AP Comparative Government (“CoGo”)

Mrs. Floyd                B-207                         414-7340                   cfloyd@austinisd.org; www.schoolrack.com/cfloyd

The AP Comparative Government course is based on the design of college-level introductory Comparative Government courses that focus on the comparative study of fundamental comparative concepts, political systems, and processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of country settings. This effective, one semester course will involve the study of political science theory and methodology, as well as the analysis of specific countries. The six models to be studied during the course of the semester are the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Mexico, Nigeria, and Iran. Students throughout the semester will study these respective countries, the components that are universal to all political systems in each of the six countries, and will become aware of the interconnections between the citizenry and state policies. This course will give students a critical perspective of the working of these government systems.

Textbook 

 Hauss, Charles. Comparative Politics: Domestic Reponses to Global Challenges, Fifth Edition. Thomson Wadsworth.

Required Readings

·       Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, 2003.

·        The Economist (for subscribers see www.economist,com but all students have access to The Economist through the school library database).

Course Requirements

READING:  In order for students to be successful in a college level course, it is essential that students maximize their time through proper organization and time management strategies and complete all assigned reading prior to class.  The reading materials are focused on separate countries; class lessons and discussions will help draw comparisons among the countries. From background information about the countries and the comparisons drawn from the study of these countries, students will be responsible for relating a set of facts in one country with those in another in an effort to understand the broader meaning of political phenomena.    It is essential that you remain up-to-date on the assigned readings from the text and the supplementary articles.  The required reading, along with lectures and class discussion, will figure prominently in your formal evaluation on quizzes, examinations, and free-response essays.  

TEAMWORK:  Throughout the semester, students will be asked to present a variety of material through group presentations and discussions. Each country covered will entail a group presentation.  Teamwork for the presentations is a course requirement and it is expected that all students will contribute to the team effort.  Establishing a positive attitude and rapport within the team has been proven to be a key to success and will greatly assist in the management of the amount of reading and work that is required. 

·        comparing the country to the political systems we are learning in class OR ·        relating the article to the key concepts in Comparative Politics AND

·        discussing the political implications for that particular country.

Students will turn in their journal roughly every four weeks for an exam grade. This means that you will have four entries every time you turn in your journal.  Do not wait until the due date to read your articles and write up your analysis.  Students must obtain permission from Mrs. Floyd to use a source other than The Economist.  For each entry, keep in mind these concepts as you discuss the significance of the article:

• Sovereignty, Authority, and Power: political culture, communication, socialization, supranational, nations and states, supranational governance, state building, legitimacy, stability, constitutions, belief systems as sources of legitimacy (religion, ideology), governance and accountability

  Political Institutions: levels of government, executives, legislatures, institutional relations, elections, electoral systems, political parties, party systems, elite recruitment and leadership, bureaucracies, military and coercive institutions, judiciaries

  Citizens, Society and the State: cleavages and politics (ethnic, racial, class, gender, religious, regional), civil society, media roles, political participation (forms/models/trends) including political violence, citizenship and social representation

Political and Economic Change: revolution, coups, war, trends and types of political change (democratization), trends and types of economic change (privatization), relationship between economic and political change, globalization and fragmentation, regionalism

Common Policy Issues: economic performance, social welfare (education, health, poverty), civil liberties, civil rights, and freedoms, environment, population and migration, economic development, domestic and international factors influencing policymaking and implementation.