Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A comprehensive introduction to the study of politics and government for both political science majors and students specializing in other disciplines. The course will explore the major concepts, methods, approaches and issues in political science, as well as the primary components of government structure and the political process. POL 101W is the Writing certified version of POL 100 and students cannot receive credit for both courses. Breadth-Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of politics and government. It will cover such topics as state formation, political ideologies, democratic and non-democratic regimes, the nature of political institutions, political parties, citizen participation, political culture, political change, and states and governance in a global perspective. In discussing these topics we will take a comparative approach, drawing on examples from Canada as well as from other countries in the world. Some of the broad political questions we will be engaging with during the course are:
• To what extent are concepts such as ‘nation-state’ and ‘national identity’ still relevant in an increasingly globalized world?
• How do people’s values differ across countries and change over time, and how do these values play out in politics?
• How can we design the institutions of government and the way in which we elect politicians so that no one holds too much power and so that we increase accountability and protect minority groups?
• Why is it that no one predicted the Arab Spring, and why has it seemingly failed to bring about democracy in the countries concerned?

There will be a 2-hour lecture per week and a 1-hour tutorial starting in week 2.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: