This class is designed to develop your writing, research, and analytical skills as a student of political science. This will require you, first and foremost, to think and write about political phenomena in a "scientific" manner. Being scientific, I should stress, does not mean conducting carefully controlled experiments in a laboratory (although, in some of the natural sciences, this is certainly the case). Rather, it means studying political (social and economic) phenomena in a systematic, disciplined, and coherent fashion. Being scientific also requires, as one professor puts it, "a commitment to assessing whether the evidence assembled to support a proposition is adequate to the task." The requirement for evidence, you will learn, is absolutely essential to the task of "doing political science."

Learning how to do political science also entails the study of certain theories and methods of analysis. In this class, therefore, we will study a variety of theoretical approaches and methods commonly used by political scientists. You are expected to not only learn what these approaches are, but to be able to apply them to your own analysis of political phenomena. This may sound like a daunting task. And, because of its unfamiliarity to most of you, it is. Still, without a clear understanding of theory and method, you simply cannot do political science—or any science for that matter.

The tasks of learning to think in a scientific manner and of learning to do political science (and analysis) are the main objectives of this class. As I already noted, however, another key set of objectives is developing your writing and research skills. To this end, we will devote some class time to a practical discussion of these skills. Our main focus, however, we be on actually doing research, analysis, and writing.

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.

	NOTE: Some files on my site are available in PDF format only. To read a PDF file, you need Acrobat Reader, which is pre-loaded on most computers. If your computer does not have Acrobat Reader, however,you can download a copy for free. Click here to go to Adobe download page.