POLIS 1104 - Introduction to Comparative Politics
North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2018
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code POLIS 1104 Course Introduction to Comparative Politics Coordinating Unit Politics and International Relations Term Semester 1 Level Undergraduate Location/s North Terrace Campus Units 3 Contact Up to 3 hours per week Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y Incompatible POLI 1104 Assessment Small group discovery (25%), Online test I (15%), Online test II (20%), Exam (40%) Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Dr Czeslaw Tubilewicz
Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
At the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
1 Define the key terms in Comparative Politics 2 Discuss the political history, institutions, political cultures, political parties, interest groups, political issues, cleavages, and the major political conflicts of various contemporary political systems 3 Compare and contrast major aspects of democratic and non-democratic political systems 4 Compare and contrast economic challenges facing developed and developing states 5 Debate the role of a state in economic development 6 Participate in group discussions about contested concepts with confidence and with tolerance for other points of view 7 Navigate the large amounts of research material available in this subject through both traditional academic sources and through the use of information technology 8 Demonstrate career readiness and leadership skills appropriate for beginning professional practice, including lifelong learning skills characterised by academic rigour, self-direction and intellectual independence University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Deep discipline knowledge
- informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
- acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
- accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
1-5 Critical thinking and problem solving
- steeped in research methods and rigor
- based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
- demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
1-6 Teamwork and communication skills
- developed from, with, and via the SGDE
- honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
- encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
6 Career and leadership readiness
- technology savvy
- professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
- forward thinking and well informed
- tested and validated by work based experiences
7-8 Intercultural and ethical competency
- adept at operating in other cultures
- comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
- able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
- demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
6 Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
- a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
- open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
- able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
7-8 -
Learning Resources
Required Resources
The Course Reader is available both online and in printRecommended Resources
In the past, this course used the text by Gabriel Almond, G. Bingham Powell, Russell J. Dalton and Kaare Strom (eds.), Comparative Politics Today: A World View (New York: Longman, 2010). There should be numerous second-hand copies of this textbook if you wish to go beyond the Course Reader.
Recommended academic readings are also made available on Myuni.
Internet Resources
ABC News Radio http://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/links/useful.htm (A useful collection of world newspaper URLs)
Longman Comparative Politics Reference Site http://k-12.pisd.edu/schools/pshs/soc_stu/comp_gv/links.htm (a good geography test, some useful basic country data, and a few internet links)
Comparative Politics: practice tests
http://www.appracticeexams.com/ap-comparative-government
Comparative Politics, Working Papers at Yale University:
http://www.yale.edu/leitner/papers.html
Columbia University Resource Site:
http://library.columbia.edu/subject-guides/social-sciences/compol.html
Democracy at Large: http://www.ifes.org/Content/Publications/Democracy-at-Large.aspx
Foreign Government Resources: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~graceyor/govdocs/foreignnew.html
Governments on the WWW: http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/
Poly-Cy Guide to Internet Resources for Political Science: http://crl.du.ac.in/Publication/E-Resources%20in%20Public%20Domain-Final/Political%20Science/Bird%27s%20Eye%20View/Websites/Internet%20Resources%20for%20Political%20Science.htm
Country Study Sites
Area Studies (@ Keele University): http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area.htm
BBC Country Profiles: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
Cultural Profiles Project: http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/index.html
Economist Country Briefings: http://www.economist.com/topics
Human Development Reports: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/
Library of Congress Country Studies: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
The National Bureau of Asian Research: http://www.nbr.org/
Political Database of the Americas: http://pdba.georgetown.edu/
Profiles of Countries and Regions: http://www.imf.org/external/country/Index.htm
A Selection of Comparative Politics Journals:
African Studies Quarterly: http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/
Asian Survey: http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=asiansurvey
Comparative Politics: http://www.jstor.org/journals/00104159.html
Comparative Political Studies: http://cps.sagepub.com/
Development: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/development/index.html
Problems of Post-communism: http://www.mesharpe.com/mall/results1.asp?ACR=ppc
Third World Quarterly: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/01436597.asp
Journals in area studies: http://www.tandf.co.uk/libsite/productinfo/journals/onlinecollections/politics/
Cambridge series in comparative politics (books): http://www.cambridge.org/ar/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/comparative-politics/series/cambridge-studies-comparative-politics
Online Learning
The POLI 1104 MyUni site contains announcements, copies of many course materials such as lecture notes, lecture recordings, assigned and recommended readings, a discussion forum, and links to useful web sites. You should check this site regularly. -
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
All lectures will be in-class. They will be recorded. Lecture material will be discussed in each week’s tutorials.Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
2 x 1-hour lectures per week 24 hours per semester 1 x 2-hour tutorial per week 24 hours per semester 2 hours tutorial preparation per week 24 hours per semester 3 hours assignment preparation per week 36 hours per semester 2 hours reading per week 24 hours per semester 2 hours research per week 24 hours per semester TOTAL WORKLOAD 156 hours per semester Learning Activities Summary
Schedule Week 1 What is Comparative Politics?
Methods in Comparative PoliticsWeek 2 States and nations
Key concepts in Comparative PoliticsWeek 3 The United States: political history and political system Week 4 The United States: domestic contests
China: political historyWeek 5 China: political system and domestic contests Week 6 Comparing the USA and China
The European Union: history of European integrationWeek 7 The EU: political institutions and processes; contemporary challenges Week 8 India: political history and political system Week 9 India: domestic contests
Comparing the EU and IndiaWeek 10 Japan: political history and political system Week 11 Japan: domestic contests
Russia: political history and political systemWeek 12 Russia: domestic contests
Comparing Japan and RussiaSmall Group Discovery Experience
All tutorial activities are structured around small group learning that encourages and supports team work and a lively exchange of ideas. -
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
Assessment Task Task Type Weighting SGD activities Formative and Summative 15% Group project Formative and Summative 15% Individual submission Summative 10% Online tests Formative and Summative 25% Open-book exam Summative 35% Assessment Detail
SGD activities: students will engage in interaction in class activities and the cooperative sharing of ideas and information - 15% weighting
Group project: students will engage in group work in order to produce an academic project on an assigned topic - 15% weighting
Individual submission: each group member will submit electronically her/his contribution to the group project - 10% weighting
Online tests: students will be required to complete two online tests - 25% weighting.
Open-book exam: students will sit a two-hour open-book exam (they will be allowed to bring all course materials and other printed resources to the exam room) - 35% weightingSubmission
For details regarding submission guidelines, please refer to the Course Guide.Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme) Grade Mark Description FNS Fail No Submission F 1-49 Fail P 50-64 Pass C 65-74 Credit D 75-84 Distinction HD 85-100 High Distinction CN Continuing NFE No Formal Examination RP Result Pending Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.
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Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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Student Support
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- Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments to Learning, Teaching & Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy
- Student Experience of Learning and Teaching Policy
- Student Grievance Resolution Process
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