Introduction to American Politics

Introduction to American Politics POS 101 Spring 2013 Professor: Dr. Anthony DiMaggio Ph.D.: University of Illinois, Chicago Masters: Illinois State University Bachelors: Illinois State University Meeting Time: Mon, Wed, Fri 9-9:50 AM Email: anthony.dimaggio@llcc.edu Meeting Location: Sangamon 1104 Office Phone: 217-786-2372 Office: Sangamon Hall 1110 Office Hours: Spring Tue: 12:30-2 PM; Thu: 12:30-2 PM, or by appointment I. Introduction This is an overview of the American political system including the structure, functions and processes of our federal government. Emphasis is placed on current illustrations of the continuing interplay of forces which constitute our political system and the role of citizens within it. Successful completion of this course meets statutory requirements for teacher certification. R, W1, 11 (3 lecture hours) IAI: S5 900, PLS 911 This class takes a critical approach to interpreting the major theories of American Government. I seek to accomplish two basic goals: 1. Introduce students to the historical foundations of American government; 2. Examine major concepts and theories of government, as explored in major scholarly works in the fields of American Government. More specifically, this class will analyze various competing paradigms, including pluralism and elite theory, both of which seek to explain why government policy takes the form it does. While I hope to incorporate the largest diversity of opinion possible in class lectures and discussion of class concepts, I am also reliant on students to assist in introducing any opinions and views that they feel may be neglected on any level. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills concerning all areas of study that are covered; my role in this class is to facilitate in the learning process. However, this course 1

is intended to challenge the political beliefs of students. Students must be willing to consider and critique viewpoints different from their own if they expect to gain a meaningful learning experience from this course. Respect for the opinions of all those in the classroom is a requisite during class discussions. II. Readings No text book is required. All readings are electronic and available on blackboard under the content tab. Students are expected to come to class with readings completed, as their understanding of class content is based on comprehension of assigned chapters and the broader concepts they entail. In addition to the required readings, students are also expected to follow current events related to American politics (i.e. reading national newspapers, watching television news, etc.). Keeping up to date on current events is essential in order to understand how the political system works! III. Grading Total Possible Points = 1,000 A = 1,000-900 pts B = 899-800 pts C = 799-700 pts D = 699-600 pts F = 599 or less pts Grade Breakdown: 1. Class Attendance (150 pts combined = 15% of total grade) Students are required to come to class. Since this is a college level course, students are expected to attend all class meetings. Students who appear regularly will score well in terms of class attendance; those who do not attend regularly will not score well. Students who do not attend this course will find it far more difficult to perform effectively in his course. Class attendance is absolutely vital to understanding major concepts. An excused absence without penalty will require either a doctor s note or consent from your instructor (prior to the class missed). Students who leave class early 2

without permission will not be awarded points for attending. Students who miss more than 25% of all class sessions will be forcibly withdrawn from the class. 2. In-Class Participation (100 pts = 10% of total grade) Students will be given a participation grade based on their contributions to in-class discussions and in-class debates. Students who do not feel comfortable regularly talking in class will be graded primarily through quizzes given periodically throughout the semester. Students who participate regularly in class within small group discussions will do well on their participation score. Students who score well on quizzes (but who do not talk in class) will also do well on participation. Those who do not well on either quizzes or in terms of in-class discussion will receive much lower grades for participation. Providing for a diversified learning environment requires a back-and-forth dialogue between students and teacher, and among students. Providing such an environment requires regular student participation. Students are allowed to use their notes from class and readings when taking quizzes. They are not allowed to use their computers, cell phones, or any other electronic devices to look up answers. Students must place their cell phones on top of their desks during quizzes in order to prevent cheating. Students will automatically receive a zero on participation if they are caught cheating on quizzes. 3. Weekly Assignments (300 pts. = 30% of total grade) This class includes seven short writing assignments. These assignments cover relevant topics addressed during each section of the course. They range from short writing assignments to reading response papers, among other tasks. Assignment points are worth between 40 to 45 points, depending on the assignment (totaling 300 pts). Assignments are only accepted through the turnitin submission process on blackboard (see the assignments tab on blackboard for more on this). Students must submit the papers on the day they are due in order to avoid a late mark off. If students do not submit their paper on the date it is due, they can submit it within the next two weeks for 60 percent credit. After the two-week window, students will no longer be able to submit late assignments. Papers that plagiarize from the readings will receive an automatic 0 out 3

of 40 pts. If a student plagiarizes a second time, they will receive another 0 out of 40 pts. Students who plagiarize a third time will receive an automatic F for the course. Assignments that do not follow directions will be severely marked down. Students ARE NOT ALLOWED TO QUOTE FROM ARTICLES. If I find sentences (or even parts of sentences) pulled word for word from an article, even if there are quote marks around them, students will receive an automatic 0 on the assignment. The writing assignments are short enough that students should be able to complete them (one or two pages) by writing in your own words. This class is meant to help students LEARN how to write or at least to sharpen their writing skills. Pulling word for word from articles for such short assignments does nothing to improve student writing capabilities. Weekly Assignment & Quiz Schedule 1. Constitution Assignment Legality of Health Care Reform: Read Chapter 3, electronic file (due Wed., January 23 rd ) (2 full pages, double spaced) 2. Interest group assignment Introduction to the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, the Wisconsin labor protests, and the Chicago public school teacher strike (2 full pages, double spaced) (due Mon., February 4 th ) 3. Media Assignment Public Policy Media Effects (due Mon., February 18 th ) (1 full page, double spaced) 4. Ideology Assignment Ideology Questionnaire (due Mon., March 4 th ) (1 full page, double spaced) 5. Presidency Assignment The Imperial Presidency (due Mon. March 25 th ) (2 full pages, double spaced) 6. Class Conflict Assignment (due Mon., April 8 th ) (1 full page, double spaced) 7. Climate Change Assignment (due Mon., April 22 nd ) (1.5 full pages, double spaced) Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 21 st Spring Break: March 9-17 th Professional Development Day: Tuesday, March 26 th 4

1. Quiz 1: (Intro & Ch. 1 electronic file) (Mon., January 28 th ) 2. Quiz 2: (1 st Constitution chapter electronic file) (Mon., February 11 th ) 3. Quiz 3: (Interest Group electronic file) (Mon. February 25 th ) 4. Quiz 4: (Imperial Presidency electronic file) (Mon. April 15 th ) 5. Quiz 5: (Foreign Policy electronic file) (Mon. April 29 th ) 5. Exams (200 pts, or 20% each, combined = 400 pts, or 40% of total grade) Students will complete two exams for this course. The tests are not cumulative, and will only cover the material for each half of the class respectively. The final will not be cumulative, and will only cover material from the second section of the course. Students will be provided with review sheets for each exam, in order to help them prepare. Students should consult their readings, PowerPoint slides, and notes in preparation of the exams. The first exam is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20 th. The final will be scheduled during finals week and the date and time will be announced on blackboard. Students will be allowed to use two note cards during the midterm and final tests (in which they can write notes on). Cell phones must be placed on top of the desk during every test to avoid cheating. Tests in this course, like those from other instructors, are difficult to score well on if one does not attend class regularly. Regular attendance is absolutely vital in order to pass the midterm and final exams. Students who miss class will have a very difficult time passing tests, since 90% of the material on tests is covered in class, not in the book. 6. Post-Class Assessment Paper (50 pts. = 5% of total grade) Students will complete a 1.5 page post-class assessment, worth 50 pts. This paper requires students to write about three things: 1. What were the most important things you learned from this class? 2. What would you do differently, if anything, to improve your grade in this class if you had to do it again? 3. What would you suggest the professor do differently in the future to make the class more effective? This paper is due during finals week, and should be submitted to blackboard before students take their final. 5

Extra Credit Students are allowed three extra credit opportunities for the course. All three will be posted on blackboard. Extra credit will work as follows: the first extra credit is worth 10 points; the second is worth 20 points; and the third is worth 20 points. These assignments will only be taken during finals week. Withdrawal Policy Students will not be able to pass this course without regularly attending and completing required readings. A withdrawal policy exists for this class, based on students lack of attendance. Students will be automatically withdrawn from the course if they miss more 25% or more of all classes (When deciding who to drop, all classes missed are counted). IV. Class Schedule 1. Introduction to the Course: Ideology, Major Theories of Government Readings: (Introduction and Chapter 1, DiMaggio electronic file) 2. The U.S. Constitution Readings: (Ch. 2 & 3, electronic file) 3. Federalism Readings: (Federalism electronic file) 4. Interest Groups & Parties Readings: (Interest Group assignment readings) 5. Political Parties, Campaigns & Elections 6. The Mass Media 7. Public Opinion & Ideology Exam 1: Wednesday, March 20 th All LLCC classes off: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 21 st 6

Spring Break: March 9-17 th Professional Development Day: Tuesday, March 26 th 8. Congress & the Bureaucracy 9. The Presidency Readings: (Imperial Presidency reading) 10. The Judiciary, Civil Rights, & Civil Liberties 11. Public Policy & Economics 12. Foreign Policy Readings: (Foreign Policy electronic file) Final Exam (Finals Week, To be announced) V. Plagiarism Plagiarism of papers or any other written material is unacceptable and will be punished according to Lincoln Land Community College's guidelines. Students who are identified cheating on a quiz or test, or plagiarizing written work will receive an automatic zero for the assignment/quiz/test in question. Students caught cheating or plagiarizing for a second time will be dropped from the course. Plagiarism is defined as any time in which students pass off material from another author or person as their own, without recognizing the original source. Plagiarism can occur in two ways: 1. Blatantly copying another s work, word for word, without quoting them and without providing a citation indicating that a student drew from another s work; and 2. By failing to cite articles in your paper (and in your works cited page) when using information from those articles. One common example of plagiarism is copying word for word from Wikipedia or any other internet source. DO NOT COPY WORD FOR WORD FROM ARTICLES WHEN WRITING ASSIGNMENTS, OR IT WILL RESULT IN A FAILING SCORE. 7

COURSE, PROGRAM and COLLEGE OUTCOMES. Catalogue Description: POS 101 This is an overview of the American political system including the structure, functions and processes of our federal government. Emphasis is placed on current illustrations of the continuing interplay of forces which constitute our political system. Successful completion of this course fulfills Illinois statutory requirements for teacher certification. R, W1 (3 lecture hours) IAI: S5 900, PLS 911 POS 101 Outcomes Guide Course Outcomes are the essential elements in the class. Course Outcomes (read them as upon completion of the course students will be able to ) are linked to the broader Program Outcomes which, in turn, are linked to the General Education outcomes set by the college: Thus: POS 101 outcome 1 Characterize and critique the basic elements of republican and liberaldemocratic forms of government, both historically and theoretically. Program Outcome Political Science -- Demonstrate familiarity with the basic philosophical groundings of the Western political tradition, in particular, the (substantive) content of liberal democracy and the (methodological) principles of social science. I. Critical Thinking Students will be able to demonstrate their analytical reasoning abilities to interpret, evaluate, and synthesize information across disciplines. RELEVANT ASSIGNMENTS: EXAM 1 and Sections 1 & 2 class content POS 101 outcome 2 Identify a range of major analytic approaches to the study of politics and the varied forms of political practice, and discuss their relative merits. Program Outcome Political Science -- Identify and distinguish between the major approaches within a range of sub-fields of political science. I. Critical Thinking Students will be able to demonstrate their analytical reasoning abilities to interpret, evaluate, and synthesize information across disciplines. V. Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning Students will be able to utilize the scientific method and quantitative mathematical reasoning skills to solve problems across disciplines. RELEVANT ASSIGNMENTS: EXAMS 1 and FINAL; all weeks of course POS 101 outcome 3 List and explain the structures and functions of the institutions of government within the US and provide a summary of their development. Program Outcome Political Science -- Articulate a variety of models and methodologies for addressing the relationship between the citizen and the institutions and mechanisms of government, including distinguishing between a variety of governmental institutions and structures as practiced at various levels within the United States and globally. RELEVANT ASSIGNMENTS: HW 1, EXAMS 1 and FINAL; all weeks of course POS 101 outcome 4 Using appropriate analytic tools and theoretical constructs, critically evaluate the role of individual and group rights and liberties in the contemporary US context. Program Outcome Political Science -- Articulate a variety of models and methodologies for addressing the relationship between the citizen and the institutions and mechanisms of government, including distinguishing between a variety of governmental institutions and structures as practiced at various levels within the United States and globally. 8

I. Critical Thinking Students will be able to demonstrate their analytical reasoning abilities to interpret, evaluate, and synthesize information across disciplines. RELEVANT ASSIGNMENTS: EXAMS 1 and FINAL, all weeks of course POS 101 outcome 5 Identify and evaluate the role of extra-constitutional actors within the political process (including, but not limited to: interest groups, the mass media, political parties and social movements). Program Outcome Political Science -- Analyze the interplay of economics and politics and the basic functioning of economies and economic policy in sub-national, national and transnational contexts. II. Cultural and Global Awareness Students will develop and establish an awareness of the responsibilities of contributing individuals in a diverse society. Students will demonstrate a critical appreciation of the visual and performing arts throughout history and across cultures, and will be able to formulate responses to a variety of aesthetic experiences. RELEVANT ASSIGNMENTS: Exams 1 and Final; section 12 of course POS 101 outcome 6 Both orally and in writing, critique the nature and extent of contemporary US democracy and discuss their own role as a citizen within it. Program Outcome Political Science -- Demonstrate familiarity with the basic philosophical groundings of the Western political tradition, in particular, the (substantive) content of liberal democracy and the (methodological) principles of social science. I. Critical Thinking Students will be able to demonstrate their analytical reasoning abilities to interpret, evaluate, and synthesize information across disciplines. IV. Communication Students will be able to read, write, speak and listen effectively as individuals and in teams. RELEVANT ASSIGNMENTS: EXAMS 1 and Final, Final Paper, In Class Participation. 9