Other Syllabi:
Senior Seminar in Political Science
Political
Science 460
McClain 111A (Quinn)/ McClain 218 (Parker)
Required
Texts/Readings
Grading
Papers
I.
Course Objectives
This senior
seminar in Political Science is the result of cooperative and collaborative
effort by the eight political scientists. While
different teams offer sections of this course, we have worked closely together
to establish a writing enhanced course that will accomplish the following
objectives in the areas of knowledge and skills:
Knowledge:
students will...
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understand and appreciate the development of the methods and approaches
to the findings of the discipline of
political science
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read and analyze seminal readings in political science’s several
subfields
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review and integrate concepts central to the discipline
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master literature that both addresses, and raises, research questions
central to political scientists
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analyze and synthesize political science's use of and contributions to
other social sciences.
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examine the role of political science in understanding human behavior and
in solving social problems.
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through one’s own research project, develop a deeper knowledge of a
specific research question
Skills:
through thoughtful completion of assignments, students will...
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demonstrate proficiencies in various extemporaneous and formal speaking
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develop collaborative and critical thinking skills.
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become proficient in distilling and synthesizing several readings on a
related topic
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engage in a sustained commitment to a research project, demonstrating
both an ability to work independently,
while
simultaneously working under faculty tutelage,
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develop one’s thinking about a problem by writing and revising a
multi-stage paper that results in a polished,
professionally-oriented
product.
Furthermore,
this course has been designated as writing
enhanced. To achieve this designation, we have demonstrated that this course
meets the following criteria:
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The course will emphasize writing as a means of achieving a deeper
understanding of subject material.
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Furthering the development of student writing skills will be a primary
goal of the course.
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The course will include writing assignments of a quantity and frequency
appropriate to the designation writing
enhanced.
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Most of the writing in the course will be public writing in a style
appropriate to the level of the course and the
discipline
represented.
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The course will foster the writers’ habits of rethinking and revising
drafts, seeking external critiques of early
drafts, and
editing drafts for mechanical errors as standard practices of good writing
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Professors will provide quality commentary on their students’ writing;
class sizes will be limited to facilitate this
essential
practice.
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By the end of the course, successful students will have produced
high-quality writing appropriate for inclusion in
the student’s’
portfolio.
As a writing
enhanced course, Senior Seminar has the following projected outcomes:
A. Cognition
TOP
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use writing as a mode of learning as well as a method of communicating
what was learned.
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be able to generate, organize, and communicate information and ideas
fully, clearly, and cogently.
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exhibit the ability to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, reflect and engage
in other forms of critical thinking.
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how audience awareness, i.e., the ability to adapt their writing to the
needs of diverse readers with diverse
experiences,
assumptions, and expectations.
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appreciate the importance of good writing in their personal and
professional lives.
The senior
seminar course promotes these cognitive outcomes through two main types of
writing assignments, which are described more fully below. The weekly papers synthesizing the readings and answering a
question promote all five of the outcomes, as you will, on a regular basis, be
writing for a different audience (including two or more professors, and your
classmates), and distilling several readings into a tightly reasoned three page
paper. Experience with our students
allows us to conclude that this does become a habit useful for either the
professional world, or for post-graduate education. The semester-long research design will also draw upon, and
help to refine, these cognition skills.
B. Process
More
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engage
in deep revision, closely examining and further developing the reasoning in the
writing.
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assess their own writing to uncover strengths and concerns, and be able
to generate strategies for improvement.
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solicit external critiques of their writing to guide revision as a
regular habit of their writing process, copy-edit their
own work for
mechanics, style, and coherence.
The
requirement for deep revision comes in the semester long research design, which
will be written, and rewritten, in specific stages.
Prior to each stage, students are encouraged to consult with their
faculty mentor, as this is the person who will be providing detailed feedback.
As an ongoing project, we expect that students will revisit and revise
earlier stages as you refine and develop your research topic.
Both the weekly papers and the ongoing research project will require
consultation with faculty, self-assessment of writing strengths and weaknesses,
and copy-editing (yes, mechanics count!).
C. Product
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be able to write clear, coherent, and well-organized prose for a public
audience.
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demonstrate a command of syntax, style, and tone appropriate for the
task.
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exhibit a mastery of punctuation, usage, and formatting conventions.
Ideally, we see these Product outcomes being met by faithful attention on the part of the students and the faculty to the Cognition and the Process objectives, discussed above. You are about to receive a diploma from a highly selective public liberal arts and sciences university, and your work product should reflect that.
II. Required Readings
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Readings:
Arend,
Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and performance in Thirty-
Six Countries.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999.
Course Packs for Pol 460: one from Parker and one from Quinn
an occasional handout
III. Course Requirements and
Evaluation
The final
grade will be based on cumulative point totals, with the points to be allocated
in the following manner:
Weekly
Reading Papers
200
Research Design:
preliminary
papers
150
completed design
200
Oral Presentation of the Research Design
100
Research Design Discussant
50
Final Comprehensive Examination
200
Class Participation
for reading presentation
25
for all other
(attendance, informed participation
75
Total Points:
1,000
A.
Weekly Writing Assignments
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Each week a writing assignment will be given specific to the topics and readings
for the week. Generally these will
be 3 page papers in which the student will be asked to identify, analyze, and
integrate the main points raised in the readings, or to elaborate further on key
issues or problems. The paper will
be due at the beginning of class on the assigned class date, and no late papers
will be accepted. Please pay
attention to the specific prompt; different professors might ask different types
of questions or expect different supporting material.
B. Research
Design
Each student is required to write a 12-15 page (typed, double-spaced) research
design on some topic relevant to the study of politics.
This will be developed over the course of the semester, with close
interaction with a faculty mentor. A
research design is simply a systematic plan and outline for the conduct of a
research project. In essence, it is
a research project carried up to the point where data collection would normally
begin. The real restriction is that
these projects are to be analytic and quantitative in nature ("hypothesis
testing"). Data collection and
analysis will not be required, but you will be required to devise a project for
which data could be collected and
analyzed.
The final
paper that you submit will be the result of careful thinking and careful writing
and rewriting. We want to stress
that there is an expectation that you will work closely with a faculty member in
doing this. The design format
embraced by your political science faculty is treated more fully at http://www2.truman.edu/polisci/design.htm.
Below we list the three preliminary papers that students will submit.
C. Preliminary
Assignments
To facilitate the development of an excellent research design, and to promote
outcomes that help to make this a writing enhanced course, three preliminary
assignments are due throughout the semester.
These assignments will be done in consultation with a faculty member who
will be assigned to oversee student progress.
Naturally, all assignments are to be machine-produced according to
conventional college level standards (1" margins, stapled, name/date in
upper right or on cover page, pages numbered, and with a bibliography)
1.
Preliminary Paper 1 will clearly state the nature of the problem to be
studied and explain why it merits investigation (such as pointing to a dispute,
or a vacuum in professional literature). Students
will include a list of 8 to 10 sources, at least half of which are quantitative
in nature (journal articles, usually).
2.
Based upon these sources, and adding more sources that you uncover,
Preliminary Paper 2 will review the literature relevant to the problem.
It will explain and analyze the important theories and independent
variables to be applied to the dependent variable in the study. Based upon this review, the paper will clearly state the
hypotheses to be tested in this design.
3.
Preliminary Paper 3 will address the methodology of the study.
This should include the sample and data
sources, as well as the conceptualization and operationalization of the
variables used in the study.
As you
progress from papers one through three, you will be revisiting the earlier
papers and revising them where necessary to make them consistent with your
developing thought about the nature of the problem under study, and to reflect
what you are learning as you delve deeper into this research area. It is imperative
that you give full attention to these papers, as your faculty mentor can
most help you with detailed feedback if you are able to submit your best effort
in a timely manner.
The due
dates for these papers are as follows:
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Paper 1-
Thursday, 3 February
Paper 2-
Tuesday 29 February
Paper 3-
Thursday 23 March
Final Paper:
Tuesday 25 April (for those presenting on or before April 20)
Tuesday
2 May (for those presenting April 25 and April 27)
D. Oral
Presentation of the Research Design
The last three weeks of the course will be devoted to oral presentations of the
research designs. The presentations
will be timed, and last no longer than 10 minutes each, during which time the
student will review the major aspects of the design and answer questions for the
class. A classmate will serve as a
discussant, providing you constructive criticism, and faculty have even been
known to raise questions at this time. Based
upon this feedback, you will have one last opportunity to revise the paper
before submission.
As implied
in the previous paragraph, each student will serve as the primary discussant for
another design. Their role is to
provide constructive criticisms and comments regarding the research design in
question, and generally lead discussion of the design.
Drafts of the design should be submitted at least one class period in
advance of the presentation to the instructors and to the discussant.
E. Class
Participation
Students must participate actively in order to receive a satisfactory grade in
this course. Participation is based
on the following activities:
1.
Reading Synopsis: each student will be responsible for identifying 3-5 main
points of the reading for one day.
You will be given as much as 15 minutes to stand before the class, and to
justify the points that you have
identified in the handout that you have prepared and distributed
2. Discussant role
3. Attendance - absences
will be noted and recorded.
4.
General preparedness, as reflected in substantive contributions to class
discussion, whether led by a faculty
member or by a fellow student (RD and synopsis).
5. Satisfactory
Completion of the MFAT in political science
6.
Submission of a well-prepared portfolio; this may include the research
design that you construct for this
class..
7.
Participation in an exit interview.
8.
Consultation with the faculty on short papers for the research design.
F. Final
Comprehensive Exam
A comprehensive final exam will be given at the conclusion of the
reading/discussion sessions, and will be administered over the course of two
class periods.