APLS 458 South Carolina and State and Local Politics Bob Botsch (bobb@usca.edu), C-7 HSS Building

Home Syllabus Course Schedule and Assignments  Resources   1.Publications   2. SC Government   3. Governing Magazine 4. The State

SYLLABUS APLS 458 South Carolina and State and Local Politics --Spring 2012-- Office Hours: 2-2:30 Mon/Wed and10-10:50 am Tues/Thu and by appointment email: bobb@usca.edu office phone: 803-648-3222 I. Text and Reading Materials: David B. Magleby, Paul C. Light, and Christine L Nemacheck. 2012 (15th edition). State and Local Politics: Government by the People. Boston: Longman. You may obtain this text in one of two ways. 1. You can go to the bookstore and buy a traditional printed copy for about $100. 2. You can order an electronic copy that you have access to online for 180 days for $40. To to this, just click on the following link and follow the instructions. This is the first time I am trying this, so I am anxious to see how it works! http://www.coursesmart.com/IR/1377537/9780205115938 I will also be providing you with a lot of materials and links to materials about South Carolina politics. I have many Powerpoint outlines linked to the schedule and assignments that will serve as outlines for class discussions. Unfortunately, the texts that have been written over the years about SC politics are now too far out of date to justify using them. So until another such text is written, we will have to do the best we can with outlines and links to more current information. That might make a pretty accurate motto for our state! Course Objectives 1. To appreciate the importance of state and local government in the US anfd in South Carolina. Efforts to shrink the federal deficit along with beliefs that problems are best solved on a state and local level increased the importance of state and local governments in recent years, even though they get much less press coverage than national government. Moreover, state government seems to be the preferred training ground for modern presidents. Three of the past five presidents were governors! A current question in light of the economic crisis we are in and the efforts to stimulate the economy is what role states will play in federal efforts. Most governors, though not SC's, want money to bring their states through these hard times. But they are unlikely to be getting it and instead are getting less. That creates perhaps the greatest challenge in state and local politics today. 2. To begin to understand the complexity of the relationships between all levels of government in our federal system. We have the most complex system of government in the world--a federal system--and South Carolina has one of the most complex systems of state government among the 50 states. I have been studying it for a quarter century now and I still do not fully understand it! 3. To learn proper terminology pertaining to state and local government so that you are able to carry on informed conversations. For example, you should know the difference between the Adjutant General and the Comptroller General and between a general purpose government and a special purpose government. 4. To develop the knowledge and skills to have an impact on state and local government in South Carolina, should you ever wish to do so. 4. To understand the problems and challenges facing state and local governments, including  South Carolina and how these problems came about. 5. To critically evaluate alternative strategies for dealing with the problems and challenges we face. Formal Requirements 1. Tests (33%). There will be two tests given during the semester, including the final exam, which is really just the second test. The format will be announced later, probably about half objective questions and the other half an essay. I will try to give you some essay questions that allow you to show you understand material covered and can apply it to important questions facing the state. 2. Daily Class Assignments (33%). For almost every class you will have some kind of written assignment based on the reading for that day. The idea is to give you some incentive for doing the reading. These will be announced in the course schedule. On these assignments I will post one of three grades, unsatisfactory (for a really poor job or for not getting it in on time or not doing it), marginal (for a minimally adequate job that was on time), and satisfactory (for a good effort that shows some understanding). At the end of the semester I will just average your grades as the percentage of “satisfactory’s” with a marginal counting as a half satisfactory. To give you some chance to make mistakes and take risks, I will drop your two lowest grades here before I compute your average. 3. Research Paper (33%). Each of you will choose some local office or official or interest group on which to do a research paper. In that paper you will describe the nature of that office, how it relates to other parts of local and state government, its duties, and its challenges. I expect you to do some interviewing as part of your research for this paper. You can’t just do it from web pages! You can take any city or county department (animal control, public safety, tax collection, personnel and so on) or special purpose government (schools, fire departments, conservation districts, and so on), or the Lower Savannah Council of Government (LSCOG), which also has several subdivisions. At the end of the semester you will be expected to do a short presentation of what you studied to the class. 4. Extra Credit on tests. a. Public Meetings. You may attend up to two public meetings of some local governmental entity that you are not using for your research paper and get up to 5 points per meeting. To get credit, you must write a descriptive paper of what you observed and how it relates to the material in the course. b. Attendance. If you have perfect attendance up till the midterm or final, you will get 5 extra credit points on that exam. If you have one missed class, you will get 3 points, two misses gets you 2 points and three of more gets you nothing. That is the carrot aspect of attendance. the stick aspect is below under attendance. 5. Grading Scale: A: 90-100; B+: 85-89; B: 80-84; C+: 75-79; C: 70-74: D+: 65-69; D: 60-64;  F: <60 Other Matters and Policies Attendance Other than extra credit points (see above) you are required to attend 75% of all the classes throughout the semester to pass the course. If you miss more than 25% of the classes for any reason, you will receive an automatic F. So save your cuts for real emergencies. If you miss and have a valid excuse, such as a chsool sponsored event, you will be allowed to make up the work, but the miss still counts against the 75% rule. Plagiarism Rules regarding PLAGIARISM apply to all written work. Plagiarism on the research paper will mean an F for the course and a letter will be filed with the Office of Student Affairs detailing the violation. Plagiarism on other written assignment will result in a zero for that assignment.  Honor Code The USCA Honor code is in effect in this course for all written assignments and for exams. I believe in it and I will enforce it. Disability Policy If you have a learning or physical disability which might affect your performance in this class, please inform me and the Coordinator for Disabled Students. You have certain rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. That too is part of state and local politics! Junior Writing Portfolio 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 contact your USCA Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Bulletin or visit Dr. Lynne Rhodes, Director of Writing Assignment, or Karl Fornes, Director of the Writing Room. Assessment We will assess how well we meet the course objectives in several ways. Understanding of course materials will be measured through the tests and daily assignments. Ultimately, your skill as a state and local citizen can only be measured by the competency with which you participate in local and state civic affairs. I cannot measure that, but it is vital for the well being of our society.