Course Info

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Course Info for POLS - 103 - 01, Fall 2023
Class number: 1377 Title: Intro Compar Politics Department: Political Science
Career: Undergraduate Component: Lecture Session: Regular
Instructor's Permission Required: No Grading Basis: Regular Units: 1.00
Enrollment limited to 25 Current enrollment: 22 Available seats: 3
Start date: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 End date: Thursday, December 21, 2023 Mode of Instruction: In Person
Schedule: MW: 1:30PM-2:45PM, SH - N129 Instructor(s): Messina, Anthony
Prerequisite(s): This course is not open to seniors.
Distribution Requirement: Meets Social Sciences and Global Requirements
Note: This course is Methodologically Focused.
Note: 13 seats reserved for first year students, 9 seats for sophomores, and 3 seats for junior POLS majors. No seniors unless by Instructor Permission.
Course Description:
This course introduces the study of comparative politics which is a subfield of political science. More specifically, it introduces many of the key concepts and theoretical approaches that have been adopted in comparative politics and surveys the political institutions and politics of select foreign countries. Students of comparative politics primarily focus on the political processes and institutions within countries (whereas students of international relations primarily, but not exclusively, study interactions among countries). Inspired by current world events and puzzles, comparativists investigate such major questions as: Why are some countries or regions more democratic than others? How do different countries organize their politics, i.e., how and why do their political party systems, electoral rules, governmental institutions, etc. differ?