Syllabus,
POSC 104-01
American
Federal Government
MWF
10:00 to 10:50 a.m., Administration Building, Room 208
Instructor: James A. White, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science
Administration Building, Room 214,
384-6061, jwhite@concord.edu
Office hours: MWF 11:00 a.m.—12:00 noon, TTh 1:00--2:00 p.m.,
and by appointment
Website:
http://academics.concord.edu/jwhite
REQUIRED TEXTS
Robert E. DiClerico and Allan S. Hammock,
eds., Points of View: Readings in
American Government and Politics, 10th edition, McGraw Hill, 2007.
You must also purchase an i-clicker for
this course; these are available from the campus bookstore.
DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE
This introductory course seeks to prepare
students for informed participation in the American political system while also
providing a solid foundation for future study of and/or employment in that
system. This course will explore the
theory and practice of the American federal system of government, examining
political institutions and individual and group behavior. Contemporary political, administrative, and
policy issues will be used to explore enduring debates regarding the scope of
government, the roles of rival institutions, and the balance between democracy,
equality, and liberty.
REQUIREMENTS
Each student must obtain a “concord.edu”
e-mail address and participate in the course as directed via Blackboard. Also, all students must purchase and must
register an i-clicker. Students must
complete each section's reading assignments prior to the beginning of the first
class in each section; this required reading includes PowerPoint presentations
and other material uploaded to Blackboard, relevant reserve readings, and Points
of View chapters. Also, students
must regularly read The Washington Post (on-line). Additionally, students must participate in
class, complete all written assignments, and take midterm and final
examinations. All written assignments
must be submitted by the beginning of the class period on the due date, and
exams must be taken at the scheduled date and time.
Attendance and Class Participation
Students must attend class and contribute
positively. Two key aspects of daily
class participation will include discussion of Washington Post articles
(students will be expected to participate in Blackboard discussion of Washington
Post articles) and participation in daily quizzes taken via i-clicker. Additionally, interested students will have
the opportunity to present their book reports during the last week of the
course.
Written Assignments
Each student must submit an e-mail to the
member of the House of Representatives representing the district in which the
student permanently resides. These
e-mails, which must be sent from the aforementioned “concord.edu” e-mail
address and on which the instructor must be “blind copied,” should express the
student's informed opinion on how the Representative should vote on potentially-forthcoming
legislation regarding off-shore drilling.
This assignment must be completed by September 5th .
Also, students must submit, via Blackboard,
nine written summaries of the Points of View textbook readings. These summaries, written in paragraph rather
than outline form, must be no longer than two double-spaced pages and must be
submitted by the beginning of the first class period of each section. Students may choose to submit summaries for
any nine of the ten sections between September 15th and December 8th,
inclusive.
Additionally, each student must also
complete a written report on What’s the Matter with Kansas. This report should be at least five but no
longer than ten typed, double-spaced pages.
Additional information regarding this assignment will be provided during
the first few weeks of class.
Quizzes, Midterm and Final Examinations
As mentioned above, there will be daily
quizzes administered via i-clicker. There
will also be weekly multiple-choice quizzes on the reserve readings. These quizzes will usually, but may not
always, be administered via Blackboard. The
midterm and final examinations will include multiple-choice questions as well
as essay questions.
All students will be expected to sign an
Honor Pledge regarding Blackboard quizzes and other assignments that the
students will complete. Failure to
adhere to University policy on academic integrity will not be tolerated and
will result in appropriate disciplinary action.
GRADES
The instructor will grade each
assignment, assigning A's for work demonstrating mastery of all major and minor
concepts, B's for work demonstrating mastery of all major and most minor
concepts, C's for work demonstrating mastery of all major and some minor
concepts, D's for work demonstrating mastery of only some major concepts, and
F's for work demonstrating mastery of no major concepts.
The final class grade will be determined
as follows:
|
ASSIGNMENT |
DUE
DATE |
VALUE (% OF TOTAL) |
|
Congressional letter and summaries |
Varied |
15 |
|
Class participation (including
i-clicker quizzes and Blackboard discussion participation) |
N/A |
15 |
|
Midterm exam |
10/15, 10/17 |
20 |
|
Book report |
11/21 |
25 |
|
Final exam |
12/19 |
25 |
CLASS SCHEDULE
August 25-27: Introduction
August 29—September 5: American Values and Political Culture: Basic Tenets
Points of View:
Chapter 1; appropriate reserve reading.
September 8-12: The Constitution; Federalism
The Constitution of the United States of
America; Points of
View: Chapter 2; appropriate reserve
reading.
September 15-19: Public Opinion; Political Participation
Points of View:
Chapter 3; appropriate reserve reading.
September 22-26: Political Parties; Interest Groups
Points of View:
Chapter 4; appropriate reserve reading.
September 29—October 3: Congress; the Presidency
Points of View:
Chapter 5; appropriate reserve reading.
October 8-13: The Bureaucracy; the Courts
Points of View:
Chapter 8; appropriate reserve reading.
October 15, 17: Midterm
October 20-24: The Constitution; Federalism
Points of View:
Chapter 9; appropriate reserve reading.
October 27-31: Public Opinion; Political Participation
Points of View:
Chapter 10; appropriate reserve reading.
November 3-7: Political Parties; Interest Groups
Points of View:
Chapter 11; appropriate reserve reading.
November 10-21: Congress; the Presidency
Points of View:
Chapter 12; appropriate reserve reading.
December 1-5: The Bureaucracy; the Courts
Points of View:
Chapter 13; appropriate reserve reading.
December 8-12: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Points of View:
Chapter 14; appropriate reserve reading.
Textbooks on Reserve/Chapters Covering
Content areas
|
|
Berman and Murphy, Approaching
Democracy, Pearson, 5th Edition |
Fiorina, et.al., The
New American Democracy, Pearson, Alternate 5th Edition |
Gitelson, et.al., American
Government, Houghton
Mifflin, 8th Edition |
Magleby, et.al., Government
by the People, 21st
Edition, Basic Version |
O’Connor and Sabato, American Government, Pearson, 2008 Edition |
Patterson and Halter, The American Democracy, McGraw Hill, 8th Edition |
|
American Values/ Political Culture |
1 |
1, 4 |
1 |
4, 5 |
1 |
1,6 |
|
Constitution |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1, 2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Federalism |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Public Opinion |
8 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
11 |
6 |
|
Political Participation |
10 |
6 |
5 |
8 |
13 |
7 |
|
Political Parties |
9 |
8 |
6 |
7 |
12 |
8 |
|
Interest Groups |
11 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
16 |
9 |
|
Congress |
4 |
11, 12 |
7, 10 |
9, 11 |
7 |
11 |
|
Presidency |
5 |
10, 13 |
7, 11 |
9, 12 |
8 |
12 |
|
Bureaucracy |
7 |
14 |
12 |
13 |
9 |
13 |
|
Courts |
6 |
15 |
13 |
14 |
10 |
13 |
|
Civil Liberties |
13 |
16 |
4 |
15, 16 |
5 |
4 |
|
Civil Rights |
14 |
17 |
4 |
17 |
6 |
5 |
|
Domestic Policy |
15 |
|
14 |
|
17, 18 |
13, 16 |