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Department of Political Science Political Science 215 Comparative Politics: Developing Nations Spring 2007
Class Page: class page http://astro.temple.edu/~bstavis/courses/polsci215.htm COURSE OBJECTIVES From newspaper headlines and television images, we think of the third world as an endless sequence of communal violence, civil wars, famine, AIDS, refugee camps, and illegal immigrants, while serving as a source and haven for global terrorism. We agonize about what they can do and what we can do to "save" the unfortunate victims of these tragedies and to protect ourselves from potential threats. But then we have images of the economic powers in East Asia, which only a few decades ago were equally poor, and wonder how to protect ourselves from their competition. Can both of these images be correct? How did things get this way? Why are some countries mired in poverty and strife while a few others are developing rapidly? How does all this matter to us? What can we do to ameliorate the situation? These are the broad issues this course will consider. COURSE CONTENT The underlying theme of the course is that most of the states created at the end of the European colonial rule ("post-colonial states") have faced great difficulty in modernizing. The regions were traditional in cultural values and their economies were primarily agricultural. The new states were artificial, lacking legitimacy and a cohesive political culture. These new states were also affected by the global political and economic system, that provided some opportunities and also put serious constraints on these new states. The transition from traditional life to modern life creates many types of stresses, and these artificial political systems have difficulty managing these changes. In some cases, internal strife is so intense that there really is no "state," in the normal sense; there are "failed states." In other cases, patrimonial systems, with corruption and dictatorship have been widespread. In the post cold war era, weak governments have had less access to foreign aid, and international financial organizations have been imposing many conditions for continued financial support. The last decade has seen some progress towards political democracy in much of the Third World. Whether these new conditions will facilitate long-term development is not yet clear. We will use several types of resources to understand third world dynamics in both an analytical and human way. The textbook Comparative Politics of the Third World will give us an broad analytic perspective. To get a more personal, human view of the issues, we will also use the autobiography of Koigi Wa Wawere, I Refuse to Die. We will use extensive video to give us better images of day to day life and processes. Finally, students will do research papers to probe a narrow issue in depth. This course is an upper level course in political science, suitable for majors in political science and students in other departments interested in the third world. The course has no prerequisites. Disability Statement: This course is open to all students who meet the academic requirements for participation. Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Statement on Academic
Freedom: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets
of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and
Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which
can be accessed through the following link: http://policies.temple.edu/getdoc.asp?policy_no=03.70.02.
REQUIRED READINGS December Green and Laura Luehrmann, Comparative Politics of the Third World (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2003) ISBN1-58826-166-2 Koigi Wa Wamwere, I Refuse to Die, My Journey for Freedom (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002) ISBN 1-58322-521-8. (Copy is available on reserve at the library.) Both books have been ordered at the Temple University Barnes and Noble Book Store. Students may be able to buy used books at an advantageous price on-line. The on-line class schedule has links to websites which are required reading; the links in those sites are also required reading. Students in this course are expected to read regularly the New York Times (or some other periodical of that level, eg. Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Economist), paying special attention to articles about the third world. The Times is available on line and in the newspaper section downstairs in Paley Library and is sold on campus in machines. Off-campus students can get the Times delivered daily at a very advantageous student price in areas where there is regular home delivery. Contact the New York Times College Program at 610-660-9940 and/or 1-800-631-1222 for information. The instructor will frequently send email with hypertext links to significant articles on the web (particularly the New York Times website). Students should register with the New York Times (no charge) to facilitate access to these sites. The articles should be accessed promptly as the New York Times leaves most articles available for free for only 7 days. ATTENDANCE Class discussions and lectures will supplement and highlight materials in the readings. Regular class attendance is necessary to master the materials of the course and is expected (except when not possible because of illness, funerals, job interviews, etc.). Students are, of course, responsible for all material in all classes. Students who miss a class have the responsibility to find out from classmates (or the instructor) the material covered in that class. IStudents are urged to print the on-line lecture notes prior to each class and to add notes to this. Students find this way they are not pre-occupied with note taking and are more able to take part in discussion. OFFICE HOURS Students are encouraged to contact me if they have any questions about the course. I can provide academic advising in Political Science and Asian Studies. Email is most convenient.
I check my email several times a day. bstavis@temple.edu
Office hours: TuThur
1:30-2:15, 4:15-5:00
COMPUTER UTILIZATION Students who have not done so already should obtain a computer account and develop the necessary skills. Temple University has frequent training programs and many computer laboratories available for student use. For students with computers and modems at home, using an account on the university's unix system (astro, nimbus, thunder) will provide full access to the extensive electronic resources in Temple's library. For the term paper, students will utilize special limited-access resources on the Temple University library website. Because these materials are password controlled, you will need to use a campus computer or log onto the Temple system through through the Temple proxy server. Instructions to do this are located at: Materials for this course, including lecture notes and study guides, will be distributed on the internet, athttp://www.temple.edu/cs/connect/proxy/contents.html http://astro.temple.edu/~bstavis/courses/polsci215.htm Students are strongly encouraged to use email to reach the faculty and other students. The class has a email listserv to facilitate class interaction. The instructor will subscribe students to the listserv. Email sent to the class listserv will be "monitored" and delivered to everyone who is signed onto the list if appropriate. This provides a simple way for class discussions to be continued and for me to reach all students with new insights or suggestions. This is especially useful when preparing for exams. Send your comments to me and class members to: <polsci215-stavis@listserv.temple.edu> Archives of listserv are located at: <http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/polsci215-stavis.html> (Make this a bookmark or a favorite place.) Term papers for this course should be typed or printed by word processor and may be submitted as attached files to email. WITHDRAWLS AND INCOMPLETES If students who are properly enrolled in the course decide to withdraw from the course, they must be inform the instructor and submit appropriate forms to the academic advising office by the deadline, roughly in the ninth week of classes. Failure to manage the paper work usually results in the course staying on the transcript and the grade being an "F". Students should be very careful to manage paper work properly within deadlines to avoid this unfortunate result. Students who want a grade
of Incomplete so that they have a little extra time to make up assignments
or tests should discuss this with the instructor in advance. The
professor allows incompletes for medical or similar problems that make
it impossible for the student to comlete the work within the normal academic
calendar. University policy requires students to sign a contract
with the professor concerning the work remaining, the time for copletion,
and the default grade if the work is not done. Students should download
the appropriate form, available at the bottom of the "Undergraduate Studies"page
of the Political Science website: http://astro.temple.edu/~bstavis/ps/undergrad.htm
.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING Requirements: Scores on assignments and
tests will be weighted as follows:
Test , 1, 2, will cover material in class lectures and all readings. The Final exam is comprehensive. Study guides are on the class web site. Quizes will be in the form of multiple choice or brief written reports. Term Paper: Students will write a research report that links some analytical theme from the course with the experience of a country or region of the third world, based on scholarly literature and/or empirical data. 1. The first element of the term paper is a prospectus. The prospectus has three elements. First, it must present a concise, statement of the theme of the paper. 2. Second, the prospectus
must include a preliminary bibliography with references to books and journal
articles that provide assurance that you can locate materials on your topic.
Students should the library's powerful searching tool for books at:
Also, use the search tools
that include academic journals as well as books, available at:
This site accesses comprehensive
search resources such as:
For more specialized third
world resources such as:
(Note: For this link to work, you must be using a university computer or accesing the university through its proxy server. For information on how to do this, check here.) The sources listed in http://astro.temple.edu/~bstavis/courses/215annex.htm can be helpful. In addition, consult the bibliography at http://astro.temple.edu/~bstavis/courses/bib442.htm. If you find a good book or article that is not available at the Temple Library, ask Interlibrary loan (in basement) to get it for you. 3. Third, the prospectus
must be presented at a professional level, to ensure that the final term
paper will also be presented properly. The prosectus must
include at least two footnotes and a bibliography in a proper, academic
format. For footnote format, select the format of an academic political
science journal, and follow that model PRECISELY. You must include photocopies
of a couple of pages of the model you select that show the footnote style
you are emulating.
For citations to the internet: If the internet citation is previously published (on paper) material, give the full citation to the original paper document, followed by "available on the web at (give URL)."The final written report (term paper) should be 8-12 pages (double spaced) long. The paper MUST use footnotes to cite the publications discussed. Your footnote format must conform to the principle stated above with regard to the prospectus. Both the prospectus and the final written report must be a finished piece of work, at an "adult standard" of presentation. This means typed, double space, one side of the paper, reasonable margins, neat, accurately spelled, page numbers on the pages, and stapled together, etc. If you are using a dot matrix printer, try to print the final draft using "near letter quality." I prefer that you not use covers for your report. Papers that are not at an adult level of presentation will be returned for revision. Adult level of presentation requires proper grammar, including agreement between subject and verb, consistency in verb tense, etc. Poor spelling and typographic errors must be avoided. Avoid confusion of the plural (...s) with the possessive singular (...'s) and possessive plural (...s'). Misuse of homonyms such as their-there-they're, its-it's, to-too-two, whether-weather, due-do-dew, principle-principal, site-sight-cite, red-read, son-sun, capitol-capital, steel-steal, etc., are unacceptable. "Spell-checker" misses these errors. You must proofread carefully. See "COMMON MISTAKES THAT SPELL CHECKER OVERLOOKS," http://astro.temple.edu/~bstavis/courses/spell.htm. In the long run, writing is one of the most valuable skills you will learn in college. This course is not a writing or grammar course, but it does expect you to present yourself on paper in a mature way. If you need additional help in writing, please visit the Writing Center (201 Tuttleman Hall, 204-0700) and arrange for specialized instruction (free). For more information about format, I suggest you get a book such as Kate Turabian, Student's Guide for Writing Papers, or Chicago Manual of Style. If you share with me a rough draft two weeks before the due date, I will give you comments that can be used in improving the final draft. Students should keep a copy (or original) of their term papers so it can serve as a sample of writing to accompany applications for jobs or graduate school. If papers are not returned during the semester, students should pick up papers during the following semester. I will not be responsible for papers not picked up after one semester. Oral Report (note: depends on how large the class is this term): Students will give brief (10 minute) oral reports in class on their research projects. This will give a chance to organize the materials and get oral feedback about the report. The oral report is not graded. Makeup Policy: If realities of life (illness, funerals, etc.) create irreconcilable scheduling conflicts with exams, contact me IN ADVANCE. I will try to work out a suitable alternative, generally before the normal exam time. I will be less flexible if you wait until after the event to explain why you missed it. Written assignments handed in late will be penalized. ACADEMIC HONESTY We learn in a group environment, but we must demonstrate our mastery of materials on an individual basis. Misrepresenting other people's work as one's own is a serious breach of academic honesty. I manage the class on the basis of trust in each student's academic honesty, and this enables our class to be informal and flexible. The other side of the coin is that any act that undermines this trust in academic honesty is a serious matter.
The study of politics inevitably touches on sensitive and controversial topics. Indeed, a primary assumption in political science is that people have different and conflicting interests, reflecting their different conditions, needs, cultures, values, etc. Political science analyzes the actual, empirical process by which these conflicting values are managed and resolved. The discipline can not say what are the correct or good policy choices; at best it can suggest the likely outcome of policy choices. Accordingly, in this course, we will strive to find agreement on descriptions of empirical reality and political dynamics and relationships. We should expect disagreement on personal values and policy choices. My job is to help you understand the logic of empirical processes and of alternative policy choices. My personal values and preferences are irrelevant to this course. Tests and written assignments will be cover the empirical aspects of politics and will have no connection to anyone's value or policy preferences. STRATEGIES FOR DOING WELL IN THIS CLASS Ultimately, your grade depends on your ability to master the material. I can assign materials to read and lecture about them; but only you can actually integrate the materials into your own thinking. As you read, ask yourself, "What is important here? What are general principles, and what are examples? Why does Prof. Stavis want me to remember this name or date?" Focus on learning the structure of concepts and the examples that demonstrate them, rather than trying to memorize disconnected facts. The lectures will highlight the most important principles and examples, so regular class attendance is extremely useful to master the materials of the course and is expected. Print up class lecture notes from the internet before class, and add your notes to the printed ones. These will be extremely useful in preparing for quizzes and tests. Quizzes and tests will emphasize major concepts, institutions, and policies, as well as some names and dates that provide the vocabulary for understanding major themes. Review your lecture notes and readings. Use the study guides (on the internet) to organize your review of materials for the tests. In fact, print up the study guides early and add notes on them as various topics are covered in class. For the term paper, follow precisely the instructions given above. If you approach the class in this spirit, you should find the class easy and you should do well. GRADES Final grades will be earned
on the basis of mastery of the materials.
Return to class page at:
http://astro.temple.edu/~bstavis/courses/polsci215.htm
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