Instructor Ian Hopper

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dhopper@marymount.edu

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Class Meetings: Tuesdays and Fridays 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

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Full Syllabus Link

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Appointments: In addition, I am also happy to meet with students at other times as well, at their convenience. Times are listed on my calendar, linked here. You can reserve a time directly on my calendar to meet with me.

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Book: Samuels, David. 2021. Comparative Politics. Pearson Press. It is available as an ebook, found here.

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The course is taught as a combination of full class sessions, small team meetings, and individual meetings. Active student participation in discussions is a requirement.

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Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, this class will be a fully online course. Most of the class meetings will be live and online.  Some sessions may be recorded for future use.  All class sessions will be held by videoconference on Google Meet. 

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GRADING POLICY
 

Course grades will be based on a total of the following:

• Three exams. 15 points each, 45 points total. Each exam consists of two parts: 5 short-answer identification questions worth 2 points each (choose 5 out of 8) and 1 short essay question worth 5 points (choose 1 out of 2). Each exam is a "take-home" exam; students will have several days to complete it.

• Three short papers. 15 points each, 45 points total. The specific assignments will be posted online three weeks before each due date. Students turning in papers containing plagiarism will fail the course and be formally charged through the University’s Academic Integrity process.  Papers must be submitted as Microsoft Word (.docx) files attached to an e-mail.

• Team country analysis report. 5 points. Teams, as assigned, will provide an oral presentation on the governmental structure of a particular country.

• Team country election report. 5 points. Teams, as assigned, will provide an oral presentation, followed by a Q&A, about a country that has had a recent election. 

There are several opportunities for extra credit:

• Study group meeting. Each member of a group of at least three students that meets with me outside of class time will get 1 point of extra credit. Study group members will show me outlines of answers to at least 4 potential ID terms for the exam. This assignment may be repeated in advance of each exam.

• Class participation. Students who consistently contribute in a thoughtful and constructive way to class discussions may earn up to 3 points in extra credit. 

• Outside event/video. Students who attend selected virtual events or selected videos outside of class and write a one-paragraph summary and reflection can get up to 2 points of extra credit. I will post events and videos and email them to the class as they come up.

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Tuesday, September 7, 2021 is the last day to drop a course without academic record.

Friday, November 5, 2021 is the last day to withdraw from a class with a grade of W.

CLASS SCHEDULE 

Tuesdays and Fridays 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. There will be a mix of three types of class meetings:

• Some meetings will be full online meetings. These meetings will be only online, at the scheduled class time. Use the videoconference link I will share via email and calendar invitation. 

• Recorded lectures. Occasionally, I may post a recorded lecture that you should watch and record notes at your own pace. These recorded lectures take the place of a regular class session.

• Some meetings will be small groups. I will assign students to groups of about 4 students per group, and meet with groups separately. Group meetings will be about 30 minutes. Groups will have the option of meeting with me during the regularly-scheduled class time or during some other time that works for them. 

In addition, I am also happy to meet with students at other times as well, at their convenience. Times are listed on my calendar, linked here. You can reserve a time directly on my calendar to meet with me.