GAINESVILLECOLLEGE
POLS 1101 American GovernmentInstructor:Ed Standera
FALL 2008 (Full session)Office:DM, Rm129 - Gainesville College
7:00 - 7:50 am, MWF, CRN 4881Phone: (678) 717- 3926 only there during office hours
Classroom: AC2 - 140e-mail:
8:00 - 8:50 am, MWF, CRN 4893Website:
Classroom: AC2-140
9:00 - 9:50 AM. MWF, CRN 4904
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Office hours Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, DM, Rm 129 or by appointment. You are encouraged to e-mail, call or stop in during office hours to talk about any problems/suggestions you may have concerning the course, about a major in political science; or about politics in general.
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1. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is an introduction to the institutions, processes, and major public policy issues in American national government. Material on Georgia government and its constitution is also covered in the course. This course is required of all students.
2. REQUIREDMATERIALS (available in campus bookstore):
American Government: Continuity & Change, The Essentials of American Government, 2008 Edition, O'Connor & Sabato, ISBN 0-205-52683-7 (paperback)
Georgia Government by the League of Women Voters
During each class period we will try to look at current political events, placing them in the context of what we are studying in the course. You will find the course more interesting and you will be more successful in the course if you make a habit of paying attention to current events. You may find the following helpful: national and international television news, radio news (especially National Public Radio), news magazines (Times, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek) and regional or national circulation newspapers (including Atlanta Journal-Constitution). There is a newspaper stand outside the main entrance to the StudentCenter where the Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides free papers.
3. COURSE OBJECTIVES: The mission of GainesvilleCollege is to further the well-being of its students through intellectual, social and physical development. Central to the accomplishment of this mission is the Liberal Arts Curriculum, and this course satisfies a requirement in Area E of the college's core curriculum.
General education at GainesvilleCollege is a shared set of curricular and co-curricular experiences that cultivates in students the knowledge, skills, and perspectives necessary for lifelong learning and productive citizenship in a dynamic and multicultural society. In keeping with general education and Social Sciences Division goals, course assignments will develop or improve your skills in
**writing short essays
**reading
**critical/analytical thinking (compare and contrast information and points of view, determine cause and effect relationships, differentiate between fact and opinion, analyze data)
**collaborative learning
The materials on civil rights and civil liberties are intended to enhance multicultural awareness.
The objectives of this specific course are to enable students to describe and explain:
*historical background, process and results of the constitutional convention
*structure and processes of three branches of U.S. government
*non-institutional aspects ("the politics") of U.S. political system (public opinion, media, elections/ voting, political parties, interest groups)
*major issues concerning civil liberties, civil rights, and other current local, national and global public policy
*identify and describe the major institutions of the Georgia state government
4. ATTENDANCE/TARDINESS/PARTICIPATION POLICY: Attendance will be noted at the beginning of each class. If you come in late it is your responsibilty to inform me of your attendance after class has been dismissed.
You assume responsibility for learning the material you miss during an absence and you cannot make up in-class work you miss during an absence.
I encourage you to participate in class discussions, ask questions, challenge, disagree, comment; in other words, DON'T BE A SLUG. Attendance, persistent tardiness and participation are taken into consideration when grades are tallied at the end of the term.
5. WITHDRAWAL POLICY: It is your responsibility to initiate the withdrawal procedure if you desire to drop the course. Please note that Monday, October 13th is midpoint of the term and last day to withdraw with a W.
6. CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS: Since you are paying tuition to take this class, I believe you should know at the outset my view of the course and my expectations of you.
a. You will read the assigned text and other assignments before you come to class. The reading assignments serve as a resource and you may have to read the material more than once. You will find that I refer to material in the assignments, but that I do not base my lectures strictly on the readings. Material may be covered in class that is not in the text. Exam questions come from the required readings and lectures so it is imperative that you read assignments and attend class.
b. Academic Exchange: The values of an intellectual community are trust, honesty, free inquiry, open debate, tolerance of difference and respect for others convictions. Further, the intellectual community always seeks to foster the virtues and characteristics of intelligence, curiosity, discipline, creativity, integrity, clear expression and the desire to learn from others. It is these that must guide our work and exchanges in this class.
Anyone perceived by the instructor to conduct him/herself in such a manner as to obstruct or disrupt, or attempt to obstruct or disrupt, the class or its learning activities will be given a verbal warning and may be asked to excuse her/himself from the class period in which the conduct occurred. Further disruptive conduct may be reported to the Vice President for Student Development and may be subject to disciplinary procedures as outlined in the GainesvilleCollege catalog.
CELL PHONES & PAGERS: Turn them off.
7. STUDENT ETHICS: All students are expected to do their own work in this course; to do otherwise is cheating. Please see the Student Handbook section on "Student Conduct Code" for further discussion and possible penalties.
8. EXAMINATIONS: Three mid-session exams and a final exam will be given. Exam questions are essays, true/false, and multiple choice. Exam questions are taken from the readings, lectures, class discussions, and films. You will receive a study guide well in advance of each exam. The final exam is NOT comprehensive--just another exam.
NO MAKE UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN! I will substitute the grade you receive on the final exam for one missing exam grade. If you miss a second and third exam, you will receive a zero (0) for those exams (unless there are extenuating circumstances). You must obtain the permission of the instructor to miss an exam and count the final exam score for the missed exam.
9. CRITICAL THINKING ASSIGNMENTS: In addition to the regular exams, you will have an opportunity to accrue points from Assignments handed out during the semester. It is your responsibility to get these assignments from me if you are absent on the day they are handed out.
10. GEORGIA CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT ASSIGNMENT:
Each University System of Georgia institution is mandated to introduce students to both the U.S. and Georgia constitutions and governments. As part of AREA E at GSC students must take POLS 1101 American Government which is designed to meet this legislative requirement. This course specifically addresses the U.S. constitution and government. However, coverage of Georgia’s constitution and government is more problematic due to the nature and normal content of this course. As such, the following requirement has been established for this course.
The League of Women Voters “Georgia Government” is a required supplemental text for this course and is automatically ordered by the GSC Bookstore. Course instructors must include coverage of this work within the first half of the semester. Upon completion of the material an on-line, open book examination consisting of 50 multiple choice questions will be available for the students to take. Students must receive a minimum grade of 60% to pass the test and satisfy the legislative requirement for Georgia constitution and government. Students who fail to pass this test may not pass the course dependent on the instructor. Students must complete the exam prior to the mid-semester point. Students may take the test as many times as is needed to pass up to the closing date. Those who still fail or do not take the test will be notified by the registrar that they have not completed the legislative requirement for the State of Georgia and therefore cannot graduate from any USG institution until they do. This requirement and these guidelines must be included in the syllabus for POLS 1101. Questions about this requirement or the test may be directed to the Division Office or to Dr. Kerry Stewart, lead faculty member in political science.
The test to fulfill the requirement for Fall is open from August 18 to October 24.
11. EXTRA-CREDIT WORK:
a. Individual: None. It would not be fair to allow some students to complete extra-credit work while others do not.
b. All students: Each year the college sponsors a Colloquium Series featuring prominent and interesting individuals who speak on campus. To enhance attendance at these events, I will give up to 3 extra credit points added to your overall grade point average for any student who attends a colloquium presentation and writes a double-spaced 3 page paper summarizing the speaker's presentation. If you can creatively tie the presentation to the class material, you increase your prospect of getting the full 3 points. The fall schedule of speakers was not yet printed at this time. Brochures are available announcing dates and speakers.
Previous speakers have covered topics that we are studying. These speakers have been video-taped and their presentations are available at the Library and on the library web-site. Please see the instructor for alternative assignments. In addition, the Politically Incorrect Club will be scheduling speakers. Attendance at these events is also entered on Student Co-curricular Transcripts.
12. EVALUATION: The course grade will be computed as follows: Grades
Exam 1 75 (12.5%)A 537-600
Exam 2-4 (100 ea)300 (50%) B 477-536
Group/critical thinking assignments (Average) 25 (4.17%)C 417-476
Two Outcome Essays (The average of the two)100 (16.67%) D 357-416
Practice Quizzes (10 PTS each)* 100 (16.67%) F 0-356
Total possible points: 600
* Points will be given to those who turn in a practice quiz from Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, & 11(1). Ten points for those turned in on due date. Five points for those turned in late. Zero points for those not turned in. Due dates are under Schedule E. Quizzes will be returned as study material before Quiz review. Turn these in they count as much as an exam.
13. COURSE SCHEDULE/READING ASSIGNMENTS (which I reserve the right to modify as necessary)
SCHEDULE FOR MWF CLASS
Foundations of American Government
DatesTopicReadings
8/18 Syllabus/course overviewOverview
8/20-8/25 Principles of American GovernmentCh 1 pp. 3 – 23 (Ch. 1 Quiz due 8/22)
8/27-9/3 ConstitutionCh 2 pp. 25 – 79 (Ch. 2 Quiz due 8/29)
9/1 (LABOR DAY) NO CLASS
9/5-9/10FederalismCh 3 pp. 81 – 105 (Ch. 3 Quiz due 9/8)
9/12 (FRIDAY) EXAM #1 Ch 1, Ch 2 & Ch 3
Civil Rights/Civil Liberties
Dates TopicReadings
9/15-9/22 Civil liberties Ch 4 pp. 107 – 135 (Ch. 4 Quiz due 9/19)
9/24 GEORGIA LECTURE (For essay #1)
9/26-10/3 Civil rightsCh 5 pp. 137 – 163 (Ch. 5 Quiz due 10/1)
10/6 EXAM #2 Ch 4 & Ch 5
10/10 NO CLASS
10/13 MIDPOINT LAST DAY TO DROP W/O ACADEMIC PENALTY
Government Institutions
DatesTopicReadings
10/13-10/17Congress/Congressional districtsCh 6 pp. 165 – 193 (Ch. 6 Quiz due 10/15)
10/13 Last day to take Georgia Government and Constitution Test on-line (e-learning)
10/20-10/27PresidencyCh 7 pp. 195 – 218 (Ch. 7 Quiz due 10/24)
10/29-11/5Federal Judicial SystemCh 9 pp. 245 – 274 (Ch. 9 Quiz due 11/3)
11/7 (FRIDAY) EXAM #3 Ch 6, Ch 7 & Ch 9
Politics (influences on government)
DatesTopicReadings
11/10-11/14 Public Opinion and the Media Ch 10 pp. 277 – 312 (Ch. 10 Quiz due 10/12)
11/17-11/21Political Parties and Interest GroupsCh 11 pp. 315 – 348 (Ch. 11 Quiz (1) due 10/19)
11/24-12/8Interest Groups, Campaigns, Elections,
and VotingCh 12 pp. 351 – 386 (No other Quizzes due)
12/8 (MON)LAST CLASS
FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE
CRN4881, 7:00 Class, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12TH, 8-10 AM, AC2-ROOM 140
CRN4893, 8:00 Class, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH, 8-10 AM, AC2-ROOM 140
CRN 4904, 9:00 Class, MONDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, 8-10 AM, AC2-ROOM 146
SUPPLEMENTAL COURSE INFORMATION
Supplemental course information is available at the following link:
PLAGIARISM
Accidental or intentional--will be dealt with in accordance with the Student Conduct Code in the Gainesville State College Student Handbook. Plagiarism willbe grounds for failing the assignment and perhaps the course. The MLA Handbook defines plagiarism as follows.
The most blatant form of plagiarism is to repeat as your own someone else's sentences, more
or less verbatim. . . . Other forms of plagiarism include repeating someone else's
particularly apt phrase without appropriate acknowledgment, paraphrasing another person's
argument as your own, and presenting another's line of thinking . . . as though it were your
own. (sec 1.6)
In this class plagiarism on an assignment will result in an “F” for that assignment.
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