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Faculty of Humanities School of Social Sciences Politics FACULTY OF HUMANITIES SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES POLITICS COURSE UNIT OUTLINE 2018/19 POLI10201: INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS Semester: 1 Credits: 20 Lecturer: Rosalind Shorrocks Room: Arthur Lewis Building 4.041 Telephone: x54437 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Book via SOHOL at http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/intranet/ug/sohol/ Lecturer: Nicole Martin Room: Arthur Lewis Building 4.040 Telephone: xXXXX Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Book via SOHOL at http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/intranet/ug/sohol/ Tutors: Daniel Silver (Teaching Associate): [email protected] Elizabeth Alexander Evan Vellis Lectures: Thursday 11am-12pm. Schuster Building, Moseley Theatre Friday 12pm-1pm. Mansfield Cooper Building, Theatre G19 Tutorials: Allocate yourself to a tutorial group using the Student System Mode of assessment: 1500 word essay and 2 hour exam Reading Week: Monday 29th October – Friday 2nd November 2018 Administrator: Luke Smith, [email protected] 0161 306 6906 Jay Burke, [email protected] 0161 275 2499 UG Office G.001 Arthur Lewis Building ***IMPORTANT INFORMATION – ASSESSMENT*** Mode of Assessment Assessment Weighting Deadline Essay 40% 2pm, 12th November 2018 Participation 10% Tutorials and Preparation Examination 50% January Exam Period Communication: Students must read their University e-mails regularly, as important information will be communicated in this way. Examination period: 14.01.2019 – 25.01.2019 Re-sit Examination period: 19.08.2019 – 30.08.2019 Extensions (see Politics Course Unit Guide Part II Page 29) Different schools have different procedures for submitting mitigating circusmtances requests. You MUST submit applications through your home schools procedures regardless of whether it is a politics essay. School of Social Sciences We have moved to an online system to submit applications for mitigating circumstances. Information about the new system and the help and support that is available for you in the School is available at http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/student- intranet/undergraduate/help-and-support/mitigating-circumstances/ School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Information on mitigating circusmtances and the link to the online application form can be found at http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/studentintranet/support/mitigatingcircumstances/ School of Law You can access information and the link to the online form through your Programme Page on Blackboard. Please know that you can also speak to your home school/Programme Administrator in person to discuss your situation so they can help you to access the necessary help and support you need. o Politics & International Relations: [email protected] / [email protected] o Philosophy, Politics & Economics: [email protected] o BA Social Sciences: [email protected] o BA(Econ): [email protected] / [email protected] o School of Arts, Languages & Cultures: [email protected] o School of Law: [email protected] * Please note that the Student Support Officer in the School of Law is Ian Glassey so if you have any ongoing support needs please contact him directly at [email protected] Late Submission of Essays There will be a penalty of 10 points per day for up to 5 days (including weekends) for any assessed work submitted after the specified submission date, unless the student’s Home School grants an extension. After 5 days a mark of 0 will be assigned. Please note a "day" is 24 hours, i.e. the clock starts ticking as soon as the submission deadline has passed. There are no discretionary periods or periods of grace. A student who submits work at 1 second past a deadline or later will therefore be subject to a penalty for late submission. COURSE OVERVIEW This course introduces students to key concepts and debates within comparative politics. The first half of the course will compare democracies and non-democracies as well as why regimes transition between the two. The course will then focus on institutional arrangements within democracies, including parliamentary and presidential systems, majoritarianism and consensus democracies, and different types of electoral systems. Students will understand the differences between these types of institutional arrangements, as well as their likely outcomes in a number of spheres. AIMS POLI10201 Introduction to Comparative Politics provides a foundation for the study of comparative politics. It aims to introduce students to the comparative method, the role of government, and the variety of institutional forms that are common in modern states. Using examples from a variety of countries, students encounter different regime and institution types. They will achieve this by analysing comparative politics research evidence (including quantitative material), and by using examples of these from multiple different countries and regions of the world. LEARNING OUTCOMES In this course, students will: Knowledge and Understanding Learn some of the characteristics of major institutional forms common in modern states, such as varieties of democracies, electoral systems, legislatures, and executives, as well as the main features of democracies and non-democracies. Develop a critical awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of these institutional forms. Develop an awareness and familiarity with substantive material in comparative politics which uses quantitative methods Intellectual Skills Learn some of the basic research tools of political studies, such as conceptual analysis, comparison over time and space, causal explanation (i.e. what happens), and normative evaluation (i.e. whether what happens is good or bad). Analyse political institutions, procedures and behaviour across a number of different democratic and non-democratic countries. Practical skills Practice skills of verbal argumentation and persuasion. Demonstrate the ability to manage own time to meet multiple deadlines and complete a sustained period of work. Transferable Skills Develop the ability to communicate ideas in writing and verbally. Develop the ability to critically evaluate both theoretical arguments and empirical evidence. Personal qualities Engage in critical self-reflection and an awareness of other alternative points of view. TEACHING AND LEARNING Lectures There are TWO 50 minute lectures per week. They are held at 11am-12pm on Thursdays and 12pm-1pm on Fridays. Lectures are shared between Dr Rosalind Shorrocks and Dr Nicole Martin. Lecture attendance is compulsory. Lectures will include student participation. Lectures start in week 1. Tutorials A tutorial is a small group meeting where you discuss a topic from the course. You are required to prepare for tutorials. Preparation will include 1) reading a textbook chapter and one other short reading; and 2) a short exercise. More details on the readings and exercises can be found in the detailed course structure below. You should anticipate the preparation taking about 5 hours per tutorial. Successful tutorials depend upon informed student participation. There are TEN tutorial meetings during the year. Tutorial attendance is compulsory and participation (including preparation) accounts for 10% of your final mark. You are expected to make every effort to attend all tutorials on this course: attendance at tutorials is recorded and non-attendance will be reported to your degree programme. If you know in advance that circumstances beyond your control will prevent you from attending a tutorial, you should contact your tutor. You are responsible for allocating yourself to a tutorial group. Tutorials start from week 2. Your tutor will inform you of their feedback and guidance hour when you can discuss any aspects of the course with them. Students are responsible for ensuring that their POLI10201 tutorial group does not clash with their classes for their other course units. ASSESSMENT POLI10201 is assessed by: 1. Tutorial Preparation and Participation: 10% 2. 1500 Word Essay: 40% 3. A Two-Hour Exam in the January Examination Period: 50% Tutorial Preparation and Participation (10%) The participation grade is assessed on the quality and consistency of preparation and engagement in tutorials. Engagement in tutorials: Students are expected to be attentive in tutorials, to contribute to discussions, and to listen respectfully to their tutors and other students. Preparation: There will be two pieces of compulsory reading before each tutorial, one textbook chapter and one other short reading. There will be a compulsory written exercise each week, to be completed and submitted prior to your tutorial via Blackboard. This will form the basis of part of the tutorial discussion and is not about competing the exercise with the ‘correct’ answers, but instead to encourage a critical engagement with the material in the reading and enable a fruitful discussion in tutorials. Students will not receive grades on their preparation, but it will be used to assess participation grades for students as part of the overall participation assessment. There will be a provision for students registered with DASS to upload audio recordings of their pre-tutorial exercises, where appropriate. Essay Imagine that you work for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a foreign policy advisor. You have been asked to assess the likelihood of democratisation in a country. Pick ONE of: 1) Turkey; 2) Honduras; 3) Belarus OR 4) Saudi Arabia. Write
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