Augustana College
POLS301: Introduction to Political Science
Fall 2019-2020
Instructor: Dave Dehnel
This course is the first of the required sequence for political science majors (along with 302). It provides an overview of the discipline and its subfields. By surveying the major issues, questions, and themes of the subfields of political science, this course will help students think consciously about how being a political science major equips them to both interpret current events and critically evaluate domestic and international institutions. Parallel goals of this course include helping students begin the process of formulating questions that will motivate their senior inquiry process and create a sense of community among political science majors and faculty.
Course Goals:
· Learning key concepts and theories of the discipline of political science.
· Learning to apply concepts and theories of the subfields of political science—American politics, political theory, comparative politics, and international relations—to current political debates.
· Learning how to find and use political science scholarship to formulate questions for senior inquiry.
· Working with and learning from your fellow Political Science majors.
Required Text:
Grigsby, Ellen. (2015) Analyzing Politics. 6th edition. California: Wadsworth.
We will also be discussing current events daily, so you should have regular access to news sources in order to participate effectively. Here are a few useful sites to help you get started:
BBC World News www.bbcnews.com
NPR News http://www.npr.org/
The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com
The New York Times www.nytimes.com
The Economist www.economist.com
A List of All Newspapers http://www.world-newspapers.com/
Contacting Me Outside of Class
Office: 312 Old Main Phone: 794-7235 E-mail: daviddehnel@augustana.edu
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 2:00-300; Tuesday and Thursday, 10:30-11:30
Feel free to contact me for an appointment at other times.
Rules and Policies
1. Regular attendance is required. Students who miss class are responsible for finding out about any assignments, handouts, etc. that they missed.
2. Reading responses are due at the beginning of class, or they may be submitted by email before the class period begins. I recommend email submission.
3. Assignments turned in late will be penalized. Late assignments will not be accepted if they are more than two weeks late or submitted after Friday, December 13.
4. Please do not take bathroom breaks during class.
5. Use of electronic devices for non-class purposes is inappropriate.
Course Requirements and Grading
Two group presentations 20%
8 of 10 Reading reflections 40%
Draft Annotated Bibliography 5%
Annotated bibliography 20%
Class participation 15%
Letter grades are calculated using the following system:
|
100%-97% |
A+ |
|
96%-93% |
A |
|
92%-90% |
A- |
|
89%-87% |
B+ |
|
86%-83% |
B |
|
82%-80% |
B- |
|
79%-77% |
C+ |
|
76%-73% |
C |
|
72%-70% |
C- |
|
69%-60% |
D |
|
59%-0% |
F |
Group presentations: The purpose of these will be to apply core political science concepts (as described in the readings from Ellen Grigsby’s book) to current political events. The groups will lead class discussions of the concepts/events. A peer evaluation and self-evaluation will be a component of your grade.
Reading responses: You will be asked to engage with and reflect on the reading assignment for the day. This will help prepare you to participate in the class discussions. I will give you a specific prompt for each week.
Annotated bibliography: In the latter part of the term, you will be asked to formulate a political science research question that you find interesting. You will find 5-6 quality sources related to your question, and write two paragraphs summarizing and reflecting on each source. You will turn in a draft and have an opportunity to revise based on my feedback.
Class participation: Students who attend all class meetings but rarely participate in discussion will get a B- (80%) for this component of the grade. Absences will lower the grade, active participation will raise it.
Schedule
Week One (September 3): Course Introduction
Week Two (September 10): What is Political Science?
Reading: Chapter 1 and pp. 20-43; Cohen, “Field Study: Just How Relevant Is Political Science?” (handout)
Reading response #1 due
Week 3 (September 17): Political Ideologies in Democracies
Reading: Chapter 5
Reading response #2 due
Two group presentations
Week 4 (September 24) Political Theory as a Sub-field
Reading: Chapters 4 and 7
Reading response #3 due
Two group presentations
Guest: Dr. Jasmine Noelle-Yarish
Week 5 (October 1): Democracy in Comparative Perspective
Reading: Pp. 61-76 and chapter 8
Reading response #4 due
Two group presentations
Week 6 (October 8): American Politics as a Sub-field
Reading: Chapter 9
Reading response #5 due
Two group presentations
Guest: Dr. Maruice Mangum
Week 7 (October 15): Comparative Study of Political Institutions
Reading: Chapter 10
Reading response #6 due
Two group presentations
Week 8 (October 22): Comparative Politics as a Sub-field
Reading: TBA
Reading response #7 due
Guest: Dr. Mariano Magalhaes
Week 9 (October 29): Perspectives on International Relations
Reading chapter 11
Reading response #8 due
Two group presentations
Week 10 (November 5): International Relations as a Sub-field
Reading: TBA
Reading response #9 due
Guest: Dr. Xiaowen Zhang
Week 11 (November 12): Law and Politics
Reading TBA
Reading response #10 due
Week 12 (November 19): Formulating a Research Question
Reading: Baglione, “Getting Started: Finding a Research Question” (handout)
Week 13 (November 26): Finding Sources
Draft bibliography due
Week 14 (December 3): Follow-up on Draft Bibliography
Finals Week: Revised Bibliography due on Monday, December 9, at 5:00 p.m.