Manar Shorbagy Fall 2015 Time : UW 5:00- 6:15 p.m. Room : C 137 Waleed Office : POLS 2027 Office Hours: W 2:00 – 3:15 or by appointment Email: [email protected]

POLS 3403- American Government In August of this year, people gathered in different US cities to commemorate the first anniversary of the Ferguson events. Last year, the World was watching in shock while events in Ferguson were unfolding. People around the globe could not believe the scenes on their TV screens were really from an American city. The carnage looked like a war zone, and the city police, were in ‘military’ uniforms using military machinery against American protestors, and acting with brutality seen only in autocratic third world regimes! And the protest was in response of the brutal killing of 18 year old- unarmed – black man at the hands of a white policeman. Because Ferguson was neither the first nor the last of such incidents, those events trigger several questions; isn’t this America, the land of the free? What does the US Constitution say on the militarization of police? Wither the American democracy? Is it endangered? Precisely, isn’t this the same America that celebrated the inauguration of the ‘first black President’ just six years ago? These, and related questions, will be at the center of our work in this course. To study US democracy, we will study the American political system in detail and work to understand the intricacies of its institutions and the complex processes they make possible i.e. we will struggle to understand how the political system actually works, or sometimes, does not work! Throughout, however, we will also engage the broader theme of the likely fate of the American democratic experiment.

Course Requirements and Policy The course material is designed in a way so as to deal with each topic from various angles, thus providing exposure to different points of view on the same issue. What we do in class is we discuss together the topic, explore different dimensions thereof, and develop the links to other issues and topics. Therefore, attendance, prior reading and class participation are basic requirements for this course. Otherwise, you will miss the point of class discussion and may not be able to handle the material. Missing class, and thus the discussions, will negatively affect your performance in both assignments and exams. Please note that the following is the AUC policy on attendance: “A student who misses more than the equivalent of three weeks of class meetings during a semester for any reason may be assigned a reduced grade for the course — including the grade of “F” — solely on the basis of inadequate attendance, regardless of excuse. “Students are personally responsible for making up any academic tasks and assignments missed due to their absence”. “Students who miss more than three weeks of classes due to documented health or family emergencies will be permitted to drop their courses or withdraw from the University after the formal deadline to drop courses. The Deans of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies will determine the merit of late requests to drop courses or withdraw”. In this class, there is zero tolerance for both cheating and plagiarism. Grading * Exams: three midterms (25%) * Dates of Exams First Exam: Oct. 4th Second Exam: Nov. 4th Third Exam: Dec.6th. * Research and Assignments 15% * Class performance and attendance 10% (including pop-quizzes) * All grades in this course are NON-NEGOTIABLE. * No make ups in this course.

Please do not hesitate to come and discuss with me any ambiguities as soon as they occur. The sooner you come the easier it will be for me to help you.

Readings The main textbook is: Edwards, Wattenberg and Lineberry, Government in America, 11 th edition, (Boston: Longman, 2011). It will be available in both the bookstore and on reserve. Please note that we will be doing our work in class while events relevant to our course topics emerge by the day. The months ahead promise to be exciting and important, esp. with presidential campaigns already flared up. Ongoing developments will be used to illustrate broader course themes and hopefully will make class discussions lively and engaging for us all. Please note also that your assignments are focused on research and analysis of specific ongoing developments and events. Therefore, you are urged from the beginning of the semester to follow US events as they unfold. Please follow events through mainly American sources. I would suggest among others the New York Times, the Washington Post, and/or the Los Angeles Times.

We will proceed according to the following plan. Any changes will be announced well ahead of time. Constitution: Chapter 2 Chapter 9: pp. 307-9 and pp. 277-287. Federalism: Chapter 3 Civil Rights: Chapter 5 Civil liberties: Chapter 4 Political Parties: Chapter 8 Chapter 9: pp. 288- 294 Interest Groups: Chapter 10 Congress: Chapter 11 Presidency and National Security: Chapters 12 & 17