Overview

POLI 278 is the second half of AU's introduction to politics course. It can be taken alone for students requiring 3 credits in political science, but not wishing to take both introductory courses. For students desiring a thorough introduction to political science, those intending to do other political science courses, both introductory courses are recommended. Together with POLI 277, POLI 278 is designed to provide students with a solid foundation in politics and government to enable them to proceed to other courses in political science.

The course introduces students to the basic concepts, and processes of political science--democracy, political culture and socialization, political participation, elections, parties, interest groups, and social movements.

Outline

Evaluation

To receive credit for POLI 278, you must complete the following assignments and achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of 50 percent or better on the final examination. The weighting of the assignments is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Dye, Thomas R., and Harmon Ziegler. 2003. The irony of democracy: An uncommon introduction to American politics. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Landes, Ronald G. 2002. The Canadian polity: A comparative introduction. 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, Inc.

Other Materials

The course materials include a study guide, student manual, and a reading file.