Included here will be required readings, supplemental resources, outlines, web links, and assignments. This is a very intense 1-semester college course designed to cover the basic concepts of Comparative Government through the study of six countries. We have a short period of time to learn and prepare for the AP exam. As a college-level course, the rule of 1-2 hours of outside work for every hour in the classroom will apply. Please understand this in advance. If this is not what you were expecting, please talk to your guidance counselor immediately to switch to another elective.  
All students enrolled in AP Comparative Government must obtain the required review book - AP Comparative Government and Politics: a Study Guide, 5th edition, by Ethel Wood. Bring a check for $16.15 made payable to Woodyard Publications to class by Friday, January 20 to get yours at a discount. Otherwise, here is a link to order (though note that this price is 24.95 s/h).  If you are purchasing on your own, you must have it in class by Wednesday, February 1.
 
The three most important features of this website are The Calendar, The Articles, and The Class Downloads
- The Calendar feature can be found by scrolling to the bottom of this site. It will be used for upcoming dates relevant to the class, including homework assignments, tests, FRQs, review sessions, and after-school documentaries.
- The Articles feature can be found on the right-hand sidebar of this site. It will have resources, both required and optional, for comparative government in general, as well as for each country we study. Familiarizing yourself with these articles as early in the course as possible (and continuing to use them throughout the semester) will be essential to your success in the class.
- The Class Downloads can be found by scrolling all the way to the bottom of this screen I will keep it up-to-date throughout the semester with notes from class. While you can always email me or ask in class what you missed, this is the best way to stay caught up if you miss school for any reason.
Below is an excerpt of the course description from the College Board. To view the entire course description, please visit the Comparative Government and Politics Site. The AP course in Comparative Government and Politics introduces students to fundamental concepts used by political scientists to study the processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of country settings. The course aims to illustrate the rich diversity of political life, to show available institutional alternatives, to explain differences in processes and policy outcomes, and to communicate to students the importance of global political and economic changes. In addition to covering the major concepts that are used to organize and interpret what we know about political phenomena and relationships, the course should cover specific countries and their governments. Six countries form the core of the AP Comparative Government and Politics course. China, Great Britain, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia are all regularly covered in college-level introductory comparative politics courses. The inclusion of Iran adds a political system from a very important region of the world and one that is subject to distinctive political and cultural dynamics. By using these six core countries, the course can move the discussion of concepts from abstract definition to concrete example, noting that not all concepts will be equally useful in all country settings.

 

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