POLS 100 (Section 8): Introduction to American Government
Instructor: Casey LaFrance
DU 461
T/TH 12:30-1:45
American Government affects each of us on a daily
basis. It is my hope that this class will help you to become more aware
of your own interactions with government. Furthermore, this class will
introduce you to various arguments about the size, scope, and functions of
government. Finally, this course will introduce you to the institutions
and organizations that carry out the work of governance.
Grades:
Mid-term 40%
Final 40%
News Article Journal and Class Assignments 20%
Total: 100 points possible (100%) Grading: A = 90-100 B= 80-89
C= 70-79 D= 60-69 F= <60
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 28th. 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.
Make Up Exams/Assignments: If
you miss an exam, and have a VERY COMPELLING reason, I will consider offering a
make-up exam. Late assignments will automatically receive a 10 percent
deduction for each class session past the due date. I will not consider make-up
work for quizzes/group assignments missed due to unexcused absences. It is your
responsibility to inquire about make up assignments.
Academic Integrity: Please refer to you undergraduate
handbook (page 49) for NIU’s policy on Academic
Integrity (for Plagiarism and other forms of cheating). It is impossible to
learn from one another if any of us recycle the ideas of others. Please turn in
your own original work, use quotation marks “ “ when
quoting a source, and use a recognized citation style (preferably APA). Please
do not speak to one another during the course of an exam. If I suspect that you
may be cheating, I will contact the University Judicial Office. If your actions
are judged as academically dishonest, you will receive an automatic zero on the
assignment and a grade of F in the course.
Accommodation For 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 (CAAR) on the fourth floor of the
Department of Political Science Web Site
Undergraduates are strongly 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>.
Decorum/Expectations of Proper Conduct: In order to
ensure that each member of this class has an equal opportunity to learn from
and participate in class discussions and activities, I ask that you please
demonstrate the following forms of courtesy to one another and to me: Please
make bathroom trips before class and minimize early departure from class
(unless you have informed me of your need to leave early) Please turn off
electronic devices (cell phones, ipods, pagers, pda’s, and similar devices) upon entering the classroom.
Please leave these devices out of sight in a backpack, purse, or pocket. Please
feel free to ask a question or make a comment at any point during the lecture
and/or your group activities. Please do not interrupt another student while
he/she is speaking. Briefly show your hand, and I will call on you in these
situations. If you eat or drink in class, please clean up after yourself.
Please do not bring distracting food items into the classroom (e.g., rustling
chip bags, items that require silverware, alcoholic beverages, very pungent
foods, etc.). Please treat your classmates and group partners with respect. Do
not raise your voice in a hostile manner to anyone in the room. Please do not
use excessive profanity, avoid ethnic/gender/religious/racial slurs. In short,
be civil to one another. Some of the ideas in the field of Public
Administration (and its subfields) are often controversial. I invite you to
share your opinion of these ideas (e.g., Affirmative Action, Federalism, Gun
Control, etc.), but please do not use “hate speech” in doing so. Remember,
also, to keep your ears open to ideas that may vary greatly from your own. This
is how learning takes place. Please back up your comments with empirical
evidence/scholarship from this field or other social sciences when possible.
Finally, I value debate, but I will not tolerate heated arguments in the
classroom. Please refrain from “side conversations” during the lecture/group work.
To better facilitate learning in this class, I ask that only registered members
of the class be present (i.e., please do not bring guests, children, etc.) If
you fall asleep in class, you may be asked to return to your domicile so that
you may nap there and avoid distracting the rest of the class. On the day of a
test, I ask that you use the restroom before class. You will not be permitted
to finish an exam if you leave the room for any reason during the course of
taking the exam. Leave backpacks/notebooks/textbooks and other materials
beneath your seat during the course of an exam. When you finish an exam, bring
your test paper up to me and turn it in face-up so that there will be no
possibility of “losing” an exam. If I deem them necessary, additional “decorum/behavior”
regulations may be imposed. If you violate these guidelines, you may be asked
to leave class and you will not be considered present for the session.
Journal Grading:
News/Media Journals:
10 total, 1 point each = 10 points (10% of course grade)
Criteria:
Demonstration of
thought about government, politics, citizenship, local affairs, and/or the
relationship between political science and your “home” discipline (i.e., your
major).
Again, any media
(movie, book, music, news, television, personal experience) combination is
fine. At least 2 solid
paragraphs (very flexible on personal poetry, drawings, comics, photos, etc.). Simply stated, show that you gave some
thought to politics and/or government and its relation to you.
Assignments for Class
Discussion: 10 Points
(A) Idealog Assignment with 1
paragraph response and printed results.
What did you think of the test results? Is this where you expected to be? What might be some shortcomings of the test
(e.g., dichotomous response categories, etc.)?
(B)1 Page Reaction to an Interest
Group’s Website
What group did you choose. Who make up this group’s membership? What is their aim? With which executive agencies and
Congressional committees does this group interact? Is there a group that advocates the opposite
policy position(s)? Would you consider
membership in this group?
(C)1 Page Reaction to a Public
Agency’s Website OR Q&A with a government official (elected, appointed, or
merit).
In which policy arena(s) does this agency work? Which other agencies/political officials
interact with this agency? What is the
agency’s mission? How does it intend to
achieve its goals en route to fulfilling this mission (look at mission
statement, strategic reports, and/or budget documents)?
(D)1 Page Reaction to Economic
Policy Discussion
Is the public made up of Citizens (those interested in the
general condition of the nation and its residents), Consumers (self-interested
actors), or Both?
Why? Which do you consider
yourself to be? Where could government
decrease spending? Where should more money be used?
(E)1 Page Reaction to a Social
Policy (e.g., Gun Control, Same-Sex Marriage, Affirmative Action, etc.)
Explain your position on a social policy. What factors might have influenced your position
(e.g., family, socioeconomic class, religion, personal experience, etc.)?
Grading is based on
the degree to which you answered the accompanying questions and/or created and
answered your own.
Schedule: Please Note that the scheduled contained in this
syllabus is subject to change and/or revision at the discretion of the
instructor. Please come to class so that you may keep up with the activities of
this course.
Additional reading assignments (e.g., Journal Articles, etc.)
will be announced as the course progresses. Please make sure that you complete
ALL readings before the class session in which they will be discussed. All
Articles Listed on this Syllabus are available on J-Stor
or On-line.
Week 1: 01/15 and 01/17: Course Introduction/Meet and
Greet, Purposes of Government, Ideology, Models of Democracy
Read: JBG Chapters 1-2
Assignment 1 1 due: First Go to <http://www.uspolitics.org> and run IDEALOG
(do the readings and the survey you find there). Write a 1 paragraph essay
describing what category you wound up in (liberal, conservative, communitarian
or libertarian) and why. Discuss whether you wound up where you thought would
have expected before taking the test.
Week 2: 01/22 and 01/24: Foundations and The Constitution
Read:
Federalist #51,
The Constitution,
JBG Chapter 3
Week 3: 01/29 and 1/31: Federalism and
Intergovernmental Relations
Read: JBG Chapter 4
Gonzales V. Raich (2005): <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-1454.ZS.html>
U.S. V. Lopez (1995): <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/93-1260.ZO.html>
From Cooperative to Coercive Federalism John Kincaid Annals of
the
Week 4: 02/05 and 02/07: Public Opinion and Political
Socialization and the Media Read
Abramowitz & Saunders: “Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?
The Reality of a Polarized America” <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~govt/docs/Abramowitz.pdf>
Book Review: Fiorina, et. Al. Culture War? The Myth of a
Polarized America, Reviewed By: Krista Jenkins <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2&hid=118&sid=c6aa288e-c4cc-42ba-acc8-d5dc8f533301%40sessionmgr103>
JBG Chapters 5-6
Week 5: 02/12 and 02/14 Civic Engagement and Citizen
Participation
JBG Chapter 7
Week 6: 02/19 and 02/21: Interest Groups Read
: JBG Chapter 10
Federalist #10 (available at: <http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/>)
Review: [untitled] Author(s) of Review: Kay Lehman Schlozman Reviewed Work(s): The New Liberalism: The Rising
Power of Citizen Groups. by Jeffrey M. Berry The
American Political Science Review > Vol. 94, No. 1 (Mar., 2000), pp. 186-187
Stable URL: <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0554%28200003%2994%3A1%3C186%3ATNLTRP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L>
Review: [untitled] Author(s) of Review: Roland Young Reviewed
Work(s): The Governmental Process: Political Interests and Public Opinion by
David B. Truman Annals of the
Week 7 02/26 and 02/28 : Political Parties,
Read:
The Two-Party System and Duverger's
Law: An Essay on the History of Political Science William H. Riker The American Political Science Review > Vol. 76, No. 4
(Dec., 1982), pp. 753-766
Parties and Partisanship: A Brief Introduction John G.
Geer Political Behavior > Vol. 24, No. 2, Special Issue: Parties and
Partisanship, Part One (Jun., 2002), pp. 85-91
Week 8 03/04 and 03/06: Nominations, Elections, and
Campaigns A Theory of Critical Elections V. O. Key, Jr. The Journal of Politics
> Vol. 17, No. 1 (Feb., 1955), pp. 3-18 Mid-term
03/06
The Supreme Court (and lower courts)
Read Review: [untitled] Author(s) of Review: Melinda Gann Hall
Reviewed Work(s): The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model. by Jeffrey A. Segal; Harold J. Spaeth
The Journal of Politics > Vol. 57, No. 1 (Feb., 1995), pp. 254-255 Stable
URL: <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-3816%28199502%2957%3A1%3C254%3ATSCATA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C>
JBG Chapter 14
Week 11: 03/25 and 03/27: Congress
ReadRichard F. Fenno.1977. "
A Silver Anniversary Retrospective on David Mayhew's
"Congress: The Electoral Connection" John R. Bond PS: Political
Science and Politics > Vol. 34, No. 2 (Jun., 2001), pp. 253-254
JBG, Chapter 11
Week 12: 04/01 and 04/03: The Presidency
Read: JBG Chapter 12
Review: [untitled] Author(s) of Review: David Fellman Reviewed Work(s): Presidential Power: The Politics
of Leadership with Reflections on Johnson and Nixon by Richard E. Neustadt The Final Days by Bob Woodward; Carl Bernstein
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science > Vol. 428,
The American Revolution Abroad (Nov., 1976), pp. 163-165
Review: [untitled] Author(s) of Review: Tom Rice Reviewed
Work(s): Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership by Samuel Kernell The American Political
Science Review > Vol. 81, No. 4 (Dec., 1987), pp. 1368-1369 Stable URL: <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0554%28198712%2981%3A4%3C1368%3AGPNSOP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23>
Week 13: 04/08 and 04/10 The
Bureaucracy
Read: JBG, Chapter 13 The Study of Administration
Woodrow Wilson Political Science Quarterly > Vol. 2, No. 2 (Jun., 1887), pp.
197-222 Stable URL: <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0032-3195%28188706%292%3A2%3C197%3ATSOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W>
Public Administration in Today's World of Organizations and Markets Herbert A.
Simon PS: Political Science and Politics > Vol. 33, No. 4 (Dec., 2000), pp.
749-756 Stable URL: <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1049-0965%28200012%2933%3A4%3C749%3APAITWO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I>
NOTE: This article contains high-quality images.
Week 14: 04/15 and 04/17: :
Public Policy Models and Policy Processes
Read JBG Chapter 17
Week 15: 04/22 and 04/24: Economic Policy and
Public Budgeting
Read JBG Chapter 18
Week 16: 04/29/ and 05/01: Civil Rights and Gender in
Politics and Loose Ends to be Tied
JBG Chapter 16
FINAL
EXAM: Thurs. May 8, Noon-1:50 p.m.