analysis of articles

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American Government (POL-101-005) Course Syllabus Bergen Community College – Fall 2018 Tuesday and Thursday 12:20-1:35, Room S-110 Professor: Richard Laird - [email protected]; Mailbox C-107 Course Description: The course introduces students to the basic principles, structure, and operation of the U.S. national government and political system. It examines the roots and evolution of government, the Constitution, decision making institutions, the role of the people, parties, interest groups, economic and foreign policy. Students will be introduced to the objective, critical analysis of political topics. Textbook: American Government: Power and Purpose (Brief 14th Edition); Lowi, Ginsberg, Shepsle, and Ansolabehere. (The textbook is required and should be brought to class.) Supplemental articles will be posted on Moodle. Students should also keep up with current events through credible news sources. (Rollcall.com, for example, focuses on politics and government policy.) Students will be introduced to peer-reviewed academic journals, why they are important to the scientific method, and how to access them for the paper assignment. Communication Policy: Students will be required to access Moodle and their school email on a daily basis. Students may be required to submit assignments through email; for consistency and efficiency these assignments will be in the form of a Word file of PDF file attached to the email (and not as an app that the professor must go to a website to open). In the event of an emergency where I will not be able to hold a class, I will post an on-line Video Lecture on Moodle. Students will be required to view the video for that day, complete the corresponding assignment, and respond on the Discussion Forum within the allotted time. CLASS SCHEDULE Date Topic and Reading assignment for that day 1. Sep. 6 Introduction to the course and discussion of syllabus 2. Sep. 11 Chapter 1 – Making sense of government and politics 3. Sep. 13 Chapter 2 – The founding and the Constitution 4. Sep. 18 Chap. 2 – Selling the Constitution, Federalist papers 10 and 51 5. Sep. 20 Chap. 2 – Bill of Rights

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6. Sep. 25 Chapter 3 - Federalism and the separation of powers 7. Sep. 27 Chap. 3, cont’d 8. Oct. 2 Chapter 4 – Civil liberties and civil rights 9. Oct. 4 Chap 4, cont’d 10. Oct. 9 Test 1 – Foundations (Chaps 1 – 4) 11. Oct. 11 Scientific Method; Paper topic summary due 12. Oct. 16 Chap. 5 – Congress: the First Branch 13. Oct. 18 Chap. 5, cont’d 14. Oct. 23 Chapter 6 – The Presidency 15. Oct. 25 Chap. 6, cont’d 16. Oct. 30 Chapter 7 – The Executive branch 17. Nov. 1 Chap. 7, cont’d, the Bureaucracy 18. Nov. 6 Chapter 8 – The Federal Courts 19. Nov. 8 Chap. 8, cont’d 20. Nov. 13 Test 2 – Institutions (Chaps 5 – 8) 21. Nov. 15 Chap. 9 - Public opinion and the media 22. Nov. 20 Chapter 10 - Elections 23. Nov. 27 Chap. 11 – Political parties 24. Nov. 29 Chapter 12 – Interest Groups 25. Dec. 4 Chap. 12 - Interest Groups; PAPER due 26. Dec. 6 Chapter 13 – Intro to public policy, economic policy 27. Dec. 11 Chap. 13 – Economic policy; Research Design due 28. Dec. 13 Chapter 14 – Foreign policy; 29. Dec. 18 Chap. 14, cont’d 30. Dec. 20 Test 3 – Democratic politics (Chaps 9 – 14)

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Grades:

Test 1 20% No makeups or extra credit Test 2 20% No makeups or extra credit Papers 25% Late penalty, no incompletes Test 3 20% No makeups, no incompletes Participation 15% No excused absences

Grades will not be discussed through emails. No “honors” contracts.

Tests: Tests will consist of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and short essay. Study guides will be provided prior to each test to help narrow the focus. Missing a test without any prior notice will result in a zero. If prior notice is given for a legitimate excuse (or alerting me ASAP in case of an emergency), the test can be taken before the next class in the Testing Center. The test cannot be taken after it has been graded and handed back to the class. No makeup or extra credit will be given. The course cannot be passed without taking Test 3, which could be comprehensive. Writing assignments:

Choose a current topic or issue that is relevant to U.S. government or American politics. (“Current” could also be a topic that government/society has been dealing with for years.) All writing assignments will be 12 pt font, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins, double-spaced. A Guide to Writing your Paper will be provided. I. Summary – What is your topic and why is it important? What specifically will you address in your paper? ½ page minimum, 1 page max. Hard copy due October 11th. II. PAPER – 5 pages min, 6 pgs max; not including reference page. Hard copy due December 4th.

Introduction (1-2 pages approx.) – What’s the problem and why? Who does it affect and why? Use legitimate popular news sources to discuss why the topic is worth investigating and how government and politics is involved (or not) with the issue.

Analysis (3-4 pages approx.) - Using peer-reviewed academic journals, what analysis has been done to better understand the factors contributing to its causes, what is making it problematic, what the social costs are, what makes it difficult to resolve, what policy has been tried or proposed and why, etc.

Conclusion (1/2 – 1 page approx.) - Summarize what have you learned about this topic. Any insight as to what you have learned? Are there any policy recommendations based on what you have learned? Are there any directions for further research?

Reference page (1 page additional) - A minimum of 7 references are required, at least four (4) of which must be peer-reviewed academic journal sources in the proper format.

III. Research Design – 1 page min, 2 pages max. Hard copy due on December 11th.

If you were able to research this topic further (assume you have been awarded a generous grant to pursue this), how would you set up a research design to investigate further? What is the hypothesis you would like to test or prove? What methodology would you use? What is your goal in conducting this research? What will you measure and how? Do not give your opinions or policy recommendations; explain what research you would conduct and how.

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Participation and Behavior Part of the college experience is to prepare for your career, thus students are to act in a professional manner. Attendance will be taken every class, and five points are taken off the participation grade for every class missed. There are no excused absences unless under extraordinary circumstances, which would require the student alerting me before the class (any absence where the student does not inform me ahead of time is unexcused).

Students must arrive on time; being late could result in an absence. Students that leave class while the lecture is in progress will be counted absent for that day, unless they inform me ahead of time that they need to leave class early. Students are requested to use the bathroom before class. Failing to turn in a required assignment on the day it is due detracts from a student’s participation grade, as it will be treated the same as missing a class.

Students cannot end the course early, expecting to take the final test ahead of the scheduled time. A passing grade will not be given if the requirements aren’t met. No incompletes will be given.

Additional assignments, presentations, group exercises, or activities may be included. Moodle will be used for posting of announcements, assignments, articles, and discussions. Pop quizzes may be given occasionally on the reading assignments. Students will be responsible for keeping up with the course schedule, assignments, instructions, notes, etc. Students should check Moodle and their school e-mail on a daily basis.

PHONES WILL BE TURNED COMPLETELY OFF DURING CLASS. There will be no checking of text messages during class, nor will a student leave the classroom to check messages.

Students desiring to take notes on their computer must get approval to do so. Otherwise laptop computers and smart phones will not be needed during class. Students are not to sit on the back row with their faces buried into their laptops.

The professor will have some discretion in determining a student’s final participation grade (15% of total) based on the student’s level of effort as described above.

Please note that it is inappropriate for the professor to respond to a student’s request to join their social or professional network until after the semester.

Cheating Cheating in any form could result in expulsion from the school. This includes: copying off a neighboring student’s test, communicating with another student during a test, using hidden notes during a test, looking at a cellphone during a test, using earphones during a test, etc. Students cannot leave class and return during a test. Other examples of cheating include plagiarizing your class paper, cutting and pasting from the Internet, or having someone else write your paper.