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Course Content Form: POS 100 Introduction To Politics
Course Content Form: POS 100 Introduction To Politics
Description:
Issues, principles, and trends in political science. Includes politics and political science, political philosophy and
ideology, comparative politics, American national government, and international relations.
Performance Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Explain what the terms “politics” and “political science” mean as well as subfields of political science.
2. Identify key political philosophers and political ideologies.
3. Identify features of political development.
4. Comprehend key elements of political socialization, interest aggregation, and political participation.
5. Classify governments by forms of rule and political structure and give contemporary examples of each.
6. Identify key features of American government.
7. Identify and explain conceptual approaches, patterns, and trends in international relations.
Outline:
I. Politics and Political Science
A. Definitions and distinctions
B. Political science and its subfields
II. Political Philosophy and Ideology
A. Overview of political philosophy through the ages
1. Ancient political thought
2. Early and late modern political thought
3. Modern and contemporary political thought
B. Political ideologies
1. Ideologies and utopias
2. Examples of ideologies
a. Fascism
b. Communism
c. Anarchism
d. Liberalism
e. Conservatism
f. Other ideologies
III. Comparative Politics
A. Classifying governments
1. Forms of rule
a. Totalitarianism
b. Authoritarianism
c. Liberal democracy
i. Direct democracy
ii. Representative democracy
a. Presidential systems
b. Parliamentary systems
c. Representatives: trustees or delegates
2. Political structures
a. Vertical structures: levels of government and their powers
i. Unitary states
ii. Federal states
iii. Confederations
b. Horizontal structures: policymaking institutions
i. Executive
ii. Legislative
iii. Judiciary
iv. Bureaucracy
c. Linkage institutions
i. Parties
ii. Interest groups
iii. Elections, including different electoral systems
iv. Media
B. Brief case studies of selected countries
1. Global North
2. Global South
IV. Overview of the American National Government
A. Beliefs and principles of America’s founders
B. Political system and structure
C. Historical evolution
D. Civil rights and liberties
V. International Relations
A. Approaches to international relations
1. Historical overview
2. Realism
3. Liberalism/idealism
4. Other approaches
B. Levels of analysis
1. Individual
2. State
3. Global/system historical and conceptual overview
a. Unipolar
b. Bipolar
c. Multipolar
C. Actors in the international system
1. Sovereign states
2. Nongovernmental actors
a. International interest groups
b. Multinational corporations
c. Terrorist organizations
3. Intergovernmental organizations
a. Global
b. Regional
c. Single/multipurpose
D. Patterns of interaction
1. Cooperation
2. Competition
3. Conflict
4. War
E. Global trends
1. Promise and limits of international law
2. Democratization
a. Short term
b. Long term
3. Globalization’s future
a. End of history
b. Clash of civilizations