POLS102-17S2 (C) Semester Two 2017

Politics: An Introduction

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 July 2017
End Date: Sunday, 19 November 2017
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 28 July 2017
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 13 October 2017

Description

This course introduces the basic tools and techniques used in political science, including essay writing, methods of analysis, and formulation of hypotheses. It also introduces students to a selection of key theories and frameworks. It covers topics such as democracy, authoritarianism, people’s power, civil society, conflict, globalisation, and the future of our world. This course will be of great benefit to Political Science majors of all levels and to students who desire a broad-based introduction to the field.

This course is designed to introduce the tools, techniques, and topics of Political Science.  It is also a course full of questions.  We begin by discussing the nature of Political Science.  Is politics a science?  an art?  madness?  something else?  We then turn to some more basic and more difficult questions.  Who are we?  Here we will explore the nature of identity and its relationship to politics.  Nation, religion, and ethnicity are all sources of identity powerful enough to cause tremendous destruction in our world, and will all be considered.  How are we governed?  Since politics and politicians have a major impact on our daily lives, we will explore how political systems work.  How does democracy come about?  Over the last few decades, thousands of people like you and I have battled armed soldiers in the streets in order to win the right to participate in a democratic system.  We will try to understand the reasons they care so passionately.  Finally, we ask the most intriguing questions of all: Where do we go from here?  Is globalization our future?  Does the future hold peace and prosperity?  Or war and chaos?

Learning Outcomes

Students enrolled in this course will learn the scope and basic methods of Political Science and its subfields. They will learn some key concepts used in Political Science, and learn to apply those concepts, in a variety of contexts. They will learn how to use library and internet resources useful for research in the social sciences. They will learn to write research papers appropriate to the field of Political Science. The research skills and techniques for analysis will transfer to a wide range of future careers. By studying the nature of identity, students will learn more about their own place in bicultural and multicultural settings.

For further information on the skills introduced at each level in Political Science, see the programme learning outcomes statement on the Political Science Resources site on Learn.

Course Coordinator

James Ockey

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Tutorial participation 10%
Hypotheses and Methodology 10 Aug 2017 15%
Library Resources and Referencing 24 Aug 2017 15%
Research Paper 29 Sep 2017 25%
Final Test 35% 17 -19 October

Textbooks / Resources

The textbook is recommended to supplement your learning, but not required.
Michael Roskin, et. al., Political Science: An Introduction (Pearson, 2016), available in the bookstore or as an etext at http://www.pearsoned.co.nz/9781292156248, is the preferred supplemental text.

All tutorial readings will be available through Learn.

Additional Course Outline Information

Where to submit and collect work

Essay boxes are located on the 5th floor Locke, outside the POLS office, Locke 501.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $732.00

International fee $2,975.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Language, Social and Political Sciences .

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