School of Arts and Sciences

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Number

POL 104 REST

Course Title

Introduction to American Government

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

Summer Semester

Year

2012

Name of Instructor

William Miller

Meeting Day, Time, and Room Number

Monday 3:30-6:15pm, Reston Room 3

Final Exam Day, Time, and Room Number

The final is scheduled for Thursday, May 10, 3:00pm, Room 3

Office Hours, Location, Phone

Office hours are one-half hour before and after class in Room 3. Tuesdays and Fridays I will have office hours at the Ballston campus from 12:15 to 1:15 and 2:30 to 3:30 at Ballston. Other times by appointment.

E-mail & Webpage (email is a better way to reach me than by telephone!)

E-mail: wmiller@marymount.edu; Website: www.millerpolitics.info I do not use Blackboard!

UNIVERSITY STATEMENTS

Academic Integrity

By accepting this syllabus, you pledge to uphold the principles of Academic Integrity expressed by the Marymount University Community. You agree to observe these principles yourself and to defend them against abuse by others.

Special Needs and Accommodations

Please advise the instructor of any special problems or needs at the beginning of the semester. If you seek accommodation based on disabilities, you should provide a Faculty Contact Sheet obtained through Disability Support Services located in Gerard Hall, (703) 284-1615.

Access to Student Work

Copies of your work in this course including copies of any submitted papers and your portfolios may be kept on file for institutional research, assessment and accreditation purposes. All work used for these purposes will be submitted anonymously.

Student Copyright Authorization

For the benefit of current and future students, work in this course may be used for educational critique, demonstrations, samples, presentations, and verification. Outside of these uses, work shall not be sold, copied, broadcast, or distributed for profit without student consent.

University Policy on Snow Closings

Snow closings are generally announced on area radio stations. For bulletins concerning Marymount snow or weather closings, call (703) 526-6888. Unless otherwise advised by radio announcement or by official bulletins on the number listed above, students are expected to report for class as near normal time as possible on days when weather conditions are adverse. Decisions as to snow closing or delayed opening are not generally made before 5:00 AM of the working day. Students are expected to attend class if the University is not officially closed.

1. BROAD PURPOSE OF COURSE

An introductory survey and analysis of the political processes that describe the operations of the federal, state, and local branches of government. Intergovernmental relations are examined.

The general purposes of the course are: (1) to introduce the students to the structures and functions of the major institutions of the American scheme of government—Congress, the Presidency, the federal courts, the bureaucracy, interest groups, and political parties and campaigns—and (2) to inquire into the origins, purposes, and historical development of these institutions. We will also discuss current political events: read a newspaper daily.

2. COURSE OBJECTIVES/Learning Outcomes

· University Requirements:

· Ethics Across the Curriculum

1. Students will read and understand texts about applied problems of justice as they pertain to government.

2. Students will demonstrate an increased understanding of foundational questions about justice rooted in the principles of American government.

(Outcomes will be measured by essay and/or short answer exam questions on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and/or the Federalist Papers)

· General Learning Outcomes:

· Skills - Critical Reason and Problem Solving

1. Students will practice critical reasoning and problem solving through study of the structure and principles of American Government.

2. Students will apply knowledge of political analysis of the American system of government.

(Outcome will be measured by performance on short essay exam questions on topics such as presidential-congressional relations, the role of public opinion in governance, and/or the budget process.)

· Attitudes – Civic Responsibility

1. Students will understand that a system of self-government requires the exercise of civic responsibility to survive and succeed.

2. 2. Students will learn that civic responsibility is exercised by acting according to informed and principled choices.

(Outcome will be measured by demonstrating an understanding of these principles through in-class discussions)

· Discipline-Specific Outcomes:

1. Students will have an understanding of principles of American government; i.e. natural rights theory, guarantee of civil rights as contained in founding documents; i.e. Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

2. .Students will know the structure and functions of American institutions of government.

3. Students will understand citizen responsibility as it exists and is exercised in a system of self government.

(Outcome will be measured by identification, short answer, and objective questions on exams.)

· Course Specific Outcomes: The design of this class is based on four parts: foundations, institutions, politics, and governance. The course will begin by examining the rules, values, and principles behind our system of government. The “politics” component of the course encompasses the entities outside of the formal government, including media, political parties, and interest groups. We will then turn our focus to government institutions: the Presidency, Congress, the Courts, and the bureaucracy. We also examine the structure and function of state and local governments. We will conclude the course by concentrating on public policy as a vehicle for governance.

3. TEACHING METHOD (lecture, laboratory, audio-visual, clinical experience, discussion, seminar, tutorial)

Class lectures and extensive discussion.

4. GRADING POLICY

The final grade will consist of three components—your two exam grades and the quiz-paper grade.

There will be one ninety minute mid-term examination and one similar final examination. Each exam will be given only on the day scheduled for the exam. If you cannot take the mid-term at the scheduled time, read the material on Make-up Exams below. If you cannot take the final on May 10^th, talk to me now.

There will also be a quiz at the beginning of class each week. The quiz will only be offered at that time; there will be no make-ups, so if your schedule does not permit you to get to class right at 3:30am on Wednesdays, we must talk now. If you take the quiz and then leave class early without permission, or if you do not bring your textbook or other assigned reading to class with you, I will not grade the quiz or consider that you took it. The quizzes will focus on the assigned readings to see if you read them. Your total quiz grade, consisting of the top eight quiz grades, will equal one exam grade in determining your final grade.

Each of the exam grades and the quiz grade amount to a possible 100 points. Your final grade is based on the percentage of the 300 possible points that you earn from (1) your total quiz grade and (2) your two exam grades, The percentage scale is the familiar 93-100%=A, 90-92%=A-, 87-90=B+, 83-86=B, 80-82=B-, and so on. No grade of "I" or "Incomplete" will be given. If possible, quizzes and exams will be graded and returned within one week.

Attendance: Quizzes may not be taken late whether or not the absence is excused. If you are absent for two or more quizzes in a row and if you provide appropriate documentation, I will excuse the absences and reduce the numerical basis of your quiz grade accordingly.

Beginning with the second week of classes, I will take attendance on each day. Students are allowed one unexcused absence during the semester. For each additional unexcused absence, the final grade will be lowered by one full grade. To be excused, absences must be due to illness, work-related duties, or serious personal or family emergencies (not car trouble!), and must be documented. This means a written document signed by a doctor, employer representative, or judicial official; thus, personal and family crises are very difficult to document. Note: Occasionally coming to class late—even real late once or twice—is not considered an absence. Coming to class without hard copies of the text for the day or leaving class after taking an announced quiz without the prior permission of the instructor, however, is considered an absence.

Merely informing me ahead of time that you will be absent from class does not mean I excuse the absence, though I appreciate your courtesy. I will not excuse your absence because you are simply not feeling well or because you choose to do something worthwhile other than come to class even if you inform me ahead of time. If you are coughing and sneezing and coming down with a cold or the flu, and you don't want to spread your virus to your classmates, I (and they) salute you! Staying home may be the right thing to do, but it is not an excused absence. You all get one unexcused absence to use as you see fit, and it is your decision to use it to stay home when you don't feel well or want to attend some other event or need to prepare for another class instead of coming to this class. Use it for a good reason; that's what it is for.

Excessive excused absences may also be a problem, and you should discuss such situations with me well before the last month of the semester. This is not a distance learning class. Any absence prevents you from participating in the class, but if your job or an illness keeps you away from class for more than a quarter of the semester, it will significantly affect the class participation component of your grade and may be a good reason to drop the course and take it another time. All of us find ourselves in these situations from time to time and have to deal with them appropriately. You also have an obligation to report this to a University office (see page 34 of the 2011-2012 University Catalogue). If you have a total of five or more absences, excused or unexcused, you will receive an “F” for the course.

When in doubt about any of these policies, please come and talk to me. They have been formulated with our substantial commuter and working student population in mind and are intended to be fair to everyone. You should also review the University's policies on absenteeism on page 34 of the 2011-2012 University Catalogue.

Make-up Exams: The same basic rules about excused absences apply to taking mid-terms. My policy of giving makeup exams on the same day as the final does NOT mean that you may choose to take the mid-term exam on that day rather than on the regularly scheduled day: it is not an alternative test date. To be eligible for a makeup, you must qualify for an excused absence, and this you should do a reasonable time before the day of the mid-term, if that is at all possible. You may be excused from taking a mid-term if you are certifiably sick or your job prevents you from attending class or you have a serious family or personal emergency on the day of the test, and this condition is documented, as explained above. If one of these applies and I am informed in a reasonable time before the exam and you have written documentation to support your request, you may take the exam on the same day as the final exam. If none of these reasons apply, you may not take the exam at another time, and you will get a zero for the exam. If you are late for the exam because of events outside of your control, let me know immediately or as soon as possible that day, and I will let you take the exam later the same day if possible.

5. CLASS SCHEDULE

The following is a rough agenda for the semester. Generally, each week the assignments will consist of one or two chapters from the Turner text, Introduction to American Government, and one or more readings from the Canon reader, The Enduring Debate and other sources. A quiz on the assigned readings will be given each week. There may be exceptions and adjustments to the schedule below because of school weather cancellations and so on. Look to the assignment page each week for the actual assignments.

WEEK ONE (1/23) Introduction to the course; basic political concepts, the United States Constitution. (Turner, Intro & chapter 1).

WEEK TWO (1/30) Campaigns and Elections (Turner, ch. 8, and Canon readings).

WEEK THREE (2/6) Political Ideologies (Turner, ch. 4, Canon readings).

WEEK FOUR (2/13) Public Opinion and Political Participation (Turner, ch. 5, and Canon readings).

WEEK FIVE (2/20) Political Parties and Interest Groups (Turner, ch. 7, and Canon readings).

WEEK SIX (2/27) Politics and the media (Turner, ch. 6, and readings).

WEEK SEVEN (3/12) Mid-term.

WEEK EIGHT (3/19) Constitutional Principles and Federalism (Turner, ch. 2, Canon readings, & Federalist #39).

WEEK NINE (3/26) The Congress (Turner, ch. 9 & Canon readings).

WEEK TEN (4/2) The Presidency and Separation of Powers (Turner, ch. 10 & Canon readings).

WEEK ELEVEN (4/10) The Bureaucracy and Fiscal Federalism (Turner, ch. 11 & 2 (pp. 58 -end)).

WEEK TWELVE (4/16) The Policy Process: selected chapters from Stephenson & Canon readings.

WEEK THIRTEEN (4/23) The Judiciary (Turner, ch. 12 & Canon readings).

WEEK FOURTEEN (4/30) Civil Rights and Liberties (Turner, ch. 3).

FINAL EXAM: May 10 , 3:00pm, in our regular classroom. This is the only day that the exam will be given. MAKE YOUR TRAVEL PLANS ACCORDINGLY!!

6. REQUIRED TEXTS

David T. Canon, et al. The Enduring Debate. 5^th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008.

D. Grier Stephenson, Jr., et al. Introduction to American Government. 6^th ed. Redding, CA: BVT Publishing, 2011. The text is available for sale, for rent, and via etext.

Daily Newspaper: online or paper version.

Suggested Websites: (More will be given during the semester but this will get you started. Please let me know about additional sites that you find or know.)

The Founders' Constitution

"Thomas"--The Library of Congress Legislative Research Service

Official Documents of the Executive Branch via GPO

Recent Supreme Court Opinions

United States Supreme Court Website

Congressional Elections, 1900-2010.

Presidential Primary Candidates, 1952-2004.

See also the subject “United States presidential election 1964” (and so on) onWikipedia

for more information. The Wikipedia site looks pretty good for the 1952 to 1976 elections; the Geocities site is quite cynical against all the candidates, but it recaptures the main outlines of the primary battles of the 1972 to 2004 primary battles. The Theodore White series, "Making of the President," with bestsellers covering the 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972 presidential campaigns, are excellent books for these four elections; they are well-known classics. I am not familiar with comparable books on the recent elections.

Presidential Elections, 1892-2008.

Presidential Succession, 1900-2008.

For material on the congressional incumbency advantage, see Incumbency Re-election Rates (Thirty-Thousand Org.), Incumbency Re-election Rates (Center for Responsive Politics)

Also Recommended:

Richard Beeman. Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution. New York: Penguin Books, 2010.

James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, Reported by James Madison. New York: Norton, 1987. This is also on the “Thomas” website.

Michael Kammen, ed. The Origins of the American Constitution: A Documentary History. New York: Viking Penguin, 1986.

Stanley, Harold W., and Niemi, Richard G. Vital Statistics on American Politics. Latest edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, ----.

A few additional rules for the class:

For the benefit of the class and your classmates, the following rules regarding electronic devices also apply to this course:

1. At the beginning of class, turn your cell phones off and put them away. If you are expecting an important call, inform me about it, put your phone on “Vibrate,” sit near the door, and, when the call comes, answer it outside the classroom.

2. It follows from the foregoing rule, but it must be separately stated: no talking and no texting or reading text messages on cell phones during class. If you do not follow this rule, I will publicly ask you to leave the room for the remainder of the class and will do my best to have you removed from the course for the rest of the semester.

3. No open lap-top or other computers are allowed in class without my prior permission. Devices such as tablets, Ipads, Kindles, Kobos, and Nooks that lie flat on the desk and on to which the readings can be loaded are permitted, but hard copies of the readings are better. You can mark them up and take notes on them in class.

These rules are necessary to foster a suitable learning environment in the classroom during class. There are enough distractions with lawnmowers, air conditioners, and other outside forces to combat during lectures and discussions without these controllable distractions within the room.