Introduction to American Politics s1

Introduction to American Politics Political Science Y103

Prof. David Schwab Spring 2008 [email protected] MW 1:30 – 2:45 PM Office Hours: MW 10:15 - 12 Education/Social Work 2127 Office: Cavanaugh Hall 243C

Overview

This class will provide you with the foundational understanding of the American governmental system necessary to comprehend political events in the United States. We will begin with core principles such as political culture, the American Founding, and federalism. We will then discuss the machinery of government—Congress, the Presidency, the court system, and the bureaucracy. Finally, we will discuss the role political parties, interest groups, and elections play in putting this machinery into motion.

Learning Goals

1. To learn key facts about American politics, such as how a bill becomes a law. 2. To learn about the different institutions of American politics, such as Congress, the Presidency, and political parties. 3. To learn the history of the American Founding, and how this history shapes American politics today. 4. To learn to think about politics in the terms used by political scientists.

Required Books

Barbour and Wright, Keeping the Republic. 3rd Edition. 2007. CQ Press.

Lisa Baglione, Writing a Research Paper in Political Science. 2007. Wadsworth Press.

Keeping the Republic is our main textbook. You should be able to find it in the University Bookstore, located in the basement of Cavanaugh Hall. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science is a useful guide for the research paper component of this course. It is not available in the bookstore, but can be purchased at Indy’s College Bookstore, Borders, or online from Amazon.com.

In addition, I have placed one copy of both textbooks on reserve in the main library. You may check them out for two hours at a time at the circulation desk on the second floor.

If you have any trouble finding either book, please let me know.

Structure of the Class

Lectures: Lectures are important to give you new information and clear up any muddy points in the readings. It is important to both pay attention and take good notes during the lecture, so that you can remember what I have said. I will lecture 1-2 times each class period for about 20 minutes each. These lectures will explain the main ideas of the course readings for that day. In between these lectures, we will do other activities to explore these ideas in more detail and clear up any misconceptions you have.

Discussion: Research shows that you will remember much more of what you say than of what I say. For this reason, participating in discussion is very important to your learning the material. Our discussions will usually be guided. This means that I will give you a few minutes to think about a question from the reading, such as “Should we get rid of the Electoral College?” We will then have a discussion on this question. This gives you a chance to think through your response before sharing with the class.

Group Work: Working in groups helps you to draw on each other’s strengths. For example, you may understand something better than another student. By teaching the other student what you know, you strengthen your knowledge and help him or her as well. On the first day of class I will assign you to small groups. These will be your groups throughout the semester. At least once per class, you will work with your group to learn the material. For example, your group may take part in a mock Constitutional Convention. By fighting for your interests and compromising with others, you and the other group members will better understand how and why the Constitution was written.

Assessments: In order to teach effectively, I need to know what you are learning and what you are having trouble with. Assessments help me to do this. Every class, you will have the chance to tell me what is confusing to you about the material. We will do this in different ways: for example, I may pass out note cards and ask you to write down one question you have about the day’s readings. I will then review the note cards and answer the most often-asked questions during the next class. This will help me to know what you understand and what concepts are giving you trouble.

Readings

To learn the material and succeed in this course, you must read the textbook. By coming to class having done the day’s reading, you will be prepared to participate in discussions and group activities. The lectures will also make more sense to you, since you will be familiar with the material. Finally, a lot of the exam questions will be taken from the readings, and we don’t have time to cover everything in the reading in class.

Assignments

There are four main assignments for this course: three tests and a research paper. The grading breakdown is:

Tests (50%) Research Paper (40%)

Test 1 25% Research Question 5% Test 2 25% Literature Review 5% Test 3 25% Research Design 5% Rough Draft 5 Only two highest test scores are Final Copy 20% counted.

Attendance: 10% Tests: Tests are simply a way of measuring how well you understand the course material. Studying for a test helps you to remember things you had forgotten, and to make new connections between concepts. There are three tests in this course; however, I will count only your two highest test grades. This means that if you do poorly on one test, it will not wreck your final grade. It also means that if you do well on the first two tests, you don’t need to take the final one. In addition, there will be no new readings the week of the test. We will also spend the class before the test reviewing what you have learned. Test questions are based on the Keeping the Republic book, my lectures, and other in-class activities. Each test will be worth 100 points. There will be 25 multiple choice questions, and one essay from a choice of two on each test. The tests are not cumulative, although you will need to remember broad concepts that have been introduced earlier. You will have the entire class time to complete the exam, but may not use the books or any notes.

Research Paper: You also need to write a 6-8 page double-spaced research paper for this course. This paper should be on a topic of interest to you that is related to American politics. I will discuss choosing a topic, as well as give you a handout with the criteria you will be graded on at a later date. To make this assignment manageable, you will write this paper in stages. These stages are as follows: 1. Identify a research question 2. Compose a literature review 3. Design and conduct research 4. Write a rough draft 5. Revise the rough draft into a final copy You will be graded on each of the stages as well as on the final copy you turn in. I will provide feedback for each stage to help you produce your best work.

Late Assignments

All assignments must be turned in at the beginning of class on the assigned due date. Failure to do this will result in a lateness penalty begin assessed. For completion assignments—the research question, literature review, and so on—this penalty is 1 point per day of lateness. For example, if you hand in your literature review two days late, you will receive 3 points rather than 5. For the final paper, the penalty is 5% per day of lateness. For example, if you hand in your final paper two days late, you will lose 10% of the total possible points—a full letter grade—from whatever grade you otherwise earned. Note that weekends do not count as days for purposes of lateness. Thus, if the assignment is due on Wednesday, and you turn it in next Monday, it is counted as three days late, not five. Why this generosity? Because I do not accept any assignments, including the final paper, by e-mail. It is simply too difficult to keep up with multiple students submitting assignments at different times to my e-mail address. ANY ASSIGNMENTS SUBMITTED BY E-MAIL WILL NOT BE READ OR COUNTED, AND THE ASSIGNMENT WILL BE CONSIDERED LATE UNTIL A PAPER COPY IS TURNED IN DURING CLASS.

Grading Scale

The grading scale for this course is:

A+ 97 – 100% C+ 77 – 79% A 93 – 96% C 73 – 76% A- 90 – 92% C- 70 – 72% B+ 87 – 89% D+ 67 – 69% B 83 – 86% D 63 – 66% B- 80 – 85% D- 60 – 62% F Below 60%

Extra Credit, Makeup Exams, and Incompletes

There is no extra credit for this course. Makeup exams will not be given except under the most extraordinary circumstances. You will need to document what these circumstances are prior to taking the exam. In accordance with university policy, incompletes will not be given except where the majority of course work has been completed and an extraordinary circumstance (such as hospitalization) prevents completing the course. In sum, don’t count on extra credit, makeup exams, or incompletes in this course. Do the work assigned and do it well; you will be much happier in the end. Attendance

Attendance counts for 10% of your final grade. Everyone starts with 10 points, representing perfect attendance. The first two absences do not count against you; after that, each absence costs 2 points from your attendance grade. MISSING 10 OR MORE CLASSES WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC “F” FOR THE COURSE. Note that there are no excused absences in this class; you have two chances to be sick, have a grandmother die, and so on, so use them wisely.

Civility

You are expected to be civil in all classroom readings. Please turn off your cell phones and pagers before you come to class. Leave all other work and reading material in your bags. Students who disrupt the class will be excused from class and will need to speak privately with me before being allowed to return.

In addition, as in any political science class, you may hear things that you disagree with or find offensive. Please be respectful of all points of view. Note that this does not mean you must agree with every argument offered; indeed, you should strive to critique the arguments offered by both myself and your fellow students. However, these critiques should always be directed toward the argument, not the person making it. Name calling, personal attacks, and otherwise abusive behavior have no place in a college classroom and will result in the offender being excused from class. I hope this will not be necessary!

Cheating and Plagiarism

Like most teachers, I don’t tolerate cheating or plagiarism. More to the point, since this is a small class, I have a pretty good chance of catching you if you do cheat. If that happens, you’ll receive an F in the course, and I reserve the right to pursue further disciplinary action. So don’t cheat; it’s not worth it.

Plagiarism is using someone else’s words, either in a direct quote or a paraphrase, without acknowledgement in your paper. Be sure to cite all statements that aren’t your own, or are not common knowledge. If you want more information on either cheating of plagiarism, please consult the University Student Handbook at http://campuslife.indiana.edu/Code/.

Student Accommodations

In accordance with federal law, reasonable accommodations will be made for students who have disabilities or are otherwise learning impaired. Please speak with me if this affects you.

In addition, reasonable accommodations will be made for students to observe religious holidays and functions. Note that travel to and from an event is not usually considered grounds for accommodation. If you notice any conflict between class meetings and your religious observances, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can make special arrangements for you. Tentative Course Schedule

Below I have listed a tentative schedule of course readings. We may not get to all of the readings, or if we’re lucky, we may cover more. I would rather take extra time to help you understand the material than push ahead for the sake of completing everything.

All readings should be completed by the date they are listed under, with the exception of the first week.

Week One: Politics: Who Gets What, and How?

Monday, Jan. 7th Introduction and course overview (no reading) Wednesday, Jan. 9th Keeping the Republic, chapter 1 (entire) Writing a Research Paper, chapter 1.

Week Two: American Citizens and Political Culture

Monday, Jan. 14th Keeping the Republic, chapter 2: p. 33 – 46. Wednesday, Jan. 16th: Keeping the Republic, chapter 2: p. 47 – 60. Writing a Research Paper, chapter 2. Assignment Due: Develop a Research Question

Week Three: Politics of the American Founding

Monday, Jan. 21st Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (no class)

Wednesday, Jan. 23rd Keeping the Republic, chapter 3 (entire) Writing a Research Paper, chapter 3. Week Four: Federalism and the U.S. Constitution

Monday, Jan. 28th Keeping the Republic, chapter 4, pp. 105-120. Wednesday, Jan. 30th Keeping the Republic, chapter 4, pp. 120-148. Writing a Research Paper, chapter 4.

Week Five: Review and First Test

Monday, Feb. 4th Review Keeping the Republic, chapters 1 – 4. Wednesday, Feb. 6th First Test (chapters 1 – 4 of Keeping the Republic)

Week Six: Congress

Monday, Feb. 11th Keeping the Republic, chapter 7, pp. 267-293. Wednesday, Feb. 13th Keeping the Republic, chapter 7, pp. 293-314. Writing a Research Paper, chapter 6.

Week Seven: The Presidency

Monday, Feb. 18th Keeping the Republic, chapter 8, pp. 319-341. Wednesday, Feb. 20th Keeping the Republic, chapter 8, pp. 341-368. Assignment Due: Literature Review

Week Eight: The Bureaucracy

Monday, Feb. 25th Keeping the Republic, chapter 9, pp. 373-388. Wednesday, Feb. 27th Keeping the Republic, chapter 9, pp. 388-408. Week Nine: The American Legal System and the Courts

Monday, March 3rd Keeping the Republic, chapter 10, pp. 413-434. Wednesday, March 5th Keeping the Republic, chapter 10, pp. 434-452. Writing a Research Paper, chapter 7. Assignment Due: Research Design

Week 10: Spring Break (No class)

Week 11: Review and Second Exam

Monday, March 17th Review Keeping the Republic, chapters 7 – 10 Wednesday, March 19th Second test (chapters 7 – 10 of Keeping the Republic)

Week 12: Public Opinion

Monday, March 24th Keeping the Republic, chapter 11, pp. 457-471. Wednesday, March 26th Keeping the Republic, chapter 11, pp. 471-492. Writing a Research Paper, chapter 8.

Week 13: Political Parties

Monday, March 31st Keeping the Republic, chapter 12, pp. 497-520. Wednesday, April 2nd Keeping the Republic, chapter 12, pp. 520-538.

Week 14: Interest Groups

Monday, April 7th Keeping the Republic, chapter 13, pp. 543-560. Wednesday, April 9th Keeping the Republic, chapter 13, pp. 561-582. Week 15: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections

Monday, April 14th Keeping the Republic, chapter 14, pp. 587-602. Wednesday, April 16th Keeping the Republic, chapter 14, pp. 602-630. Assignment Due: Final Copy

Week 16: The Media

Monday, April 21st Keeping the Republic, chapter 15: p. 635 – 653. Wednesday, April 23rd Keeping the Republic, chapter 15: p. 653 – 675.

Week 17: Review

Monday, April 28th Review Keeping the Republic, chapters 11 – 15 Wednesday, April 30th: Third test (chapter 11 – 15 of Keeping the Republic) NOTE: THIS IS THE FINAL EXAM AND MEETS FROM 1 – 3 PM.