Course ID: | INTL 6300. 3 hours. |
Course Title: | Comparative Analysis and Method |
Course Description: | Comparative approaches to political science. The transition from feudalism to capitalism, state building, and the interaction between political institutions and cultures in various polities. Methods and approaches investigated include structuralism, functionalism, culturalist perspectives, rational choice, institutionalist frameworks, and the perennial issue of what constitutes the "state." |
Oasis Title: | Comparative Analysis Method |
Duplicate Credit: | Not open to students with credit in POLS 6350 |
Semester Course Offered: | Not offered on a regular basis. |
Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
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Course Objectives: | Students will understand the basic approaches in comparative
politics, such as functionalism, structuralism, rational
choice, institutionalism, cultural approaches, and others. They
will gain a deeper understanding on how to use the comparative
method to make persuasive theoretical arguments. Finally, they
will be taught how to craft research papers combining the
reigning appraoches in comparative politics with the
methdological principles contained in the comparative method. |
Topical Outline: | 1) The founding fathers of comparative politics
2) Structuralism
3) Functionalism
4) Culturalism
5) Rational Choice
6) Institutionalism
7) The resurgence of the "state"
8) The comparative method
9) Comparative political institutions
10) Comparative political economy |