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Canyon College
COURSE SYLLABUS: Comparative Politics
| Course Title: | PS323 - Comparative Politics |
| Department: | Political Science |
| Instructor: | James P. Klein, Ph.D.-ABD, M.A., E-Mail - Vitae |
Required Textbook - Online Bookstore
Comparative Politics in Transition, 4th Edition, by John McCormick. Wadsworth Publishing, 2003/2004. ISBN: 053450860X
Course Description
We are living in times of great political change. Sitting here in your home here in America, it is often easy to forget that we are part of a global political and economic system, which affects every one of us every day. More than ever before, Americans need to understand politics in other countries so that we can ensure that our leaders make informed domestic and foreign policy choices, and so that we can each understand our place in the global system.
This course will introduce you to the world's different political systems, and compare them with each other. By the end of the semester, you should have a good grasp of the different ways in which different societies govern themselves, of the place of the United States in the world, and of the values of comparison.
We will be looking at five groups of countries (liberal democracies, communist/ post-communist states, newly industrializing countries, less developed countries, and the Islamic world) and at six case study countries: the US, Britain, Russia, Mexico, Nigeria and Egypt. In each case we will be focusing on how politics in these countries has evolved, how their political institutions work, how their citizens take part in politics, and how they deal with economic and foreign policy.
Course Policies
Course Week and Due Dates
Monday is the first of the course week, and Sunday is the last day of the course week. The weekly quizzes scheduled for completion during a class week will be taken by midnight Sunday, determined by your own time zone.
Academic Honesty
Canyon College policies are in effect. All work must be your own. Presenting as one's own the words, ideas, or expression of another in any form is cheating through plagiarism, and will not be tolerated.
Grading
Each week you will complete an objective quiz on the assigned reading material. Your final grade will be based on these objective quizzes.
Reading and Assignments
In the required text there is a chapter associated with each country we will discuss in the course. The chapter number precedes the country name in the reading schedule below.
WEEK 1: LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES: (1) the United States and (2) Britain
WEEK 2: LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES: (3) Japan
WEEK 3: COMMUNIST AND POST-COMMUNIST STATES: (4) Russia
WEEK 4: COMMUNIST AND POST-COMMUNIST STATES: (5) China
WEEK 5: NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZING COUNTRIES: (6) Mexico
WEEK 6: NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZING COUNTRIES: (7) India
WEEK 7: LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: (8) Nigeria
WEEK 8: ISLAMIC COUNTRIES: (9) Egypt