Course Syllabus

 Professor: Claudia N. Avellaneda                          

Office phone: 812-856-9026                                                            

Email: cavellan@iu.edu                                           

Zoom: https://iu.zoom.us/j/4178142714

Description and Objective of the Course

 Course Description:

The quality of governance is the cornerstone of human, political, and institutional development. When local and national governments fail to perform their duties efficiently, progress remains stalled against the persistent challenges of poverty, disease, illiteracy, and civil unrest. This course provides a comprehensive examination of the fiscal and administrative strategies Latin American nations have implemented to strengthen their governing institutions.

Throughout the term, we will analyze the entire lifecycle of reform—from the initial pressures for adoption to the practicalities of implementation—and evaluate their measurable impact on political and socio-economic indicators. Beyond just "what" changed, we will explore the "who" and "how," identifying the domestic and international actors driving these shifts. While our primary focus remains on Latin America, we will frequently look toward other developing regions to see how unique local contexts mediate the relationship between reform and government performance.

To ensure a shared analytical framework, the first two weeks are dedicated to establishing a foundation in research design and the political-developmental history of the region.

Key Areas of Focus

• The Governance Link: Understanding why institutional efficacy is a prerequisite for broader social development.
• Reform Trajectories: Analyzing the adoption and implementation of political, economic, and administrative changes.
• Regional Patterns: Identifying trends across Latin America and the specific actors (both local and global) shaping policy.
• Comparative Analysis: Utilizing case studies from other developing regions to test the universality of governance theories.
• Foundational Methodology: Developing the research and analytical skills necessary to evaluate institutional performance.

Course Objective:

By the conclusion of this semester, students will have developed a nuanced understanding of the Latin American political landscape and the mechanisms of institutional change. The curriculum is designed to move beyond rote memorization, focusing instead on the analytical tools required to evaluate governance in a global context.

Specifically, the course aims to achieve the following:

1. Mastery of Institutional Reform

• Analyze the political, institutional, and administrative reforms that have shaped modern Latin America.
• Assess the tangible effects of these reforms on government performance.
• Identify the catalysts—both domestic and international—that drive the adoption and implementation of policy shifts.

2. Theoretical and Empirical Literacy

• Navigate the various indicators used to measure and rank governance and state capacity.
• Evaluate the primary theories explaining institutional, political, and societal development.
• Recognize the influence of key actors and structural factors that dictate economic outcomes and policy-maker decisions.

3. Practical Analytical Skills

• Isolate Causal Mechanisms: Develop the ability to trace the roots of specific political and economic events.
• Evaluate Reform: Build a toolkit for assessing the success or failure of past and current policy initiatives.
• Understand Variation: Critically examine why political and economic trajectories differ so drastically across the region despite shared histories.

The Professional Edge: A primary goal of this course is to sharpen your ability to synthesize complex data. By the end of the term, you should be able to translate high-level academic and political theories into clear, actionable concepts applicable to real-world scenarios.

Teaching Philosophy

 I’ve always believed that the quality of a course is defined as much by the instructor’s energy as it is by the curriculum. My own education was shaped by mentors who brought passion to every lecture, and I strive to bring that same commitment to my students. My role isn't just to provide information; it’s to challenge students to think critically and take ownership of their own learning.

My approach is simple: I provide the facts and the framework, but I also make sure to create "spaces" where students can dig deeper. Whether we are engaging in a heated class debate, working through individual presentations, or diving into writing assignments, my goal is to give students the tools to explore. Ultimately, my success is measured by my students' growth. If they leave my course with the ability to analyze the world more clearly—and the spark to keep learning on their own—then I’ve done my job.

Reading Material and Suggested Books

 I will try my best to post on Canvas all the assigned readings except the books whose whole content is assigned.  However, if any of the readings is unavailable on Canvas, please be proactive by (1) getting it through the Wells Library, (2) searching for it on google scholar, and/or (3) emailing me to let me know about the missing piece. The Wells Library staff graciously ordered all the assigned books for the class. I requested the books to be placed on reserve with a check-out period of one day. Please return the books on time, as other classmates might need them, too. If you have problems in getting a book, please let me know. I will find a way to help you.

Grading Policy

 Late Policy = A letter grade off for each day that the assignment is late.

Grading Policy: Grading will be based on the following:

10% - Research question due at midnight on June 1^7th.

20% - Weekly discussion reports/summaries

25% - Annotated bibliography: due at midnight on July 1st.

15%: Taped presentation of your research design (Canvas Turnitin) due at midnight on July 29

30% - Research design will be due at midnight on July 29 (Canvas Turnitin).

No curves in grading or extra credit points are anticipated. Below is the grading scale:

A+ 97-100; A 93-96.9; A- 89.5-92.9

B+ 87-89.4; B 83-86.9; B- 79.5-82.9

C+ 77-79.4; C 73-76.9; C- 69.5-72.9

Assignments

Submitting Assignments: All assignments will be submitted via Canvas and via Turnitin on Canvas. Very well in advance to your submission, please make sure you have access to the link of each assignment. Should you have last-minute problems with Canvas, make sure you submit the assignment via email to cavellan@iu.edu and to yourself.

 Discussion reports: Throughout the semester, you are responsible for submitting a weekly, two-page (double-spaced) discussion summary based on the assigned readings. These summaries are due at mid-night on Thursday of each week. Rather than providing a simple recap, you are expected to offer a general assessment of how the readings integrate. Specifically, how do they address or exemplify a shared approach? Conversely, if the readings disagree, what is the nature of their divergence? The goal is to synthesize the "big picture" of how concepts and themes fit together while demonstrating your capacity for critical thinking. Considering answering the following questions while reading the material, so you can grasp the main message of the readings.   

 Do I understand what I have read?

• Am I clear on the definition of terms used?
• What assertions (claims, arguments, conclusions) is the author making?
• What evidence is given to support the assertions (or arguments)?
• Are there other ways of explaining the evidence? That is, are there other potential explanations?
• What additional evidence is needed to support the assertions?
• How can I apply what I have learned?
• Do I buy (believe) the argument?

 Research Question Guidelines: To begin your project, select a broad topic and develop a research question that can be addressed using existing data. Effective questions generally start with “Why,” “How,” or “What factors explain...” and should focus on an objectively observable political outcome.

In this course, you have the option to propose either quantitative or qualitative research methods; your choice should be dictated by the specific question you are asking. Regardless of your chosen methodology, your submission must identify the dependent variable (the outcome to be explained) and the key independent variables (the factors driving that outcome).

In addition to identifying your question and variables, please include a paragraph of at least five sentences describing how you plan to develop this research. Grades will be determined by the appropriateness of the question, the depth of detail regarding your variables, and the timeliness of the submission.

 Example #1: “Does economic development promote democracy?” In this question, the dependent variable that I am trying to explain is democracy and the independent variable that I will consider is economic development.

Example #2: Does decentralization influence governance in South America? In this question, the dependent variable that I am trying to explain is governance in South America, and the independent variable that I will consider is decentralization.

Annotated Bibliography

Due: June 30| Submission: Canvas (Turnitin)

The Task Identify and annotate literature that informs your research question and upcoming Research Design. Because these sources will ground your final project, you are welcome to consult with me beforehand to refine your selection. Formatting Standards To ensure consistency, please adhere to the following:

• Typography: Times New Roman, 12pt.
• Layout: Double-spaced with 1" margins.
• Delivery: An electronic copy via Canvas and Turnitin

For example. consider the research question: “Does economic development promote democracy?” In your introductory paragraphs, you should map out the existing scholarly landscape. For instance, you might note that the literature is divided between those who argue that development promotes democracy and those who claim it does not. You could further categorize works by their theoretical focus—such as political culture versus class structure—or by their methodology, including quantitative techniques, qualitative analysis, and case studies.

Requirements

• Introduction: This section contains the two introductory paragraphs that introduce the topic and explain why it is important to study as well as the paragraph with your proposition or thesis.

• Quantity: Your bibliography must include 15 or more individual works (articles, books, or chapters). These must be sources outside of the required class syllabus.
• Citations: Provide a full bibliographic citation for each entry using the Style Manual for Political Science.
• Annotations: Each entry must include a three-to-five-sentence summary covering the work’s substantive, theoretical, and methodological contributions. Do not copy the abstract, even with quotation marks.
• Organization: You are encouraged to organize the works thematically rather than alphabetically. For the example above, you might use a subheading such as "Development Promotes Democracy" and arrange the entries logically to show how the arguments build upon one another.

 Guidelines for Research Presentation: Taped research presentation

• At least two days prior to the presentation, you will submit a draft of the power point presentation for me to provide comments.
• Each student will have 10-12 minutes for the typed presentation.
• Each presentation should have no more than 12 slides.
• Please present instead of reading the slides. To do that, provide key terms and then develop them during the presentation.

Guidelines for Final Submission of your Research Design

 Based in part on my feedback on your annotated bibliography, you are ready to start writing the paper.  The final manuscript should be double- spaced, 12 font, 1-inch margin and at least 12 pages, excluding the bibliography. In addition to all of the sections described for the first submission, it should include a 200-word abstract on the cover page that describes the main points of your research. While preparing the final manuscript, you should pay attention to the suggestions offered by the professor and the peer reviewer, as well as comments from fellow students during your presentation. The final manuscript should be polished and complete, as if you are submitting it to an academic journal for publication.

The final manuscript will be graded based on the following criteria:

• Substance: Does the manuscript ask a compelling research question and lay out an appropriate research design (including independent and dependent variables) for answering the question?
• Analysis: Does the manuscript present relevant evidence (quantitative and/or qualitative) and systematically examine the explanatory variables? Are the conclusions supported by the evidence?
• Organization: Is the manuscript organized in a way that the reader can easily follow the line of argument? Does it include all of the necessary sections?
• Sources: Does the manuscript draw on a range of relevant academic sources? Does it cite them properly?
• Writing: Is the manuscript well-written and free of basic spelling and grammar errors?
• Feedback: did the author take into account the comments offered by the discussant, the peer review, the professor and the audience (if any)?

You should submit one electronic copy of your final research design: by following the link on Canvas Turnitin.  Make sure you email a copy of the research to cavellan@iu.edu in case of having submission issues. 

Although the organization may vary slightly depending on your topic, your research paper should look like this:

1. Introduction: This section contains the two introductory paragraphs that introduces the topic and explains why it is important to study as well as the paragraph with your proposition of thesis. Include a four paragraph to present an overview of the subsequent sections of the paper.
2. Literature review: This section provides an overview of existing academic research about your topic. Focus on how other authors have answered your research question. It helps to divide the literature into categories based on articles/books that offer similar explanations. Besides presenting the literature, identify the gaps or the ways in which existing literature can be improved.
3. Research design (methodology): In this section, you should explain how you would do in order to test your proposition to the research question. This involves, most importantly, what kind of data would you collect in order to test your argument? Where would you collect the data? What years would you cover in order to test your argument? What cases (countries) would you select? Explain how you will measure or assess both your dependent and independent variables.
4. Analysis and discussion of findings: here you are expected to discuss the findings you expect to see and why.
5. Conclusion: In this section, you will summarize the main point of your research and discuss their implications. These could include policy implications and/or suggestions for further research. You can also use this section to look toward the future for a particular case or issue that arose in your paper.
6. Bibliography: This should include all of the sources that you have cited in the paper, and it should be formatted consistently throughout. Note that URLs are not full references.

  Academic Integrity. 

Please read the IUB Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct https://studentcode.iu.edu/

I expect all students’ academic conduct to conform with SPEA’s and IU’s Student Code of Ethics. SPEA faculty do not tolerate cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty.  If you have not done so, you should read the IUB Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, which can be accessed at https://studentcode.iu.edu/ so you will be sure to understand what these terms mean and what penalties can be issued for academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty can result in a grade of F for the class (an F for academic dishonesty cannot be removed from the transcript).  Significant violations of the Code can result in expulsion from the University.

Plagiarism is using another person’s words, ideas, artistic creations, or other intellectual property without giving proper credit. According to the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, a student must give credit to the work of another person when he/she does any of the following:

1. Quotes another person’s actual words, either oral or written;
2. Paraphrases another person’s words, either oral or written;
3. Uses another person’s idea, opinion, or theory; or
4. Borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material, unless the information is common knowledge.

Use of AI (such as ChatGPT) in this class.  Using AI (such as ChatGPT) to assist in completing assignments in this class is prohibited.  If you do use AI, you will be committing plagiarism* and will be subject to penalties in this class and sanctions by Indiana University.  

You are permitted to use the free version of Grammarly and Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar tool. 

*Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work, including the work of other students, as one’s own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, unless the information is common knowledge. What is considered “common knowledge” may differ from course to course. https://studentcode.iu.edu/responsibilities/academic-misconduct.html. (emphasis added) 

  Course Materials—Instructor’s Exclusive Rights.

The faculty member teaching this course holds the exclusive right to distribute, modify, post, and reproduce course materials, including all written materials, study guides, lectures, assignments, exercises, and exams. While you are permitted to take notes on the online materials and lectures posted for this course for your personal use, you are not permitted to re-post in another forum, upload to AI, distribute, reproduce content from this course, or sell the instructor’s course materials (including notes and study guides) without the express written permission of the faculty member.

Violations of this policy will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic misconduct (violation of course rules). Sanctions for academic misconduct may include a failing grade on the assignment for which the notes/study guides are being sold, a reduction in your final course grade, or a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities.

Additionally, you should know that selling a faculty member’s course using IU email, or via Canvas may also constitute a violation of IU information technology and IU intellectual property policies; additional consequences may result.

 Course Policies

Please take a few minutes and review the Core Rules of Netiquette  (Links to an external site.) and considerations for when you are attending class remotely  (Links to an external site.) .

Although instructors have the freedom to establish their own policies with respect to the following items, such policies must be explicitly stated on every syllabus.

1. Attendance
• Students are expected to attend all the class sessions. In case of an emergency, please let me know as soon you can. 
2. Make-up Exams:
• Ability to meet deadlines are required qualifications for a graduate student. Accordingly, no extensions are granted for any of the assignments. Unexcused late papers will be penalized one full letter grade per day. However, in case of an emergency, contact me via e-mail or phone (office: (812-856-9026) to see if an exception can be made. In that case, written documentation is required. I DO NOT accept xeroxed copies of medical excuses; I require the original documentation to make a copy for my records, and I will return you the original.
3. Late Assignments

• Late Submissions: Unexcused late papers will be penalized one full letter grade off per day late.

1. Technology Use

• Please refrain from using cellphones in class. Considering the safety concerns we face as an educational institution, the university highly recommends that professors have at least one phone active during class, ideally their own. Campus alerts are sent through text and email, so somehow each instructor needs to be informed immediately if there is an alert on campus. Information is provided in the form of Faculty Quick Guides  (Links to an external site.) that specifically advises use of a classroom policy to require at least one phone to be on. Although it can be awkward for an instructor to have their phone ring occasionally during class, the students in a class should know there is a reason why it is not silent.

1. Late Withdrawal:  See https://calendars.registrar.indiana.edu/official-calendar/

Course Communication Policy

I prefer to be contacted via IU email: cavellan@iu.edu. In case of an emergency, contact me via e-mail or phone office: (812-856-9026).

Institutional Support

Counseling and Psychological Services

For information about services offered to students by CAPS:  http://healthcenter.indiana.edu/counseling/index.shtml

 Timely Care

Indiana students have free, 24/7 access to virtual mental health care services with TimelyCare. Students do not need insurance to access TimelyCare services. https://www.iu.edu/mental-health/find-resources/timely-care.html#0

Religious Accommodation Requests

The "Request for Accommodation for Religious Observances" form must be submitted by the student to the professor no later than two weeks prior to the anticipated absence.  A separate form must be submitted for each absence and for each course. Faculty do not have to consider accommodations for the purpose of allowing students to travel away from Bloomington for religious observance.  Information about the policy is found here: https://vpfaa.indiana.edu/resources/religious-observances-information.html.

 Accessible Educational Services (formerly Disability Services for Students) 

Securing accommodations for a student with disabilities is a responsibility shared by the student, the instructor, and the AES Office. For information about support services or accommodations available to students with disabilities, and for the procedures to be followed by students and instructors: https://studentlife.indiana.edu/student-support/iub-aes/index.html

Sexual Harassment 

As your instructor, one of my responsibilities is to help create a safe learning environment on our campus. Title IX and our own Sexual Misconduct policy prohibit sexual misconduct.  If you have experienced sexual misconduct, or know someone who has, the University can help.

If you are seeking help and would like to talk to someone confidentially, you can make an appointment with:

1. The Sexual Assault Crisis Service (SACS) at 812-855-8900
2. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 812-855-5711
3. Confidential Victim Advocates (CVA) at 812-856-2469
4. IU Health Center at 812-855-4011

For more information about available resources:  http://stopsexualviolence.iu.edu/help/index.html. It is also important to know that federal regulations and University policy require me to promptly convey any information about potential sexual misconduct known to me to our campus’ Deputy Title IX Coordinator or IU’s Title IX Coordinator.  In that event, they will work with a small number of others on campus to ensure that appropriate measures are taken and resources are made available to the student who may have been harmed.  Protecting a student’s privacy is of utmost concern, and all involved will only share information with those that need to know to ensure the University can respond and assist.  I encourage you to visit http://stopsexualviolence.iu.edu/help/index.html to learn more.

 IU Culture Centers: https://studentlife.indiana.edu/communities/culture-centers/index.html