Comparative Politics 1 POL1010 Lecture 1 Thursday 7 th October 2004, 3-4pm Class Introduction

Comparative Politics POL1010: Class Contacts Dr Claire Dunlop – lecturer for semester 1 Office Hours: Mondays and Thursdays Amory Bill Tupman – class co-ordinator and lecturer for semester 2 Office Hours daily Amory

Comparative Politics POL1010: Class Contacts Jamie Hall – tutor Office Hours Thursdays 11-1 Amory Catherine Kennedy – politics secretary Amory 203A

Aims of the Course The course aims to give students: a basic grounding in the main forms of government on the world – focus mainly upon European (including the EU), US, Islamic and post-Communist systems the conceptual tools with which they can compare and contrast these different systems

Logistics Lectures Lectures are weekly, every Thursday 3-4, Amory 417. Attendance is voluntary – but incentives for going are many Tutorials These are fortnightly, at various times on Fridays Start 8/10/2004 (i.e. tomorrow) Attendance is compulsory

Assessment Exam: 3 hour examination at end of the second semester: 50% of the final mark 3 Essays: 1500 word essays first essay = not formally assessed second essay = 15% of the final mark third essay = 20% of the final mark Tutorial Presentations: 15% of final mark – based on the better of the two presentations given

Resources Core texts: Calvert, P. (2002) Comparative Politics Longman Hague, R. and Harrop, M. (2004) Comparative Government and Politics Palgrave POL1010 Website ov/

Comparative Politics: Why look at politics and political systems in this way? 1.To help us address the counterfactuals – ‘what if…?’ 2.to avoid ethnocentrism 3.to help us develop theory, hypotheses and concepts Source: Mackie and Marsh, 1995; Dogan and Pelasy, 1990.

Bibliography Calvert, P. (2002) Comparative Politics Longman Dogan, M. and Pelasy, D. (eds) (1990) How to Compare Nations: Strategies in Comparative Politics 2 nd edn Chatham, NJ: Chatham House. Hague, R. and Harrop, M. (2004) Comparative Government and Politics 6 th edn Palgrave Marsh, D. and Mackie, T. (1995) ‘The Comparative Method’ in Marsh, D. and Stoker, G. (eds) Theory and Methods in Political Science London: MacMillan.