Introduction to Comparative Politics

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

This course offers an introduction to concepts and theories relevant for the study of comparative government. Its central purpose is to analyze the similarities and differences between the principal forms of government in the modern world. It concludes by considering why countries become democratic through a case study of Uruguay. This course also satisfies the critical thinking and inquiry in the social & behavioral sciences requirement of the Minerva’s Academic Curriculum (MAC). It, as a result, will have students practice how (1) to analyze claims, arguments, artifacts or information critically and (2) to construct coherent, evidence-based arguments.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
5 tests	53%
4 post-test assessments	2%
1 newspaper log	20%
Paper outline	5%
Term paper	20%

Grading Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
93-100	A
90-92	A-
87-89	B+
83-86	B
80-82	B-
77-79	C+
73-76	C
70-72	C-
67-69	D+
63-66	D
60-62	D-
0-59	F

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance/participation is not a graded component included in the student's final grade for this course.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, 2nd ed. (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2019).
• Kenneth Newton and Jan W. Van Deth, Foundations of Comparative Politics, 4th ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021).
• Lawrence Weschler, A Miracle, A Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998).
• The New York Times (​http://www.nytimes.com/educationrate).