Political Science 102
Section: 002
Introduction to Political Science
Spring 2010
Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 4:40-5:30pm
HSS 115
Will Jennings
Politics102@utk.edu (checked daily)
Office Phone: 974-7053 (checked rarely)
Office Hours (also by appointment):
McClung Tower 1008E
Tuesday/Thursday: 4:30-5:00pm
MWF: At 6:40pm and Before Class
Purpose
This class is designed to be an introduction to three of the subfields of Political Science. After successfully
completing this class, you should be able to understand the difference between comparative politics and
international relations, as well as have a grasp of some of the guiding theories and ideologies in Political Science.
Also, you should be able to understand how the political environment in other countries differs from that found in
the United States, and in the wider sense how America is viewed abroad.
In our increasingly interconnected world, it is vitally important to be able to understand world politics in
order to understand our place in the world. With the growth of international news networks like CNN and the
explosive growth of the internet, there are increasingly few corners of the globe that are isolated—we truly are
becoming more and more an interconnected and interdependent world.
Expectations
Active participation in this class is a crucial component to overall success and a good grade. Students
will be expected to regularly (at least twice a week) keep up-to-date on the major issues affecting
international politics. This information will play an important role in your success on class exams and in
helping you achieve a good participation grade. Attendance is required, and more than six unexcused
absences will result in a lowered class grade. Attendance will be taken at almost every class, and therefore
coming to class late will result in your not being considered “present.”
Required Textbook
Handelman and Ethridge, Politics in a Changing World: A Comparative Introduction to Political Science, 2008.
Required Websites
United States:
Australia:
Britain:
Canada:
China:
India:
Israel:
Japan:
South Africa:
United Arab Emirates:
www.nytimes.com, www.cnn.com, www.iht.com, www.wsj.com
www.theaustralian.news.com.au
(Sydney)
www.news.bbc.co.uk
(London)
www.theglobeandmail.com
(Toronto)
www.chinaview.cn
(Beijing)
www.hindustantimes.com
(New Delhi)
www.jpost.com
(Jerusalem)
www.asahi.com/English
(Tokyo)
www.iol.co.za
(Johannesburg)
www.gulf-news.com
(Abu Dhabi)
Graded Assignments and Course Requirements
Students will be expected to complete all readings by the date assigned. In addition to the textbook (Politics in a
Changing World, or PCW), there may be a few articles placed on reserve or handed out in class. Students are required to
keep up with major international news events from the required websites. Exam questions will include information on
major current events we discuss in class, and your participation in class discussion and current events research will
greatly benefit your overall grade. In addition to a Midterm (March 1st) and Final (May 11th), you will be evaluated
based on your participation/attendance grade, the top two of three pop quizzes, your Reaction Paper to “Who Killed the
Electric Car?” (March 15th), and your Outsourcing and Immigration Viewing Sheets (March 24th and April 14th).
Reading-Based Pop Quizzes (top 2 of 3 at 5% each=10% total)
During the course of the semester you will be given three pop quizzes on the assigned reading for that day.
These quizzes will include both broad questions and questions specific to that week’s reading. Of the three quizzes, only
your two highest grades will be counted. If you miss a quiz for any reason, that will count as the grade to be dropped.
Further absences will result in additional zeroes being recorded.
Reaction Paper on Who Killed the Electric Car? (15%—Due on March 15th)
After viewing and discussing the documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car in class on September 21st, you will
be responsible for writing a 3-4 page (double-spaced with 1” margins, 12pt Times New Roman font, and a title page)
reaction to class discussion and the video. Your reaction should explore: 1) What do you feel is the bias that the
producers have on the issue? 2) Is the controversy believable? 3) Who had a vested interest in ensuring that the electric
EV1 did not succeed? 4) Which of the “suspects” in the killing do you believe is most responsible? 5) How would the
American automobile industry be different if the EV1 had become a success? While not requiring any outside research,
this paper is largely your reaction to the documentary. Any outside sources used must be cited using parenthetical
documentation. Your Reaction Paper is due at the start of class on March 15th.
Mid-Term Exam
(20% of your grade—March 1st)
The mid-term exam on March 1st will cover information discussed in class from the beginning of the semester to
the midterm review session on February 26th. It will include essay, short-answer, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank and
matching questions covering the material in class lectures, the textbook, and from the required websites. You will
receive a midterm review sheet approximately ten days before the exam.
Viewing Sheets for Thirty Days with an Immigrant Family (7.5%--Due on March 24th)
Thirty Days with Your Outsourced Job (7.5%--Due on April 14th)
While viewing the episodes of Thirty Days with an Immigrant Family and Thirty Days with Your Outsourced
Job, you will be filling out viewing sheets that will help relate the episode to the ideologies and political issues we have
discussed in class. Most of the questions will be about the episode itself, while some will require your opinion/research
outside of class. Immigration Viewing Sheets are due on March 24th, and Outsourcing Viewing Sheets are due on April
14th.
Final Exam
(22.5% of your grade—May 11th)
The final exam on May 11th at 2:45pm will be cumulative but will focus largely on information covered after the
midterm. It will include a variety of question formats including short-answer, identification, fill-in-the-blank, matching,
and multiple-choice, as well as a short essay and a cumulative essay that will draw upon the knowledge you learned from
checking the required websites, watching the episodes and film, class lectures and discussion.
Attendance/Participation
(17.5% of your grade)
Keeping up with the assigned reading, attending class, and regularly updating the class with news from the list
of required news websites will ensure a good participation grade. Pop quizzes will also be given to ensure that you are
keeping up with the assigned reading. I have almost never failed a student who has attended more than 90% of class
sessions. However, students who miss more than ten unexcused class sessions will fail the course automatically.
That being said, if you are deathly ill or have just been informed of the death of a close relative, don’t come to
class. Bring a copy of your medical paperwork (personal information crossed out) or the obituary of your departed loved
one (with the dates you missed class written on the paperwork) and the absence will be excused. Getting excuses to me
is your responsibility, and they must be turned in by the last class session.
Use of your laptop for non-notetaking purposes, listening to an MP3 player, reading a non-Political
Science 102 book or the Daily Beacon, or texting on/playing with your phone during class time will result in the
forfeiture of 20% of your participation grade (equal to 3 points off your final average) for each infraction.
Extra Credit (+3.33 points each, up to a maximum of three [+10pts] added to your Participation Grade)
Since awareness of international culture is an important part of understanding and enjoying this class and being a
scholar of international politics, you can benefit from attending university or community-sponsored international events.
These could include everything from scholarly lectures to foreign films and musical performances. Appropriate events
will be announced in class, and you should be able to fit one, two, or a maximum of three into your semester. After
attending the event you will need to write a 1.5-2 page description (double-spaced with 1” margins and 12pt Times New
Roman font) of both what you saw and how it influenced your thinking about international culture/politics/society. You
may turn in extra credit immediately following the event or up until the last day of class on April 30th. These extra-credit
points will benefit your participation grade, but they will not substitute for a large number of class absences.
Blackboard
By checking the grades posted on Blackboard, you will be able to keep up-to-date on your progress in the class.
Grades will usually be posted on Blackboard about 1-2 days before being handed back in class. You will also be
informed of class schedule changes via Blackboard or email; pertinent announcements about assignment or room
changes will be posted on Blackboard.
My Grading Scale
93.00-99.99
A
90.00-92.99
A87.00-89.99
B+
83.00-86.99
B
80.00-82.99
B77.00-79.99
C+
73.00-76.99
C
70.00-72.99
C67.00-69.99
D+
63.00-66.99
D
60.00-62.99
D-
In response to the Fall 2008 Grading Changes, my scale now reflects (-) grades.
It can be an Honor Code violation to divulge your scholarship status when
emailing a professor about final grades. Don’t beg for a higher grade; accept what
you get. Unless you believe there has been a mathematical error, I generally don’t
respond to emails about grades. The key to grades is hard work, participation, and
taking advantage of office hours if you are struggling with the material.
.
Notice on School-Sponsored Absences
If you miss class because of a school-sponsored academic or athletic event, your absence is considered excused
if you give me prior notification. However, all assignments are due in the Political Science Department (10th floor of
McClung Tower) before you depart or at the start of class on the date due.
Policy on Plagiarism and Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty
As defined in Hilltopics, “plagiarism is using the intellectual property or product of someone else without giving
proper credit.” I expect every student to live up to the UT Honor Code (as amended in 1995) and to document all papers
using MLA, APSA, or APA parenthetical documentation styles. I have caught and successfully prosecuted instances of
plagiarism and cheating, and I am good at detecting it. Don’t risk your college career in order to save yourself a few
minutes.
The use of studyblue.com for anything other than sharing notes or blank study guides will be treated as
plagiarism. If a completed study guide is put online, the class will not have a study guide for the final exam and the
poster will be referred to the Dean of Students for suspension or expulsion.
Disability Assistance
Any student who feels that they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact
me privately to discuss your specific needs. Requests for the use of the Testing Center must be made at least one week
prior to the midterm or final exam. Please contact the Office of Disability Services at 865-974-6087 in 2227 Dunford
Hall to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Writing Assistance
Sadly, only about one out of every four students takes advantage of professors’ office hours in order to discuss
their academic progress. Feel free to use my office hours from 4:30-5:00pm on Tuesday/Thursday in McClung Tower
1008E, or immediately after our class. I am also available by appointment when necessary. In addition, please use the
Writing Center in HSS 211. They are open for extended hours to help you with writing assignments; they can be
contacted at 974-2611 or at writingcenter@utk.edu. Their phone number can also serve as a grammar hotline.
Grammatical errors will harm your paper grade, so it is in your best interest to seek assistance.
Travel Advice
I have traveled to over forty countries in Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, Central America, the Caribbean, and
Europe, encountering a few minor problems along the way but never a serious incident. If you need any help planning a
foreign vacation or are wondering whether a place might be interesting to visit, please ask me and I will be happy to help
you plan out a trip. I also cannot encourage you strongly enough to take advantage of the numerous study abroad
opportunities available to UT students. I have traveled to Cameroon on a USC sponsored summer trip and to South
Korea on a Fulbright delegation sponsored by the federal government, and I most recently spent most of 2002 at the
University of Stellenbosch outside Cape Town, South Africa (whose website you can access at www.sun.ac.za).
Course Schedule and Reading Assignments
January 13 (W)
Introduction to the Class/Review Syllabus
January 15 (F)
Defining Government
Politics in a Changing World (PCW) 3-20
January 18 (M)
No Class—MLK Holiday!
January 20 (W)
The Modern Political World
PCW 21-30
January 22 (F)
Ideologies: Conservatism and Liberalism
PCW 31-39
January 25 (M)
Ideologies: Capitalism, Socialism, Libertarianism, Etc.
PCW 39-58
January 27 (W)
Political Culture and Socialization
PCW 59-86
January 29 (F)
Public Opinion
PCW 87-102
February 1 (M)
Elections
PCW 103-122
February 3 (W)
Political Parties
PCW 123-148
February 5 (F)
Interest Groups
PCW 149-177
February 8 (M)
Viewing of Who Killed the Electric Car?
Hodges Viewing Room #129
February 10 (W)
Viewing of Who Killed the Electric Car?
Hodges Viewing Room #129
February 12 (F)
Legislative Institutions
PCW 181-202
February 15 (M)
Executive Institutions
PCW 203-223
February 17 (W)
Executive Continued
February 19 (F)
Judicial Institutions
PCW 224-247
February 22 (M)
The Bureaucracy
PCW 248-270
February 24 (W)
U.S. Government: The Dilemmas of Democracy
PCW 271-290
February 26 (F)
U.S. Government, Part Deux and Midterm Review
PCW 290-315
March 1 (M)
Midterm Exam—No Make-ups Allowed
March 3 (W)
The Politics of Great Britain: A Queen, a Model, and a Sack of Wool
PCW 316-334
March 5 (F)
Great Britain, Part Deux
PCW 334-344
March 6-14
Spring Break!!
March 15 (M)
The Politics of Russia: Cold as Hell, Corrupt as a Pimp
PCW 345-369
Reaction Paper to “Who Killed the Electric Car?” is Due!!
March 17 (W)
Russia, Part Deux
PCW 369-385
March 19 (F)
Class Viewing: 30 Days with your Outsourced Job
In TBA
March 22 (M)
India as a Global South Success Story/Outsourcing Discussion
March 24 (W)
The Politics of China: Embracing Money, Crushing Protest
PCW 386-425
Outsourcing Viewing Sheets are Due!!
March 26 (F)
Into China’s Future: Reform or Die?
PCW 407-425
March 29 (M)
The Politics of the Developing World: Rogue Regimes & New Democracies
PCW 426-442
March 31 (W)
The Developing World, Part Deux
PCW 442-460
April 2 (F)
No Class—Good Friday Break!!
April 5 (M)
The Politics of Mexico: So Close to America, and Yet So Far Away
PCW 461-475
April 7 (W)
The Politics of Mexico, Parte Dos
PCW 475-490
April 9 (F)
The Issue of Immigration
Class Viewing: 30 Days with an Immigrant Family
In TBA
April 12 (M)
Discussion of 30 Days with an Immigrant Family
and Lecture on the History of Immigration to the United States
April 14 (W)
Approaches to International Relations: Idealism and Realism
PCW 493-504
Immigration Viewing Sheets are Due!!
April 16 (F)
IR II: Nuclear Diplomacy and the Balance of Power
PCW 504-515
April 19 (M)
IR III: International Law and International Organizations
PCW 515-524
April 21 (W)
The Changing World Order: From the Cold War Forward
PCW 525-533
April 23 (F)
International Political Economy
PCW 533-550
April 26 (M)
Political Prospects and Challenges in the 21st Century
The Challenge of Global Terrorism in a World of Globalization
PCW 550-571
April 28 (W)
Spotlight on Women in Leadership
April 30 (F)
Class Wrap-Up/Exam Review
PCW 571-579
FINAL EXAM: Tuesday May 11th at 2:45pm in Our Regular Classroom!!