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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PL 101"
COURSE NAME: "Introduction to Political Science"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2016
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Pamela Harris
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 1:30 PM 2:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS: M-F 2-4, or 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:

This 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 subscribe to the New York Times through the Library, or read the print edition available in the 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 TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Coercion, Capital and European States: AD 990-1992Charles TillyWiley-Blackwell978-1557863683JN94.A2 T54    
Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern ItalyRobert PutnamPrinceton978-0691037387JN5477.R35P866    
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and PovertyDaron Acemoglu & James A. RobinsonCrown978-0307719225     
Guide to Methods for Students of Political ScienceStephen van EveraCornell978-0801484575JA71.V3    
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Class ParticipationAttendance 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 participation grade by 1/3 a letter grade. 10
Newspaper QuizzesWeekly quizzes on the Global Headlines.10
Midterm Exam 20
Final Exam 30
Reading Reflections 30

-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 cours
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 REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until May 6, 2016. 
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

PART I: THE STATE  

1 (August 30)      Introduction 

2 (September 1)  What is a state?  

                           Read Tilly, ch.1; New York Times Quiz 1

3 (September 6) Where does a state come from?

                          Read Tilly, ch.2

4 (September 8) What does a state do? 

                          Read Tilly, ch. 3; Short Essay #1: describe Tilly's idea of a state

5 (September 13) What do people do in states?

                           Read Tilly, ch. 4; New York Times Quiz 2

6 (September 15) Are there different kinds of states? Alternatives to states?

                            Read Tilly, ch. 5

PART II: THE REGIME

7 (September 20) What should states do?

                            Read 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

                            New York Times Quiz 3



8. (September 22)  What is democracy?

                             Read Putnam, ch.1

*9. (September 23 - Friday make up): What are institutions?

                             Read Putnam, chs.2 & 3; New York Times Quiz 4

10. (September 27) What makes institutions perform well?

                             Read Putnam, Chapter 4

11. (September 29) What is political culture? What is civic culture?  

                             Case Study: Italy; Read Putnam, ch. 5; Short Essay #2: reflect on Putnam's study and weigh in on the debate - are culture or good institutions more important for "making democracy work"? Use evidence from the US and Italy to support your position.

12. (October 4) What is collective action?   

                         Read Putnam, Chapter 6; New York Times Quiz 5

13. (October 6) Midterm Review



14. (October 11) Midterm Examination

PART III: POLITICAL SCIENCE METHODOLOGY

15. (October 13) What are the basic assumptions of Political Science?

                        Read Van Evera, pp. 1 – 30

16. (October 18)  Literature Searches, Bibliographic Work (Library Day)

                       Paper Proposal and Bibliography: Due Class 20

17. (October 20) Qualitative Research & Case Studies  

                        Read Van Evera, pp. 35 – 43; 50 – 71; 74 - 88

18. (October 25)  Writing Political Science Papers



                          Read Van Evera, ch. 4

PART IV: POLITICAL BEHAVIOR & PUBLIC POLICY

19. (October 27)  How do people participate in politics?  Classifying and comparing party systems

                            Read Scott Mainwaring's Introduction 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

                             New York Times Quiz 7



20. (October 28) Why do people vote the way that they do?   

                           Read Anthony Downs’ Median Voter Theory: http://rdc1.net/forthcoming/medianvt.pdf

21. (November 3) Presentations

                            Group Activity and Short Essay #3 due. Analyze your country's party and electoral system light of Mainwaring's article. What makes your country's politics special?  



PART V. AUTHORITARIANISM VS. DEMOCRACY

22. (November 8)  Why are some nations rich and others poor?

                              Read Acemoglu and Robinson, ch. 1



23. (November 10) What theories have tried to explain this? 

                               Read Acemoglu and Robinson, ch. 2

24. (November 15) Critical junctures and the power of institutions

                               Read Acemoglu and Robinson, ch. 4; New York Times Quiz 9



25. (November 17) Extractive Strategies

                               Read Acemoglu and Robinson, ch. 5



26. (November 22) Better Strategies?

                              Read Acemoglu and Robinson, chs. 7 & 11



27. (November 29) Why Nations Fail

                              Acemoglu and Robinson, ch 13



28. (December 1)  Conclusions

                             Read Acemoglu and Robinson, chs. 14&15

Final Exam - Final Paper Due