Descriptor Details

  • Descriptor Title
    Introduction to Political Science
  • C-ID Number
    150
  • Units
    3.0
  • Date of Last Revision
    12/12/2022 09:22:50 PM GMT+0000

General Description

An introduction to political science designed to familiarize students with basic political concepts, political ideologies, political systems, and subfields within political science.

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None

Advisories

None

Content

  1. Political science as a field of study and scholarly community.
  2. Key concepts in political science, such as nations, states, power, institutions, and political behavior.
  3. Introduction to the methods of political science.
  4. Political theory and ideologies.
  5. Comparative politics, including types of governments, institutional arrangements, and political processes.
  6. International relations, including theories, actors, and levels of analysis.
  7. Professional and career opportunities for political science majors

Lab Activities

N/A

Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

  1. Explain the development of political science and its subfields.
  2. Identify the key concepts in political science.
  3. Evaluate and analyze normative and empirical approaches.
  4. Identify and analyze basic political systems and their differences.

Evaluation Methods

May include as appropriate:

In-class or take-home examinations
Research papers or projects
Written assignments
Analytical papers
Simulations
Oral presentations
Participation in class discussions and debates

Textbooks

Any college-level introduction to political science textbook including, but not limited to

Danzinger. Understanding the Political World: A Comparative Introduction to Political Science

Van Belle and Mash.  A Novel Approach to Politics: Introducing Political Science through Books, Movies, and Popular Culture

Grigsby.  Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science

Magstadt. Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions and Issues

Roskin, Cord, Medeiros, and Jones.  Political Science: An Introduction

Sell. Introduction to Politics. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Political_Science_and_Civics/Book%3A_An_Introduction_to_Politics_(Sell)

Simon, Douglas W., Joseph Romance, and Neal Riemer. 2018. The Challenge of Politics: An Introduction to Political Science. CQ Press.

Van Belle and Mash.  A Novel Approach to Politics: Introducing Political Science through Books, Movies, and Popular Culture

Whitman Cobb, Wendy N. 2019. Political Science Today. SAGE Publications.

May also include supplementary materials such as, but not limited to, primary sources, readers, etc.

Descriptor Administration

  • Public Review Needed
    No
  • Next Descriptor Review
    No information provided
  • Resubmission Requirements for Courses
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  • Resubmission Deadline
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  • Notes

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  • Keywords

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