Time Schedule:
Lloyd Jansen
POL S 204
Seattle Campus
Political systems in a comparative framework. Traditional and contemporary approaches to the study of governments and societies in different countries. Offered: WSp.
Class description
Virtually all sovereign states build roads, regulate commerce, and maintain educational systems. They conceive, implement, and police a myriad of laws, programs, and policies that affect the lives of their citizens. How governments carry out these functions and how the governments themselves are established, constituted, and legitimated, varies significantly. This course is designed to introduce the student to the structures, functions, histories, ideologies, and politics of states (countries) around the world. The student will learn how various political systems share many seemingly similar structures that can function in remarkably different ways. The student will also learn, through readings, lectures, discussion, analysis, and assignments, the basic methodologies for carrying out comparative politics research.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Lecture and Quiz Section/Discussion
Recommended preparation
Texts: Hague and Harrop, Political Science: A Comparative Introduction, 5th Edition (Palgrave MacMillan) 2007. Soe, Christian, Annual Editions: Comparative Politics 08/09 (McGraw Hill) 2009.
Class assignments and grading
Grading: Mid-Term 25%, Final 35%, Short Essay 25%, Quiz Section Participation 15%
