APLS 201- 061 American National Government

A Web Course -- Bob Botsch (bobb@usca.edu), C-7 HSS Building

 

  Home

  Syllabus

  Text

  Course Schedule and Assignments

Blackboard link

 

Resources

  1.New York Times

  2. Washington Post

  3. USA Today

  4. U.S. Constitution

  5. Federalist Papers

  6. PolitiFact -- check facts on who is telling the truth

  7. VoteSmart -- voting records and ratings by interest groups

       

Spring 2012 Course Schedule and Assignments

The dates below are when things are due (midnight of the date shown), so be careful to keep up!

We will start slowly, because it takes some time to get everyone up and running on Blackboard, but after the first couple of weeks we will move at a little faster pace.

 

under construction--do not assume that this schedule will not change, so check it frequently!  Stuff happens!

 

 

Wednesday, Jan 11. "Getting to know each other" and getting started in using the discussion feature on Blackboard.

  • Go to Blackboard and to the discussion page and answer the first question: Why did you want to take this course as a web class? What do you think you will like and dislike about taking it over the Web?

 

 

Thursday, Jan 12.  Chapter 1. Introduction

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter. A link to Blackboard is to the left. Complete instructions are in the announcement on Blackboard. The tests are under the "Assignments" tab on Blackboard. You will have about 25-30 questions on each chapter, give or take a few, depending on the length of the chapter. Each student will have a different set of questions in random order that Blackboard chooses from a large pool of questions for each chapter. They vary in difficulty from easy to hard. make sure you complete this by midnight of the day the quiz is due. And you can take each test up to three times to improve your grade!

 

 

Tuesday, January 17. Chapter 1 Class Discussion 

 

  • Answer the second discussion question on Blackboard. This discussion involves taking an interesting political ideology test at http://typology.people-press.org/typology/ and sharing your observations about the test with the class on how you got classified.

 

 

Wednesday Jan 18. EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY--State of the State Address by new Governor Nikki Haley

 

     The speech is at 7 pm  on SCETV and should last about 40 minutes. There is also a Democratic response. Email me a short essay of one or two paragraphs on how TWO of her proposals will affect you or your family personally. Email it to bobb@usca.edu before the first test. Worth up to 5 points extra credit on the test.

 

 

Thursday, Jan 19. Chapter 2. The Constitution: An Overview 

  •   Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

 

Tuesday, Jan 24. EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY--State of the Union Address

 

Watch/listen to President Obama’s State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress at 9 pm tonight. Email me a short essay on 1-2 things you  liked and 1-2 things you disliked in the speech. Up to 5 points on your first test grade.  My email is bobb@usca.edu. Make sure you sign your name on the essay!

 

 

Wednesday, Jan 25.  Chapter 2. Class Discussion

 

 

 

Thursday, Jan 26.  Chapter 2. Writing Assignment

 

·        Find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form--use the links to the left for good newspapers on the Web--do NOT just do a web search and then use whatever article you find--it has to be something from a newspaper) that involves the Constitution. Write a paragraph about how the idea in the story relates to something in the Constitution.  Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph under Chapter 2 Writing Assignment.

 

 

Monday, Jan 30. Chapter 3. The Legislative Branch: The People’s Branch that the People Hate

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

 

Thursday, Feb 2. Chapter 3 Class Discussion

 

  • Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard: Some experts on Congress have said that in the House the majority rules, but in the Senate the minority rules, referring to the impact of the filibuster rule. Given the difficulty of getting anything through the Senate because of threat of filibuster (used by both Republican and Democrats to block legislation favored by a majority of members), do you think that the filibuster rule should be changed? Why or why not?

 

 

Friday, Feb 3. Chapter 3 Writing Assignment

 

  • Writing assignment: find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form) that involves Congress. Write a paragraph about how the idea in the story relates to something in the text. Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 3 Writing Assignment."  

 

Tuesday, Feb 7. Chapter 4. The Executive: The All-Powerful Weakling

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

 

Friday, Feb 10. Chapter 4 Class Discussion

 

  • Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard:  The new Obama administration has been in office for three-fourths of his four year term, and a lot has happened. Citing specific things, how well do you think he has done thus far? Has he met expectations? How will this affect his re-election chances?

 

 

Monday, Feb 13. Chapter 4. Writing Assignment

 

  • The White House website was completely redesigned with the new administration in 2009. Visit the new website (at www.whitehouse.gov) and find something at the site that illustrates something out of the chapter. Describe what it is and how it illustrates something in the chapter. Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 4 Writing Assignment."

 

 

Wednesday, Feb 15. Chapter 5. Bureaucracy: The Dual Demands for Equal and Unequal Treatment, for Political Responsiveness and Political Neutrality

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

 

Friday, Feb 17. Chapter 5 Writing Assignment

 

·        Find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form) that involves the bureaucracy or economic policy. Write a paragraph about how the article relates to the ideas in the text on bureaucracy or economic policy. Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 5 Writing Assignment."

 

 

Tuesday, Feb 21.  Chapter 5 Class Discussion

 

  • Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard:  What do you feel the national government has been doing right and doing wrong thus far in dealing with the economy.

 

 

Wednesday, Feb 22.  Chapter 6. The Judicial Branch: The Highly Political Non-political Courts

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

 

Friday, Feb 24.  Chapter 6 Writing Assignment

 

  • Use the Web to find one decision in the three most recent Supreme Court term (either the 2010-11 term, the 2011-12 term, the current one) 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? To get full credit, you MUST tell which justices were on each side!  Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 6 Writing Assignment."

 

 

Tuesday, Feb 28.  Chapter 6 Class Discussion

 

  • Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard:  The courts are facing the question of whether the 2010 health care reform law is constitutional or not. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule on this case, and would the ruling you prefer be considered closer to judicial activism or judicial restraint?

 

 

Friday, Mar 2.  Mid Term Exam due at midnight

 

 

 

Monday, Mar 5-Friday, Mar 9. SPRING BREAK! You deserve it!

 

 

Monday, Mar 12. Chapter 7. Federalism: If Everyone Is Responsible, Is No One Responsible?

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

      

Wednesday Mar 14. Chapter 7 Class Discussion

 

·        Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard:  suppose you could rewrite the Constitution to do away with a federal system and have a unitary system so make things simpler across the nation, perhaps even redrawing state lines so that they made more sense. Do you think this would be a good idea or a bad idea and why?   

 

 

Friday, Mar 16. Chapter 7 Writing Assignment

 

  • Find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form--use the links to the left for good newspapers on the Web--do NOT just do a web search and then use whatever article you find--it has to be something from a newspaper) that involves some federalism question (which includes different kinds of local governments). Briefly describe the story in your own words and how it relates to the material in the chapter in the text. Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 7 Writing Assignment."

 

 

Tuesday, Mar 20. Chapter 8. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights: Constitutional Rights and Liberties That May Not Be Constitutionally Protected

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

 

Thursday, Mar 22. Chapter 8 Class Discussion—the right to die

 

  • Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard:  should the Supreme Court interpret the Constitution to include the right to die as one of those other rights in the 10th Amendment? Why or why not?

 

 

Monday, Mar 26. Chapter 8 Writing Assignment

 

  • Find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form--use the links to the left for good newspapers on the Web--do NOT just do a web search and then use whatever article you find--it has to be something from a newspaper) that you can use to illustrate something in the chapter about either civil rights or civil liberties. Briefly describe the story in your own words and how it relates to the material in the chapter in the text. Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 8 Writing Assignment."

 

 

Wednesday, Mar 28. Chapter 9. Interest Groups: The Paradox of Factions, Control by Letting them Multiply

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter. 

 

 

Friday, Mar 30. Chapter 9 Writing Assignment 1

 

  • 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. Go to Blackboard and post your findings in a paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 9 Writing Assignment 1."

 

 

Tuesday, Apr 3. Chapter 9 Class Discussion

 

·        Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard:  do you think interest groups or good or bad for America, and what should be done about them?  

 

 

Thursday, Apr 5.  Chapter 9 Writing Assignment 2

 

  • Find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form--use the links to the left for good newspapers on the Web--do NOT just do a web search and then use whatever article you find--it has to be something from a newspaper) that illustrates something in the chapter about interest groups. Briefly describe the story in your own words and how it relates to the material in the chapter in the text. Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 9 Writing Assignment 2."

 

 

Monday, Apr 9.  Chapter 10. Political Parties and Elections: Good Citizens Acting Irrationally

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

 

Wednesday Apr 11. Chapter 10 Writing Assignment

 

  • Find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form--use the links to the left for good newspapers on the Web--do NOT just do a web search and then use whatever article you find--it has to be something from a newspaper) that you can use to illustrate something in the chapter about political parties or elections. Briefly describe the story in your own words and how it relates to the material in the chapter in the text. Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 10 Writing Assignment."

 

 

Monday, Apr 16. Chapter 10 Class Discussion  

 

·        Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard:  given what you have learned about elections, is it really worth all the time and effort to vote in most elections? Do you think that using party to help decide how to vote makes sense?

 

 

Tuesday, Apr 17. Chapter 11. Public Opinion, Socialization, and the Media: Learning to be Ignorant

 

·        Read the chapter on-line in the text (see link in the frame to the left) and complete the Blackboard Reading Mastery questions for the chapter.

 

 

Thursday, Apr 19. Chapter 11 Writing Assignment

 

  • Find an article in a recent newspaper (on-line or in paper form--use the links to the left for good newspapers on the Web--do NOT just do a web search and then use whatever article you find--it has to be something from a newspaper) that you can use to illustrate the concept of “newsworthy.” Explain why the paper ran this story in terms of the qualities discussed in the chapter on newsworthiness. Go to Blackboard and post your paragraph as a comment under "Chapter 11 Writing Assignment.".

 

 

Monday, Apr 23. Chapter 11. Discussion—Political Socialization

 

  • Answer the discussion question posted on Blackboard:  the text discusses the various agents and how these agents work to politically socialize most Americans. How did these agents operate in your own life in your own political socialization? Do you really think that you have made up your own mind about things or have your views been largely determined by these agents of socialization?
  • On-Line Course Evaluation—Please go to the following link and fill out the evaluation for this class—your comments will help me improve the course in the future! Thanks! Bob B. http://fp.usca.edu/eval/

 

          Link to Final Exam.  

 

 

Monday, April 30. Final Exam is due at 12 noon! Again, email it to me at bobb@usca.edu as a Word attachment.