLOGY
WEEK 8
March 8: What are the basic assumptions of Political Science?
Readings:
· Van Evera, pp. 1 – 30
March 10: Library Day
· Van Evera, pp. 1 – 30
WEEK 9
March 15: Quantitative Research
Readings:
· Van Evera, pp. 35 – 43; 50 – 71; 74 - 88
March 17: Qualitative Research
Readings:
· TBD
PART IV: POLITICAL BEHAVIOR & PUBLIC POLICY
WEEK 10
March 22: How do people participate in politics?
Readings:
· 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): https://kellogg.nd.edu/publications/workingpapers/WPS/260.pdf
March 24: Why do people vote the way that they do?
Readings:
· Anthony Downs’ Median Voter Theory: http://rdc1.net/forthcoming/medianvt.pdf
****SPRING BREAK****
WEEK 11
April 5: TBD
Readings:
· TBD
April 7: What makes for good public policy?
Readings:
· Theda Skocpol:
· 1) “Flashpoint in Healthcare Reform” Dissent (2012) http://www.rockinst.org/newsroom/news_stories/2012/2012-Spring-Dissent.pdf
· 2) “What does Healthcare Reform do for Americans,” SSN 2013: http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/sites/default/files/ssn_basic_facts_skocpol_and_jacobs_on_health_reform_1.pdf
· 3) “A Fieldguide to the Implementation of Obamacare,” SSN 2014 http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/sites/default/files/ssn_basic_facts_skocpol_and_jacobs_on_field_guide_to_implementation_3.pdf
· for more of where this came from: http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/scholar-profile/45
PART V. AUTHORITARIANISM VS. DEMOCRACY
WEEK 12
April 12: What are social movements?
Readings:
· Charles Tilly (1997), “Social Movements as Political Struggle,” http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2v1r03UpxUsJ:www.ciaonet.org/wps/tic03/&client=firefox-a&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1
April 14: Are all countries democracies?
Readings:
· Zakaria, Introduction & Chapter 1
WEEK 13
April 19: What are authoritarian regimes?
Readings:
· Zakaria, Chapters 2 & 3
April 21: How do democracies fail?
Readings:
· Zakaria, Chapters 4 & 5
WEEK 14
April 26: On the future of democracy & global politics
· Zakaria, Chapter 6
April 28: Final Exam Preparation
· Zakaria, Conclusion
***News Journals due: 28 April 2016***
WEEK 15
April 30- May 6: Final Exam (Look for Announcements)