GOVT 160 - Comparative Politics

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Laboratory (or Other) Hours: 0

General Education Code(s): 23SS, 23WG

Prerequisite(s): None
Restriction(s): None

Corequisite(s): None

This course is an introduction to the histories, institutions and processes of varying types of contemporary political systems. The course will provide an introduction to comparative political theory and examine a few contemporary systems in some detail. The goal is to improve the students’ knowledge of political systems beyond those of the US with particular attention to politics and government systems in a handful of countries including Japan, Britain, Russia and France.

Student Learning Outcomes of the Course: The General Education requirement for Social Sciences is satisfied by GOVT 160. To meet this General Education requirement, students will be able to:

describe major concepts and theories of at least one discipline in the social sciences; and
demonstrate an understanding of the methods social scientists use to explore social phenomena.

The General Education requirement for World History & Global Awareness is satisfied by GOVT 160. To meet this General Education requirement, students will be able to:

demonstrate knowledge of a broad outline of world history and/or the development of the distinctive features of at least one civilization or culture in relation to other regions of the world; and
demonstrate an understanding of the structures, systems, and interrelationship among civilizations and cultures within historical and/or contemporary contexts, and their impact on wellbeing and sustainability.

Course-specific SLOs include:

Understand comparative politics as a subfield of political science, and distinguish comparative from international relations
Understand the major theoretical approaches of the subfield
Understand key concepts including: state, nation, political parties, political and economic ideologies, political culture, democracy, neo-liberalism, globalization, among others
Compare and contrast selected case studies of democratic and authoritarian governments
Compare and contrast different political economies, and identify the main causes of differing levels of economic development
Analyze current events in the context of key concepts in the subfield of comparative politics
Comparatively evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your own political system.