Political Science 2H—Honors American Government								Instructor: Mr. Turini
Schedule # 55207																				Room: Classroom Complex 1, Rm. 204
Term: Fall 2009																					Office: Forum 7
Class Meetings: M W F  8–8:50 a.m.														Office Hours: 
Phone: (559) 638-3641, ext. 3798																Mon. 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
e-mail: 	william.turini@reedleycollege.edu													Tu. 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
																										Wed. 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
																										Th. 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
																										Fri. 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
																										and by appointment

Course Description: 
	This course is intended to serve as an introduction to the tools and concepts of analytical political science. The subject matter will cover the institutions and processes that constitute both the governments of United States and of California, and the resulting issues that face both governments.
	Among other issues, in this course we will consider 
•	the theoretical foundations of democratic governments and modern problems of representation, including alternative approaches and solutions to representing minorities, 
•	the dynamics, organization, and policy-making processes of the American Congress, with particular emphasis on the relationship of legislators to constituents, lobbyists, bureaucrats, the president, and with one another,
•	the growth of presidential power, the creation and use of the institutionalized presidency, presidential-congressional and presidential-bureaucratic relationships, and the presidency and the national security apparatus,
•	the role of the Supreme Court and the judicial process in American government, and the use of litigation as an instrument of politics,
•	the role of mass political participation in the policy-making process through a discussion of what normative theory says that role should be, how the public actually behaves, and how representatives respond. Considers whether differences in participation rates by race, ethnicity, gender, age, and class lead to unequal policy treatment,
•	electoral politics (history of US electoral politics; the problem of voter participation; partisanship and voting; accounting for voting decisions; explaining and forecasting election outcomes; elections and divided government; money and elections; electoral politics and representative democracy),
•	the changing role of political parties and elections in the American political system, including the historical development of party conflict; the structure of party organization at the local and national levels; the roles of party and the media during presidential elections; who votes and why; and the future of American political parties,
•	the most important aspects of the mass media's roles in the American political process with a focus on the press itself (its workings, biases, effects, etc.) and on the relationships between the media and the institutions and actors in politics and government, and
•	the historical and contemporary roles of various racial and ethnic groups; initiation, demands, leadership and organizational styles, orientation, benefits, and impact on the structures and outputs of governance in the United States.

Basis for Evaluation:
	Assignment										Points Per Assignment							Total Points
	4 Examinations 											 	 75												300 (50%)
	1 Final Examination										125											125 (21%)
	Issue Analysis paper								 														125 (21%)
	Participation / Conduct / Attendance																	  50 (8%)				
													TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE								600						

																								Point Range		Final Grade
																								600 – 540			A
																								539 – 480			B
																								479 – 420	       	C
																								419 – 360			D
																								359 and below		F

Required Texts:	
		Dye,T.R., Sparrow, B.H., and Field, M. Politics in the United States,  Custom California edition
Recommended Reading: 
		The Official web site of the California State Government—http://www.ca.gov 
Recommendations may be announced / distributed on occasion

Examinations: 
	There will be four 75-point examinations and one 125-point final examination.  All will consist of identification, short answer, and essay questions.  All students will need a Bluebook for all examinations.  MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS WILL ONLY BE GIVEN UNDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.  As a general rule, with the exception medical emergencies, incapacity, or a death in the family, make up exams will not be given.  Some official verification of the need to miss the exam will be required before a make-up exam is approved.  The message here is that YOU SHOULD PLAN TO TAKE THE EXAMS ON THE SCHEDULED DATES or have a VERY COMPELLING REASON for missing one, and if at all possible, you should contact me before the exam regarding your absence.
	Each examination will cover the following material:
		EXAM 1: Introductory material, The Constitution, and Federalism
		EXAM 2: American Institutions (Congress, The Executive and the Bureaucracy, and the Judiciary)
		EXAM 3: Policy “Inputs”—The Electorate as Players (Public Opinion, Participation, Voting, and Elections)
		EXAM 4: Policy “Inputs”—Non-Institutional Players (Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media)
		FINAL EXAMINATION: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Issue Analysis papers:  
	For this assignment you will be required to choose a controversial issue in either national or state politics.  A list of suggested topics will be provided in the event you are having difficulty making a selection.  Students are encouraged to choose an issue that is of interest to them, or, perhaps better, one related to their major.  You are to find AT LEAST SIX SOURCES that take conflicting positions on the issue (for example, three opposing, three supporting).  Your references should be from outside sources, such as books, newspapers, periodicals, scholarly journals, etc.  Your textbook may be used as a reference, but it will not be counted among the required six. 

Papers are to be six to eight pages in length, and should do the following: relate some unbiased facts regarding an issue, summarize the arguments advanced in your referenced materials, and present your position on the controversy.  All papers must be formatted according to either American Psychological Association (APA) or Modern Language Association specifications.

	Papers will be graded primarily on content and completeness; however, a portion of your grade will be based on grammar, spelling, and presentation.  PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: Late papers will not be accepted.  

Participation and Conduct:  
	Political Science 2H will be conducted as a seminar, which means that your participation is a integral component.  The success of this course depends on your willingness and ability to actively engage the material, your peers, and the instructor as we work together to share our perspectives and ideas on the various theories and issues discussed in both the reading and class.

	Unless otherwise specified, to help ensure this end all students are required to come to class with two questions from the reading that demonstrate some critical analysis of the material.  These questions will be the driving force behind our class discussions.  Students will be called upon by the instructor at random to contribute one question to the discussion.  I reserve the right to ask to see all questions at the beginning of any class meeting, and to ask that these questions be e-mailed to me in advance if I determine that such an action is warranted.  Any student who comes to class unprepared will lose all participation points for that day.

	Obviously, then, an important part of the course is student participation, and a guaranteed way to lower your grade is to conduct yourself in an inappropriate manner in the classroom.  Even though it may appear as though I am not taking notice, inappropriate behavior such as reading, talking, sleeping, writing letters, etc., during class, or failure to treat everyone in the classroom with respect will affect your grade negatively, as will cheating on exams or instances of plagiarism in out-of-class writing assignments.  Those who wish to practice such inappropriate behavior will likely be asked to leave the classroom, pursuant to Reedley College’s Student Code of Conduct Policy. 

Attendance:  
	Attendance is one measure of participation, and you will not do well in the course if you fail to come to class regularly.  Perfect attendance is best, and more than six hours of absences is definitely too many.  It is the policy of this college that the instructor may drop a student who has missed more than six hours of class: it is my policy that after six hours of absences, I will want to schedule an appointment with you to try to determine the difficulty.

Reading Assignments:
	All reading assignments MUST be completed by the assigned date.  This will facilitate your learning the course material as well as class discussions.  If you have questions on any of the material, you should use the seminar questions that you have been asked to prepare for this end.  I want to help you learn about American politics and government, but your questions may not be answered unless you ask them.

Important Dates:
	Administrative:
		Last day to drop and receive a refund—Friday, August 28
		Last day to drop and avoid a “W”—Friday, September 04
		Last day to add—Friday, September 04
		Last day to change a class to/from a Pass/No Pass grading basis—Friday, September 18
		Last day to drop—Friday, October 16

	Holidays:
		Labor Day—Monday, September 07
		Veterans’ Day—Wednesday, November 11
		Thanksgiving holiday—Thursday, November 26 & Friday, November 27