POLS1002: Introduction to Politics

tutorial participation 10%, quizzes 20% (5 quizzes, so 4% each), essay 30%, final exam 40%
Online quizzes were all multiple choice and timed and must be taken on select days
The format for the final exam is entirely short and long-answer questions, asking us to define concepts or compare/contrast terms

I quite liked this intro course to politics. Some people may find it dry and some found this course slightly boring but personally I quite liked it and found it interesting and fun to learn. A variety of different topics are studied such as power, public goods, collective action, game theory, democracy, federalism, presidential/parliamentary systems and judicial politics. This course gives a well-rounded basic overview to these topics and also lots of examples and comparisons are taught. My favourite part was presidential/parliamentary systems and comparing the different voting systems around the world, but every week is pretty engaging and you learn a lot of content in one lecture. The online quizzes are every 2 weeks and are a good way to make sure you're up to date and actually learn the content. I would recommend this course and as I am intending on studying politics-related courses in the future I'm not too sure how much this course will help or lead on to other areas but this course is still a very good course where you can learn quite a bit

I would recommend taking this course with POLS1005. A few parts of the content do overlap (such as game theory) and your studies in one may help the other

Yes, with screen capture etc.

Dr Andrew Banfield & Dr Matthew Kerby, alternating every 1-2 weeks
Both are fairly engaging and funny. They're also Canadian and have great stories

no

4 Out of 5

The Science of Politics: An Introduction - Josep Colomer
Most of the readings will come from this textbook so I would recommend that you buy it, however, you can borrow from the library if you don't wish to buy it. I really like the textbook and found it quite easy to follow.

1x2hr lecture and 1x1hr tutorial per week

Semester 1 2017