Course Calendar 2011-2012 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert

Political Science
385-101-LA
Introduction to Political Science
(Level I Political Science for Social Science students only)
This course focuses on the foundations and processes of
political life. It builds the necessary theoretical as well as
historical, geographical and economic content knowledge
required for understanding politics. It introduces students to
the application of the basic terminology, concepts and
theories of politics, as well as to current facts and events of
contemporary political life. The course also familiarizes the
student with the rights, obligations and processes of
informed citizenship at the local, regional, national and
international levels. For students who are going to continue
in the discipline of political science, the course sets the
groundwork for the actualization of higher level abilities in
Level II courses. Topics covered in the course: scope, fields
of specialization and methods of political science; basic
concepts of the discipline: power, legitimacy and authority,
society, state, government, regime, sovereignty, law,
international order, etc.; typologies of governments,
political parties, interest groups, political cultures,
ideologies, electoral systems, policy making; theoretical
frameworks: system theory, structural functionalism,
behaviouralism, conflict theory; links between political
science and the other disciplines of the social sciences in the
understanding of human phenomena; data banks and
references in political science.
3 hours/week Units: 2.00
385-201-LA
Canadian and Quebec Politics
(Level II Political Science for Social Science students only)
This Level II course helps the student develop an
understanding and appreciation of his and her own
municipal, provincial and federal political systems and
how they function. The student will learn to analyze the
changes that Canada and Québec are facing, due both to
the external pressure of the global marketplace and to
criticisms of the way Canadian federalism works, with
special emphasis on the place of Québec in the
federation. It is a course where the student has easy
access to the field and could carry out fieldwork. Topics
covered in the course: foundations and institutions of
parliamentary democracy; the politics of language and
Québécois nationalism; intergovernmental relations; the
Canadian and Québec party systems and electoral
systems; political culture, interest groups and public
opinion; public policy
3 hours/week Units: 2.00
Prerequisite: Political Science 385-101-LA
385-202-LA
Comparative Politics – Latin America
(Level II Political Science for Social Science students only)
This Level II course helps the student develop and apply
the comparative method to the study of political systems
in the contemporary world. It focuses on contemporary
forms of government, political cultures, ideologies,
constitutional frameworks, designs of governmental
institutions, party systems, interest groups, electoral
systems and public policy. Topics covered in the course:
the comparative method in political science; comparative
theoretical frameworks; industrialized democracies;
current and former communist regimes; developing and
less developed political regimes; selected area studies
including Europe, North America, Africa, Latin America,
the Middle East, Asia.
3 hours/week Units: 2.00
Prerequisite: Political Science 385-101-LA
385-203-LA
International Politics
(Level II Political Science for Social Science students
only)
This Level II course helps the student understand the
interesting and complex world of international politics. It
explains the foundations of the international system, its
players and institutions. It helps the student analyze themes
such as the end of the Cold War, North South relations,
ethnic conflicts, the politics of energy, the emergence of
new regional trading blocks, global economic
interdependence, the role of the United Nations,
international law and the erosion of state sovereignty by
new transnational forces. Topics covered in the course:
emergence of the field of international relations;
theoretical frameworks for understanding international
behaviour; critical approaches to international politics;
territory, sovereignty and statehood; the challenges of
ethnic identity and of globalization; governments and
foreign policy; international security; the unequal
distribution of wealth; human rights and environmental
decay.
3 hours/week Units: 2.00
Prerequisite: Political Science 385-101-LA