Politics Week 1

Politics Week 1 Instructional Plan

This week

course introduction, syllabus and website format (syllabus pdf file)
what is politics?
what is an argument? (workshop)

For next week

read chapter 2 in textbook
complete Chapter 2 discussion questions and vocabulary or get the pdf file.
review optional material

Added Material

Today we begin a series of lessons that will help you think and speak more clearly, logically and precisely.

This is the beginning of our lesson on critical thinking.

The first step in that learning is to understand arguments.
The second step for today is to understand the difference between facts and inferences.

Inference and Facts

Here is a quick exercise to understand inferences. Look at this photo.

Read these statements and mark, true, false or can’t answer.

This is graduation day for the Thomas family.
The father is proud of his son.
The sister looks up to her brother.
This is a prosperous family.
The son has just graduated from law school.

1. Course Introduction

Readings in Political Science

Busan University of Foreign Studies

Instructor Information

Rob Whyte B.A. M.Sc. Office: D570, Office hours: TBA

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to some of the key ideas in political science and, by extension, some insight to the challenges facing contemporary societies and states. These ideas – theories, concepts and questions – relate to democracy, ideology, legitimacy, propaganda, nationalism and globalization, to mention a few. Based on this foundation of knowledge, students will be able to describe and analyze issues and arguments in modern politics.

Course Objectives

By the end of the semester, students should be able to:

Define, describe and exemplify a range of key concepts including ideology, the state, democracy and legitimacy.
Demonstrate an ability to think critically by constructing and evaluating arguments related to political concepts and systems.
Describe the essential formal and informal features of the U.S. political system, including the three branches of government, voting system, and political culture.

Course Structure

2 hours of lectures and 1 hour workshop.

The course will operate with two different but overlapping sections. Each week there will be a two-hour lecture and class discussion based on the textbook. Discussion questions to help students learn, remember and understand the reading material will be part of this work.

The third hour of each week will be used to develop specific critical thinking and reasoning skills that will help students understand and evaluate key concepts in the reading. After the midterm exam, we will use this time to listen to and evaluate contemporary political ideas via readings, podcasts and videos.

Textbook

Politics (4th edition) by Andrew Heywood, Palgrave Foundations, 2013. Additional material to be posted on the instructor’s website.

Evaluation

Attendance 10%
Participation 10%
Midterm exam 20%
Final exam 20%
Oral presentation 10%
Written report 10%
Quizzes (2 x 5%) 10%
Critical thinking test 10%

Schedule

Week 1: Intro, course overview, what is politics? WS – What is an argument?
Week 2: Chapter 2 Political Ideas and Ideologies. WS – Logical fallacies #1.
Week 3: Chapter 3 Politics and the State. WS – Logical fallacies #2.
Week 4: Chapter 4 Democracy and Legitimacy. WS – Analogies in arguments.
Week 5: Chapter 5 Nations and Nationalism. WS – Critical thinking test.
Week 6: holiday
Week 7: Chapter 6 Political Economy and Globalization. WS – Review.
Week 8: Midterm exam
Week 9: Chapter 7 Politics, Society and Identity. WS – New ideas about democracy and society – analysis and evaluation.
Week 10: Chapter 8 Political Culture and the Media. WS – New ideas about democracy and society – analysis and evaluation.
Week 11: Chapter 12 Government Systems and Regimes. WS – New ideas about democracy and society – analysis and evaluation.
Week 12: Chapter 13 Political Executive and Leadership. WS – New ideas about democracy and society – analysis and evaluation.
Week 13: Oral presentations.
Week 14: Review.
Week 15: Reading week
Week 16: Final exam

Other Matters

The course methods and structure may change depending on student needs and abilities.

At the end of the semester, please do not ask me to change your grade because you have a special situation. If you need a high score, work hard, study hard and come to every class on time ready to learn. Unless I made a calculation error, I will not change your final score.

Every class, you will need four things: a writing tool (e.g. a pencil), a notebook, the textbook and a dictionary. Phone dictionaries are okay. Students who do not bring these learning tools to class may be marked absent.