Lecture: 4 hrs. per week
In this course, students will engage in a variety of learning activities such as attending lectures, participation in class discussions, debates, individual and group presentations, reflections, in class reading assignments, group assignments and take-home assignments.
1. Introduction: basic concepts such as politics, government, power, influence, coercion, state, authority, civil society, and democracy, and the rudimentary methods of political science will be discussed.
2. Ideas and politics: great political thinkers will be explored in the context of the development of mass political ideas and ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, environmentalism, and feminism.
3. State and government: the role and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches will be explained, and various political regimes such as democratic and authoritarian governments will be explored.
4. Political processes: the role and evolution of electoral systems, interest groups, and political parties will be reviewed and assessed.
5. Governing and policy-making: the function of the civil service and the role of other decisional actors in terms of policy formulation and implementation will be explored.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify various areas of specialization in political science and the general scope and methods of the discipline at an introductory level;
2. Define selected concepts such as government, law, power, democracy, state, society, freedom, and equality;
3. Explain the basic features of political ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, and socialism;
4. Identify and describe the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government;
5. Appraise basic political processes such as elections and interest articulation, aggregation, and communication;
6. Pursue further studies in subfields such as political theory, Canadian government, international relations and world politics, comparative politics, and American government, among others.
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.
There will be at least three separate assessments, which may include a combination of exams, research projects, quizzes, in-class and online written assignments, seminar presentations, group and other creative projects, and class participation.
The value of each assessment and evaluation, expressed as a percentage of the final grade, will be listed in the course outline distributed to students at the beginning of the term. Specific evaluation criteria will vary according to the instructor’s assessment of appropriate evaluation methods.
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research
Example evaluation scheme:
Quizzes 10%
Participation 10%
Mid-term exam 25%
Term essay 30%
Final exam 25%
Total: 100%
Textbooks and materials are to be obtained by students. A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester. Example texts may include:
Anderson, Cameron D. and Laura Beth Stephenson, eds. What is Democracy and How Do We Study It? Toronto: University of Toronto Press, current edition.
Atchison, Amy L., ed. Political Science is for Everybody: An Introduction to Political Science. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, current edition.
Brodie, Janine, Sandra Rein and Melinda S. Smith, eds. Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press, current edition.
MacLean, George A., Duncan R. Wood and Lori Turnbull. Politics: An Introduction. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press, current edition.
Magstadt, Thomas M. Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues. Boston: Cengage, current edition.
Mintz, Eric, David Close and Osvaldo Croci. Politics, Power, and the Common Good. Don Mills, Ontario: Pearson, current edition.
POLI 2200, 2201, 2209, and 2210