Advanced Placement Comparative Government Part One (AP) Full Curriculum

Welcome to class! Parents and students, please note that this is a class that requires dedication and completion of homework, especially if you plan to take the AP Exam.  My students do very well on the exam because I treat it as a college course with a combination of College Board assignments and class projects.  The most successful students stay on top of their readings and class work. As a class we will prepare for the exam in May by creating portfolios, and researching six different countries in order to compare and contrast their political system with that of the United States.  Student will have access to College Board's AP Central curriculum. I am audited so students are able to get transcripts, weighted grades and take the exam.

Course Description 

Comparative Government is a college level political science course that provides students with: 
A concrete understanding of the scientific method behind political comparison, a well-developed sense of political theory, and a “real world” understanding of global studies through specific analysis of 6 different political entities. 

Throughout the course students will be learning the process that political scientists use to analyze and evaluate political systems, and then applying that process to the case studies.  Upon completion of the Comparative Government class, students will be equipped to understand and evaluate current Geo-political issues in an informed manner, and will have developed the tools and methodology to understand and evaluate Geo-political issues that will arise in the future. 

Overview:  
Unit One Introduction to Political Science 
Unit Two:  Britain and European Union 
Unit Three:  Mexico
Unit Four: Nigeria
Unit Five:  Russian Federation 
Unit Six:  People’s Republic of China 
Unit Seven:  Islamic Republic of Iran 
Unit Eight:  The United States a Global Perspective 

Course Objectives 
-Students successfully completing this course will be able to: 
-Define and describe major comparative political concepts 
-Support generalizations with relevant factual information pertaining to the  
       Governments and politics of China, Great Britain, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia 
-Analyze typical patterns of political processes and behavior and  
        their consequences 
-Compare and contrast political institutions and processes across countries 
-Analyze and interpret basic data relevant to comparative government and politics 

Text:  I am taking the summer training 2024 and will be announcing a new text book this for this year based on College Board's recommendation.  I will get it to you all as soon as possible.  We will continue to use our current text for the summer class.

Suggested Pre-requisite:  AP United States Government Part One and Two or a very strong government class.  This is not needed if you choose to just audit this class or do not plan on taking the AP exam.  You are welcome to take AP Government at the same time you are taking Comparative and can find Regular and AP Government here: 

AP American Government:   https://outschool.com/classes/advanced-placement-united-states-government-and-politics-for-high-school-credit-vpfYLCMT

American Government (Next class May 2 for those that want to try AP during the 2023-2024 school year) https://outschool.com/classes/united-states-government-and-civics-part-12-full-semester-DKMyuL3C