Course requirements

Students will be expected to attend lectures, complete all assigned readings before lectures, and participate in discussion. I may occasionally assign additional readings, which will either be distributed in class or available on the Web. Two 5-7 page essays on central themes of the course will also be assigned. These will be due in class February 12 and April 2. Mastery of basic theories, concepts, and arguments presented in both lectures and readings will be assessed through a midterm and final exam.

Attendance and participation in the discussion section will account for 20% of the final course grade, papers 30% (15% each), the midterm exam 20%, and the final exam 30%.

Texts

The following texts are required reading and may be purchased at campus area bookstores:

Thomas M. Magstadt. Nations and Governments, 3rd ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.

Christian Soe, ed. Comparative Politics 97/98. Guilford, Conn.: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, 1997.

Katherine Verdery. What Was Socialism and What Comes Next? Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996.

Paul Harrison. Inside the Third World: The Anatomy of Povery, 3rd. ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.

Dale F. Eickelman and James Piscatori. Muslim Politics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996.

 

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