POLITICAL SCIENCE 100 and 100Y

POLI 100 Section 1 MWF 10:00-10:50 PUP 206

Fall 2010                            POLI 100 Section 2 MWF 11:00-11:50 PUP 206                   N. R. MILLER

POLI 100Y MWF 11:00-11:50 PUP 206 and F 1:00-2:15 PUP 208

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~nmiller/POLI100/index.htm


INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS


Readings Available in Book Center:

Samuel Kernell and Gary C. Jacobson, THE LOGIC OF AMERICAN POLITICS, 3rd ed. (CQ Press, 2006)

Course Pack for POLI 100 (Public Domain Documents on American Government)

The UMBC Book Center is selling used copies of the third edition of the textbook, as shown above. However, other editions may be used, as there is very little difference among the editions. It is not necessary to purchase the Course Pack, as all the readings are available at the course website. Using any (UMBC or non-UMBC) computer, you can read the items on the screen, download them, print them in their entirety, or copy and paste selections. However, the Course Pack is convenient and cheap. Students are urged to follow national political and governmental affairs during the semester (and thereafter) by regularly reading a good daily newspaper. The Washington Post and New York Times are especially recommended. These and other news sources may also be accessed through the course website.


Course Objectives:

This is an introductory course, intended primarily for students who have no prior background in political science. It is designed to serve both as a first political science course for prospective majors and as a survey and general education course for non-majors. Accordingly, the course has three principal objectives:

(1)       For all students, to add to your stock of general knowledge concerning American national government and politics and thereby to help prepare you for attentive and active citizenship.

(2)       For all prospective majors, to introduce you to the discipline of Political Science and to prepare you to take more advanced political science courses.

(3)       For all beginning students, to help you develop reading, writing, and thinking skills necessary for success in more advanced course work in any area.

The course requirements and grading system have been designed to measure your accomplishment of these objectives. Grades will reflect level of individual achievement; there is no preset quota of A's, F's, or any other grades. Grades should be interpreted as follows:

            A     essentially complete mastery of course materials, full accomplishment of course objectives;

            B     very solid mastery and accomplishment, well prepared to take more advanced political science courses;

            C     incomplete mastery and accomplishment, likely to have some difficulty in more advanced courses;

            D     only most minimal command of course material and accomplishment of objectives, should retake course before attempting more advanced courses (prospective majors must retake the course); and

            F      failure to accomplish objectives, no evident command of materials (must retake course in order to receive credit).


Course Requirements:

(1)       Beginning with class #5, there may be a very brief unannounced quiz at the beginning any class. Each quiz will cover course material (class lectures/discussions and readings) since the last quiz.

(2)       At the end of each third of the course, there will be a full-period in-class multiple-choice test, covering both readings and class lectures/discussion for that section of the course.

(3)       There will be two take-home writing assignments. These brief (about 500 words) assignments will focus on specific Course Pack readings. They will test and enhance your ability to (a) read carefully and demonstrate that you understand what you have read and (b) write lucidly and concisely. Grading of these assignments will take account of English composition (spelling, grammar, organization, etc.), as well as content.

(4)       There will be a two-hour written final exam, covering both readings and class lectures/discussion for the entire course.


Recommended Study Procedure:

The material of this course is divided into 37 substantive topics or “units”; one day of class is devoted to each unit. I recommend the following study procedure, in order to learn the material most effectively.

(1)       At the beginning of each class, a one-page study guide will be distributed in class (and posted on the course website) that identifies major questions and topics that will be addressed in the next class unit.

(2)       After reading the study guide and prior each to each class, do the reading assigned for that unit. Read the items in the order they are listed on the course outline. Read carefully. Consider how the reading may address the questions and topics in the study guide. Mark up your readings to indicate what seems most important, what questions you have, etc.

(3)       In class, take notes, concentrating on what seem to be the most important points as indicated the questions and topics in the study guides. It may be helpful to put some notes on the study guide itself. PowerPoint slides will be used in most classes.  They will be posted on the course website (see below) and will remain there for later review. You can also print out the slides in advance and then add notes in class. Feel free to ask questions before, during, or after class and try to participate in class discussions.

(4)       As soon as possible after class, review the study guide, your notes, and the readings. Try to put everything together, by identifying the few basic concepts and ideas that tie the topic together. Write these basic ideas down in your own words (perhaps on the back of the study guide for that topic). Keep your written summaries on file, modify them as seems necessary (especially after you get a quiz back), and use them as a basis for review for the tests and final exam.


Outside Tutoring:

Outside tutoring for POLI 100 may be available through the Learning Resources Center or, for students with special needs, Student Support Services. However, neither the course instructor nor the Political Science Department in any way controls the availability or quality of such outside tutoring. Students are also invited to seek help from the LRC Writing Center (in the Library, near the main entrance) in completing the writing assignments.


Dates and Makeups:

Dates for tests, writing assignments, and the final are shown in the course outline; changes in these dates are unlikely and will be announced well in advance if they do occur. No makeup quizzes will be given. Makeup tests will be given only if you present a reasonable and timely excuse for not taking the test at the regular time. Ordinarily, a “timely” excuse is one that reaches me, my voice mail or e-mail box, or the Political Science Department secretary prior to the regular test time, and the makeup normally should be arranged and, if possible, completed prior to the next class meeting.


Course Grade:

Each quiz, test, writing assignment, and the final exam will receive a (letter and/or GPA-style) grade. Your grade for the course will be an average of these grades, with the writing assignments counting 25% and the quizzes, tests, and final together counting 75%. However, regardless of your other grades, (1) you will get an F in the course if you fail to (i) complete either writing assignment, (ii) fail to take at least two of the three multiple-choice tests, or (iii) fail to take the final exam, and (2) you will get no higher than a D in the course if you fail the final exam. A small bonus may be awarded for good class participation — this requires faithful class attendance and exceptional contributions to class discussions. No “extra credit” work will be accepted.

(1)       Writing assignment grades. If your grade on the second assignment is higher than your grade on the first, the first will not count. Otherwise, the two assignments count equally.

(2)       Quiz/test/final grades. A missed quiz counts as an F. A quiz grade will count in your grade for each section of the course only if it helps you (that is, only if it is higher than your test grade), in which case each quiz counts as 1/10 of the test. In like manner, if your final exam grade is higher than your test average (the three sections of the course counting equally), the tests will not count; otherwise the two will be equally weighted and averaged together.


POLI 100Y Course Grade:

POLI 100Y students will get an additional syllabus covering activities and assignments in the Introduction to an Honors University (IHU) weekly seminar, many of which will be graded. Your overall grade in POLI 100Y (4 credits) will be based on both your regular POLI 100 grade as determined above (counting 75%) and your IHU seminar grade (counting 25%).


Academic Integrity:

By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UMBC’s scholarly community in which everyone’s academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these acts are all forms of academic dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct could result in disciplinary action that may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal. To read the full Student Academic Conduct Policy, consult the UMBC Student Handbook, the UMBC Policies section of the UMBC Directory, or go to

http://www.umbc.edu/integrity .

 

Office Hours and Messages:

Most questions and problems can be handled in the classroom immediately before or after class. If you need to talk with me at more length or in private, my office is room 321 in the Public Policy Building, and my official office hours for the Fall 2010 semester will be MW 4:00-5:00 with other times readily available by arrangement. Since I will not always be able to keep my office hours, I recommend that you make a specific appointment, which can usually be arranged before or after class. I can also be reached in any way listed below; communication by email is encouraged for all purposes.

            E-mail:                                                                       nmiller@umbc.edu

            Office phone (with 24-hour "voice mail")                    (410) 455-2187

            Political Science Department (to leave message)         (410) 455-2568

            Home (if need be, but not after 9:30 PM)                  (410) 381-3605

If you contact me by email, I will reply (usually very promptly) to whatever email address you used. However, if you ask about grades or other private information, you must use your UMBC email address. If I initiate email contact with you, I will use your UMBC email address. For this reason and, more importantly, because all official UMBC communications (from the Registrar’s Office, Bursar’s Office, Financial Aid, etc.) go to your UMBC email address, you should check your UMBC email on a regular basis.



Course Web Page:

There is a course web page at http://userpages.umbc.edu/~nmiller/POLI100/index.htm (or follow the links UMBC => Academics => Degrees and Programs => Political Science => Faculty => Nicholas R. Miller => POLI 100) which can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. (Note: this is an ordinary web page, not a Blackboard site; however, the IHU component of POLI 100Y will have its own Blackboard site.) Announcements, the non-textbook readings (also available as a Course Pack from the Book Center), the PowerPoint slides, and backup copies of study guides and other course material distributed in class will be posted here. There is also a link to the Kernell and Jacobson textbook web site (http://logic.cqpress.com). In addition, this page contains links to additional documents that may be discussed during the semester and to a variety of other resources for political information and research. Over past semesters, students have asked questions by email, which I have tried to answer individually by email. I continue to answer individually but also, when the question is of general interest, I post the question and my response on a “Bulletin Board” section of the web page, so that other students can also have ready access to it. The Bulletin Board includes relevant items from prior semesters and more may be added during the semester; all items are listed in the order they relate to topics on Course Outline on the following pages.




COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS


Readings should be completed on schedule prior to class on the dates indicated. Where several items are assigned for a single topic, you should read them in the order listed. You should take care to read all Boxes, Figures, and Tables in the Kernell and Jacobson textbook. The pages numbers shown are for the third edition of the textbook. If you have a different edition, page numbers will differ, though chapters are numbered the same way in all editions. [#X] refers to a reading in the Course Pack or on the Course Web Page. (Go to the web page, click on Course Syllabus (with links to Course Pack Readings) [not on Supplementary Documents] and then on the specific reading.)


 

          1.      (September 1)       Introduction and Overview

Kernell and Jacobson, Preface, Note to Students, and Chapter 1

 

          2.      (September 3)       NO CLASS (Instructor attending conference)

 

          3.      (September 8)       The Philosophical Origins of American Government

                           Thomas Hobbes, LEVIATHAN, Chapters 13 and 17 [#1]

John Locke, excerpts from THE SECOND TREATISE OF GOVERNMENT [#2]

 

          4.      (September 10)     The Declaration of Independence

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 37-44

The Declaration of Independence (Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 2, pp. 591-593)

 

          5.      (September 13)     The Articles of Confederation

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 44-50

                           The Articles of Confederation [#3] (or Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 1, pp. 587-590)

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 16 [#4]


           6.     (September 15)     Framing the Constitution

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 50-64

The Virginia Plan [#5]

                           The New Jersey Plan [#6]

The U.S. Constitution (Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 3, pp. 594-599)

 

           7.     (September 17)     Ratifying the Constitution

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 64-67

                           Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84 [#7]

The Bill of Rights [Constitutional Amendments 1-10] (Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 3, pp. 599-600])


            8.     (September 20)     Democracy and the Constitution

                           The U.S. Constitution (review carefully) 

 

           9.     (September 22)     The Political Theory of the Constitution

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 67-73

James Madison, Federalist 10 (Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 4, pp. 604- 607)

                  James Madison, Federalist 39 [#8]

James Madison, Federalist 51 (Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 5, pp. 608-610)

 

         10.    (September 24)     Amending the Constitution

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 54 (review)

                           Constitutional Amendments 11-27 (Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 2, pp. 600-603)

 

         11.    (September 27)     The Origins of Judicial Review

                   Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 345-354

                           Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 78 [#9]

         Marbury v. Madison [#10]

 

         12.    (September 29)     The Judicial Branch: Structure and Procedure

                   Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 354-366

 

         13.    (October 1)           The Judicial Branch: Appointment, Tenure, and Philosophies

                             Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 366-377

 

         14.    (October 4)           American Federalism

                    Kernell and Jacobson, Chapter 3

 

         15.    (October 6)           FIRST MULTIPLE-CHOICE MIDTERM TEST


 

         16.    (October 8)           Exercise of Judicial Review: Federalism and Economic Regulation

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 349-354 (review)

                           McCulloch v. Maryland [#11]

                           Gibbons v. Ogden [#12]

                           Hammer v. Dagenhart [#13]

                           FIRST WRITING ASSIGNMENT DISTRIBUTED


          17.    (October 11)         Exercise of Judicial Review: Civil Liberties

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 155-160 and 165-182

                           John Stuart Mill, excerpt from ON LIBERTY, Chapter 2 [#14]

Schenck v. U.S. [#15]

                           Dennis v. U.S. [#16], skim only

                           

         18.    (October 13)         Exercise of Judicial Review: Nationalization of the Bill of Rights

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 160-165 and 182-200

Powell v. Alabama [#17]

                           Gideon v. Wainwright [#18]

 

         19.    (October 15)         Exercise of Judicial Review: Civil Rights

Kernell and Jacobson, Chapter 4

                           Dred Scott v. Sandford [#19]

                           Plessy v. Ferguson [#20]

                           Brown v. Board of Education [#21]

 

         20.    (October 18)         Congress as a Representative Assembly

                           Kernell and Jacobson, Table and Charts on pp. 220-224

Edmund Burke, “Speech to the Electors of Bristol” [#22]

 

         21.    (October 20)         Congress as a Representative Assembly: Apportionment and Districting

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 205-224 and Map of Congressional Districts (Appendix 7, pp. 614-617)

                           Kernell and Jacobson, Figures and Box on pp. 210-213

                           Baker v. Carr [#23]

                           Shaw v. Reno [#24]


         22.    (October 22)         Congress as a Legislative Assembly: Organization and Procedures

                            Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 224-256

 

  

         23.    (October 25)         Congress as a Legislative Assembly: Organization and Procedures (cont.)

                            FIRST WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE

 

         24.    (October 27)         Congress as a Legislative and Representative Assembly

 

         25.    (October 29)         The Executive Branch: The Office of the President

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 70 [#25]

 

         26.    (November 1)       The Executive Branch: Presidential Leadership

Kernell and Jacobson, Chapter 7

 

         27.    (November 3)       The Executive Branch: The Bureaucracy

                           Kernell and Jacobson, Chapter 8

 

         28.    (November 5)       SECOND MULTIPLE-CHOICE MIDTERM TEST


 

         29.    (November 8)       American Political Culture

                           Alexis de Toqueville, excerpt from DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA [#26] 

 

         30.    (November 10)     Survey Research, Public Opinion, and the Media

                           Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 381-402 and Chapter 14

 

         31.    (November 12)     Public Opinion: Consensus and Conflict

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 402-416

SECOND WRITING ASSIGNMENT DISTRIBUTED

 

         32.    (November 15)     Public Opinion: Partisanship and Ideology

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 388-390 (review), pp. 433-436, and Chart on p. 493

 

 

         33.    (November 17)     Opinions, Participation, and Democracy

Kernell and Jacobson, Box p. 489 (Opinions of Party Activists and Voters)

 

         34.    (November 19)     Interest Groups

                           Kernell and Jacobson, Chapter 13

 

         35.    (November 22)     The Electoral College

Constitution, Article II, Section 1 (Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 3, pp. 597)

                           Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 68 [#27]

 

         36.    (November 24)     The Origins of Political Parties and the Transformation of the Electoral College

                           Constitution, Amendment XII (Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 3, pp. 600)



         37.    (November 29)     Presidential Nominations

                           SECOND WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE

 

         38.    (December 1)        Suffrage and Voting Turnout

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 421-433

 

         39.    (December 3)        Presidential Campaigns and Elections

Kernell and Jacobson, pp. 433-455

Kernell and Jacobson, Box on p. 453 (The Electoral College)

Kernell and Jacobson, Appendix 9 (Summary of Presidential Elections), pp. 619-622

 

         40.    (December 6)        The American Party Systems

                           Kernell and Jacobson, Chapter 12, begin

 

         41.    (December 8)        Contemporary Party Politics

                           Kernell and Jacobson, Chapter 12, complete

 

         42.    (December 10)      Catch Up and/or Review

                           Kernell and Jacobson, Chapter 15

 

         43.    (December 13)      THIRD MULTIPLE-CHOICE MIDTERM TEST



         COMBINED FINAL EXAM (for both sections): Time and Room To Be Arranged