This course explores the distinct foundations upon which modern Caribbean politics rests. It attempts to identify the unique characteristics and experiences of Caribbean states to enrich the field of comparisons with other political systems. The special characteristics of small states, the varied impact of colonialism in the region, the nature of the political culture, along with class and ethnic influences, the founding roles of Caribbean leaders, the main state formations that have emerged, as well as the emergence of civil societies in the Caribbean are the main areas covered. The main purpose is to be able to understand the nature of contemporary Caribbean politics from the continuing impact of these foundations.
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This course builds on the foundations learned in Econometrics by focusing on the practical application of econometric methods in solving econometric problems. It also introduces topics such as panel data analysis and modern time series methods.
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In this course students will learn to appreciate the value of qualitative research as it offers contextual meaning of social phenomena. Students will become familiar with the nature, assumptions and logic of qualitative research. They will understand the available techniques for designing a qualitative research study while identifying and constructing theory.
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This course will therefore be devoted to provoking critical thinking about the political, economic and social challenges and opportunities in the implementation of ICTs for e-Government and in the wider context of e-Governance. It will introduce the student to a variety of theoretical ways of thinking about technology within the broader framework of political science. This is important because convergence of ICTs is reshaping traditional methods of social discourse and the way we interact; exacerbating traditional methods of how knowledge and information are created, managed and utilized as a competitive asset for development; redefining core concepts in contemporary political life such as power, sovereignty, privacy, security, representation, accountability, transparency, individual rights, liberty, democracy, moral agency and ethics. Moreover, the assertion those developing countries will be able to leapfrog traditional technologies and engage newer ones to realise their development goals, have also not been realised. By studying e-governance, students will not only be investigating technical issues, but also the less overt political machinations that go into how these technologies are being used in making decisions about how to engineer information infrastructure for political agendas and the significant implications for political life.
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This course will introduce learners to the basic components of political science and analysis. Topics will include historically based issues such as conceptions of the state, an examination of democracy and its applications in the Caribbean, the machinery of government, potential influences on political systems and more recent concepts such as globalisation. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on establishing links between theories, concepts and real world scenarios in the Caribbean and beyond. On completing the course, it is expected that students will understand and appreciate the political process and its ultimate effect on the wider society.
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This course aims to give students an introduction, to contemporary trends in sociological theory. At its core, the course examines a range of theoretical debates that have acquired international prominence in recent years.
Sociological theory unavoidably has to be approached from an international perspective. This is due to, on the one hand, the universalising claims inherent in many contemporary theoretical approaches and, on the other hand, the proliferation of sociology, sociologists, and sociology departments throughout the world. At the same time, however, questions remain as to the scope of relevance of internationally dominant theories that emanate from leading sociology departments and publishing houses in Western Europe and North America. The present course addresses this tension by introducing students to a broad range of contemporary theories and interrogating their importance to social research in the Caribbean.
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The course is intended to be a general introduction to the discipline of comparative politics and government. It will clarify and synthesise some of the major theoretical directions found in the literature. The emphasis will be on the examination and assessment of the major theoretical trends, as well as themes in approaches to and concepts in the study of comparative politics.
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This course introduces students to basic perspectives, principles, procedures and concepts of research methods. It aims to expose students to knowledge of the main components of a research framework i.e., problem definition, research design, data collection & analysis, ethical issues in research, report writing, and presentation.
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This course aims to give students an introduction, to contemporary trends in sociological theory. At its core, the course examines a range of theoretical debates that have acquired international prominence in recent years.
Sociological theory unavoidably has to be approached from an international perspective. This is due to, on the one hand, the universalising claims inherent in many contemporary theoretical approaches and, on the other hand, the proliferation of sociology, sociologists, and sociology departments throughout the world. At the same time, however, questions remain as to the scope of relevance of internationally dominant theories that emanate from leading sociology departments and publishing houses in Western Europe and North America. The present course addresses this tension by introducing students to a broad range of contemporary theories and interrogating their importance to social research in the Caribbean.
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This research project course is designed to give students an appreciation for conceptualising contemporary issues from a psychological perspective. Students also have the opportunity to integrate psychological theories and research methods to investigate selected issues.
