30:159, Authoritarian Politics
Spring 2011, 61 Schaeffer Hall, 1:05 – 2:20 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays
Professor William M. Reisinger
317 Schaeffer Hall Office phone: 335-2351
william-reisinger@uiowa.edu
Office Hours: 2:30 – 4:00 T,Th (or by
appointment)
Teaching assistant: Ms. Hyemin Yoo
323 Schaeffer Hall Office phone: 335-2319
hyemin-yoo@uiowa.edu
Office
Hours: 4:30-5:30 W and 10:00-12:00 Th (or by appointment)
Background Authoritarian regimes violate the democratic values of freedom and equality; that is, they repress their citizens’ personal and political liberties and/or treat part of the populace unjustly. In some cases, the repression is modest, and living conditions are tolerable. Too frequently, however, authoritarianism has allowed or encouraged mass violence, rampant corruption and large-scale destitution. Nor is authoritarian rule rare: at present, over half of the people in the world live under regimes that are entirely or substantially authoritarian. Even in some countries with competitive elections for office, the democracy is a hybrid with authoritarianism. Understanding politics in the world today requires knowing about politics under authoritarian rule.
My goals for your learning You should learn more about what distinguishes democracies from different types of authoritarian regimes. You should enhance your knowledge of the political dynamics characterizing authoritarian regimes and how they differ from corresponding dynamics in democracies. These political dynamics include the goals and behaviors of both political elites and ordinary citizens. You will have opportunities to reflect on tendencies toward or away from authoritarianism in our world.
Assigned Readings Most class sessions have one or more assigned
readings. The assigned material is
important for your learning. Completing
the readings at the appropriate time will boost your class participation score
because I will begin some class sessions with quizzes on the assigned material
and several of the readings will be the focus of classroom discussions and
other activities. Also, portions of both
tests will ask you to show your knowledge of the readings. Note that the length of the assigned readings
varies from one class session to another.
Look ahead now and spread out your reading as necessary.
All assigned books, or readings from
books, are on reserve in the Library (1st floor, south end). The assigned readings that are available
electronically are on the course ICON site, in the content section. They are noted with
The following are on sale at
Iowa Book:
·
Brooker, Non-Democratic
Regimes, 2nd ed. (2009).
·
Royko, Boss
(1971).
·
Course pack, with copies of the
required book chapters
Note that, in addition to the
assigned readings (listed below by class session), you will also have to read
another book in its entirety for the second paper assignment. You will be able to choose this book from the
three below. I have ordered copies of them,
but you may want to get more information about the second paper assignment
before choosing which one to purchase.
·
Alvarez, In
the Time of the Butterflies (1995).
·
Atwood, The
Handmaid’s Tale (1985).
·
Foden, The
Last King of
The following is on sale as an optional
purchase:
·
Williams, Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace,
3rd ed. (2008) . I recommend
this book’s advice for improving your prose.
I would like to hear from
anyone in this class who has a disability which may require some modification
of the seating, testing or other class requirements. Please see me after class or during my office
hours.
Classroom Etiquette Try to be on time. If you can’t be, come in quietly. Cell phones, iPods, and Mp3 players cannot be
on during class. If you use a laptop for
note taking, mute the sound and avoid using the laptop for things that will
distract/annoy your neighbors or take your own attention away from the
class.
Interacting with the
Instructor I
encourage you to speak with me before or after class, as well as to send me
e-mail messages. Walk with me from class
to my office for office hours if you want to speak at more length or without
others present. And feel free to request
an appointment outside the scheduled office hours if they conflict with other
classes or work.
Important Dates:
·
Thursday,
March 10: In-class exam
·
Tuesday,
March 29, by 12:00 noon: 1st paper assignment
due
·
Tuesday,
April 26, by 12:00 noon: 2nd paper assignment
due
·
Tuesday,
May 10, 7:30 – 9:30 am (in regular classroom): Final
examination
Components of Your Course Grade:
1)
An in-class examination
which will requires you to answer objective questions about course readings and
material presented in class. It is worth
20% of the course grade. It will cover
assigned readings and in-class presentations and discussions. I will post more details about the exam on
ICON along with suggestions for preparations.
Per University policy, you may take a make-up exam when illness,
mandatory religious obligations, or other unavoidable circumstances or
University activities cause you to miss the in-class exam. You are responsible to inform me as soon as
possible about the reasons for missing the exam and to give me appropriate
documentation. (Doing this before the
exam—and, in the case of scheduled University activities, long before the exam‑‑is
much appreciated.)
2) Two writing assignments, each worth 20% of the course grade. A more detailed explanation of each assignment will be posted on ICON. These assignments should follow conventions of academic writing. (See the document on the course’s ICON site entitled “Suggestions For Writing Academic Papers.”) If an essay is late, substantially incomplete, or otherwise unsatisfactory, I will deduct points.
3) The final examination will be cumulative and closed-book, 2 hours in length. This exam is worth 30% of the course grade.
4) Class participation, worth 10% of the course grade. I will base the participation score on attendance, contributions to class discussions, occasional quizzes (announced or unannounced) and other in-class activities.
I will assign course grades with plusses and minuses. Each component of the course grade will receive a numerical score, on the 90-80-70 scale, and the weighted average of the component scores will determine the course grade. I will indicate the letter-grade equivalents of each component’s numerical score, but you should treat those as approximations; the calculation of the course grade will be based on the numbers.
Note: I will give a grade of Incomplete for the course only when extreme and unavoidable circumstances prevent you from taking the final examination. Let me know about those circumstances just as soon as possible.
Brooker, Introduction.
Brooker, all
of ch. 1 and pp. 238-251
in ch. 8.
Brooker, ch. 2.
Brooker, ch. 3 and pp. 148-156 in ch. 5.
Brooker, ch. 4. and pp. 156‑161 in ch. 5.
Brooker, pp. 130-148 in ch. 5.
Royko, Boss, in its entirety.
Brooker, pp. 171(bottom)–196 in ch. 6.
Brooker, ch.
9.
Tuesday, May 10, 7:30 – 9:30 am:
Final Examination