The University of Mississippi
Fall 2007, Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00-12:15, 105 Barnard Observatory
Instructor: Dr. Gang Guo * Office: 128 Deupree Hall * Telephone: (662) 915-5419 * e-mail: gg at olemiss dot edu
Office hours: by appointment
| Course Syllabus | Course Schedule | On-line Resources | World Map | BlackBoard | Students' Photo |
This is an introductory course to the comparative study of politics. We shall cover the basic concepts and issues of comparative politics. The discussion of the political institutions and processes will be integrated into the comparison of different political systems in the contemporary world. The course focuses on three types of polities: industrialized democracies, postcommunist regimes, and the third world. Through this course students are expected to develop a familiarity with the politics of major countries in the world, to understand important topics in the comparative study of politics, and to be able to analyze some of the current political development in different countries.
The required textbook for this course is Comparative Politics Today: A World View, 9th Edition paperback, by Gabriel A. Almond et al., published by Longman, 2008, ISBN: 0205529313 or 9780205529315.
It is essential for students to read the required materials as listed below in the course schedule before each class and attend all class sessions. Class participation accounts for 10% of the course grade.
There will be three exams for the course. The first and second exams in class on Tuesday, October 2 and Tuesday, October 23, respectively account for 30% and 25% of the course grade. The final exam starts at noon on Wednesday, December 5. It accounts for 35% of the course grade.
Note:
| Date | Day | Topic | PowerPoint | Required Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part I: Introduction and Overview | ||||
| August 21 | Tuesday | Introduction | file | Introduction |
| Part II: The Industrialized Democracies | ||||
| August 23 | Thursday | Overview | file | Chapter 4 & 5 |
| August 28 | Tuesday | Politics in Great Britain | file | Chapter 8 |
| August 30 | Thursday | |||
| September 4 | Tuesday | |||
| September 6 | Thursday | Politics in France | file | Chapter 9 |
| September 11 | Tuesday | file | ||
| September 13 | Thursday | Politics in Germany | file | Chapter 10 |
| September 18 | Tuesday | file | ||
| September 20 | Thursday | The European Union | file | Chapter 10 |
| September 25 | Tuesday | file | ||
| September 27 | Thursday | review of Part I | All of the above | All of the above |
| October 2 | Tuesday | First Exam | ||
| Part III: The Crisis of Communism | ||||
| October 4 | Thursday | Current and Former Communist Regimes | file | Chapter 6 |
| October 9 | Tuesday | Politics in Russia | file | Chapter 12 |
| October 11 | Thursday | file | ||
| October 16 | Tuesday | Politics in China | file | Chapter 13 |
| October 18 | Thursday | file | ||
| October 23 | Tuesday | Second Exam | All of the above since the first exam. | |
| Part IV: The Third World | ||||
| October 25 | Thursday | The Third World | "Time for School" | Chapter 7 |
| October 30 | Tuesday | file | ||
| November 1 | Thursday | Politics in India | file | Chapter 17 |
| November 6 | Tuesday | file | ||
| November 8 | Thursday | Politics in Middle East | file | Chapter 16 |
| November 13 | Tuesday | Politics in Nigeria | file | Chapter 18 |
| November 15 | Thursday | Politics in Bolivia | "Coca & the Congressman" | |
| November 27 | Tuesday | Politics in Mexico | file | Chapter 14 |
| November 29 | Thursday | Final Review | All of the above since the second exam. | |
| December 5 | Wednesday | Final Exam | ||
