Grading Policy
The final numeric grade will map to the final letter grade according to SUU's standard number to-letter grade conversion scheme. Final grades ending in .5 or higher are automatically rounded up to the nearest whole percentage point.
A: 94-100
A-: 90-93
B+: 87-89
B: 84-86
B-: 80-83
C+: 77-79
C: 74-76
C-: 70-73
D+: 67-69
D: 64-66
D-: 60-63
F: 0-59
Final grades will be assessed through various measures of your performance in the course:
Exam 1 (Midterm): 15%
Exam 2 (Final): 15%
Weekly Quizzes 20% (4 at 5% each)
Game Theory Problem Sets: 30% (2 at 15% each)
Community Mapping Project: 20%
Exams
There will be two exams, both of which are equally weighted. They will be given on Canvas, and the due dates are scheduled in the syllabus. The format of each exam will be multiple-choice and will include any material covered since the last exam. A study guide will be provided in advance. Questions will be taken from the review sheets and weekly quizzes.
Weekly Quizzes
There will be four weekly quizzes, all of which are equally weighted. They will be given on Canvas, and the dates are scheduled in the syllabus. The format of each quiz be multiple-choice and will include any material covered since the last quiz (or last exam). Questions will be taken from the study guides and readings.
Game Theory Problem Sets
Comparative politics utilizes a theoretical tool known as formal modeling, or "game theory", to develop theory and formalize arguments mathematically. Throughout the semester students will learn how to solve various game theoretic problems. To get practice solving these problems, students will complete two practice problem sets (15% each).
Community Mapping Project
This project will have students explore communities in a comparative context through the lenses of institutions and issue areas. There are two parts to this assignment. Students should choose a local community outside the United States, such as a city, town, municipality, or neighborhood, that meets the following criteria:
- Any region in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, Oceania.
- It can be a capital city (e.g., Nairobi, Warsaw, Bogotá) or a smaller urban or rural area (e.g., Chiang Mai, Medellín, Accra).
- Your community must be researchable in a language you can read. Smaller or more remote communities may have sparse information available in English.
- Ensure you can access local government sites, NGO/INGO sites.
- The community must have clearly identifiable political and cultural institutions.
Part 1 of your Community Mapping Project asks you to create a Google map of a community as you define it with: (1) at least 7 major landmarks and institutions and (2) at least 7 important institutions and organizations at work in a political issue area of your choosing. Your map will include a minimum of 2 sentences caption and photo/graphic/video for each location you map along with a 1 sentence credit or explanation for each photo/graphic/video. This portion of the project is worth 10% of the final grade.
For Part 2, you will write a descriptive narrative of your community (250 words), an identification of major debates and controversies related to your chosen issue area (250 words), and a reflective discussion of the assets in your chosen community as well as links to the course material (250 words). Showcase the evidence you have found in your research of government websites, NGO/INGO websites, and reputable news media articles. This portion of the project is worth 10% of the final grade (Part 1 + Part 2 = 20% of the final grade).
Further instructions will be given on Canvas.
Assignment Due Dates
All assignments, quizzes, and exams in this course are due on Sunday nights (11:59pm). I schedule it this way to give students the maximum amount of time possible to complete readings, quizzes, and assignments throughout the week at your own pace and according to your own schedule. HOWEVER this means that in most weeks, multiple assignments will be due at the same time. Students are responsible for planning ahead to ensure that all assignments are completed by the deadlines listed in the syllabus. In other words, you should not wait until Sunday to START the assignments/readings/exams for a particular week, and instead should pace yourself throughout the week.