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APLS 201-003 American National Government 11 AM MWF class, Spring 2009 |
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8 AM TT class: Course Schedule and
Assignments 11 AM MWF class: Course Schedule and
Assignments Resources 3. USA Today |
Course Schedule and
Assignments Monday, Jan 12.
Course Introduction and
General Knowledge Pre Test Wednesday, Jan 14.
Chapter 1. Introduction ·
Read the
chapter on-line and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter—to be
completed BEFORE class! ALL Blackboard questions must be completed before the
class in which we cover that chapter. ·
Current events
extra credit quiz. Because I want you to get in the habit of following the
news every day, I will be giving you a 1-2 question current evens quiz on
most days. You can earn an extra credit point for getting correct answers.
After today, these quizzes will not be announced in the schedule. So get in
the habit and earn points! ·
Class
discussion about ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer
questions I ask. Friday, Jan 16. Chapter 1, continued. ·
Writing
assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper
form--use the links to the left fore good newspapers on the Web--do NOT just
do a web search for ideology and then use whatever article you find--it has
to be something from a newspaper--the idea here is to get you to at least
browse through some newspapers almost each day) that involves the concept of ideology.
Write a paragraph about how the idea in the story compares to the way the
introduction chapter discusses ideology. This will be taken up and graded on
a satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments
part of your grade. I will be asking you to share these articles with the
rest of the class. This is also a way of talking about current events and
relating them to ideas in the text. Please do NOTgive me a copy of the
article, just a citation including author, title of article, source, date and
page in paper or url if off the web. Monday, Jan 19. No Class – M.L. King Day Tuesday, Jan 20. Obama Inauguration—12 noon ·
Presidential
Inauguration—be sure to watch the events, especially Obama’s inaugural
speech. We will talk about it next time. Here is a link to some info on this
historical event: http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/Inauguration.htm
Wednesday, Jan 21. Chapter 2. The Constitution: An Overview ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter. ·
No extra
writing assignment for today – we will spend part of the class going over the
Constitution. ·
We will also
spend some time talking about the inauguration that took place yesterday Friday, Jan 23. Chapter 2. continued
Monday, Jan 26. Chapter 2. continued ·
Writing
assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper
form--use the links to the left fore good newspapers on the Web--do NOT just
do a web search for ideology and then use whatever article you find--it has
to be something from a newspaper--the idea here is to get you to at least
browse through some newspapers almost each day) that involves the Constitution.
Write a paragraph about how the idea in the story relates to something in the
Constitution. This will be taken up and graded on a
satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments part
of your grade. I will be asking you to share these articles with the rest of
the class. This is also a way of talking about current events and relating
them to ideas in the text. Wednesday, Jan 28. Chapter 3. The Legislative Branch: The People’s
Branch that the People Hate ·
Read the chapter
and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter. ·
Class
discussion about ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer
questions I ask. Friday, Jan 30. Chapter 3 continued.
Monday, Feb 2. Chapter 3 continued
Wednesday, Feb 4. Chapter 4. The Executive: The All-Powerful Weakling Website for Obama Economic Recovery
Meeting and Video ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter. ·
Class discussion
about ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer questions I ask. Friday, Feb 6. Chapter 4. continued ·
Write and be
prepared to share and discuss a one paragraph evaluation of the initial
performance of the new Obama administration. This will be taken up and graded
on a satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments
part of your grade. Monday, Feb 9. Chapter 4 continued
Wednesday, Feb 11. Review
for Test 1 Friday, Feb 13. Test 1 Monday, Feb 16. Chapter 5. Bureaucracy: The Dual Demands for Equal and Unequal
Treatment, for Political Responsiveness and Political Neutrality ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter. Note: I am giving everyone who did not
finish this test a two day extension, so you have till Wednesday class time
to complete it! ·
Be prepared to
list and discuss the paradox or paradoxes in this chapter Wednesday, Feb 18. Chapter 5 continued with a focus on economic
policy choices
Friday, Feb 20. Chapter 5 continued
Monday, Feb 23. Chapter 5 continued An editorial worth
reading by Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winning economist Tom
Toles Cartoon on the “paradox of saving” ·
Writing
assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form) that
involves the bureaucracy. Write a paragraph about how the article relates to
the ideas in the text on bureaucracy. This will be taken up and graded on a
satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments part
of your grade. As usual, be prepared to share and discuss. Tuesday, Feb 24. EXTRA CREDIT Wednesday, Feb 25. Chapter 6. The Judicial Branch: The Highly
Political Non-political Courts ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter ·
Class
discussion about ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer
questions I ask. Friday, Feb 27. Chapter 6 continued
Monday, Mar 2. Chapter 6 continued
Wednesday, Mar 4. Chapter 6 continued
Friday, Mar 6. Chapter 7. Federalism: If Everyone Is Responsible, Is No One
Responsible? ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter ·
Class discussion
about ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer questions I ask. Monday, Mar 9-Friday, Mar 13. SPRING BREAK! You deserve it! Monday, Mar 16. Chapter 7 continued ·
Writing
assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form)
that involves some federalism question (which includes different kinds of
local governments). Write a paragraph about how the article relates to the
text chapter on federalism. This will be taken up and graded on a
satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments part
of your grade. Be prepared to share and discuss. Wednesday, Mar 18. Chapter 7 continued Friday, Mar 20. Chapter 8. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights: Constitutional Rights and
Liberties That May Not Be Constitutionally Protected ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter ·
Class
discussion about ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer
questions I ask. Monday, Mar 23. Chapter 7 continued ·
Write a short
essay (one page) about one of the following ideas. 1) a right to die should
be included in the Constitution, or should not be. 2) the DC handgun case was
rightly decided or wrongly decided, or 3) what new right would you like to
see included in the Constitution and why? This will be taken up and graded on
a satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments
part of your grade. Be prepared to share and discuss. Tuesday, Mar 24. EXTRA CREDIT – WATCH THE
OBAMA PRESS CONFERENCE TONIGHT AT 8 PM AND WRITE A PAGE ON HOW WHAT HE SAID
AFFECTS YOU. UP TO 5 POINTS ON THE NEXT TEST. Wednesday, Mar 25. Chapter 7 continued ·
Writing
assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form) that
involves civil rights or liberties. Write a paragraph about how the article
relates to the text chapter on civil liberties or rights. This will be taken
up and graded on a satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in
your assignments part of your grade. Be prepared to share and discuss. Friday, Mar 27. Review for Test 2 Monday, Mar 30. Test 2 Wednesday, Apr 1. Chapter 9. Interest Groups: The Paradox of Factions, Control by
Letting them Multiply ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter ·
Class
discussion about ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer
questions I ask. Friday, Apr 3. Chapter 9 continued ·
Look at the
end of the chapter on interest groups at the possible internet exercises.
Choose one of them and do that one, write up what you found and be prepared
to share it with the class. This will be taken up and graded on a
satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments part
of your grade. Monday, Apr 6. Chapter 9 continued ·
Writing
assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form)
that involves interest groups. Write a paragraph about how the article
relates to the text chapter on interest groups. Be prepared to share it with
the class. This will be taken up and graded on a
satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments part
of your grade. Be prepared to share and discuss. Wednesday, Apr 8. Chapter 10. Political Parties and Elections: Good Citizens Acting
Irrationally ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter ·
Class
discussion about ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer
questions I ask. Congressional
Oversight Commission and April report on TARP Friday, Apr 10. Chapter 10 continued ·
Writing
assignment: Do one of the Internet exercises at the end of Chapter 10. Write it
up. Be prepared to share what you found with other people in class. This will
be taken up and graded on a satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and
count in your assignments part of your grade. Be prepared to share and
discuss. Monday, Apr 13. Chapter 10 continued ·
Writing
assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form)
that involves political parties or elections (this one may be the easiest to
find of any the semester). Write a paragraph about how the article relates to
the text chapter on parties or elections. This will be taken up and graded on
a satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in your assignments
part of your grade. Be prepared to share and discuss. Wednesday, Apr 15. Chapter 11. Public Opinion, Socialization, and the
Media: Learning to be Ignorant ·
Read the
chapter and complete the Blackboard questions for the chapter Class discussion about
ideas in the chapter—be prepared to talk and answer questions I ask. Friday, Apr 17. Chapter 11 continued
Monday, Apr 20. Chapter 11 continued—Policy: the environment and global warming ·
Write a
paragraph evaluating how well you think that the new Obama administration has
done so far in dealing with the environment and global warming issues. This
will be taken up and graded on a satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis
and count in your assignments part of your grade. Be prepared to share and
discuss. Wednesday, Apr 22. Chapter 11 continued—Policy: foreign and defense
policy Write a paragraph
evaluating how well you think that the new Obama administration has done so far
in dealing with foreign and defense policy. You can focus on Friday, Apr 24. NO CLASS—Start studying for the exam Monday, Apr 27. Review for Test 3
and General Knowledge
Post Test Review Monday, May 4. Final Exam, 11 AM |