SYLLABUS
APLS 201 - AMERICAN NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT – Spring 2012
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Tuesdays
and Thursdays
9:25
to 10:40 am
Section
003
Classroom:
H and SS 214
Dr.
Carol Sears Botsch
Last
Updated 1/4/2012
Office: H and SS C-5
Telephone: 803-648-6851, extension 3227
Fax: 803-641-3461
Email: Carolb@usca.edu
Office Hours: Mon, 10 am to 11:50 am, and by
appointment
Credit Hours: 3
Texts:
1. A Republic If You Can Keep It, by Robert E. Botsch, which I helped edit. This is a free, online text available for use only by USCA students. It replaces a standard paper text that now costs students over a hundred dollars each. The text focuses on principles rather than current events. The principles of American Government remain the same. The events keep changing. Text book publishers make a lot of money by updating for a new edition the current events that illustrate the principles.
2. The Internet, where we will get our current events to illustrate the principles in the text—for free! Sites we use may include USA Today, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and others. Please read the member agreements before using these sites, and remember that while you are generally permitted to download an item for personal use, all materials are protected by copyright. For some sites you must register a user id and password to use the site. I suggest you bookmark the sites on your home computer or make a note of the urls (addresses).
If you are a new student: You
can use the computer facilities that are available on campus 24 hours a day.
You can also ask for help at the library or in the computer labs.
Keeping up with the news is
important in this course! The urls for several major
news sites are:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/ (You can read up to
20 articles a month for free)
Real Clear Politics (polls)
What
We'll Do in Class:
All of our lives are affected
by government. Government inspects (or fails to inspect!) the food we eat and
the products we use (it seems that every year there are a number of
food-related salmonella or e-coli incidents that sicken many!), provides assistance
when a natural or manmade disaster strikes (tornadoes, hurricanes,
earthquakes), determines whether we may get married or divorced (think about
the gay marriage issue), how long we may stay in a hospital if we are ill, how
much of our earnings we may keep (most of us think we should keep more! But
without taxes, we can’t pay for the services we want!), to what extent our
freedom is restricted in the name of national security (think about what limits
you consider reasonable), what our children are taught in school (should they
learn about sex? Or birth control? Or evolution? Or be
permitted to read books that use certain words?), and in the post-Sept. 11
world, how safe and convenient it is for us to travel (it’s not very convenient
anymore! But we hope at least it will be safe!), and how much privacy we will
have (this may include government listening in on our phone conversations and
reading our email). At the same time that many people from all over the world
yearn to live in the
The average person is often
quite frustrated about government. We disagree about the extent to which
government should be expected to solve problems as well. It sometimes seems
that government acts too slowly and merely reacts to problems, whether natural
disasters or terrorist threats. Some of our negative attitudes toward
government and government officials may be reflected in the lack of respect we
have today for government institutions. Studies over the years show that people
view Congress negatively and few Americans would wish their children to grow up
to become president! Media coverage leaves the public with the impression
that all politicians and public officials are crooks, lazy, immoral, or some
combination of all three! Many people feel that recent events show we have a
dysfunctional government now.
Our attention span is limited
and we have very little patience or understanding that complex problems take a
long time to solve! The public shows little interest in most election campaigns
and remains divided on policy. As we begin this semester, the 2012 election
campaign is well underway. We still have a war in the Middle East that drags
on, in Afghanistan, we have enormous budget deficits, an economy that has
experienced the worst recession since the Great Depression, continuing high
unemployment, people are still dying of cancer and heart disease, and many of
us can’t even afford to get the health care we need, despite a new law (which
the Supreme Court may well find unconstitutional before the semester is over).
Americans traveling overseas find that they are no longer well-liked and
well-regarded in much of the world.
This is a whole lot of gloom
and doom, but yes, there is hope. Government can still solve many problems, and
you can be part of the solution. By learning how government operates and
how you can play a role in the process, you can actually make a
difference. If you have ever wondered why it seems to be so hard to get things
done and how you as a citizen can have a voice in what is happening around you,
by the time we have finished the semester you will have a few clues. We will
learn about the institutions and policies that affect all of the above and
more. We will examine all of this within a "current events"
context - after all, politics doesn't take place in a vacuum.
We will cover a great deal of
material in approximately three and one-half months. We will reinforce and
build on what you read during the class periods, rather than simply reiterating
what you were supposed to have read in the text (but I am always happy to
explain and expand on what you have read!). We will spend some of our class
time doing case studies and exercises that reinforce what you read. Therefore,
it is important that you come to class every day, on time,
and that you remain for the entire class period (schedule
your doctor's appointments and advisement appointments outside of class time!).
Take notes and ask questions! Keeping up with the reading and doing the
assignments on a regular basis are extremely important. You are expected to be
familiar with the material in the chapter when you come to class.
Course
goals:
My number one goal is to help you
learn the things you need to know in a fun and interesting way that is as easy
as possible so that you can make a good grade in the course. Here are some
more specific goals.
1) to
increase your knowledge and understanding of the American governmental system;
2) to get you thinking about what role you can and should play as a citizen; 3)
to improve your written and oral communication skills; 4) to improve your
technological competence and level of comfort.
We will accomplish these
goals through reading and class discussions, through written
assignments, through cases and class exercises, through
newspaper assignments, and by exploring the Internet. You will have
a chapter to read and a written assignment from your text at least once a week,
as well as some outside assignments. While I will try to reinforce what you
have learned in the text, during our class periods I will go beyond what you
have already read. We will not simply reiterate the "facts" found
in your textbook. Therefore, while you will not have a formal term paper
for this course, you will be expected to do some reading and some writing for
nearly every class.
The Blackboard test mastery
questions on each chapter in the
book are set up to do two things. First, having to take a little quiz
really encourages you to read the material. And you will make a better grade on
the regular tests if you really read the material. Second, the feedback you get
on all answers will help you better understand the material. So please take the
time to read the feedback—that could help you on a regular test.
The exams will be a measure of what you have learned and will be based primarily on the readings in your textbook but may include some material discussed in class. If you miss a class you should contact a classmate for notes. It is your responsibility to get contact information from one of your fellow students before you need it!
Grades
Your grade will be based on three exams, the Blackboard Chapter Mastery questions (called test mastery questions on the Blackboard web site), and written work (newspaper assignments,
web-based assignments, and some in class assignments). Extra credit will also
be added in with the totals before I compute and average your grade. Due dates
for everything will be posted on your class schedule online, which will be updated
regularly.
A. Exams (45%). There will be three tests (so
each one counts 15% of your final grade) each of which will cover about
one-third of the course material (three or four chapters). Exams will follow an
essay format. Make-up exams will be given only when you can document an
illness or death or other emergency in the immediate family, or under other
extraordinary conditions and must be taken during my office hours and prior to
the next test. If you plan to be out of town on test day, whether for a school
scheduled or a personal event, you must let me know prior to the exam if
you wish to make arrangements to take the exam on an alternative day or time.
Tests will be based primarily on the material in your text and on the material
discussed in class, and may also include a requirement to apply the material to
relevant current events, so be sure you are reading a daily newspaper or
watching the news every day. Our focus will be on getting you to apply what you
read, or learn to think critically. If at all possible, we will have a review session
prior to each test, either in or out of class. In any case, we will practice
writing an essay prior to your first exam.
B. Blackboard Test Mastery
Questions (25%). Be
sure you have a current Blackboard user id and password. There will be a set of
20 test mastery questions for each of the 11 chapters. I will average your
total points for correct answers into the total of 220 possible points to get
your grade for this portion of your work. You should also be able to check this
on Blackboard to see how well you are doing! You will find these on the
Blackboard web site at https://blackboard.sc.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp
(see Schedule link for instructions). You will answer these questions on
Blackboard, and they will be automatically graded there. You do NOT send your
responses to these questions to me, as I will access them via Blackboard. So if
you miss class due to illness or family emergency, you can still complete your
assignments online on a timely basis. All of these assignments must be
completed by the beginning of class on the due date. The questions will
not be available after that. Please note that the questions will be randomly
generated for each student from a question bank. Therefore, after you read the
chapter, you will need to go back and find the correct answers in the text. Be
sure to allow adequate time to do this. You can make up to three
attempts on the Blackboard questions – your highest score will be counted and
you will have a different set of questions each time.
C. Newspaper assignments,
other written assignments and class work (30%). These are graded as
satisfactory, marginal, or unsatisfactory. A marginal is half-credit. I will
average the total number of satisfactory items and half credit marginals into the total number of possible satisfactory
assignments. So if there are 10 assignments and you have 8 satisfactory and 2
marginal grades, that would be 8 total, or 80% for this portion of the grade.
Of course, remember that this is not your total class grade, as this portion of
the grade is 30% of the total. The typical kinds of assignments include:
1) About once a week, you
will have a newspaper assignment that everyone in the class will do or some
class exercise. 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, there have been many stories about how football player Tim Tebow frequently drops on his knees and prays during a
game! If you can show the relevance of a story like this to our topic of the
week, go for it!). 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. 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!
2) Sometimes you will have
some outside reading assigned or some other written assignments or requirements
or an Internet based assignment to reinforce your learning. For some of these
assignments, a given student or student will be expected to present in class
and lead some discussion – I will let you know in advance so you feel prepared.
I
would prefer that you submit your daily assignments via email as sometimes it
is hard to read someone’s handwriting but also that you print out a copy to
carry with you to class so you can refer to it if I call on you to share your
findings. Of course, you may always hand in your work at the beginning of class
in person. Please email assignments in the body of an email, not as an
attachment. Save a copy for yourself in case it gets lost in cyberspace! I will always
acknowledge receipt of your assignments, generally within 24 hours except on
weekends, holidays, and during school breaks. For any work you hand in, please
type your work unless you have neat handwriting. If I can't
read it, or if it has cross-outs and is
generally sloppy, I can’t grade it. Spelling and grammar do
count. Read back over your work before you hand it
in! I suggest you also utilize a dictionary to help you with your
spelling. Some words that I frequently see misspelled are “receive” and
“amendment.” I also see many students confuse common homonyms such as “to,”
“too,” and “two,” “bare” and “bear” (as in “the right to bear arms”) and
“there,” “their,” and “they’re.”
None of us are perfect, but all of us can improve our writing skills (including
me!). The best way to improve is by writing, and by reading! Also, if your work
consists of more than one page, please staple it together before you come to
class. I don’t carry a stapler with me!
Honor
Code: All
students are expected to abide by USCA's honor code. The honor code applies
to all work done during the semester, including exams and papers. Plagiarism,
copying and cheating are grounds for failing the course. This includes extra
credit work! More information on plagiarism is available from the library
webpage and from your professor. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to
copying or closely paraphrasing someone else’s work without giving credit to
the source and the use of someone else’s ideas without giving credit to that
source. This includes online sources! Doing work for another student, asking
another student to do your work for you, or doing work jointly with another student
that is supposed to be your own work are honor code violations. Signing another
student's name on the attendance sheet will also be considered an honor code
violation. Giving other students information about material that is on the exam
is an honor code violation. If you have any questions about honor code
violations, please see me. All honor code violations will be reported and
will go into your file, as specified in the student and faculty manuals.
Academic
Integrity Resources:
copy and paste url at: http://web.usca.edu/asc/academic-integrity.dot
Cell phones and laptops:
Please mute or turn
off your cell phone in class, out of courtesy for others; better yet, I’d like
you to put them away during class. Playing video games, communicating with
friends via email or social media, and texting, are all activities that should
be carried on before or after class. However,
you are welcome to bring food and drink to class for your breakfast, lunch, or
a snack!
Attendance
Policy: You must
attend 75% of your classes in order to pass the course. According to the
course schedule booklet, there are 28 Tuesday-Thursday classes. Therefore, you
must attend at least 21 classes in order to pass. I will take attendance on a
daily basis. It is your responsibility to sign the attendance sheet.
Don't tell me later on that you "forgot." If you have perfect
attendance during the period between any of the three tests, you will earn five
extra credit points for that test period.
Disability
Policy: If you have a physical,
psychological, and/or learning disability which might affect your performance
in this class, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 126A B&E,
(803) 641-3609, as soon as possible. The Disability Services Office will
determine appropriate accommodations based on medical documentation
Writing
Proficiency Portfolio Requirement:
Your instructor values good writing in this course. Please remember that the
written work that you produce in this class can be included in your rising
junior writing portfolio. For further information on the portfolio requirement
please consult your USCA Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Bulletin or
visit Dr. Lynne Rhodes, Director of Writing Assessment, or Karl Fornes,
Director of the Writing Room.
Extra
Credit: I do not
curve my exams, but I will allow you to earn a limited amount of extra
credit points for such activities as watching appropriate documentaries or
attending appropriate campus and community events. More information will be
available on this later. Check the extra credit link a couple of times a week.
You can also earn extra credit from in class newspaper quizzes, which will be
offered about once a week at the beginning of class.
Copy and paste url at:
http://www.usca.edu/polisci/apls201c/extra.htm
Letter
Grades and Numerical Ratings
A = 90 or above
B+ = 85-89
B = 80-84
C+ = 75-79
C + 70-74
D+ = 65-69
D = 60-64
F
= below 60
Note: Daily assignments will be posted on the website and updated a few days
before we meet. Check for updates before you do each assignment.
Note: If you email the assignments to me please do NOT use attachments!
Also, be sure to keep a copy of your work in case it gets lost in cyberspace!