Department of International Relations
Syllabus for
POL101 Introduction to Political Science
Fall 2015
Instructor: Oğuz Uras
Communication: ouras@ssu.edu.tr
Office: A1-213
Office hours: Monday thru Thursday, by appointment only (via e-mail)
Course Description
In this course we will try to gain acquaintance with the basic concepts, institutions, and issues in
political science and its subfields (e.g. comparative politics, international relations, public policy) that
we are going to deal with in detail in forthcoming years.
Reading Material
Kenneth Newton and Jan W. van Deth, Foundations of Comparative Politics, Cambridge University
Press, 2010.
Extra readings may be assigned weekly.
Course Policies
Grading: We will have one midterm exam (30%), one final exam (40%) and 5 in class or take-home
quizzes (20%). In order to be graded for the quizzes, you must be in class to get the question which
means if you are absent, you cannot take the question from your friends and answer. 10% of your
final grade is upon my discretion.
Attendance: is not mandatory, but you will get carrots if you do not miss regular and additional
classes. On the other hand as explained above, you are supposed to be in class to attend the quizzes.
Make-up exam: is only for those whose grade is less than CC at the end of the semester and it will be
counted only for your final exam grade. Without an official paper from a public hospital, you cannot
have a make-up if you miss the test for the midterm.
Ethics: School policies apply for the cheaters. In case of plagiarism in quizzes, the result will be a zero.
Communication: Students are responsible to check their e-mail accounts for all announcements on
the course. You can e-mail me any question. If it is not an emergency, your questions will be replied
in class.
Course Schedule
Week I: September 30th
Week VIII: November 18th
Introduction and syllabus
Presidential government
Week II: October 7th
Week IX: November 25th
State
MIDTERM WEEK, NO CLASS
Week III: October 14th
Week X: December 2nd
Political regimes
Political parties and voting
Week IV: October 21st
Week XI: December 9th
Regime transition and consolidation
Social movements and revolutions
Week V: October 28th
Week XII: December 16th
Political culture
Policy making and policy implementation
Week VI: November 4th
Week XIII: December 23rd
Constitution
Political ideologies
Week VII: November 11th
Week XIV: December 29th
Parliamentary government
Some global issues
NOTE: The statements in this syllabus may change due to unforeseen circumstances. Students will be
noticed via e-mail in such a case.