APLS 201-004 American National Government 8 AM TT class, Spring 2009 Bob Botsch (bobb@usca.edu), C-7 HSS Building

Home Syllabus Text   8 AM TT class: Course Schedule and Assignments 11 AM MWF class: Course Schedule and Assignments Blackboard link Resources   1.New York Times   2. Washington Post   3. USA Today 4. U.S. Constitution 5. Federalist Papers

Course Schedule and Assignments Tuesday, Jan 13. Course Introduction and General Knowledge Pre Test Thursday, Jan 15. 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. Tuesday, Jan 20. 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 NOT give 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. · 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 Thursday, Jan 22. 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 most of the class going over the Constitution and discussing the events of the inauguration that took place on Tuesday. Be prepared to list and discuss the paradox or paradoxes in this chapter. Tuesday, Jan 27. 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. Thursday, Jan 29. 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. Tuesday, Feb 3. Chapter 3 continued. Writing assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form) that involves Congress. Write a paragraph about how the article relates to the text chapter on Congress. 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. We will continue our discussion of Congress today Be prepared to list and discuss the paradox or paradoxes in this chapter. Thursday, Feb 5. Chapter 4. The Executive: The All-Powerful Weakling Website for Obama Economic Recovery Meetings 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. Tuesday, Feb 10. Chapter 4. continued · Do ONE of the two following assignments: 1) 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. OR 2) find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form) that involves the executive branch. Write a paragraph about how the article relates to the text chapter on the executive branch. This writing assignment will be taken up and graded on a satisfactory/marginal/unsatisfactory basis and count in the assignments part of your grade. As usual, be prepared to share and discuss. Thursday, Feb 12. Review for Test 1 Tuesday, Feb 17. Test 1 Thursday, Feb 19. 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. · Be prepared to list and discuss the paradox or paradoxes in this chapter Tuesday, Feb 24. Chapter 5 continued with a focus on economic policy choices An editorial worth reading by Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winning economist Tom Toles Cartoon on the “paradox of saving” EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: watch/listen to President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress tonight at 9 pm and the Republican response and write a short essay on how the ideas will affect you. Up to 5 points on your next test grade. Today we will review the various economic policy choices facing the Obama administration in terms of the policy alternatives in the chapter: free market, Keynesian, supply side economics and monetarism Do ONE of the following two writing assignments: 1) Write a one paragraph evaluation of what you feel the national government has been doing right and doing wrong thus far in dealing with the current economic crisis. 2) 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 writing assignment 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. Thursday, Feb 26. 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. Tuesday, Mar 3. Chapter 6 continued Writing exercise. Do ONE of the two following Web assignments. This assignment 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. 1) Use the Web to find the current members of the Supreme Court, their age, when they were placed on the Court and the president who nominated them. Then do some additional research on the internet about each justice and find out who is considered to be conservative, moderate, and liberal. 2) Use the Web to find two decisions in the most recent Supreme Court term (either the 2007-8 term or the current 2008-9 term) that were split decisions (5 to 4 or 6 to 3) and determine if the same justices tended to line up in the same sides of the cases. What does this tell you about the justices and about how the Supreme Court makes decisions? Thursday, Mar 5. 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 through Friday, Mar 13. SPRING BREAK! You deserve it! Tuesday, Mar 17. 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. Thursday, Mar 19. 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. Tuesday, Mar 24. Chapter 7 continued · Do ONE of the following writing assignments. Write a short essay (one page) about : 1) a right to die should be included in the Constitution, or should not be, or 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. 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. Thursday, Mar 26. Review for Test 2 Tuesday, Mar 31. Test 2 Thursday, Apr 2. 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. Tuesday, Apr 7. Chapter 9 continued Do ONE of the two following writing assignments. It 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 it with the class. 1) Look at the end of the chapter on interest groups at the possible internet exercises. Choose one of them and do that one, and write up what you found. 2) 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. Thursday, Apr 9. 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 Committee April Report on TARP Tuesday, Apr 14. 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. · Discussion on the 2008 Election—I will be sharing some of the exit polling data on this election with you. Thursday, Apr 16. 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. Tuesday, Apr 21. Chapter 11 continued · Do ONE of the following writing assignments. It 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. · 1) Look over a recent newspaper and use the idea of “newsworthy” to explain why an article is featured (on the front page or on the home page for that day) and another story is buried further back in the pages. · 2) 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. · 3) 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 Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, or relations with Russia, or any other topic in this area in which you are interested. Thursday, Apr 23. Review for Test 3 and General Knowledge Post Test Review Tuesday, May 5. Final Exam, 8 AM