African Political Systems

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

Substantive Learning Outcomes

• Describe the range and scope of variation between states in Africa and other regions of the world and among African states in politically relevant outcomes, including human development, political regime type, and social order

• Identify, apply, and critique theoretical explanations for variation between states in Africa and other regions of the world and among African states in politically relevant outcomes

Writing Outcomes

• Apply the principles of the scientific method to design and conduct an academic research project

• Communicate the findings of an academic research project clearly and effectively in a written format and style appropriate to the discipline of political science

Information Literacy Outcomes

• Identify appropriate discipline-specific sources and data for information needs

• Analyze sources relevant to African politics for their credibility, audience, context, purpose, and/or bias

• Apply citation style as appropriate to the discipline of political science

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Attendance Checks	10%
Research Proposal	4%
Literature Review	4%
Draft Research Paper	5%
Final Research Paper	20%
Mandatory Writing Meeting	1%
Weekly In-Class Quizzes	44%
Virtual Information Literacy Quizzes	9%
In-Class Map Quiz	3%

Grading Scale:

Percentage	Letter Grade
93.00-100.00%	A
90.00-92.99%	A-
87.00-89.99%	B+
83.00-86.99%	B
80.00-82.99%	B-
77.00-79.99%	C+
73.00-76.99%	C
70.00-72.99%	C-
67.00-69.99%	D+
63.00-66.99%	D
60.00-62.99%	D-
0.00-59.99%	F

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance: Attendance will count 10% toward the final course grade. Attendance will be assessed through random attendance checks beginning in Week #2.

At the start of every class meeting, the instructor will flip a coin at the beginning of each class meeting to determine if there will be an attendance check. If there is an attendance check, the instructor will circulate a sign in sheet. Students who sign in will earn 100/100 for the attendance check, while students who are absent and do not sign in will earn 0/100. At the end of the semester, the average Attendance grade will be calculated based on the total number of randomly determined attendance checks; students may miss one graded attendance check without penalty. After the first missed attendance check, students may be excused from subsequent attendance checks only in cases of documented medical or family emergency.

Participation: Participation will not be formally assessed but will be be factored into the final course grade as extra credit at the margins. In practice, students who consistently participate (e.g. by contributing to class discussions, answering questions posed by the instructor, raising questions in class, etc.) and whose final course grade is within one point of a higher letter grade will be upgraded to the higher letter grade (however, students who do not regularly participate will not be downgraded on their final course grade). To evaluate participation for the purposes of determining extra credit, the instructor will monitor the quality and consistency of students’ contributions to in-class discussion, including responses to the instructor’s questions, engagement with other students, and student questions.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

Christensen, Darin and David D. Laitin. 2019. African States Since Independence: Order, Development, and Democracy. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press). ISBN: 9780300226614.