POLS550 Class Page

[From the syllabus] This seminar is intended to serve as a broad, graduate-level introduction to the study of comparative politics. While introductory, this course is also "advanced" in that we will cover a lot of unfamiliar and often abstract material quickly, much of which you are expected to digest and learn on your own. As an advanced class, moreover, all students are expected to have a solid understanding of the research process and of the conventions of acceptable academic writing and analysis. The primary aim of this seminar is to help you develop a solid foundation for understanding, evaluating and applying the major methodological and theoretical concepts, strategies, and frameworks in the field of comparative politics. In this regard, this seminar is designed to make you a "good comparativist" – i.e., someone who is able to use various intellectual or conceptual tools of the sub-field to better understand or explain significant events and processes in various societies throughout the world. These "significant" events and processes include democratization, state-building, ethnic and/or domestic conflict (including "terrorism"), and capitalist transformation. This course, on the other hand, is not designed to make you a "specialist" on a particular country or region, although you will be expected to conduct an in-depth, empirically based research project as your major requirement. Click here to read the rest of the syllabus [PDF].

To find information on this courses--the syllabus, assignments, online readings, grades, etc.--use the links below. If you can't find what you're looking for, let me know. BE ADVISED: Some links may not yet be active or may seem incomplete. For example, only notes from a few selected classes will be available. Assignments, too, may not be posted online. When in doubt, ask me for clarification at tclim@calstatela.edu.