POLS 1500 Introduction to Comparative Politics

POLS 1500 Introduction to Comparative Politics

Students are expected to attend all class sessions and participate actively in discussions in order to gain
full participation credit. The professor will provide guidance on what types of comments in class
discussions are acceptable and beneficial for fulfillment of the participation grade. Two unexcused
absences are allowed before the student’s grade is impacted. Completion of online evaluation at the end
of the course is a part of classroom participation and is expected from all students.
Reading Assignments:
There are generally less than fifty pages of reading each week of class, which is less than is usually
assigned for an introductory course in political science. I have assigned less reading because scholarly
writing is denser than standard textbooks. Students must learn to read academic texts differently than
novels or textbooks. Students should be able to summarize the argument of the article and should be able
to discuss them using the terms provided in course lectures. Students will be permitted to use any notes
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taken while reading on inclass
quizzes (not tests). In other words, students are strongly encouraged to
outline their reading assignments.
TeamBased
Learning:
TeamBased
Learning is a proven method for increasing student comprehension, encouraging
participation and discussion and developing critical reading skills. The method is simple. Students are
assigned a group in the first week of classes. Throughout the semester, student progress will be randomly
assessed through pop quizzes. Students will then retake the same quiz as a member of a group. The entire
group must come to unanimous agreement on the answers to the quiz. The student’s grade will be an
average of his or her individual score and the group’s score. The quizzes thus provide an incentive for
students to learn to talk about scholarly literature since students have to convince their colleagues why
they should select a particular answer in order to protect their grades.
Newspaper Requirement:
Students are expected to read the international section of a newspaper daily. Because The New York Times
is available for free on campus, it is highly recommended that students arrive to campus early enough to
obtain a hard copy of the paper. Other acceptable newspapers, all of which are available online, include:
The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Guardian, BBC, Le Monde, alJazeera,
etc. The USA
Today is not an acceptable newspaper for this requirement. Students should expect to spend about thirty
minutes a day reading the news.
Exams:
There are two exams in this class: a midterm and a final exam. The exams are not cumulative. Students
can and are encouraged to study for these exams with their colleagues. The exams will only address
material from readings and lectures (not current events). They will be multiple choice.

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