Demir - POL2260 - Intro to CP Fall 23 Syllabus

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Baruch College, CUNY *

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2260

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Political Science

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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pdf

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1 POL2260 – INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS FALL 2023 SYLLABUS Instructor: Guney Demir Office Hours: Wednesdays 10.30-12.30 PM on Zoom or by appointment E-Mail: gdemir@gradcenter.cuny.edu Class Location and Time: Monday and Wednesday 9.05 – 10.20 Online-Synchronous (On Zoom ) COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is an introduction to the comparative study of the politics of countries all around the world. Students will not only learn to think critically about the politics of the world around them, but they will also develop a deep knowledge of individual countries and learn how and when general political concepts and structures are likely to transcend individual country circumstances. They will also learn how to discern which concepts and structures are not comparable across country contexts. This course should also enable students to question typical categorizations of countries and encourages students to explore the impact of the changing global context. As such, it has three primary objectives: (i) to introduce students to the major questions in comparative politics, (ii) to familiarize them with the field's best answers, and (iii) to teach them the tools necessary to think critically about those answers. After a brief discussion of the state of the discipline, the method of comparative political science, and how it relates to actual politics, we will focus on the following set of substantively important questions organized around five main themes in comparative politics: What is the state and where did it come from? How can (or why can’t) nation-states unite individuals within their borders? What is democracy and what is not a democracy? Why are some countries democracies whereas others are dictatorships? How might we explain transitions to and from democracy? When and why do revolutions occur? When and why do people go to the streets and protest? Diverse methodologies will be examined for each theme, with case studies drawn from all parts of the globe and from states with diverse political and economic conditions. COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, students will - have a general understanding of the historical development of intellectual trends in the field of comparative politics. - be introduced to some of the methodologies utilized in comparative politics and will learn to identify the benefits and trade-offs associated with each of them. - be able to articulate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and construct different models of comparative analysis. - learn how to compare different sorts of state structures and conditions and explain how those might affect the politics of that state generally and in specific case study examples. - engage different arguments about the impact of culture, ethnicity, ideology, and societal structures on political processes within countries, both generally and in application to specific cases. - learn to identify different types of regime structures, as well as the different perspectives regarding how different regime structures obtain and maintain power and which factors affect a regime’s durability - learn to identify different ways and conditions under which people show and/or organize their discontent

2 PLEASE NOTE!!! I want you to succeed in this course! Believe it or not, it makes me feel terrible when students are unengaged, frustrated, or completely lost. Remember, this is material that I find exciting or interesting, so while you might not come to share my enthusiasm, I really do want you to have a good experience intellectually in this course. If you feel that you are having difficulties following the material or discussions, please let me know immediately! I am available to meet you outside of class to review the material and answer any and all questions, I cannot help you if you do not let me know. Please do not let days or weeks go by without reaching out. TEXTS, ARTICLES AND BLACKBOARD Books, Articles and Book Chapters: There are required readings from various resources. They will be made available on Blackboard . Please make sure to check Blackboard regularly, both for readings and announcements that pertain to the course. Also, please make sure you regularly check your BARUCH EMAIL account, as course announcements and, possibly, individual emails will be sent there. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING A. Readings: You should complete all readings before the first class meeting for which they are assigned. This is particularly important for this class. Try to plan ahead, as some classes require significantly more reading than others do. Also, the readings require careful thought, and some material may have to be read multiple times to understand fully its content and implications. B. Assignments I. Attendance and Class Participation: Participation is about listening as well as talking, and you will not be rewarded for dominating class discussions. The quality of your contributions is all that matters, particularly when they demonstrate a good grasp of reading – and engage with your classmates. Also, there will be discussion sessions, where you, individually or in a group, will discuss and write a very brief answer to the discussion questions I propose to increase your engagement with the material. II. Quizzes: There will be six quizzes that have been scheduled at the end of every topic (two quizzes for regimes topic). The lowest grade will be dropped, so you’ll have a total of 5 quiz grades. Check the class schedule at the end of the syllabus to see tentative quiz dates. These quizzes will be based on readings, as well as class lectures. The quizzes are not cumulative and will only cover one topic at a time and aim to test if you understand the concepts, theories, and methods we discussed. I will distribute the quiz questions at the end of the classes, and you will have time until the end of the day to submit your answers. III. Paper Proposal: The main outcome of this course is the final paper. Before the paper, I want you to submit a proposal, explaining what you plan to do in your final paper. Detailed instructions will be distributed, but basically, you will write one paragraph summarizing your prospective paper (which topic you choose, which countries, etc.), and a tentative bibliography –the list of resources you intend to use in your final paper. The due is November 3 rd . IV. Final Paper: Each student will write one paper, 7-10 pages in length. An assignment prompt for the paper will be distributed in class but basically, you pick one of the topics (or more) we studied in the class and at least two countries and analyze these countries. For example, you may want to explain the emergence and the current characteristics of the state in the country; and/or the development of nationalism or identity politics in the country; and/or regime type or the episodes of regime transformation in the country; and/or episodes of contentious politics. In the paper, you will need to explain why you choose the specific theory, showing the strengths of your theoretical choice as opposed to alternative approaches to the same phenomena, and you will explain your case selection criterion (why and how studying these cases will help our understanding of the phenomena? How the number of cases you select will be more helpful than more cases?)

3 Component/Assignment Percentage of Course Grade Attendance and Class participation 10% Quizzes (6 quizzes, lowest grade will be dropped) 30% Paper Proposal 15% Final Paper 45% Your final letter grade will be assigned based on the following scale: A 93-100 A- 90-92.9 B+ 87.1-89.9 B 83-87 B- 80-82.9 C+ 77.1-79.9 C 73-77 C- 70-72.9 D+ 67.1-69.9 D 63-67 D- 60-62.9 F Below 60 CLASS POLICIES A. Late Assignments: You must submit your assignments on its due, however, in case of emergency, you need to notify me. Assignments turned in late without prior arrangement will suffer a penalty of 3 points off per day late. B. Extra credit policy: I do not give extra credit. Students are expected to have (or quickly develop) good study skills that will give them ample time to read the material, write the assignments, and prepare for the exams. Students who individually approach me asking for opportunities for more work to increase disappointing grades will be refused. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES It is college policy to provide accommodations and academic adjustments for students with disabilities. Any student with a disability who may need accommodations in this class is requested to speak directly to Student Disability Services as early in the semester as possible. All discussions will remain confidential. Student Disability Services is located in the Newman Vertical Campus, Room 2-272, and are available at (646) 312- 4590 and disability.services@baruch.cuny.edu . For additional information, please visit: https://provost.baruch.cuny.edu/facultyhandbook/disabilities_provostsmemo/ ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Baruch College policy states, “Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism, and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college’s educational mission and the student’s personal

4 and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned.” 1 Additional information regarding Baruch College’s policy on Academic Integrity is available at: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html THE WRITING CENTER The Writing Center offers free, professional writing support for all undergraduate and graduate students at Baruch, through one-to-one consultations, workshops, peer review groups, written feedback, online resources, and a journal of outstanding student writing. We support faculty through classroom visits, in-class workshops, referral forms, and workshop lesson plans, and we’re always available for conversations about teaching and writing. More information is available at http://writingcenter.baruch.cuny.edu/ , by calling (646-312-4012), or by emailing the Center at writing.center@baruch.cuny.edu . 2 This syllabus may be changed at the instructor’s discretion. Students will be informed in a timely manner of any changes. Course Schedule Introduction Monday, August 28 th : The syllabus and assignment instructions Topic 1: Concepts and Methodology Wednesday, August 30 th : What is comparative politics: Introduction to terminology, what is a theory, concept, variable, etc. Why compare? Readings : Sartori, Giovanni. 1991. Comparing and Miscomparing. Journal of theoretical politics , 3(3), 243-257. Monday, September 4 th : No class scheduled!! Wednesday, September 6 th : Evolution of the field – Epistemological traditions (positivism vs. interpretivism) Readings : Gabriel A. Almond and Stephen J. Genko. 1977. “Clouds, Clocks, and the Study of Politics,” World Politics 29, no. 4 (July): 489-522. Read= 489-505 1 Baruch College Student Development & Counseling. (2002, August). Academic Honesty. Retrieved from https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html 2 Baruch College. (2017, July 30). Academic Support Services for Baruch Students. Retreived from https://provost.baruch.cuny.edu/facultyhandbook/academicsupportservices/

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