American Government: Process and Policies



COURSE SYLLABUSAmerican and Texas Government: Process and PoliciesPolitical Science 1050.001, Fall 2011M-W-F, 12-1 pm, Lyceum, University UnionInstructor: Dr. Valerie Martinez-EbersOffice Hours: M-W-F, 1-2:30 pm, Wooten 143; valmartinez@unt.edu and by appointment 940-565-2276 (for everyone)TAs: Jeremy Brannon (jeremybrannon@my.unt.edu)Wed., 1-4 pm, Wooten 331 Clyde Chen (Yen-HsinChen@my.unt.edu)Tues., 2:30-5:30 pm, Wooten 331 Nick Drummond (nicholasdrummond@my.unt.edu)TU-TH, 8-9:30 am, Wooten 156 James Lucas (jameslucas@my.unt.edu)Mon., 1-4 pm, Wooten 337 Lynsey Parsons (LynseyParsons@my.unt.edu)M-W-F, 11-12 am, Wooten 167About the Course---what we will study this semesterThis is one of two courses on American and Texas politics required by state law and as part of UNT’s general education (“core”) requirements. Both the United States and Texas governments are representative democracies. This suggests a connection between the will of the people (that’s us!) and the policies implemented by government. In PSCI 1050, we trace that connection by looking at where individuals’ political values and attitudes come from, the mechanisms that connect individual beliefs to government action, and the outcomes of government policy.Course Objectives---Overall Objectives for StudentsAs a result of taking this course, you should be able to:explain the origins, development, and effects of US and Texas political culture;identify, describe, and explain the origin of individual political attitudes;identify and analyze data about political behavior and different political phenomena;evaluate polling as a means of measuring public opinion;demonstrate knowledge about the role and effects of the media on political behavior;describe the expansion of the franchise in the U.S.;explain and assess theoretical explanations for the individual decision to participate;assess the decline in American voter turnout;assess the role of forms of political participation other than voting;explain the formation of interest groups;explain the effect of interest groups on American politics;explain the process of electing the President and Vice President of the U.S.;explain the reapportionment and redistricting processexplain the election of members of the House and Senate;explain the relationship between money and elections;recognize the stages of the policy making process;evaluate the need for governmental regulation;explain and critique select topics of U.S. domestic policy AND foreign policy.Required Textbooks and such stuff---There are three (3) items required for this class that are available at university bookstores:Daniel Shea et al. Living Democracy, 3rd Edition (Texas Edition, published by Pearson, can be purchased as a “bundle” with workbook or bought separately as a stand alone book, in addition 3 copies will be on 2-hour reserve at the library), hereafter referred to as “Text” on the syllabusCox and Ruderman, Processes and Policies in American & Texas Politics, 8th Ed. (Published by Pearson, available only as an online copy, can be purchased as a “bundle” with text or bought separately as a stand alone book), hereafter referred to as “Workbook” on the syllabus.Turning Point “clicker” – purchase a Turning Point Technology Response Card (aka “clicker”) available at the bookstores (must be Turning Point Technology-others are not compatible!) Clickers allow students to answer interactive questions with the push of a button during class. Ask at the bookstore and get the clicker for Political Science (it looks like a small garage door opener). There are different types so be careful you get the right one. For example, there are iPhone, iTouch, iPad, and Blackberry applications, but I do not suggest them because of cost and computer interface issues (it has been unstable and students have felt “ripped off” because of data usage charges). If you try this option, you do so at your own risk. Keep your receipt (and box) in case of problems (bookstores do not fix or replace clickers without an original receipt)! If you purchase a used clicker, you may want to purchase spare batteries (check with the bookstores about the round flat medical battery). Do not just “throw your clicker” in your backpack where things can set on it (that wears the battery out faster). Also, some students make the mistake of not removing the plastic cover on the top of new clickers (this results in a clicker “not clicking”), and students wonder why they have a “0” for clicker participation! Do not let this happen to you! See us IMMEDIATELY if your clicker appears to be malfunctioning.Course Requirements ---4 page “Personal Ideology” paper or 3-5 minute video or participation in class debate, all due/scheduled Sept. 30 (worth 200 points)Class participation thru clicker points (worth 1 point each for 100 points)Two mid-term exams (worth 200 points each), scheduled for Oct. 3 and Nov. 7Final exam (worth 200 points), scheduled for Wed., Dec. 14 from 10:30-12:30.Workbook assignments (worth 10 points each for 100 points), see course schedule for assignment datesAt the end of the semester, your grade will be based on the number of points you have accumulated out of the total possible 1000 points. > 899 = A600-699= D800-899= B<600= F700-799= COther Grading Details:Exempting the Final: If you have an A average going into the final exam and have at least 85 class participation/clicker points, you may exempt the final. You will receive a progress report on the last regular class day that will indicate whether you are exempt from the final. To be exempt, your point total must be 720 or higher--no exceptions or negotiations. Extra Credit: From time to time, you will have a chance to earn extra credit points. Each properly completed extra credit is worth one to five points, which will be added directly to the test grades, as announced. Extra credit opportunities will be announced in class and/or posted on Blackboard at my discretion.Please note: the average grade for this class is a C. A higher grade (A or B) WILL REQUIRE EXTRA EFFORT, so please work hard if that is your goal (and I hope it will be). Important Details ---TESTSApproximately 50% of the test questions will come from class lecture, discussions, and handouts and 50% will come from the text and workbook. Of course, a great deal of information included on the tests can be found in more than one place. Tests will consist of multiple choice type questions and short answer questions.If we are running behind schedule, we will still have the test on the appointed date, then include the rest of the material on the next test rather than delay the test. Tests are not cumulative (not even the final).Students are required to take all the tests to complete the course (unless excused by the instructor). A grade of zero will be entered and averaged in for any test not taken unless it is the final and you are formally exempt from taking it. I expect you to be present for each test unless you can provide a written excuse that I deem valid (illness severe enough to seek medical care; a summons to appear in court; or official representation of the university). Any other excuses will be considered case-by-case. Please follow these guidelines if you should find it necessary to miss a test:a. Please call or email me (valmartinez@unt.edu) as soon possible, preferably as soon as you know you are going to miss the exam.b. Submit verification/explanation on the day you return to class following the missed exam.c. All make-up exams will be on Friday, December 2 at 3:30 pm. The make-up exam will be all essay in content. If you cannot take the test during that time and you have been approved to make it up, please contact me immediately.If you are disappointed with your test grades be sure to come and talk with me or one of the teaching assistants. We will offer whatever we can by way of suggestions for improving your work in this class.Workbook Exercises:You will complete six assignments from the Cox and Ruderman workbook. To complete these assignments, you will need to do the assigned reading on the firewall protected workbook website. The site behind the firewall includes text relevant to the assignments, directions, and necessary web links.After you complete the reading, you will actually answer the questions in Blackboard. You can only complete a workbook exercise once (so make sure you are happy with your answers before you hit “submit”. Workbook assignments are due before 9 AM on the due date. Late assignments will not be accepted. No exceptions.Clickers and Excused AbsencesThis course relies on “clickers”) to encourage dynamic interaction during class periods. The first clicker question is given within the first 5 minutes of class and the last one during the closing segment. Your grade for this section is a percentage of times you “click” in. You snooze, you lose. There is a margin of error of about three percent on the number of clicks in. That is we assume that you will miss no more than three percent of the questions. After that your grade begins to suffer. See your TA if you have reason to believe the clicker is malfunctioning. There are instructional videos online to help you register your clicker (your clicker must be registered in order to accurately record your participation). We use clickers every day in this course for public opinion polls and asking questions about course material. If at all possible, BRING THEM TO CLASS BEGINNING MONDAY, August 29! You must register your clicker on-line (watch the videos on WEBCT before coming to class WEDNESDAY, August 31). If you have bought yours & registered it properly by August 31, you receive EXTRA CREDIT! Beginning Wednesday, September 7, the only way you can get credit for clicker participation without actually clicking in is by having an excused absence. What constitutes an excused absence? Only if:You are representing the university at an official event;You have a religious obligation;A member of your immediate family (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent) dies or is hospitalized;You, yourself, have a contagious illness or a medical condition that requires a doctor’s care.For numbers 1 and 2, you must give your TA at least 48 hours of ADVANCE notice, and that notice must be IN WRITING (sent to their my.unt.edu account); for #1, you must also provide your TA with an official excuse. For numbers 3 and 4, you must notify your TA within 48 hours of missing class and provide documentation. Any longer than 48 hours, and the absence is not excused. Period. No exceptions.Instructions for Ideology Paper, Debate or VideoSelect one option by September 14th1. Idealogy paper--Go to and carefully play Idealog. If you take the exercise seriously it should determine what political ideology best reflects your view of the appropriate role of government. After playing the game, you will write a 4 page paper that addresses these areas: A. Explain why Idealog classified you as it did in terms of the three dimensions: freedom, order and equality.B. Pick one of the following political issues of the day and analyze it in terms of your identified ideological type: balancing the federal budget, allowing concealed hand guns on campus, legalizing gay marriage or continuing the Texas Top Ten Percent program. C. Using the same political issue, contrast your political ideology with its "opposite". Explain what in particular you find most objectionable in this ideology.PLEASE NOTE: All pages of the paper should be double-spaced, numbered, printed in 12 point type with no greater than one inch margins on all four sides.2. Idealogy Class Discussion/Debate--Go to and carefully play Idealog. If you take the exercise seriously it should determine what political ideology best reflects your view of the appropriate role of government. Rather than writing a 4 page paper, you will tell the class about one ideology and its position on one issue. Up to three students representing each of the four ideologies (twelve total) will be able to put their ideas and values into action by participating in a class discussion/debate. This assignment involves preparation for the debate and only a one page paper. One half of page explains your political ideology as fully as possible and the remainder of the page explains your ideology’s position on the topic that you discuss in class. Interested students should speak with me as soon as possible to organize the content of the debate.3. Ideology or political culture Video--Assume your company has been hired by a non-profit organization called “People for America.” Your task is to create a 3-5 minute video about one of the 4 main ideologies present in the United States OR what it means to be American, specifically drawing on our class discussion of American political culture. Your video will be a tool of socialization; it may be aimed at elementary- or middle-school children, high school children, college-age young adults, or recent immigrants. Be creative with your video: use interviews, music, imagery, dance, video graphics, poetry, whatever you want. The video itself must be posted to YouTube (set preferences to “unlisted”) or Vimeo (create a password to protect your video). You will then provide me with a link to the video and (if using Vimeo) the password.In addition to the video, you will be responsible for a 1-page memo that addresses (a) who your target audience is; (b) what message you hope to convey; (c) your rationale for conveying the message the way you did; and (d) how your message connects to our class readings on American political cultureOther Important Policies/GuidelinesLectures are not intended to regurgitate the material in the textbook. Rather, you should do the reading before class and come prepared to delve into the more difficult concepts covered in the text. You are ultimately responsible for the material in the readings and from class. If you are struggling with the reading, it is your responsibility to seek mine or Christine’s help.I expect you to be attentive in class. Arriving late, leaving early, talking on your cell phone or to persons sitting around you, surfing the web, or otherwise distracting your fellow students will not be tolerated. I will ask you to leave class. Repeated or egregious instances of classroom disruption will result in referral to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities to consider whether your conduct violated the Code of Student Conduct. Expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional forums, including university and electronic classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc.? The Code of Student Conduct can be found at unt.edu/csrr.If you have a question or problem, please initially contact Christine thru their email account (my.unt.edu) or see them during office hours. DO NOT contact him\her thru Blackboard. If you are unable to get your question\problem resolved in this manner, contact me at valmartinez@unt.edu or visit me during my office hours. I am also happy to meet with you by appointment.UNT and I have a strict policy on cheating or plagiarism (see policy after class schedule below). To avoid the charge of plagiarism, anytime you report the findings or opinions of another writer (even if it is paraphrased in your own words) you must cite the author, date and page number in parentheses immediately following a direct quote or at the end of the paragraph if the information is paraphrased (that means written in your own words). Also include a reference page at the end of your paper with complete bibliographic information provided for every source cited in your paper. Example citation: (Martinez-Ebers 2010, p.13).Make a duplicate of your class paper before you turn it in and put it away in a safe place. Occasionally papers are misplaced and this protects you.All workbook assignments will be turned in electronically unless specified otherwise, and late assignments will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to plan for possible computer problems and to contact the appropriate IT support person if you encounter problems with Blackboard. I will communicate with the class via Blackboard and e-mail. You can set your Blackboard e-mail account to deliver messages to whichever e-mail address you regularly use. It is your responsibility to check that account regularly. If you require an accommodation for a religious observance or for a disability, I am happy to oblige, but I will not do so on an ad hoc basis. If you require an accommodation for religious reasons, you must notify me in writing at least two weeks in advance. If you require an accommodation for a disability, you must provide me with appropriate documentation from ODA before I can assist you.All work must be your own. That includes workbooks assignments. Finally, this syllabus serves as a guideline for your reading and preparation for exams. As your professor, I reserve the right to deviate from the syllabus when necessary. I will make every effort to announce changes at least 48 hours prior to the adjustment, but, ultimately, you are responsible for keeping in touch with me regarding changes.DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME IF YOU ARE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE COURSE. I MAY BE ABLE TO HELP YOU STUDY MORE EFFECTIVELY OR RECOMMEND ASSISTANCE ELSEWHERE ON CAMPUS. REMEMBER...I WANT YOU TO DO WELL IN THIS CLASS.CLASS SCHEDULE MondayWednesdayFriday8/26 - Introduction8/29 – It’s YOUR government!8/31 – Political CulturePolitical Culture chapter found on Blackboard9/2 – Political CultureFinish Political Culture found on Blackboard9/5 – Labor DayNO CLASS9/7 – Political Culture of TexasText Ch. 199/9 – Public OpinionText ch. 11 9/12 – Public Opinion Read: Workbook ch.1, Exercise1-5 Due @ 9am 9/14 – Civic & Political EngagementRead: Front of Text ch. 129/16 – Civic & Political Engagement Read:Conclusion of Text ch. 129/19 – Civic and Political Engagement Read: Workbook, ch. 2;Exercise 2-4 due9/21 – Interest GroupsRead: Front of Text ch. 139/23 – Interest GroupsRead: Conclusion of Text ch. 139/26 – Interest GroupsRead: Workbook, ch. 59/28 – Class DebateIdeology paper or video due9/30 – Watch student videos, review for test10/3 – TEST1st Midterm Examination10/5 – Political PartiesRead: Front of Text ch. 1510/7 – Political PartiesRead: Conclusion of Text ch. 1510/10 – Political PartiesRead: Workbook, ch. 4;Exercise 4-2 due10/12 – Campaigns and ElectionsRead: Front of Text ch. 1410/14 – Campaigns and Elections Read:Conclusion of Text ch. 1410/17 – Campaigns and ElectionsRead: Workbook, ch. 6;Exercise 6-5 due10/19 – MediaRead: Front of Text ch. 1110/21 – MediaRead: Conclusion of Text ch. 11 10/24 – MediaRead: Text ch.11Exercise Timeline and Visual Literacy10/26 – Campaigns and Elections Texas Style!Read: Text ch. 2110/28 – Who WINS!Election forecasting10/31 – Catch-up and review for test11/2 – TEST2nd Midterm Examination11/4 – No ClassReading Day11/7 – Policy ProcessRead: Front of Text ch. 1611/9 – Policy ProcessRead: Conclusion of Text ch. 1611/11 – Policy ProcessRead: Workbook, ch. 7Exercise 7-5 due11/14 – Education PolicyEd. Reading on blackboard11/16 – Education Policy11/18 – Education policy11/21 – Economic PolicyRead: Front of Text ch. 1711/23 – NO CLASSThanksgiving Holiday11/25 – NO CLASSThanksgiving Holiday11/28 - Economic PolicyRead: Conclusion of Text ch. 1711/30 – Foreign PolicyRead: Front of Text ch. 1812/2 – Foreign PolicyRead: Conclusion of Text ch. 1812/5 – Foreign PolicyRead: Workbook, ch. 7Exercise 7-5 due12/7 Review for test12/9 - Reading Day12/14 - FINAL 10:30 am- 12:30 pmAcademic Integrity UNT Policy 18.1.16 at _Policy /volume3/18_1_16.pdf I. Categories of Academic Dishonesty. A. Cheating. The use of unauthorized assistance in an academic exercise, including but not limited to: 1. use of any unauthorized assistance to take exams, tests, quizzes or other assessments; 2. dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems or carrying out other assignments; 3. acquisition, without permission, of tests, notes or other academic materials belonging to a faculty or staff member of the University; 4. dual submission ofa paper or project, or re-submission of a paper or project to a different class without express permission from the instructor; 5. any other act designed to give a student an unfair advantage on an academic assignment. B. Plagiarism. Use of another's thoughts or words without proper attribution in any academic exercise, regardless of the student's intent, including but not limited to: 1. the knowing or negligent use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement or citation. 2. the knowing or negligent unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or by an agency engaged in selling term papers or other academic materials. C. Forgery. Altering a score, grade or official academic university record or forging the signature of an instructor or other student. D. Fabrication. Falsifying or inventing any information, data or research as part of an academic exercise. E. Facilitating Academic Dishonesty. Helping or assisting another in the commission of academic dishonesty. F. Sabotage. Acting to prevent others from completing their work or willfully disrupting the academic work of others. II. Available Academic Penalties The following academic penalties may be assessed at the instructor's discretion upon determination that academic dishonesty has occurred. Admonitions and educational assignments are not appealable. A. Admonition. The student may be issued a verbal or written warning. B. Assignment of Educational Coursework. The student may be required to perform additional coursework not required of other students in the specific course. C. Partial or no credit for an assignment or assessment. The instructor may award partial or no credit for the assignment or assessment on which the student engaged in academic dishonesty, to be calculated into the final course grade. University of North Texas-Statement of ADA ComplianceThe Political Science Department cooperates with the Office of Disability Accommodation to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Please present your written accommodation request on or before the sixth class day (beginning of the second week of classes). University of North Texas-ADA and Plagiarism ComplianceThis certifies that I have read the syllabus and understand the requirements for the course and the mandatory deportment policy. I also understand the Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism. I agree to abide by academic honesty outlined by the Center for Student Rights & Responsibilities unt.edu/csrr/ and have read the material about my rights and the sanctions that can be imposed if I violate the student code of conduct. I verify that all work done in this class will be my own, that I will cite or quote sources when I draw from other authors' material, and that I will present only accurate and truthful information to the professor and the teaching assistants. Furthermore I understand that violating the policy will result in an automatic "F" for the course and referral to the Dean of Students for disciplinary proceedings and dismissal. Signature: _________________________________________Date:____________ Printed Name: ______________________________________EUID:___________ ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download