POLIS 1104 - Introduction to Comparative Politics

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2018

The Rise of China, India and the European Union, alongside other regional powers such as Japan and Russia, has raised questions about the United States' continued dominance in global politics and economics. It has also opened a debate about competing models of political and socio-economic development and their effectiveness in promoting economic growth, political stability and social equity. Employing theories, concepts and methods of Comparative Politics, this course compares and contrasts the developmental paths taken by major global and regional powers. While analysing their political history, political and economic systems, as well as political cultures and social issues, it also reflects upon the policy-making processes, the efficacy of diverse political and economic arrangements and solutions to critical social problems states and nations face in the early 21st century.

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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 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 print

Recommended 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 (A useful collection of world newspaper URLs)
Longman Comparative Politics Reference Site (a good geography test, some useful basic country data, and a few internet links)
Comparative Politics: practice tests

Comparative Politics, Working Papers at Yale University:

Columbia University Resource Site:

Democracy at Large: Foreign Government Resources:
Governments on the WWW:
Poly-Cy Guide to Internet Resources for Political Science:

Country Study Sites

Area Studies (@ Keele University):
BBC Country Profiles:
CIA World Factbook:
Cultural Profiles Project:
Economist Country Briefings:
Human Development Reports:
Library of Congress Country Studies:
The National Bureau of Asian Research:
Political Database of the Americas:
Profiles of Countries and Regions:

A Selection of Comparative Politics Journals:

African Studies Quarterly:
Asian Survey:
Comparative Politics:
Comparative Political Studies:
Development:
Problems of Post-communism:
Third World Quarterly:
Journals in area studies:
Cambridge series in comparative politics (books):

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 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 Politics
Week 2	States and nations Key concepts in Comparative Politics
Week 3	The United States: political history and political system
Week 4	The United States: domestic contests China: political history
Week 5	China: political system and domestic contests
Week 6	Comparing the USA and China The European Union: history of European integration
Week 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 India
Week 10	Japan: political history and political system
Week 11	Japan: domestic contests Russia: political history and political system
Week 12	Russia: domestic contests Comparing Japan and Russia

Small Group Discovery Experience

All tutorial activities are structured around small group learning that encourages and supports team work and a lively exchange of ideas.

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% weighting

Submission

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 .

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.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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