Tentative Schedule - APLS 201 –Fall 2010

Carol Botsch’s face to face American Government class

(This will be updated on a regular basis – please note that some of the links may not have been updated by the beginning of the semester and that I may change some assignments when there are topical issues that are relevant– do not download the whole semester’s assignments at once!)

Last updated 11/30/2010 (always under construction)

Each assignment is due at the beginning of class. Late assignments will automatically receive a maximum grade of marginal regardless of reason that they are late. I may call on you in class to present an answer to a review question or assignment and to explain your answer.

Questions? Call me at 803-648-6851 or email me at Carolb@usca.edu

The university has developed class distribution lists for each class using your USCA email addresses. You should be checking your mailbox regularly now anyway since all official university communications will come via your student email address! If I have anything that I need to communicate to all of you in between our class meetings, I will do so via the class distribution list.

Note: You may request a tutor from the Academic Support Center by completing the form found at this link:

http://web.usca.edu/asc/tutoring/request-a-tutor.dot

A Republic If You Can Keep It – your textbook (online and free!)

Click on this link for instructions for accessing Blackboard if you do not know how to use it. Your test mastery questions are found on the Blackboard website on the link for your class. They will be posted prior to the due date, but they will not be available after the assignment is due. If you have not changed your password in the past six months you will probably get an error message and have to update your password. The rest of your assignments are found here, on this page, not on Blackboard.

I’m repeating here the instructions for newspaper assignments that appear on the syllabus:

About once a week, you will have a newspaper assignment that everyone in the class will do. For this, you will be required to find a current (within the past two days) news story that appeared on the front page of the newspaper or equivalent home page for Internet news sources and that is related to something you read about in the current chapter of your text. This should in most cases be political news, although from time to time a story that is in the sports or entertainment section may be relevant (for example, the stories about Coach Steve Spurrier’s statement on the SC Confederate flag back in 2007 or about Michael Vick and his conviction for dog fighting in 2008-09). Read it and then print it out from an internet news source or neatly clip it from a newspaper, and write a paragraph summarizing the story in your own words, and state how this ties in to the chapter. Each of these will count two points. See schedule for due dates. I will call on several of you at the beginning of class to discuss your story with the class and help to keep us current on the news!

Note: Some assignments may not be complete by the first day of class, so do not print the entire schedule and assume there will be no changes. There will be changes and updates!

A friendly warning: many of today’s students think it is fine to simply copy words and ideas off the Internet, especially without any attribution. This is plagiarism, the stealing of someone else’s ideas and words, regardless of whether the article you find has an author’s name after it. Closely paraphrasing, where you just change a few words, is no different. I want to stress that if you engage in this practice, I will give you an automatic F on the assignment and I will follow the University Judicial Procedure for Violations of Academic Integrity (see your Student Handbook for specifics). In other words, this is a violation of academic integrity. Don’t take these kinds of shortcuts – it’s dishonest and it’s morally wrong. It also violates my policy and university policy. I also note that I expect you to do your own work for assignments. If I ask you to read something and comment on it, I want your ideas, not someone else’s. You may not use Wikipedia or similar sources, even with attribution. You will receive an F on any assignment where you do so, unless I have specifically given permission in writing, an extremely rare occurrence.

Thurs. Aug. 19 Introduction to course – syllabus, and assignments

Tues. Aug. 24 Key Ideas in American Government and Politics

Readings: Chapter 1 (see link above for online text)

Assignment:

For the first chapter in your text: chapter 1 test mastery questions on Blackboard (assignment always due on day listed on the left, by your class meeting time, so this one is due Aug. 24 by 10:50 am, whether handed in to me in class or sent via email. The Blackboard questions are simply submitted on Blackboard, of course – if you plan ahead, you can save your answers and go back to review them later and then submit them, but be sure you submit them by the deadline!).

Thurs. Aug. 26 Continued

Today I would like you to do two things. First, click on the link for this brief ideology quiz, and answer the questions. You do not have to turn in the actual quiz with your individual responses if you would rather not, but it must be clear from your paragraph that you turn in at the beginning of class that you actually did the assignment. Second, I am going to ask you to read several short articles that address some specific problems that our society has faced, and how government has responded to them. Think about how you feel about each issue and how much government should do to solve the problem. This taps into your views and your own political ideology.

Assignment: 1. Where do you fit? What are your views on government? Political scientists have developed much more complex ideological schemes than the one presented in this chapter. Here’s a brief ideology quiz that looks at the two key dimensions of your views on how much government should do in regulating the economy and regulating people’s private lives. Take the World’s Smallest Political Quiz and then write a paragraph (either email it to me by the date and time when your class is held today or type your answer and hand it in) where you indicate whether you fit where you thought you would or not, and why. Were you surprised at the results? This quiz is oversimplified, of course, so let me know what additional dimensions or types of questions you think would be helpful in determining people’s attitudes about politics and government.

2. Readings for the second part of your assignment: “The Civilian Conservation Corps;” “Audit Finds TARP Program Effective,” (New York Times); “Debate Over Full Body Scans vs Invasion of Privacy Flares Anew After Incident,” (New York Times); “Emotions Flare After Immigration Law is Blocked,” (New York Times). Then respond in a typed response to the following. One of the key questions we must address today (and one that is at the heart of a lot of our political battles) is how much should government do? I have assigned you two articles that address big government programs, one a program from the 1930s, and one that is a contemporary Bush-Obama program. After reading these articles, explain what the purpose was for each, and how successful it was. Were these programs a good idea or a bad idea? Why or why not? How much should government do? I have also assigned you an article that deals with privacy issues, and the ongoing debate over privacy versus security. What’s the right balance? Finally, I assigned you an article that touches on a controversial issue, illegal immigration, and some of the problems that surround it, including the problems involved with enforcement of the nation’s laws and racial profiling. It also inevitably addresses the question of individual privacy and how far government should go. What are your thoughts here? And if you were stopped, could you prove you were a citizen or a legal resident alien? Should everyone have to carry identifying documents just to prove they are not criminals? Or does the greater good subsume those individual rights? Type your responses to hand in at the beginning of class, or email in the body of an email to carolb@usca.edu before class begins. I will call on some of you to discuss this in class.

Tues. Aug. 31 Continued

We will finish chapter 1 today and begin chapter 2. You do not have to read chapter 2, but you do need to read the Declaration of Independence.

Readings: for today, read The Declaration of Independence – be prepared to explain what it means in class. You should also read the following article about the Tea Party, which I have assigned since most of you didn’t have a clue as to what this reference meant. There are also links to a number of other articles about this movement that you will find on the page – take a look.

a. Assignment for Aug. 31: A. Answer after reading the Declaration of Independence. Explain why this was such a radical document. What do you think would happen if people took some of the sentiments in this seriously today? Do we see any evidence of this now? Explain, citing specifics. Answer in a couple of typed paragraphs. B. In one typed paragraph, explain what the Tea Party movement is, and what their impact is at this time on American politics. Use your own words.

Tues. Aug. 31 Speech by President Obama at 8 pm. See extra credit link for details.

Thurs. Sept. 2 The Constitution and other important early documents

The readings and assignment below are due on Thurs. Sept. 2 by the beginning of class (email or hand in). Please note that for this unit, the Blackboard questions are due for our second class on the topic, on Tues. Sept. 7. For Thurs. Sept. 2, complete the assignment for the four documents highlighted below. And of course, you should read or at least skim each of these, and read Unit 2 in your text!

Readings: Chapter 2; the Articles of Confederation (our first constitution); US Constitution (here is one of many links to this important document!); the SC Constitution

Assignment: Email your responses in the body of an email or type your answers, using separate paragraphs for each item.

b. Answer after reading the Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution. What are two differences and two similarities between these documents?

c. Answer after reading the SC Constitution. Compare this state constitution with the US Constitution. Which is longer? What differences are there in how they are organized? What differences are there in the topics covered?

Mon. Sept. 6 Labor Day Holiday – university closed!

Tues. Sept. 7 Continued

Assignment for Sept. 7: Chapter 2 test mastery questions on Blackboard

See the number of words in the US Constitution and other fascinating trivia! I think the numbers here are accurate for the unamended document. When pasted into a word document, the US Constitution seems to be about 7500 words, including amendments but excluding signatures and such. The SC Constitution is about 35,000 words today, including the many amendments added in the 1970s and 1980s. See the following article and table.

Thurs. Sept. 9 Continued – no class will be held today! The following is an out of class assignment. You may either email it to me in the body of an email (no attachments), place it under my door (H and SS C-5), or hand it to our administrative assistant in H and SS 204 to place in my mailbox anytime on Thursday.

Newspaper assignment for Sept. 9: Find a current newspaper article that illustrates something you read in this chapter (hint: don’t go to a newspaper web site or to a search engine and type in the word “constitution” – that will bring up all kinds of irrelevant material. Instead, look for some story about something that illustrates a constitutional principle or some kind of government action or other item discussed in the chapter. For example, you can find all kinds of news stories that present examples of the separation of powers, checks and balances, limits on powers of states, powers wielded by the president or Congress or the courts, etc). The story should have been written within the past week. Write a paragraph summarizing the story in your own words and then a second paragraph where you indicate specifically what it illustrated in the text. Don’t send an attachment if you email your assignment, but do give me the url or the name of the paper, date, and page.

Tues. Sept. 14 The Legislative Branch

Readings and assignment below are due Tues. Sept. 14 at the beginning of class.

Readings: Chapter 3

In class we will watch Schoolhouse Rock video on You Tube – on how a bill becomes a law. 3 minutes long! Leaves out a few details but gives you the overall picture! What did it leave out? I’ll ask you to comment in class.

Assignment: Chapter 3 test mastery questions on Blackboard

Thurs. Sept. 16 Continued

Assignment for Sept. 16: Listed below –

Find the names of the current Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader (go to www.senate.gov )

Find the names of the current Speaker of the House and the Republican leader (go to www.house.gov )

Look at the committees and subcommittees in the House and Senate. How many are there?

What one committee and one subcommittee of that committee would you want to serve on if you were in Congress, and why? Pick one committee and one subcommittee, and read more about them, so you can explain this to your classmates. Remember what you read in your text about the reasons members of Congress want to serve on specific committees! It may have to do with what will best serve your constituents, with the prestige of a particular committee, with your personal knowledge, expertise, and background – or some combination of this. Be very specific. Type your answer.

Fri. Sept. 17 Constitution Day – see the USCA home page for virtual Constitution Day links!

Tues. Sept. 21 First Test– bring a scantron sheet with room for writing an essay and a number 2 pencil.

Essay exam tips (from Academic Success Center)

The test will be a combination of objective and essay formats.

Study Guide (updated on 9/17/2010)

(Please note also that power points are posted in the K drive folder for Carol Botsch under APLS 201)

Wed. Sept. 22 and Thurs. Sept. 23 Voter Registration drive from 11 am to 1 pm in SAC Quad. All SC residents over 18 can register to vote. Sponsored by Pacer Law and the Political Science Club. Or you can go to www.sc.votes.org to register.

Thurs. Sept. 23 The Executive

Readings and assignment below are due Sept. 23 at the beginning of class

Readings: Chapter 4

Assignment: Chapter 4 test mastery questions on Blackboard

Tues Sept. 28 Continued

Assignment for Sept. 28: Internet assignment due today – we are going to take a look at presidential executive orders. First, we’ll read about one of the most famous or infamous presidential executive orders, issued by President Franklin Roosevelt in wartime. Read this brief summary of this 1942 executive order. Do you think FDR was justified in doing this? Compare his response to that of President Bush following the 9/11 attacks. Answer in a couple of paragraphs. Then, go to the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov – click on the link for presidential proclamations at the bottom of the page or go to the following link. Find an executive order or presidential proclamation issued by President Obama during his brief time in office. Read it and explain what this was about in a couple more paragraphs.

We will take a closer look at the White House website in class today.

Thurs. Sept. 30 The Bureaucracy

Readings and assignment below due Sept. 30 at the beginning of class

Readings: Chapter 5; Excerpt from “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair; “The Maggots in Your Mushrooms.” (New York Times) (don’t read either of these right before or after you eat a meal!)

Assignment: Chapter 5 test mastery questions on Blackboard; Summarize what you read in this chapter of “The Jungle” in a paragraph or two. Then summarize what you read in the NY Times article in another paragraph. Finally, indicate what this tells us about why, despite people’s desire for a smaller government, people really do want government regulation. How necessary is it?

Tues. Oct. 5 Continued

Assignment for Oct. 5: Let’s take a look at e-government. Go to the website for your city or county and see what things you can do entirely over the web. You will have to spend a little time looking at this in some detail! Cite two separate things you can do entirely over the web and write a separate paragraph for each. Explain why this is a plus or minus. You should Google the name of the governmental unit, like “City of Aiken” or “Aiken County” to come up with a list of links – then click on the one for your local government’s web site.

We’re also going to listen to this little seven minute jingle about economic policy today: Keynes vs. Hayek on NPR

Thurs. Oct. 7 The Judicial Branch

Readings and assignment due Oct. 7 at the beginning of class.

Readings: Chapter 6; Two New York Times articles: “Supreme Court Term Offers Hot Issues and Future Hints (October 2, 2010); ” “The Founding Fathers Versus the Tea Party.” (Sept. 23, 2010)

Assignment: Chapter 6 test mastery questions on Blackboard; After reading the newspaper articles, answer each in a couple of paragraphs. For the Supreme Court article: Why did Justice Kagan recuse herself from several cases, and what difference will it make in the outcome of the cases? What does each of these cases tell you about judicial interpretation and the Constitution – be specific and refer briefly to each. For the Tea Party article: What was your reaction to the story? Do you think the Tea Party folks are accurately assessing the meaning of the Constitution and the views of the Founders? Why or why not? And how and to what extent should the Supreme Court, certainly a political institution, take these new political winds into account as it begins to hear new cases this fall? Please type your response or email it to me.

Tues. Oct. 12 Continued

Assignment for Oct. 12: Newspaper assignment due today – find a current article (written in the past week) on the courts, the Supreme Court or other courts in the federal or state system in the US (make sure you know which one you are looking at!). Summarize the story in your own words in one typed paragraph. Then in your second paragraph, indicate what this illustrated from the chapter you read. Be sure you understand the concepts! I may call on you in class.

Tues. Oct. 12 Speech by Kelvin Coleman, USCA graduate and DHS employee, 4 pm. H and SS 116. Extra credit.

Oct. 14-15 (Thurs-Fri) Fall break – no classes!

Tues. Oct. 19 Federalism

Readings and assignment due Oct. 19 at the beginning of class.

Readings: Chapter 7

Assignment: Chapter 7 test mastery questions on Blackboard

Wed. Oct. 20 Career Panel: Careers in Government. In H and SS 103 from 2:30 to 3:45 pm. Extra credit.

Thurs. Oct. 21 Continued

Readings: “State Legislatures as Laboratories of Democracy,” by Ralph Nader.

Assignment for Oct. 21:

Internet exercises- 1. After reading this article, comment in a paragraph – you may or may not agree with Nader’s progressive philosophy, but on this website you will see some examples of how states have and continue to experiment.

2. Then go to the websites of two different states, and find some examples of your own! One of the states should be a state that starts with either the first letter of your first or last name. The other state can be a state of your choice. Compare two similar programs, like state programs that address air pollution, or solutions to funding problems like education lotteries (many states have used them but Georgia was the first!), or policies on same sex marriage, or senior care, etc. Compare the two programs and indicate how they are similar and how they are different, in a couple of paragraphs. If you looked at lotteries, you could compare the programs in Georgia and in Florida, for example. Or you could look at California’s strict laws that require cars to have special anti-pollution equipment and compare it to another state.

Mon. Oct. 25 SC Gubernatorial Debate – on SC ETV at 7 pm. Extra credit

Tues. Oct. 26 Continued – also bring in any questions you have in preparation for the test.

Readings: “A Tenth Amendment Drama Fit For Daytime TV Heads to the Supreme Court,” (New York Times, October 18, 2010); “The Tea Party and the Constitution,” (New York Times, March 12, 2010); “States’ Rights is Rallying Cry for Lawmakers.” (New York Times, March 16, 2010); “Arizona Ruling Acts as a Warning to Other States,” (New York Times, July 28, 2010).

Assignment: Answer in a couple of paragraphs for each of these articles. A. For the article on the Tenth Amendment, what level of government should handle cases like this, and why? B. For the article on the Tea Party, how are these folks interpreting the Constitution? To what extent could one argue that their interpretation is correct or incorrect? What does all this have to do with federalism? Explain. C. For the article on states’ rights, why do we see this new drive for states’ rights? Do you think it has some validity? What concerns would some have about this approach to solving problems? Give some examples from the article. D. For the article on the Arizona ruling, what does this tell us about constitutional interpretations of the relative roles of the states and the federal government? Why do you think Arizona passed this law, and why are many other states considering similar laws?

Thurs. Oct. 28 Second Test – bring a scantron and a number 2 pencil – be sure the scantron is the kind with room to write an essay.

Study Guide (this test covers four chapters, 4-7)

Tues. Nov. 2 Election Day – no classes will be held. Be sure to vote! You will have an out of class assignment for today.

Tues. Nov. 2 Civil Liberties and Civil Rights – remember that there is no class today!

Readings and assignment due Nov. 2 – you can do the Blackboard questions from any computer, and you may email the assignment from the newspaper article to me by 12 midnight if you are not on campus to leave it in my box or under my door.

Readings: Chapter 8; “Student Suspended for Facebook Page Can Sue,” (New York Times, February 16, 2010); “Facebook

Acknowledges Privacy Issue With Applications ,” (New York Times, October 18, 2010).

Assignment: Chapter 8 test mastery questions on Blackboard; A. write a paragraph commenting on each NY Times article. A. For the article about the suspended student, do you see this as a legitimate first amendment issue? Why or why not? Who is in the right here? B. For the second article, do you feel that Facebook or other private companies are violating your right to privacy with these practices? How should they handle personal information that you provide to them? Incidentally, where do you find a right to privacy in the Constitution (my question – not discussed in the article!).

Wed. Nov. 3 Open Forum on Civil Discourse, 2:30 pm in SAC. Extra credit – Click on link from course home page. Cannot be counted for ICE credit and extra credit

Thurs. Nov. 4 Continued

Assignment: Assignment for Nov. 4: Newspaper article due today – on a civil liberties/civil rights topic. Pick something current that appeared in the news in the past week on a civil liberties or civil rights issue in the US. As usual, summarize the article in your first paragraph and in your second paragraph, indicate what it illustrated from the chapter. What right or liberty is involved? What part of the Constitution comes into play? The article should be current, something written within the past week.

Tues. Nov. 9 Interest Groups

Readings and assignment due Nov. 9 at the beginning of class.

Readings: Chapter 9; read also Federalist No. 10 – copy and paste this url, or Google the term and find numerous links to the document

http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed10.htm

Assignment: Chapter 9 test mastery questions on Blackboard

Thurs. Nov. 11 Continued