Ramjee parajulee

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Course Code, Number, and Title: POLI 1160 Contemporary Ideologies

Year and semester: Fall 2017

Course Format:

The class will meet once a week for three hours on Wednesday evenings for 14 weeks. In general, it will consist of lectures and individual/group discussions/reports.

Credits: 3

Transfer Credit: For information, visit bctransferguide.ca

Course Description, Prerequisites, and Co-requisites:

This course seeks to familiarize students with various ideas and ambiguities of modern political ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism, and recent emerging ideologies such as feminism, environmentalism and religious fundamentalism. It will enable students to locate these ideologies in an historical context and understand their structure, functions, core tenets, and internal complexities.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

· Develop an understanding of various political ideologies.

· Understand and explain the basic concepts of human nature, freedom, democracy and human rights as explained by different political ideologies and political thinkers associated with them.

· Develop a critical understanding of the evolution and functionality of various political ideologies around the world.

· Develop an awareness and understanding of the specific tools of analysis employed in the study of contemporary ideologies.

Instructor: Dr. Ramjee Parajulee

Office: B247k Phone: 604-523-5511 ext.

Email: rparajulee@langara.bc.ca

Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday: 16:00-18:00 or by appointment

Textbook and Course Materials:

Ball, Terence, Richard Dagger, William Christian and Colin Campbell. Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, Third Canadian edition. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2013

Additional readings can be assigned during the term.

Note: This course may use an electronic (online) instructional resource that is located outside of Canada for mandatory graded class work. You may be required to enter personal information, such as your name and email address, to log in to this resource. This means that your personal information could be stored on servers located outside of Canada and may be accessed by U.S. authorities, subject to federal laws. Where possible, you may log in with an email pseudonym as long as you provide the pseudonym to me so I can identify you when reviewing your class work.

Assessments and Weighting:

Attendance and Participation (10%)

Individual Reports (10%)

Weekly Quizzes (20%)

Argumentative Research Essay (30%) Due on November 01

Final Exam (30%) Held during the exam period, i.e. Dec 02-14

Grading:

A+ (90-100%) = Outstanding Work

Evidence of highly original thinking; superior knowledge of subject; articulate and erudite writing.

A (85-89%) = Exceptional Work

Strong evidence of original thinking; excellent understanding of subject matter and ability to critically assess sources; smooth and flowing writing.

A- (80-84%) = Very Good Work

Superior presentation and analysis of sources; some effort made to show where original contributions might be made; command of source material; excellent ability to synthesize research; strong organization and flawless grammar.

B+ (76-79%) = Good Work

Good organization overall, though with some shortcomings; good, if limited use of sources; thoughtful but less original analysis; strong writing that still needs refining.

B (72-75%) = Solid Work

Good grasp of the subject matter; some evidence of critical analysis; correct technique in citing and grammar; writing is competent but needs further proofreading/editing.

B- (68-71%) = Promising Work

Good effort shown in choosing sources and organizing work, but gaps remain in research and analysis; frequent problems with grammar and/or technical requirements; writing is often awkward.

C (C+ 64-67%; C 60-63%; C- 55-59%) = Adequate Work

Basic command of issues and ideas; limited critical ability; substantial grammar and writing problems.

D (50-54%) = Minimally Acceptable Work

Some familiarity with themes and ideas; little evidence of writing or analytical skills.

F (50% and below) = Unacceptable Work

Little understanding of ideas; weak critical and analytical abilities; major grammar/writing issues.

Detailed Course Schedule:

Week 1: September 06 Introduction.

Readings: Ball, Dagger, Christian and Campbell (BDCC), Chapt. 1

Week 2: September 13 Liberalism I

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 3

Week 3: September 20 Liberalism II

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 4

Quiz #1; Individual Report #1a

Week 4: September 27 Conservatism I

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 5

Quiz #2 ; Individual Report #1b

Week 5: October 04 Conservatism II

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 6

Quiz #3; Individual Report #2a

Week 6: October 11 Socialism I

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 7

Quiz #4; Individual Report #2b

Week 7: October 18 Socialism II

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 8

Quiz #5; Individual Report #3a

Week 8: October 25 Anarchism

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 7 (pp. 139-143)

Quiz #6; Individual Report #3b

Week 9: November 01 Nationalism

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 9 (pp. 173-185) Quiz #7; Individual Report #4a

Arguementative Research Essay Due on November 01

Week 10: November 08 Fascism

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 9 (pp. 186-202)

Quiz #8; Individual Report #4b

Week 11: November 15 Feminism

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 11 (pp. 229-234)

Quiz #9; Individual Report #5a

Week 12: November 22 Ecologism

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 12

Quiz #10; Individual Report #5b

Week 13: November 29 Religious Fundamentalism

Readings: BDCC, Chapter 13

Quiz 11

As a student at Langara, you are responsible for familiarizing yourself and complying with the following policies:

College Policies:

E1003 - Student Code of Conduct

F1004 - Code of Academic Conduct

E2008 - Academic Standing - Academic Probation and Academic Suspension

E2006 - Appeal of Final Grade

F1002 - Concerns about Instruction

E2011 - Withdrawal from Courses

Departmental/Course Policies:

ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION

· Attendance and participation are integral parts of this course. Each student is expected to attend lecture and participate in class discussions every week.

· Students will complete all the assigned readings before coming to class and actively participate in class discussions. It is the responsibility of students to read all the materials assigned for this course.

· To encourage participation in class, the instructor will raise pertinent issues and ask specific question/s every week. For discussion purposes, students will be frequently paired with each other to discuss the pertinent issue/s for few minutes and share their opinion or observation to the class.

· Regular attendance and positive contribution to class/group discussion will be the primary basis of participation grade.

· Participation grades will be deducted for unexcused absences, tardiness, and lack of respect for classroom environment.

INDIVIDUAL REPORT

· Students will participate in writing four individual reports throughout the term. This activity begins on the third week of the term.

· Students will prepare a one page report every week on a topic/question chosen by the instructor. The whole class will be divided into two groups in an alphabetical order based on the last name of students for this purpose. The members of the first group will write their report on the third week, and the members from the second group will write their report on the fourth week. This process will continue until the end of the term when members in both groups will have written four reports each.

· Students will submit the reports to the instructor for evaluation.

· Unless there is a genuine reason (such as sickness and emergencies), there will be no make up for these reports.

WEEKLY QUIZZES

· Beginning in the third week of the term, students will write weekly quizzes throughout the term. Each quiz will consist of 10 questions and take about 10-15 minutes to complete.

· These quizzes are generally designed to test the knowledge acquired by the students in the previous week prior to the quiz date. They will help the students prepare for the final exam.

· They will be held at the beginning of the class. Be on time to take the test as you will have no extra time to complete the test if you arrive late. There will be no make-up quizzes or assignments for any missed quizzes.

FINAL EXAM

· Students need to take one final exam in December. The exam will consist of all the materials covered during the term and may include multiple choice, short answer and long essay questions

· Be on time for the test. If you are late, you will have less time to finish the test. No additional time is granted to late-comers.

· Do not miss the test. No make-up test is granted. If students encounter exceptional circumstances such as medical emergencies forcing them to miss the test, they should furnish proper documentation to support their claim, and let the instructor know about the emergency before the test date.

· Policy of academic honesty is strictly enforced. Any academic dishonesty during the test will result in “0” for the test and may incur additional penalties in accordance with college policy.

· Incomplete grades will not be given except under verifiably extenuating circumstances such as severe illness.

· No personal electronic devices (cell phones, blackberries, pagers, calculators, electronic dictionaries, etc...) can be used during the examination. Turn off all cell phones, pagers and other electronic devices and remove them from the desk during the exam.

· Langara College has policies on Academic Appeals (including appeal of final grades), Student Conduct, Cheating and Plagiarism, Academic Probation and other educational issues. Copies of these and other policies are distributed to all students during the registration process and are also available in the College Calendar and the Library.

ARGUMENTATIVE RESEARCH ESSAY

· Students will choose one of the essay topics from a list provided below.

· Whichever topic they choose, students will identify the problem, present a clear argument and support it with compelling evidence.

LIST OF POSSIBLE ESSAY TOPIC

1. Is classical liberalism better than modern liberalism in practice?

2. Do you support affirmative action program in order to address political and economic inequalities?

3. Which one is more effective – conservatism or liberalism?

4. Is the communist ideology dead after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s?

5. Does globalization strengthen or weaken nationalism?

6. Is anarchism a viable ideology?

7. Is feminism an effective ideology?

8. Is environmentalism gaining momentum in Western democratic states?

9. Is religious fundamentalism a threat to other ideologies?

SOME GUIDELINES FOR ARGUMENTATIVE RESEARCH ESSAY

General Guideline on What to Do

· Students will choose a topic from a “list of possible essay topics” during the first week of the term. Students wishing to choose an alternative topic will obtain approval from the instructor no later than first week of October. Essay topics that have not been approved will not be accepted.

· Regardless of topic, students need to include certain elements in their essay. The paper will include a clear argument or thesis, a strong analysis supported by evidence, and a forceful conclusion.

· An argument requires two elements: a clear position on the subject matter and supporting evidence (factors) that substantiate the claim.

· First, students will take a position on the subject. For example, if they choose topic #1 they can state something like this “classical liberalism is better (or worse) than modern liberalism).”

· Second, they will list at least three or more factors (i.e. the reasons that make classical liberalism better (or worse)) to support their argument.

· In subsequent paragraphs, they will explain these factors and demonstrate how they are related to their main argument.

· If students are working on an idea or a topic and feel that it has both strengths and weaknesses, they will take a position and explain its strengths (or weaknesses) only. While they are explaining their position on an idea, they will acknowledge the opposite viewpoint briefly in a paragraph or so before concluding the paper.

· In the concluding section, students will briefly summarize their findings and reinforce their position. At this point, they may include some relevant suggestions or recommendations to make their argument more appealing.

Length of Paper

· The paper will be about 1500 words (double spaced) long, no more, excluding the cover page and list of References. Include the ‘word count’ at the end of your concluding paragraph. Be concise and to the point. Include what is relevant to the main argument and leave out unnecessary detail or background information. ( Note: The essence of writing a good paper is knowing not just what to include but what to exclude.)

When and Where Due

· The term paper is due in class on November 01st and will be handed in to the instructor in person.

Penalty for Late Submission

· Late submissions will be assessed a penalty of 5% per day. Requests for extensions will be accompanied by a medical certificate. I am on campus only on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students will make necessary arrangements, if necessary, with me to submit late papers. They will not slide their paper under the office door or attempt to leave it outside the office. Late papers will not receive any written comments.

· Extensions for essay submission can be granted only in exceptional circumstances such as medical emergencies and require proper documentation. If the student needs an extension, he/she will discuss this with the instructor before the due date. If the student gets an extension, he/she will submit the notes and drafts of the paper before the due date.

· No papers will be accepted after November 29th. Late penalty will be capped at 25%.

Format and Style

· Students will follow proper writing guidelines of the college. They will use an APA (American Psychological Association) style of reference and be consistent throughout the paper.

· Students will type their papers. (No handwritten papers are acceptable.) They will use standard size 12 font and keep 1” margins on all sides, include the page numbers, a cover page, in-text or parenthetical citations, a list of references, and staple the pages in the upper left-hand corner.

· Note: No fancy cover or a binder is required. An ordinary cover page with all identifying information (such as the running head, title of the paper, name of the student, and college name) is required.

· Students will write their paper with proper sentence structure so that the ideas expressed are clearly understood. They will not not personalize their papers (e.g. I belive, I feel, etc.) and use any value laden or normative expressions such as “we all know” (feel, hope, believe, think, etc.), or conclude their paper with a judgmental overtone, such as “we are certain” or “absolutely wrong/right” or “we will overcome.”

· No paper requiring extensive corrections of grammar will be accepted. Any student anticipating such problems should consult the Langara College Writing Centre.

References

· Students will include at least 8 major academic sources in their paper. A combination of four scholarly books and four journal articles will be considered sufficient. While plenty of information is available on the web, most of it is not reliable. Students are strongly advised not to use any obscure internet resources. They will use reliable search engines such as ‘google scholar’ and ‘academic search premier’ on the net to find scholarly journal articles and other relevant information on their essay topic.