Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Friday, April 11, 2008

New teaching plan posted

I've posted a description and links to Rob Crawford's teaching plan for comparing the economic and political systems found in the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome at sharing comparative.

Use the "Files" link on the left side of the main web page to find an MSWord file and a rich tech format (.rtf) file of the introduction with links to Rob's web pages.

Here's Rob's introduction:

"MAD MAX?!?

"OK, let's face it: Comparative Politics can be exceptionally tedious, particularly the dry but absolutely essential area of structural analysis. The following exercise is an attempt to "liven up" this section of the course by allowing the students to apply the tools of analysis they have acquired in an entertaining and stimulating manner.

"In the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Max is the Gulliver of a post-apocalyptic world, journeying from place to place in search of Utopia. The places he finds, 'Bartertown' and 'Crack-in-the-Earth', are complex and visionary representations of two very different communities with startlingly different cultural propensities and political systems. This setup is perfect for analysis and comparison--and with explosions as an added incentive to pay attention!

Through quizzes, discussion, and practice essays comparing the societies in Mad Max..., students will be able to quickly recognize ideological patterns and master the Easton model before moving on to analyze the nations of the real world in preparation for the AP Exam."

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