Syllabus – American Government &
Politics
POLS 100 – LEC # 22416 & 31126
(Honors)
Fall 2010
TAs: Maureen Lowry-Fritz – D001
Todd Noelle – D002
Michael Pomante – D003
Jenn Soss – D004
Rachel Walker – D005
Class Time: 12:00-12:50 p. – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Class Locations: Mon. and Wed.-Lecture-Schraufnagel-Montgomery Auditorium
Fri.-Discussion Section 1-Lowry-Fritz-DuSable 246
Fri.-Discussion Section 2-Noelle-DuSable 252
Fri.-Discussion Section 3-Pomante-DuSable 459
Fri.-Discussion Section 4-Soss-DuSable 461
Fri.-Discussion Section 5-Walker-Arends U.S. Art. Bldg. 102
Fri.-Discussion Section 6-Schraufnagel-DuSable 274 (Honors)
Office Hours: Schraufnagel – MWF 11:00 to 11:50 a. & TR 1:00 to 3:00 p.
Lowry-Fritz – M 1:00 to 3:00
Noelle – W 9:50 to 11:50
Pomante – F 9:50 to 11:50
Soss – M 9:50 to 11:50 p.
Walker – W 1:00 to 3:00 p.
Office Phone: Dr. Schraufnagel – (815) 753-7054
Teaching Assistants – (815) 753-1818
Office Location: Dr. Schraufnagel – Zulauf Hall 410
Teaching Assistants – DuSable 476
E-mail – Dr. Schraufnagel – sschrauf@niu.edu
Lowry-Fritz – maureen_lowryfritz@yahoo.com
Noelle – toddnoelle@gmail.com
Pomante – michael.pomante@uwc.edu
Soss – sossjenn@yahoo.com
Walker – rachelewalker05@gmail.com
Note: E-mail should NOT be used as a way to communicate important information. There is no guarantee that the correspondence will be received in a timely fashion. You should plan to talk to the instructors in person, before and after class regarding planned absences and other important matters. Grades will NOT be given out, by the professor or by any of the TAs, over the telephone or by e-mail.
Required Text –
Barbour, Christine, and Gerald C. Wright.
2009. Keeping the
Republic: Power and Citizenship in American
Politics: The
Essentials, 4th Edition. Washington D.C.: CQ Press.
Course
Objectives – This course
is intended to familiarize students with the basic institutional structures of
American Government. There will be
discussion of the Constitution, federalism, and each of the three branches of
government. We will also discuss
the role played by non-governmental institutions such as political parties, the
media, and interest groups. A
primary focus will be placed on learning the jargon or language of politics in
this country. Students successfully
completing the course will have gained considerable knowledge of the basic
institutional framework of the national government and will become more astute
in understanding and analyzing media coverage of politics in this country.
Withdrawal Policy – It is your responsibility to keep track of the withdrawal deadline.
Evaluation Process – The course will be graded on a total points system and there will be a possible 300 points for the course. There will be three section exams, each worth 75 points (held on Fridays in your Discussion Sections) and a comprehensive final exam worth 150 points. You must drop the lowest section exam score. Hence, there will be 150 points attributed to the section exams and 150 points for the final exam for a total of 300 points.
270-300 Points – A 240-269 Points – B 200-239 Points – C
180-199 – D < 180 – F
Attendance Policy: Attendance is not required in lecture. However, attendance IS required discussion sections. There is no penalty for being absent until you have missed the fourth discussion section. Students documented as not being in attendance four or more times will need to write a single-spaced paper equal in length to the number of absences they have accumulated. The topic of the paper will be provided by the Teaching Assistant and the paper will be due on the day of the final exam (12/06/2010). There are no points associated with the excessive absences’ paper. It will be graded on a pass fail basis. Students failing to complete the excessive absences’ paper or who receive a failing grade on the paper will receive a grade of “F” in the course, regardless of their performance on section exams and the final exam. Those who need to complete the excessive absences paper will be notified by e-mail on or before the last day of class (12/03/10).
Extra Credit Homework Assignments: There will be three extra credit homework
assignments that coincide with the three section exams and each is worth a
possible ten (10) points. However,
the extra-credit points are awarded only if the exam is one of the two that is
used to calculate your final grade; hence there are 20 extra credit points
available for these homework assignments.
The assignments will be given out approximately one week in advance of
their due date (see the schedule below for due dates). The assignments will focus on the
assigned reading for each of the section exams. Completion of the extra credit
assignments will not only earn you points toward your grade on each section
exam, but will also help prepare you for the section exams. All extra credit assignments are due at
the beginning of class on the date specified in the schedule below. Late assignments will not be
accepted. Assignments must be typed, double-spaced, with font Times New
Roman-12. Margins should be 1.25 inches left and right and 1.00 inch
top and bottom. Students should
include a cover page that identifies themselves and the Assignment #. Failure to follow these guidelines WILL
result in a lower extra-credit score.
Section Exams – The section exams and the final exam will have a combination of short answer, multiple choice, and matching exercises. Approximately 40 percent of the exam questions will come from the assigned reading and 60 percent from lecture.
There will be no make-up exams. If you know you are going to miss a section exam you can arrange to take it early. If you miss a section exam because of illness or emergency that exam will be the one that is dropped. All section exams must be completed during the scheduled class time. If you arrive late on the day of an exam that will reduce the amount of time you have available to take the exam.
|
08/23/10 |
Class Introduction |
None |
|
08/25/10 |
Politics: Who
Gets What, and How |
Chapter
1 |
|
08/27/10 |
Chapter
1-Discussion |
Chapter
1 |
|
08/30/10 |
Political Culture |
Chapter 2 |
|
09/01/10 |
Political
Culture |
Chapter 2 |
|
09/03/10 |
Chapter
2-Discussion |
Chapter 3 |
|
09/06/10 |
NO
CLASS-LABOR DAY |
None |
|
09/08/10 |
History of the
Founding |
Chapter 3 |
|
09/10/10 |
Chapter 3 &
4-Discussion |
Chapter 3 |
|
09/13/10 |
Federalism
& the Constitution |
Chapter 4 |
|
09/15/10 |
Federalism
& the Constitution |
Chapter 4 |
|
09/17/10 |
Chapter
5-Discussion |
Chapter 4 |
|
09/20/10 |
Civil
Liberties |
Chapter 5 |
|
09/22/10 |
Civil
Liberties |
Chapter 5 |
|
09/24/10 |
Extra-Credit Assignment I due. SECTION
EXAM I |
None |
|
09/27/10 |
Civil
Rights |
Chapter 6 |
|
09/29/10 |
Civil
Rights |
Chapter 6 |
|
10/01/10 |
Chapter
6 & 7-Discussion |
Chapter 7 |
|
10/04/10 |
Congress |
Chapter 7 |
|
10/06/10 |
Congress |
Chapter 7 |
|
10/08/10 |
Chapter 7 & 8-Discussion |
Chapter 8 |
|
10/11/10 |
The President |
Chapter 8 |
|
10/13/10 |
The Bureaucracy |
Chapter 9 |
|
10/15/10 |
Chapter 9 & 10-Discussion |
Chapter 9 |
|
10/18/10 |
The Courts |
Chapter 10 |
|
10/20/10 |
The Courts |
Chapter 10 |
|
10/22/10 |
Extra-Credit Assignment II due. SECTION EXAM II |
None |
|
10/25/10 |
Public Opinion |
Chapter 11 |
|
10/27/10 |
Public
Opinion |
Chapter 11 |
|
10/29/10 |
Chapter 11 & 12-Discussion |
Chapter 12 |
|
11/01/10 |
Political Parties |
Chapter 12 |
|
11/03/10 |
Interest Groups |
Chapter 13 |
|
11/05/10 |
Chapter 12 & 13-Discussion |
Chapter 13 |
|
11/08/10 |
Elections |
Chapter 14 |
|
11/10/10 |
The Electoral College |
Chapter 14 |
|
11/12/10 |
Chapter 14 & 15-Discussion |
Chapter 14 |
|
11/15/10 |
Media |
Chapter 15 |
|
11/17/10 |
Media |
Chapter 15 |
|
11/19/10 |
Extra-Credit Assignment III due. SECTION EXAM
III |
None |
|
11/22/10 |
Give Back & Go over Section Exam III |
None |
|
11/24/10 |
NO
CLASS-THANKSGIVING |
None |
|
11/26/10 |
NO CLASS-THANKSGIVING |
None |
|
11/29/10 |
Review first third of the course. |
Review Book |
|
12/01/10 |
Review second third of the course. |
Review Book |
|
12/03/10 |
Review last third of the course-Discussion. |
Review Book |
|
12/06/10 |
FINAL EXAM – Noon to 1:50 p. |
None |
Disclaimer – Test times, class schedules and reading assignments are all subject to change. Regular attendance in class will assure that students will have all the needed information to successfully complete the course.
Academic Honor Code: Academic dishonesty: In preparing for your work and
meeting the requirements of this course, you are expected to adhere to all the
rules, regulations, and standards set forth by the Department of Political
Science,
Good
academic work must be based on honesty. The attempt of any student to present as
his or her own work that which he or she has not produced is regarded by the
faculty and administration as a serious offense. Students are considered to have
cheated if they copy the work of another during an examination or turn in a
paper or an assignment written, in whole or in part, by someone else. Students
are guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if they copy material from books,
magazines, or other sources without identifying and acknowledging those sources
or if they paraphrase ideas from such sources without acknowledging them.
Students guilty of, or assisting others in, either cheating or plagiarism on an
assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F for the course
involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the university.
(Undergraduate Catalog)
If you are not sure what constitutes plagiarism, ask. Ignorance will not be tolerated as an excuse. If you are unaware of how to cite properly, visit http://polisci.niu.edu/polisci/audience/plagiarism.shtml.
Students with
Disabilities: Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, NIU is
committed to making reasonable accommodations for persons with documented
disabilities. Those students with
disabilities that may have some impact on their coursework and for which they
may require accommodations should notify the Center for Access-Ability Resources
(CARR) on the fourth floor of the
Undergraduate Writing
Awards: The Department
of Political Science will recognize, on an annual basis, outstanding
undergraduate papers written in conjunction with 300-400 level political science
courses or directed studies. Authors do not have to be political science majors
or have a particular class standing. Winners are expected to attend the
Department’s spring graduation ceremony where they will receive a certificate
and $50.00. Papers, which can be submitted by students or faculty, must be
supplied in triplicate to a department secretary by February 28. All copies
should have two cover pages - one with the student’s name and one without the
student’s name. Only papers written in the previous calendar year can be
considered for the award. However, papers completed in the current spring
semester are eligible for the following year’s competition even if the student
has graduated.
Department of Political Science Web Site: Undergraduates are encouraged to consult the Department of Political Science web site on a regular basis. This up-to-date, central source of information will assist students in contacting faculty and staff, reviewing course requirements and syllabi, exploring graduate study, researching career options, tracking department events, and accessing important details related to undergraduate programs and activities. To reach the site, go to http://polisci.niu.edu. Also, if you would like to receive the department’s e-announcements that feature information on internships, scholarships, lectures, POLS club activities, and other important information via email, please let me know and I will make sure you are added to the list.
Grading Rubric for
Extra-Credit Homework Assignments
All students start with a score of “8” and there is a maximum of “10” points awarded:
A – +1 for properly citing outside literature (up to 2 possible points)
Acceptable outside literature is limited to peer-reviewed journal articles and books published by university presses.
B – minus 1 for each incomplete answer
C – minus 1 for each wrong answer
D – minus 1 for each failure to follow guidelines spelled out in the syllabus
E – minus 1 for each set of five grammar errors
F – minus 1 for no staple
Note: If you hand in a homework assignment you are guaranteed a minimum of “2” extra-credit points.