2012 Fall Semester is just a couple of days ahead. If you have reached this blog you probably have seen my message in your inbox.
This blog is going to be the main conduit through which I (Eser Şekercioğlu) will be posting links to readings, share interesting academic web pages with various resources, post information about assignments and supplementary course materials. So, following this blog is going to be essential for everybody who takes IREU 150. Most information that I will be posting here will be relevant for all three sections, therefore there is only one generic blog and not three blogs for all three sections. If, however, I need to post material for only one section, I will explicitly mention for whom the messages are posted. I hope there will be no confusion about the use of the blog.
Below is the syllabus. A permanent page is also created above as a link.
IREU 150-1-2-3 Essential Academic Skills for International Relations
Time: Tuesday 9:30 – 13:20 (Section 1) , Tuesday 14:30-18:20 (Section 2). Thursday 9:30 - 13-20 (Section 3)
Place: C-108 (1) , C-104 (2) , C-203 (3)
Instructor: Eser Şekercioğlu (eser.sekercioglu@gmail.com)
Course Description
The first decade of the 21st century has shown that above everything else we are in the age of information utilization. With smartphones at every hand, google at your fingertips and increasing availability of broadband internet access it is no longer a challenge to have access to information. Similarly storing information by memorizing it has been unnecessary for some time now. What makes an individual distinctive in academic and professional life is how well he/she makes use of all the information s/he has access to.
The skills that you will learn in this course will first and foremost help you become better and more accomplished university students. But most of our discussions will be relevant for your professional life as well.
Course Requirements
Readings: There is not going to be a book or a reading package you need to purchase. Necessary material will be made available as needed (via e-mail, electronic depositories, online sources, etc.) Remember, this is a course that will focus on information utilization, not information storage. Instruction starts with how resources are handled.
Caution: The fact that there is no book or reading package does not mean that there will be no reading or writing in this course. There s going to be fair amount of reading and writing. More importantly, though, you will be forced to think and analyze a lot.
Course Requirements
Attendance: Attendance to this course is mandatory. Student attendance will be recorded every week. But just coming to class is not enough. Students are expected to be prepared and willing to contribute to discussions and activities. Attendance will account for 20% of your grade. (Attendance 10% + Participation 10%)
Assignments: There will be four assignments. These assignments will test your development in key skills. Some will be based on writing, others on application of skills and techniques (Excel, Powerpoint, Library Resources, etc.) Each assignment will be worth 15 % of your grade. In total, Assignments will account for 60 % of your grade. More information will be made available later in the semester as we approach assignment deadlines.
Group Presentation: Students will be divided into groups of 4 randomly. Each group will prepare a 10 minute presentation based on a topic that will be assigned randomly in class by lottery. You will use all the techniques that you have learned in class. Presentations will be made orally in class using whatever necessary equipment is necessary (video, powerpoint, etc.). Also, each student is required to follow fellow students’ presentations carefully and critically. After each presentation there will be 10 minute discussion period. Students will be graded based on the questions they ask and/or comments they make and presenters will be judged based on the quality of their presentations and answers in the discussion sessions. Presentations 15% , Discussion performance 5 %
Attendance and Participation(10+10): 20%
Assignments (4*15): 60%
Presentation(15 +5) : 20%
Total : 100 %
Academic Honesty: We will discuss this as a separate subject in class as well. Still, there are certain rules that you must observe even before we discuss these issues:
All forms of cheating and plagiarism are going to be reported to the disciplinary committees of the university.
Cheating includes: Copying somebody else’s work in an exam, homework, or quiz. Using any electronic device, dictionary, book, lecture notes, etc. when they are not allowed in an exam or quiz or class.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as using somebody else’s work without referencing it fully, claiming credit for intellectual property that is created by others, pretending to have produced a work that was created by someone else. This includes copying your classmates homework and presenting it as your own, copying sentences and paragraphs from any print or electronic media without referencing it and this includes Wikipedia, search results from google and other search engines. Rule of thumb: If it is not your original thought then you must give proper reference to it.
E-mail and communications policy: I am generally very good with e-mail. Send me an e-mail anytime you want. However, because I suffered from this before, I will not answer any e-mails if :
a) there is no subject (“urgent !!!” is not a proper subject. Something like “ Concerning the second assignment”, or “ A few questions about topic 3” are proper e-mail subjects)
b) e-mail is written with no concern for grammar and vocabulary. You must learn how to write proper correspondence (not only communicating with your professors but with anybody. You will need this in professional life as well).
So, each e-mail must have a proper subject, and the text must have well formed grammatical sentences and no sms type abbreviations like, off snne be slk.
Office hours: Anytime you can find me on campus or by appointment.
Course Structure
Week 1
Introduction to the Course
Reading: No readings
Week 2
Causality - Induction vs Deduction
Reading: TBA (To Be Announced)
Week 3-4
Causal Inference – Finding causes and isolating effects
Readings:
McDermott, R. (Autumn, 2002). Experimental Methodology in Political Science. Political
Analysis 10 (4), 325-342.
Gerring, John (2005). Causation: A Unified Framework for the Social Sciences. Journal of Theoretical Politics 17(2): 163-98.
Week 5 –
Causal Inference – Analyzing an Argument
***Assignment #1 Due date
Reading: TBA
Week 6 - Kurban Bayramı , No class
Week 7-8
Theory, Concepts, Laws, Hypotheses, Nonsense
Readings:
Van Evera, Stephen (1997). Hypotheses, Laws, and Theories: A User’s Guide. In Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp. 7-48.
Maoz, Zeey and Bruce Russett (1993). Normative and Structural Causes of Democratic Peace, 1946-1986. American Political Science Review 87(3): 624-38
Gerring, John (1999). What Makes a Concept Good? A Criterial Framework for Understanding Concept Formation in the Social sciences. Polity 3: 357-93.
Munck, Gerardo L. and Jay Verkuilen (2002). Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: Evaluating Alternative Indices. Comparative Political Studies 35(1): 5-34.
Week 9
Organizing and Presenting Data – Working with Spreadsheet Programs
Readings: Lecture notes will be provided
Week 10
Fundamentals of presenting findings and reporting
Readings: Lecture notes will be provided
***Assignment #2 Due date
Week 11
Tools of scholarly search – Jstor, Google Scholar, Abstract Databases, etc.
Library visit
Readings: Lecture notes will be provided
Week 12
Research Design – Asking the right questions
Readings: Lecture notes will be provided
***Assignment #3 Due date
Week 13
Academic Ethics – Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty
Weeks 14 -15
Student Presentations
***Assignment #4 Due date
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