POLS 3339: Comparative Political Systems
Fall 2010, UGLC 342: MWF 9:30-10:20 a.m.
Gregory D. Schmidt Office Hours: MWF 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Benedict 211 or by appointment
Phone: 747-7973 E-mail:
Welcome to the world of comparative politics! This course is UTEP’s introduction to the study of political systems outside of the United States. It also serves as one of two gateway courses to the new concentration and revamped minor in International Politics. During the first half of the course we will explore key issues in comparative politics and contrast the political development of Great Britain and France, two early modernizing countries in Europe. In the latter half of the course, we will examine different patterns of political development in Japan, a late modernizer, and Peru, one of the most interesting countries in Latin America. By the end of the course students should be able to appreciate similarities and differences among countries with regard to their historical development and the extension of suffrage, social cleavages, political culture, electoral and party systems, parliamentary vs. presidential regimes, key policy issues, and other topics.
Course Requirements and Policies
1. Attendance and Punctuality. Regular attendance is expected. If you do not attend class regularly, you will not do well. Moreover, you risk missing unannounced quizzes. Students with poor attendance records will be dropped from the class.
As discussed under point 7 below, each student has three grace absences, and good attendance can earn extra credit points. I will normally excuse absences only when a student participates in an official university activity, observes a recognized religious holiday of his or her faith that happens to coincide with a class meeting, or confronts extraordinary circumstances, such as a prolonged illness, extended jury duty, or a major personal crisis, and then only after the three grace absences have been exhausted. Any excused absences must be documented.
Please do not ask me to excuse absences for minor illnesses, funerals, or scheduling conflicts (e.g. sports practices or games, play rehearsals, meetings, conferences, appointments with other professors or advisors, student teaching, doctor's appointments, court dates, jobs, job interviews, having your cable installed, etc.). I realize, of course, that students occasionally become ill, but it is unlikely that minor illnesses will force you to miss class more than three times. I also am well aware that students have other interests and obligations, but you should nevertheless make this class a priority. If you are likely to have recurring conflicts, please take another course.
If you arrive after roll is checked, please notify me at the end of class so that you can receive a tardy. Two tardies are excused. The third and each subsequent tardy count as absences.
2. Readings and Lectures. Please purchase the following:
Michael G. Roskin, Countries and Concepts: Politics, Geography, Culture, 11th edition (Prentice Hall, 2011).
Gregory D. Schmidt, Peru: The Politics of Surprise, 2nd edition (McGraw-Hill Create, 2008).
I may assign some additional readings, especially on recent events, but these would be posted on Blackboard or handed out in class. Lectures will parallel and complement, but not merely repeat, the material in the readings. You are responsible for material covered in readings but not in the lectures and vice versa. You should complete reading assignments for each date before coming to class.
3. Study Guides, Quizzes, and Power Point Slides. Study guides and other ancillary materials will be posted on Blackboard before most, if not all, classes. The study guides will contain questions designed to help you get the most out of the readings, stimulate class discussion, and facilitate preparation for 6-8 unannounced quizzes to be given at the beginning of class on the reading assigned for that day. Make-ups of quizzes will be given only under truly extraordinary circumstances at the discretion of the instructor. However, your overall quiz grade will be based on your 4 or 5 highest scores.
Before each class you should try to answer the questions marked with an asterisk (*), which are "quizzable" or especially appropriate for discussion. Other questions may be wholly or partially based on material to be presented in lecture. If the study guide is not posted at least 24 hours before the beginning of class, there will be no quiz for that class, but it is still relevant for the exams. After each lecture, I will post the power point slides as a study aid. Thus, the study guides and power point slides should help you to integrate and understand material from the readings and lecture for the exams.
4. Videos. I will show various videos on course-related topics to the extent that time, availability, and scheduling permit. These are not "blow-off" classes; indeed, some exam questions will be based on audiovisual materials. I will introduce the videos and help you to focus on the most pertinent information and perspectives. You should print out any study guides for the videos before coming to class.
5. Exams. Exams are scheduled for Monday, September 27; Monday, October 18; and Wednesday, December 8 during the final examination period. Each exam will cover a discrete section of the course, though some of the material has a cumulative character. The third (final) exam is not comprehensive, but it will be weighted twice as much because it covers the second half of the course. The first two exams will have multiple choice, true/false, and a short essay. The final exam will have multiple choice, true/false, and longer essays. If necessary, exam grades will be curved, in accordance with overall student performance. I will hand back exams for review in class; however, I will retain all objective questions and answers on file.
Make-up exams will be given only in the case of a documented medical or personal emergency. In such an event, Professor Schmidt (747-7973) or the Political Science Office (747-5227) must be notified before the exam. Make-up exams may be in a format that requires more intensive preparation.
6. Paper. Drawing on recent periodicals, academic journals, and possibly on-line sources, each student will write a 5 page paper analyzing a major contemporary political issue or significant recent event in Great Britain, France, Japan, or Peru. More specific instructions will be passed out by the fifth week of class. Papers will be due at the beginning of class on December 1. Late papers will be penalized 5 points for each day of tardiness. Graded papers will be returned at the time of the final exam. I will not accept any late papers after that date.
7. Extra Credit Points. I will not accept extra credit projects to improve low quiz or exam grades. I will, however, be glad to help students improve their study habits. Moreover, you can earn up to 4 points of extra credit through attendance and class participation. If you have 3 or fewer recorded absences, I will add 2 points to your course average. I will add 1 point to the course averages of students with 4 or 5 recorded absences. Thus, good attendance can help you, but you are not directly penalized for poor attendance, though you risk missing quizzes. I will also give extra credit to students who in my judgment have made significant contributions to class discussion. I will add 1 point for above-average class participation and 2 points for outstanding participation. In assessing class participation, I will emphasize quality, rather than mere quantity.
8. Course Grade. The following weights will be used to determine your course average:
Quizzes 15%
First Exam 15%
Second Exam 15%
Third Exam 30%
Paper 25%
______
100% + any extra credit points
Course Grades will be distributed as follows:
Final Average and Extra Credit Final Grade
90-100% A
80-89% B
65-79% C
50-64% D
Below 50% F
Incompletes will not be given for reasons other than a medical or personal emergency and then only after presentation of verifiable documentation. Academic hardship does not qualify as an acceptable reason.
9. Seating and Determination of Attendance. Beginning in the second week of class, all students will sit in permanently assigned seats to facilitate the checking of attendance and so that I can learn your names.
10. Adjustments in Course Schedule. I will do my best to follow the course schedule outlined below, but I reserve the right to make reasonable adjustments with adequate warning if unforeseeable or uncontrollable circumstances (e.g. jury duty, weather, illness, travel) so warrant. It is not fair, however, to change the schedule or previously set exam dates simply to accommodate the preferences of some students, since other students inevitably suffer.
11. Academic Integrity. Students are expected to know and comply with UTEP policies on academic integrity in the online 2009-2010 Undergraduate Catalog, Curriculum and Classroom Policies at http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=59297.
Course Outline
AUGUST 23
Introduction to Course
Pre-Test
AUGUST 25
Basic Concepts: Nation and State
Roskin, pp. 2-8.
AUGUST 30
Basic Concepts: Democracy and Democratization
Roskin, boxes on pp. 10 and 15.
SEPTEMBER 1
Basic Concepts: Institutions, Political Culture, and Social Cleavages
Roskin, pp. 9-16, and figure on page 42.
SEPTEMBER 3
Discussion of Term Paper and Writing Support
SEPTEMBER 6 NO CLASS: LABOR DAY
SEPTEMBER 8
Great Britain: The Impact of the Past
Roskin, pp. 20-31.
SEPTEMBER 10
Video: The Blair Decade (selected clips)
SEPTEMBER 13
Great Britain: Political Culture
Roskin, pp. 48-60.
SEPTEMBER 15
Great Britain: Electoral System and Parties
Roskin, pp. 45-46; review pp. 51-52, 53, and 57; pp. 62-70.
SEPTEMBER 17
Great Britain: Governmental Institutions
Roskin, pp. 34-45, 70-72.
SEPTEMBER 20
Video: Order! Order! Britain’s Parliament at Work
SEPTEMBER 22
Great Britain: Quarrels
Roskin, pp. 74-86.
SEPTEMBER 24
Video: The Blair Decade (selected clips)
Review
SEPTEMBER 27
First Exam
SEPTEMBER 29, OCTOBER 1
Go Over First Exam In Class
France: The Impact of the Past
Roskin, pp. 88-102.
Video: The French Revolution
OCTOBER 4, 6
France: Political Culture
Roskin, pp. 120-132.
Video, The Essential History of France
OCTOBER 8
France: Elections and Parties
Roskin, box on 108-109; pp. 116-117; review box on p. 132; pp.134-144.
OCTOBER 11
France: Governmental Institutions
Roskin, pp. 104-116, 118, 144-147
OCTOBER 13, 15
France: Quarrels
Roskin, pp. 148-160.
Video on Headscarves
Review
OCTOBER 18
Second Exam
OCTOBER 20, 22
Go Over Second Exam in Class
Japan: The Impact of the Past
Roskin, pp. 260-266.
Video: Meiji: Asia’s Response to the West
OCTOBER 25, 27
Japan: The Impact of the Past
Roskin, pp. 267-269.
Video: Reinventing Japan
OCTOBER 29
Japan: Political Culture
Roskin, pp. 276-283.
Japan: Elections and Parties
Roskin, pp. 272-274, 285-286, box on pp. 287.
NOVEMBER 1
Japan: Governmental Institutions
Roskin, pp. 269-272, 274-276, 283-285, 286-288.
NOVEMBER 3, 5
Japan: Quarrels
Roskin, pp. 288-294.
Video, Bursting the Bubble
NOVEMBER 8
Peru: The Setting and Early History
Schmidt, pp. 5-20, 48-49, 53-56.
NOVEMBER 10
Peru: APRA vs. the Military
Schmidt, pp. 20-29.
NOVEMBER 12
Peru: Tenuous Democracy
Schmidt, pp. 29-32, 65-66.
Video: Fire in the Mind
NOVEMBER 15
Peru: The Pivotal 1990 Election
Schmidt, pp. 32-34.
Video, Mario Vargas Llosa: The Story of the Novelist Who Would be President
NOVEMBER 17, 19
Peru: Fujimori’s Tumultuous First Term
Schmidt, pp. 34-38, 66-69.
Video: The Fall of Fujimori (selected clips)
NOVEMBER 22, 24
Peru: Fujimori’s Polarizing Second Term and Fall
Schmidt, pp. 38-42.
Video: The Fall of Fujimori (selected clips)
NOVEMBER 26 NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING BREAK
NOVEMBER 29
Peru After Fujimori’
Schmidt, pp. 42-45, 68-69 (re-read).
DECEMBER 1
Peru: Political Culture and Institutions
Schmidt, pp. 45-48, 49-53, and 56-62.
Review
Papers due at the beginning of class on December 1.
DECEMBER 3 NO CLASS: DEAD DAY
DECEMBER 8
Final Exam, 10 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
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