Dr. Dan Nataf
Spring, 2008
Political Science 131
Careers 132 (410) 777-2733
Office Hours: 1-2:30 MWF
ddnataf@aacc.edu
ddnataf@gmail.com
http://www2.aacc.edu/csli/pls131.htm
PLS 131 - Comparative Politics
Overview
This course introduces students to comparative politics, a sub-field within
political science. The first section of the course will focus on
conceptual and methodological dimensions – defining how comparative politics
differs from other sub fields such as “American Government” or “State and
Local Government.” Students will be introduced to some of the broad
approaches to “political development” and “modernization” and will be
exposed to some of the ways in which political scientists have attempted to
compare countries, regions or institutions.
The second section of the class will focus upon country case studies.
Discussion of country cases will be a blend of both the analytical framework
presented in the first section as well the themes set forth in the textbook.
This process will enable students to attain the following learning objectives:
· Critically
assess the level of political development found in a country
· Identify
and analyze concepts of modernity and tradition as these are found in each
country
· Use
global perspectives to study the impact of the international setting upon
institutions and policy choices facing countries and their governments
· Identify
and critically examine how governments have structured their social and
economic policies
· Identify
and evaluate the specific ideologies and institutions in each country
· Assess
the concepts of social and civic responsibility as expressed in the political
systems covered
· Better
understand the consequences of political and cultural diversity as these shape
political outcomes and value choices
The countries examined will be grouped in a manner that allows for students to
grasp the essence of a “type” of political system, while still being sensitive
to the range of variation that inevitably exists among otherwise similar
countries.
The types of political systems and countries to be examined include the
following:
· Mature
(Kesselman's "Consolidated") Democracies – Great Britain, France
· Transitional
Non-communist democracies – Brazil
· Transitional
Post Communist democracies – Russia
· Communist
(Marxist-Leninist) systems – China
· Other
mixed democratic/authoritarian systems – Iran
The format will be a mixture of lecture and class participation. The
course will follow the readings closely, so students will be expected to come
to class ready to discuss and apply ideas and arguments drawn from the
textbook.
Class discussion of topics forms a vital part of the learning process for this
course.
Students’ success in this class will depend upon participation in class
discussion, effective preparation for exams, timely completion of assignments,
excellent attendance, and a conscious effort to broaden intellectual horizons!
Textbook and Readings
There is one textbook that is required for this course: Introduction
to Comparative Politics, by Mark Kesselman (et. al.). (NY: Houghton
Mifflin, 2007).
Additional reading (also required):
James Bill and Robert Hardgrave, Comparative Politics: The Quest for
Theory (Landham: UPA: 1973/1981), (selections). This
reading has been scanned and is available at
http://ola4.aacc.edu/ddnataf/PLS 131/PLS
131_Bill_Hardgrave.doc
A selection from Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of
Human Societies (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997)
(http://www2.aacc.edu/csli/Courses/PLS131_Diamond.pdf)
Recommended reading:
Mir Zohair Husain, Global Islamic Politics, 2nd edition (NY: Longman,
2003). This book can be used for an extra credit book report (see
below).
Other readings may be handed out or posted by the instructor. It is also
suggested that students read a major daily newspaper (either print or online)
to keep up with world events. Selected reading will be necessary to
complete the 'adopted country' report (see below).
Assignments
Tests
There will be three major exams in this course as each third of
the material is covered. All will have essay and objective/multiple
choice components.
Rescheduled Exams:
If you are planning to take the exam on anything other than the scheduled exam
date announced in class, you must EMAIL Nataf so that he has a verifiable
record of your request and rationale. Such a request should be made at
least three days prior to the test date.
Quizzes
Several quizzes are available through MYAACC which uses the ANGEL learning
management system for storing and accessing quizzes (also accessible at
http://angel.aacc.edu). Find PLS 131 and then check for quizzes under
‘content.’ The quizzes are open-book and are meant especially for
self-assessment rather than graded evaluation. Students are expected to
take the quizzes at the conclusion of each section of the course. They
will be graded and cumulatively amount to 10 percent of your grade.
Scanned Reading Summaries
Students are required to read the scanned material mentioned above.
Bill and Hardgrave (hereafter "Hardgrave"): For each of the two
chapters of the Hardgrave text, students must write a 4 page double-spaced (12
point Times Roman, 1 inch margins) summary of the major points found in each
of the chapters (eight pages total). You should follow the American
Psychological Association style recommendations which have been nicely
summarized athttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
You may place your name and the title of these summaries directly on the first
page (omit the title page), starting the text beneath.
Diamond material - this will be also covered in class. There is no paper
assignment.
The Hardgrave papers must be turned by Feb. 12. These
assignments are geared to two objectives: (1) Ensuring that students have
focused effectively on the complex ideas and novel terms found in the
Hardgrave reading, and (2) That students can convey what they have learned
effectively in written form. As with the quizzes, the grading of this
assignment is less important than the assessment in terms of these two
objectives. The class may engage in an exercise in which rather
than have Dr. Nataf 'grade' these exercises, each student's paper will be
anonymous provided to another student who will be responsible for grading
using a rubric to be posted on the Web site later in the semester. The
quality of the format, clarity of presentation, and thoroughness of the
subject's treatment will form the core of the evaluations.
Adopted Country Assignment
Students will be required to adopt one of the countries covered in the
textbook but NOT covered in class lecture. Students
shall write a paper in which they discuss their adopted country from a
comparative politics perspective.
THERE WILL BE TWO PARTS TO THIS REPORT:
PART ONE (5 pages, double spaced, 12 point Times Roman, 1 inch margins, APA
style):
Compare and contrast the country with one other covered in our class.
This process should include:
o Reviewing
institutional similarities and differences from a historical and developmental
perspective, focusing on their levels and types of political development
o Discuss
historical (evolutionary) similarities and differences from a 'modernization'
perspective - what are the elements of their cultures, society and economies
that seem less or more 'modern'
o Evaluate
policy similarities and differences regarding economic development –
what have been their policy priorities?
o Assess
global influences upon their choices of political and economic systems - how
does each country 'fit' into the global system of nation-states?
PART TWO (5 pages, double spaced, 12 point Times Roman, 1 inch margins):
CURRENT EVENTS REPORTING
Discuss extensively the issues that seem to be most important from a political
and policy perspective. You should keep a weekly journal citing
notable events. There is a tool in ANGEL to help you do this.
The contents of the journal will be derived from articles about the adopted
country found in magazines, newspapers or other sources. Many English
language sources are available online. At the end of the semester
students will use the journal to help them summarize and interpret events
which will constitute the last 5 pages of the paper. Journal entries
should provide as much in-depth examination as possible of the issues covered.
Journal entries must show the sources and dates for entries.
Start your journal no later than after the first mid-term.
Topics which the journal might cover would include major speeches by leaders;
major government policy initiatives; major social, economic or political
problems; government responses to natural disasters; issues related to civil
liberties/elections/human rights; major environmental issues; depictions of
the US in the local press. Your goal in choosing topics to cover should
be to increase your ability to relate the general points discussed in class to
the specifics of the country being evaluated. You should think about how
the events and issues covered exemplify aspects of legitimacy, efficiency,
participation, equality, economic development, rule of law, state building, or
other aspects of "political development" which we shall cover in class.
RESULT: This should result in a ten-page paper with footnotes and
bibliography as appropriate (The paper should also have a title page; the ten
pages do not include title or reference pages). It should be presented
double spaced, with one inch margins all around, and use 12 point Times Roman
font (APA style). It should be stapled ONLY- no binders please!
Extra Credit
(1) Participation in the Center for the Study of Local Issues Survey
As a means of complementing students' academic preparation with relevant
experiential learning, students will have the opportunity to participate in
this semester’s public interest survey conducted by the Center for the
Study of Local Issues (CSLI -
http://www2.aacc.edu/csli).
Dr. Nataf is the director of this center. The main part of survey will
occur March 9-12.
The purpose of your participation is twofold:
(1) It will allow you to gain valuable insights about how surveys are
conceived, administrated, analyzed and reported. By the end of the
process, you will have experienced the many facets of the survey process,
which is part of standard social science methodologies.
(2) Your
participation is an important part of your social and civic responsibility as
you will have contributed to the community by helping generate public opinion
findings useful for policy making. Important people, the media and the
general public all have come to regard CSLI's surveys of Anne Arundel County
residents as a vital way keeping current on the state of local opinion.
These surveys have been acknowledged by a wide range of policy-makers
throughout Maryland. Without student participation, this valuable
community service could not be continued.
What is required of you?
There are four meetings you will be required to attend (with a fifth meeting
optional). These are as follows:
(1) (optional) A meeting to discuss what topics should be included on the
survey - this meeting will take place on during the week of Feb. 5 at 5:00
p.m. in SUN 102.
(2) (mandatory) A meeting to review the survey process and become familiar
with previous findings (week of March 2-6)
(3-4) Two nights (5-9:00 p.m. first night, 6-9:00 p.m. second night) spent on
the telephone calling residents. The first night will include a brief
training period in telephone and marking instructions (week of March 9-12).
(5) A meeting to discuss the findings and the entire process (week of March
16-20).
A short 1 and 1/2 to 2 page paper
summarizing what you did, what you learned and any recommendations or
suggestions should be provided within one week of the last meeting.
Incentive:
All students who choose to participate in the survey will be rewarded in two
ways: (1) by being able to write the essay portion of their final exams at
home, to be turned in the day of the final examination. Students
will still need to take the objective section of the test in class. (2)
Students will also receive an additional 3 points counting towards your
final grade (using a 100 point scale). You will receive an additional point
for every additional night you volunteer.
(2) CSLI Student Club
Other CSLI opportunities:
Extra credit in this course will be available to those who participate in the
CSLI Student Club (http://www2.aacc.edu/csli/csliclub.htm).
While "membership" in the club is strictly voluntary, attendance at selected
events sponsored by the club will be rewarded. For club events that are
'extra-credit eligible' (check with Dr. Nataf) and for which a written,
two-page, double spaced summary of each event is provided, an extra point will
be added to your final grade. Examples of extra-credit eligible events
are interviews with community and government leaders, field trips, topical
group discussions, etc.
(3) Book Report
Book Report:
Conduct a review of the Husain Global Islamic Politics book.
Format: 7+ pages, double spaced, 12 point Times Roman, 1 inch margin.
Contents of book report – you should address the seven questions below.
(1) What are the major common elements of Islam?
(2) What are the key differences among revolutionary, traditionalist and
modernist
Islamists?
(3) What are the major reasons for the failure of secular ideologies in the
Middle East?
Here you should include material regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict.
(4) How effective has the institutionalization of pan-Islamism been?
(5) What was the role of foreign elements in the recent history of Iran and
Afghanistan?
(6) Is Husain convincing in claiming that there is Islamophobia in the
Western media?
(7) What were the overall strengths and weaknesses of this book?
Value: Additional 5% (times the grade) will be added to your end
grade.
Nataf may agree to a proposal to review a different book, but you must get his
approval prior to moving forward.
Due date:
May 5.
Assignment Weighting
The weighing of each of these graded events will be as follows:
|
Assignment/Test |
% |
|
First mid-term examination |
20 |
|
Second mid-Term examination |
25 |
|
Final examination |
25 |
|
Country Report |
10 |
|
Class Attendance/Participation/Scanned readings summaries |
10 |
|
Quizzes |
10 |
|
Total |
100 |
Each assignment will be graded on a 0-100 point scale, with the following
breakdowns:
90-100=A, 80-89=B, 70-79=C, 60-69=D, below 60=F. A missed assignment
will generate a grade value of "50".
Attendance, Class Decorum,Academic
Integrity, Computer Access and Usage Policy, ADA (Special Needs) Statement,
Course Withdrawal
Attendance/Class decorum:
The instructor will also reward students with regular attendance and who
meaningfully participate in class discussions. By contrast, disruptive
students or those who demonstrate a lack of interest in the subject or lack of
respect for other students or the instructor will be penalized. Severe
cases will be subject to removal from class following college policy.
Those students with special needs should contact Dr. Nataf so any necessary
accommodations can be made (also see below).
|
All work turned in by a student must be his/her own.
Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated - if you have any doubts, don't
cut and paste and always provide citations. Please refer to the
current college catalog for a complete description of the college
policy on academic integrity. Any violations of the policy will be
handled as outlined in the catalog. |
|
|
COMPUTER
AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION ACCESS AND USAGE POLICY |
Access to computer and electronic communication resources, such as
the Internet, e-mail, computer labs, and networks is governed by
college policy as well as federal, state, and local laws.
Acceptable uses of computer and electronic communication resources
are those that support the purposes of teaching and learning.
Individuals who inappropriately or illegally use computer and
network services and resources may incur all applicable college
and legal penalties for such misuse.
|
|
ADA STATEMENT |
Students who have need of special accommodations due to a physical
or learning disabilities should contact Disability Student
Services (DSS) Office at (410) 777-2307. Special scheduling
of tests and other exercises require such contact. |
|
WITHDRAWAL |
If withdrawal from the course becomes necessary due to work,
family obligations, etc., the student must file a
withdrawal form in person at the Records and Registration
Office before the cutoff date above in order to avoid a grade of
"F" at the end of the semester.
|
Timetable
NOTICE: (All dates including exams are estimates only)
Jan. 21 - Feb. 11:
Issues: Overview of Comparative Politics, Political Development,
Modernization, Methodology Readings: Kesselman, Chapter 1 and Bill/Hardgrave
(entire scanned reading), Diamond (scanned reading)
Feb. 11 - Written evaluation of Bill/Hardgrave reading due
Feb. 13 -27:
Consolidated Democracies – Great Britain: Kesselman pp. 37-90