The primary aim of this is class is to make you a "good comparativist" – i.e., someone who is able to use various intellectual or conceptual tools in the field of comparative politics to better analyze, understand and/or explain significant events and processes in various countries and societies throughout the world. These significant or "big" events and processes include democratization, state-building, ethnic and/or domestic conflict (including "terrorism"), national poverty and capitalist development. The utility of comparative politics, however, is not limited to analyzing big events or processes; indeed, a good comparativist will be able to apply his or her knowledge and skills to a wide range of problems and issues, both big and small and at all levels—from the local to the global. Being a good comparativist, in this regard, means knowing how to think about and analyze issues in a systematic and "scientific" manner. Click on the icon to download a printable PDF version of the syllabus

To participate on the online discussion board, you must self-register on WebCT (if you haven't already done so for another course). To self-register, go to the CSLA WebCT entry page at http://www.calstatela.edu/webct/. Once you find this page, follow the instructions. If you need help, click on the "Student Resources" link and view the Self-Registration video. You should complete the self-registration process right away, and begin to famliarize yourself with the WebCT program. We will not use most of the features of WebCT for this course, except for the Discussion Board, which is located in the Communication Tools link. Make sure you know how to access and use the discussion board!