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DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES
SEMESTER 2
2018/2019 ACADEMIC YEAR
COURSE SYLLABUS
POLI 214: Introduction to Comparative
Politics (3-CREDITS)
Instructors:
Dr. Hassan Wahab
Office:
Pol. Sci. Dept. Room #13
Email: hwahab@ug.edu.gh
Office Hours: Mon. 11:00AM - 1:00PM or by Appointment Wed. 10:00AM –
12:00PM or by Appointment
Course
Location & Times:
Main Campus:
JQB23 (Group A): Thur. 7:30 - 9:20AM
JQB22 (Group B): Tues. 9:30 - 11:20AM
JQB22 (Group C): Mon. 13:30 - 15:20PM
City Campus:
ICT LAB 3: Tues. 2:30AM - 4:30PM
Course Summary and Objectives:
This course offers an introduction to comparative politics.
Politics is the authoritative allocation of resources. Comparative politics
compares the pursuit of power across states. The goal of comparative politics
is to understand the political diversity that exists in the world, and the ways
that politics and policy shape people’s opportunities to lead fulfilling lives.
Over the course of the semester, we will study political institutions,
processes, and outcomes both across and within developed and developing
states. We will also learn about
democratic and non-democratic regimes. When possible, I will invite guest
speakers—academics from different institutions around the world, political
practitioners and policy makers—to make presentations to the class.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the course, I expect students to be able
to:
1. identify,
describe and/or analyze various elements of comparative politics, including the
need for why questions, operational definitions, common concepts in comparative
politics, etc.;
2. identify,
describe, and/or analyze the manifestations and features of key institutions in
comparative politics, particularly constitutions and the branches of
government: the legislative, executive, and judiciary;
3. familiarize
yourself with four country profiles and cases—United Kingdom, United States of
America, Russia, and Nigeria (Note: it is presumed that all students in this
course know the country profile of Ghana), and
4. share
your knowledge with friends, family and peers.
Academic Honesty:
All University policies regarding academic honesty will be
strictly enforced. Plagiarism, cheating or academic misconduct in any manner
will not be tolerated. While most
examples of misconduct are blatantly obvious (i.e., you may not pay someone to
take your final exam for you!), knowing when and how to acknowledge and appropriately
cite sources is something you may have to learn. For example, even if you acknowledge the
source, you cannot stay too close to the language of the original source when
paraphrasing. If you are not sure about anything, please do not hesitate to see
me, and we can go over it together. I encourage you to familiarize yourselves
with the University’s policy regarding academic misconduct. This policy is
available at http://www.ug.edu.gh/aqau/policies-guidelines.
Students with Special Needs:
Students with special needs should
register with the Office of Students
with Special Needs, located in the
University of Ghana Computing Services (UGCS) building, next to the Student
Financial Aid Office; Tel: +233-24-457-5177; E-mail: ossnug@gmail.com.
Please contact me as soon as possible so that appropriate accommodation can be
arranged.
Assessment:
TWO assessment mechanisms will be used in this course: (1)
Interim Assessment exams, and (2) Final Exams. The format for these exams will
be one or a combination of fill-in-the-blanks, short essay, and long essay
questions.
Interim Assessment (IA):
This assessment component will comprise two in-class IA exams. These exams will
take place on the fourth and eighth weeks of the semester. Each IA will be worth
15%. The IA exams will be based on the content of the readings, lectures,
discussion sections, and news items covered at that stage of the course.
Final Exam: Worth 70%
of the final grade, this exam will be based on the content of the readings,
lectures, and discussions covered over the entire course.
Grading Scale: Please
refer to the Undergraduate Handbook
Disclaimer: I
reserve the right to change any readings, dates and requirements listed in this
syllabus. If this occurs, every effort
will be made to announce the changes well in advance. You are responsible for any changes made and
announced in class.
Course Policies
Regular attendance is a key determinant of success in this
course and is required. While students are expected, nay, required, to do their
readings before they come to class, the readings serve as a background, not as
a substitute, for the lectures and class discussions. Not only do I expect
students to attend classes, I also expect students to ask questions and
participate in class discussions. I strongly encourage students to ask
questions during class. I will not entertain students who come to me
immediately after a class session to ask questions pertaining to that class
when they could have asked those questions during the class to the benefit of
all students.
You may use laptops and tablets to take notes during class.
If you choose to do so, you MUST ask permission from me, and you MUST sit in
the front row.
Please turn off your cell phones, MP3 players, etc. before
class begins. The use of cell phones in class is PROHIBITED. If your cell phone
rings/vibrates up to three times in class during the semester, you will be
asked to leave the class for DISRUPTION. Additionally, please refrain from:
frequently arriving late for class; talking, sleeping, texting, or studying
other materials in class; and leaving class early. In general, please be polite
and respectful to everyone in this class. I reserve the right to apply
appropriate sanctions for consistently discourteous classroom behavior in
accordance with the University of Ghana policies.
During both the IA and final examinations, please note that
you may NOT be allowed to leave the examination room until you have submitted
your exam.
NOTE: I have
indicated my office hours above. Please respect that. I reserve the right to
NOT see any student who shows up in my office outside office hours and without
appointment.
Text Books:
O’Neal, Patrick H., Karl Fields and Don Share (OFS). Cases in Comparative Politics, 5th ed.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company Ltd, 2015.
Caramani, Daniele,
ed. Comparative Politics, 3rd ed. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2014. All class readings will be provided to
students as PDFs
Course
Reading and Class Schedule:
Week
1 (Feb 4 – 8): Introduction to the Course
Readings:
Week 2 (Feb 11 – 15): What is Comparative Politics?
Readings:
OFS, Chapter 1
Week
3 (Feb18–Feb
22): Democracies Readings:
Caramani, Chapter 5
Week
4 (Feb 25–March 1): Authoritarian Regimes
Readings due:
Caramani, Chapter 6
Week
5 (Mar 4–March 8): Legislatures (Note: First IA) Readings:
Caramani, Chapter 7
Week
6 (Mar 11-March 15): Governments and Bureaucracies Readings:
Caramani, Chapter 8
Week
7 (Mar 18-Mar 22): Constitutions and Judicial Power Readings:
Caramani, Chapter 9
Week
8 (Mar 25-Mar 29): Federal and Local Government Institutions Readings:
Caramani, Chapter 11
Week
9 (Apr 1-Apr 5): Political Parties (Note: Second IA)
Readings:
Caramani, Chapter 12
Week
10 (Apr 8-Apr 12): United Kingdom Readings:
OFS, Chapter 2
Week
11 (Apr 16-Apr 20): United States Readings:
OFS, Chapter 3
Week
12 (Apr 22-Apr 26): Russia Readings:
OFS, Chapter 7
Week 13 (Apr 29-May 3):
Nigeria [Teaching Ends] Readings:
OFS,
Chapter 14
Week 14 (May 6-May 10):
REVISION
Week 15 (May 11-June 2):
FINAL EXAMS
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