Interm Arabic Heritage II

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course introduces students to the comparative study of political systems. By necessity, it encompasses examination of the histories, institutions, leaderships, ideologies, and controversial issues of selected nation states in various parts of the world. It is a survey course and a foundations course, meant to equip students with the specialized vocabulary, knowledge, and analytical tools they will need as they move on to more advanced and specialized subjects in this field. The course has four primary objectives: (1) to introduce students to the core concepts and basic premises of leading schools of thought and interpretation in the study of comparative politics; (2) to familiarize students with important variations in the governmental institutions, norms, events and practices of contemporary nation states; (3) to develop in students the capacity to identify and critically examine arguments and counter-arguments in discussions of important issues and trends in comparative politics; and (4) to sharpen student analytical skills of information-gathering, conceptual definition, and systematic organization and presentation of ideas. Besides furnishing students with greater ability to undertake intelligent assessment of the contemporary politics of the world’s nation states, this course aims, along the way, to instill in students a passionate awareness of both the urgency and excitement that lies ahead of them in the study of comparative politics.