The general purpose of this course is to introduce students to the discipline of political science.  The fact of the matter is that we cannot be indifferent to politics since our lives are shaped by political circumstqnces and changed by political decisions.

In order to appreciate the reasons why governments do what they do and how those decisions affect citizens, this course studies politics as both science and art.

Entry Level Competencies: Students should have an expressed interest in political science and be able to read and express themselves in writing.

If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

1. To define what is political and what is not political and therefore within the scope of the discipline.
2. To understand principal methods and concepts of the discipline of political science.
3. To understand vocabulary and terms in the discipline.
4. To understand the major issues of the selected topics(s) in the course.
5. To demonstatre written communicaiton skills in the discipline.
6. To improve one's ability to think analytically in the discipline.

Possible Assignments Include: (Subject to change each semester. The actual assignments are available in the Syllabus in the Blackboard course site on the first day of classes.)

Your final grade may be based on the following scale. Please note that you must also pass at least several exams in order to pass the course, regardless of your scores on the other assignments.

There are 2 exams in this course.

Last Updated: August 17, 2010