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Global Politics Syllabus |
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Introduction POL 101 is both a
general education and social science base course. It is designed to: 1) introduce you to
how social scientists think about relevant contemporary issues such as ethnic
and religious conflict, economic integration, democratization, terrorism,
human rights, the environment, national security, globalization, and
ethnocentrism; 2) introduce you to
the major actors (both state and non-state) in the global arena as well as major
regional and international organizations; 3) introduce you to
settings in which contemporary global politics occurs by emphasizing
political geography as an important aspect of the course; and 4) make sure that you
are cognizant of contemporary world events and their impact on the global
issues of importance to this class. By its very subject
matter (and by the methods of evaluation discussed below) this course is very
interactive and demands that students be active learners. World events may
cause some change to the order in which some topics are covered during the
course of the semester. As a result,
students in this class have a special obligation to follow world events via
newspapers, television, the worldwide web, etc. Selected sources of information for every
class are provided via the course web calendar accessed via the course
homepage. The class periods are not
lecture-oriented but debate and discussion-oriented. Students will not only be expected to read
all materials for class and keep up with world events, they will be forced to read all materials for class
and keep up with world events!!! You
will also be forced to debate and discuss!! If you aren’t (or don’t want to be) an
active learner, this isn’t the class for you!! It is expected that by
the end of the semester, you should be able to: 1) recognize the
distinctive role that each of the social sciences plays in analyzing global
issues; 2) informatively discuss and analyze global
problems and trends; 3) evaluate opposing
viewpoints on global issues; 4) identify areas of
global political concern (i.e. possess geographic literacy ); 5) discuss the role of
states and international, regional, and non-governmental actors in the global
arena; 6) use the web to
access political, economic, and social information and data; and 7) develop
and test hypotheses related to global politics through the MicroCase data
sets. Texts There are two books
which you must purchase for this course.
All are available from the campus bookstore. Do not purchase a used copy
of the MicroCase workbook. Used copies
of this workbook often have missing sections, no access code to download the
program and data sets, etc. which cause problems for you during the course. Global Issues: Annual Editions 07/08 R. M. Jackson, editor. Comparative Politics
Using MicroCase Explorit M. K. LeRoy Course
Requirements Grades for this course
are based upon the following criteria: Daily
Class Assignments/ Quizzes/ Group Work (25%) For nearly class
period at least a quiz and/or one assignment is generally due. Usually these will involve quizzes on
political geography, the readings for class, or on world events. The MicroCase data analysis exercises will
also be utilized as will in-class group activities. Students will be apprised
of their point totals (and the approximate grade equivalent) every three to
four weeks. 2 In-Class
Examinations (25% each/ total=50%) A comprehensive
examination given the week prior to mid-term grades being due Final
Examination (25%) A comprehensive
examination given during the regular final examination period. Academic
Rigor and Fostering Critical Thinking This course
is designed for first year students and has two major objectives: 1)
developing critical thinking skills in students; and 2) increasing academic rigor in courses at the The two
goals are very compatible. It is
anticipated that increasing the academic rigor in courses will lead to the
fostering of critical thinking skills in students. Students who come to class sporadically
having read little of the material and hoping to pass the course by parroting
back responses on exams are not developing or utilizing their critical
thinking skills. The
development of critical thinking skills depends upon students thinking/
learning both inside and outside of the classroom! This
entails reading assigned course materials, exploring issues/ideas on your
own, and then bringing your insights and questions to class to stimulate
critical discussion of the issues explored in the course. This
approach to learning/ thinking demands an active and engaged student. Hopefully
this course will encourage you to be that type of student. The subject matter
of the course – Global Politics—is interesting and important and will
hopefully inspire you to be a critical thinker. While you may want to be isolated from the
rest of the world, that just isn’t possible.
The events of September 11th surely have demonstrated that to you.
Even if you would like to close your eyes and ears, that isn’t possible in
this class! As you will discover, this course is designed to force you to be an active
and engaged student. You may
not be familiar with the notion of either academic rigor or critical
thinking. Here are very brief
descriptions. Academic
Rigor Academic
rigor suggests that faculty need to design courses which: 1) force students to accept responsibility for
their own education; 2) provide them avenues through which they
individually pursue knowledge of course material outside of the
classroom; and then 3) hold them to
rigorous standards of academic performance. This
course has been designed with these objectives in mind. Many of the learning experiences associated
with the material for this course will be done by you outside of traditional
class time. You will have to take
advantage of the multiple opportunities to explore the subject matter of
global politics through the reading of articles AND through web-based
information. These are solitary
experiences done outside of class. You
are then responsible for bringing ideas discovered through this experience to
class and enriching the in-class experience with your participation. You thus
assume responsibility for your own education. Since
it is expected that most students in this class are first and second year
students, it is hoped that this approach will instill in you an attitude
towards your educational performance which will serve you well both in this
class and in your future academic endeavors at the University of Dayton and
beyond. Fostering
Critical Thinking A
well-cultivated critical thinker: -raises
vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely -gathers
and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret
effectively -comes
to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant
criteria and standards -thinks
open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and
assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical
consequences, and -communicates
effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems”. The
very subject matter of this course is thus perfect for developing your
critical thinking capabilities. Global
politics topics are vital to the human experience. There is both the ability to gather
information and to think abstractly.
You are able to come to conclusions about important issues through
thinking open-mindedly, and you have the opportunity to communicate your
ideas to others. General
class policies designed to foster academic rigor Just
talking about academic rigor or critical thinking is not enough. I have an obligation to develop ways to
entice you to be both a critical thinker and academically rigorous. This is easier said than done but I am
going to give it a try. The following
policies are designed to foster academic rigor and critical thinking and are
firm policies of this course: Attendance Attendance
for the sake of attendance is not mandatory in this course. However, every
class period will include some form of quiz or other in-class assignment
which tests your knowledge of material from readings, webpages,
etc. and forms the major component of your class grade (50%). An unprepared student in a class is a
distraction. The distraction ranges
from asking questions not relevant to the subject matter to espousing
opinions not based upon critical thought. Having quizzes on materials every
class forces you to think about the material and subject matter of the course
before class and makes class discussions more dynamic, more informed and more
meaningful. Missed
Classes, Late Assignments There
are always reasons that students can cite for missing any class, valid or
not. I don’t want to know why you
missed and I don’t provide makeup quizzes for those who do miss. If there is
some obligation which will make you miss a
significant number of classes, this is probably not a class that you should
take. As there is some form of quiz
and/ or in-class assignment every day, missing one day will not adversely affect
your grade, missing three might, missing six or seven definitely will. (Message: Miss a lot of classes and your grade will
suffer). Also, since quizzes are
generally given at the beginning of class, students who arrive late and miss
the quiz do not have an opportunity to take it after class! (Message: Be here on time for the start of class). There are also class assignments which are
handed-in (most notably MicroCase data analysis exercises). Assignments not turned in during the class
on the day they are due are not accepted and students receive a grade of 0
(zero) on that assignment. I don’t
care whether you “left it back in the dorm”, etc. Part of your individual responsibility is to
make sure that you are prepared for the class (completing assignments, doing
the reading, etc.). (Note: You also cannot give your homework to another
student to hand in for you as every homework must be
accompanied by the quiz/ exercise done in class that day). Class
Decorum/Behavior Part of
fostering critical thinking is creating the appropriate environment for
critical thinking to take place. This
includes coming to class on time, not participating in side discussions
during class, sleeping or eating. Cell
phones must be turned off before entering the classroom. Most important of
all, you must respect the perspectives and opinions of other students in the
class. This class is designed to
foster debate and discussion. You
should feel free to challenge the statements of other students (and the
instructor, too!) but you must learn to disagree without being disrespectful
to others. Assignments Assignments are available on the course
webpage at least one day prior to each class. |
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