Carnahan Hall    Russell Renka

PS103 Syllabus - Spring 2005
Professor Russell Renka

Internal links:
°Introduction
°Online Instructor Suite (OIS)
°Course Textbook and Readings
°Course Requirements and Credits
°Source Citations and Source Locations
°What is Expected of You
°How to Reach Me
°Weekly Readings and Examination Itinerary

Introduction                   Next down; Top

    This course covers the government and politics of the United States and its states, including the State of Missouri.  Governments have special authority granted to no other organizations--the power to make laws and regulations and to enforce them, and to collect taxes from all of us.  Government is a nearly universal way human beings regulate themselves and their fellows.  This course introduces the fundamentals of American politics and government in a university studies context.  Coverage of topics is by national standard reflected in any competent introductory textbook.  Included here is state-required coverage of our federal and state constitutions.  There are no formal course prerequisites beyond standing in this university.  The course fulfills the Political Systems requirement of the University Studies Program.

    Politics has been defined as "the art of the possible."  To understand politics is to get beyond the dry civics and legal formalities of government structure and function.  A formal diagram of "how a bill becomes law" exists in every textbook.  Politics explains why a particular bill becomes law and another falls short, by injecting the motives and assets of politicians to gain insight.  For example, the Republican-majority 104th Congress passed a minimum wage increase in 1996 despite the traditional Republican disdain of such measures and the ardent hostility of many Members of Congress toward it.   Politics explains how that could happen--as we shall see.  Many Americans in 2005 deeply dislike politics and politicians, but it's impossible to understand government without politics.  And any effective citizenship in a democracy requires some real knowledge of politics along with the formal principles of its governance.

    This course is taught at three levels.  Some material is basic description, such as an outline of the trimester system set forth in the Supreme Court's highly controversial Roe v. Wade abortion decision, or a specification of what the First Amendment says about freedom of speech.  Some is analytic; once you know basics, you can interpret whether the distinction in law of first and second trimesters makes sense based on what we know from medical research, or whether public tobacco advertising should be classified as commercial speech.  And ultimately you confront the evaluative or judgmental; you ultimately decide what if anything to accept in Roe v. Wade or in tobacco advertising.  All have the objective of enabling you to understand what you read or hear in the public realm, and to react as an informed consumer and citizen.  Essay portions of exams are designed to let you show knowledge at each of these levels.

    This course emphasizes two core university studies objectives. See Objectives of the University Studies Program.  First is effective citizenship.  The course should enhance your ability to be an informed participant and knowledgeable consumer.  This does not mean I promote an automatic acceptance of the American status quo; quite the contrary, blind acceptance is a fool's path.  The second, equally important objective is to master locating and gathering information.  Few things are more confusing to the average American than to figure out sources of the myriad effects our government has upon our lives.  Website access is a great help, but one must still learn navigation and acquisition skills.  Some assignments are therefore designed to ensure that you become conversant in web usage beyond the simple use of search terms in your favorite search engine.

Online Instructor Suite (OIS):                    Next Down; Top

    OIS is run by Center for Scholarship in Teaching and Learning.  OIS gives you access to a class bulletin board (Forum), locale to post for posting papers and assignments (Drop Box), and personal grade and assignment record (Gradebook).  OIS uses Southeast e-mail addresses that you activate by using the Southeast Key (at Student Activate SE Key).  More details are shown at www6.semo.edu/infotech/sekeyfaq.  I'll have to use your Southeast e-mail address to communicate with you, so be sure to check that e-mail box regularly.  To ensure that your off-campus PC does work with OIS, use Checker to confirm that.

    The newest feature (spring 2005) is a Chat Room for simultaneous communications with all of you.  This is primarily useful for such things as my on-line "office hours" and for review periods immediately before examinations.  We may also use it on some occasions when a class discussion is curtailed before we want to finish.  Those who can, will be able to go straight to the Chat Room for continuation.

    Note:  On Thursday, Jan. 20, at 4:00 p.m. I discovered and fixed the problem that blocked student access to the OIS links shown above.  Please notify me (rdrenka@semo.edu) if any problems continue.

Course Textbook and Readings:           Next Down; Top

Textbook:  Kernell, Samuel, and Gary C. Jacobson.  2002.  The Logic of American Politics, 2d ed.  Washington, D.C.:  CQ Press.  For supplemental assistance, use the textbook website at Logic of American Politics (URL is logic.cqpress.com).  Don't forget to try out their multiple choice examinations for each chapter.

Readings:  The Itinerary contains other readings, at web locations specified there.

Reference Source:  Paul M. Johnson of the Department of Political Science at Auburn University has an extensive website with fundamental terminology used widely in political science, economics, and policy analysis classes, at A Glossary of Political Economy Terms.

Course Requirements and Credits            Next down; Top

Examinations:  The 16-week course has four sections, each ending with an examination worth 200 points.  Each exam has two sections, multiple-choice, and essay, worth 100 points each.

    The take-home essays are written on your choice from two or three essay options on a basic problem cited in that section.  You'll normally have five days to write a paper of about 2.5 to 3 honest pages with appropriate citation of your sources.  Each option basically consists of a closely related set of 2 or 3 queries that require you to integrate class material and readings.  Typically the first part is basic; for instance, show the legal distinction made by Roe v. Wade between each trimester of pregnancy.  The next part requires analysis; for instance, explain why the end of the second trimester is so crucial to the abortion issue.  Finally is judgment; considering what you've said before, do you finally accept or reject the Roe v. Wade trimester distinction?      Net Value:  100 points per exam, 400 points in all.

   The fourth examination covers material from Weeks 13 through 15 only.  Essay is done during Week 15, and the multiple-choice part is done on the date of the final.  There is no comprehensive final exam.

Review for Exams:  I always run an afternoon oral review before each exam, at a time to be determined.

Polling:  I teach about polling because it is such an important technique in modern life for learning about people.  It's also a very attractive way to lie or mislead.  The web has opened the polling world to millions of people, many of whom have no idea how to tell among The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Polling.  So I assign just that in Week 6 on the Itinerary. Value:  50 points.

Political Science Symposia: Our Department will conduct at least two public symposia this semester on contemporary events of public importance.  You should plan to attend at least two.  If that's impossible, then find comparable events elsewhere such as Common Hour events.  If you write an adequate summary of what took place, each Symposium is worth 50 points.   Total Value:  100 points.

On-line Forum:  My PS103 classes share an OIS Forum discussion site for material pertinent to this class.  This Forum covers material from class on which I make a post and request that you respond to it.  It's also designed for addressing what the lecture and readings are about, and for exam preparation.  And there are current events on matters related to this class.  You get credit for meaningful responses, not for cursory or "me too" statements.  Value:   100 points.

    In summary, points are allotted by:

Examinations - multiple choice sections   400 points (100 per exam)
Examinations - take-home essays           400 points (100 per exam)
Miscellaneous short assignments             50 points
Polling Assignment                                50 points
Political Science Forums                        100 points
Forum                                              100 points
All assignments:                                 1100 points

Source Citations and Source Locations                         Next down; Top

    Essay writing in PS103 means using and citing sources, including but not limited to those cited as reading in this Syllabus.  Use any style guide you wish, but do not fail to cite the source when copying or paraphrasing a source.  If you have an established major, use the style guide from that profession.  I don't care which one you use in PS103; just pick one and be consistent in its use.  As a time-saver, whenever you use class readings as sources, you can copy the formal citation straight from this syllabus Itinerary and paste it to your paper.  For assistance with writing, go to The Writing Center in Kent Library 412.  Or use the Center's OWL, Online Writing Lab, with policies outlined at The Writing Center Site Map.  Tutorials on source use and plagiarism are included at BU Tutorials. For PS103 paper links in APA style, go directly to Poly-Cy Guide to Internet Resources for Political Science - Style and Web Site Citation Guides.

    Elsewhere, Kent Library's Web Searching Tools includes "Deep Web Tools" with links to many databases.

    For extensive links on American government and politics, see Grace York's University of Michigan Documents Center and click on appropriate categories, including Federal Government Resources on the Web.

Attendance:  Those who attend typically do well in my classes.  Those who don't attend, do poorly.  Attend each class session unless there’s a valid reason to miss (i.e., personal illness, ill child, death in immediate family, motorcycle wreck, full blown Midwestern blizzard, New Madrid Fault disturbance of 6.0 up on the Richter Scale, Armageddon witness). We often use class discussion for short writing assignments and/or assignments to find relevant information from journals, the library, or websites (per Miscellaneous assignments, cited above).  Some of these are impromptu, and it’s often difficult or impossible to compensate by asking later that I email you the assignment details. Use email or telephone voice mail to advise me if you will miss or have missed class.

Lateness to class: Just come in quietly. I don’t encourage deliberate lateness, but traffic, weather, and professors in earlier classes all can cause you to arrive at five after the hour. If you routinely amble in ten minutes late without a reason, then you should find a new class.  On my part, we have a clock in class, and I'll try to close on time.

Cheating and Plagiarism:    See Southeast's Academic Honesty brochure on this subject. I had a certain nasty little cheater in 2003, haven't forgotten that, and have since studied some methods for catching and docking offenders. If a student cheats on an assignment, it's an automatic zero grade on that work. If there's evidence of cheating on more than one assignment, it's a zero on each affected assignment.  Once I have documented evidence of cheating, then I first confront the offender to elicit an explanation of the behavior, after which I file a report with the Department chair.  If I catch the evidence post hoc and cannot confront the offender, I proceed directly to the report.

    Plagiarism is a common form of cheating and a chronic plague of the academic community.  It refers to someone taking the work of others and passing it off as his or her own.  It can be as simple as taking a quotation and failing to show it properly, to lifting an entire piece verbatim and pasting it to one's own paper or exam.  The common element of this noxious practice is always the same, namely that of falsely claiming for oneself that which another person has created.  In the commercial world, plagiarism brings lawsuits for copyright violation.  In the academic world, it brings verdicts of both moral and academic failure on the offender.  For insight on what it is, see Southeast's Academic Honesty brochure, or Professor Hamner Hill's Policy on PLAGIARISM.  Each has helpful links.

    I do not tolerate plagiarism.  I check for it--and know from bitter experience and plenty of web-smarts how to find it.  If the plagiarism is intentional, I report that as a violation of the University's academic integrity policy while assigning that paper or exam an irreversible grade of zero.  If it is not, I return the paper without a grade to its creator for immediate and thorough correction.

    The best method of avoiding plagiarism is to acquire the habit of properly citing your source material as you go along.  I do so above on the listed books for this course.  The books do so as well.  See those, or see Strunk and White's guide.  I do not stipulate a particular source guide, but will expect you to cite one in your References section of any term paper.  See Kent Library's final touches - tools for citing sources for proper use of MLA, APA, Chicago Style, and others.  I usually employ APA but any of them are fine.  The core rule is really very simple.  It's this:  cite your stuff so that anyone who reads your paper can easily track its sources.  So give full citation to all sources, including names of all authors, the book/article/website file name or name and position of an interviewee, and all publication information (publisher's location, publisher's name, year of pub, volume and issue of journal, URL of a website plus date of its access).  If you got specific information from one page of a 900-page tome, be nice and cite that page only so I can avoid poring through 899 superfluous pages.  Simple.  The same for website citations.  Cite not just the URL, but the author, the filename, the URL, and the date or dates it was accessed.  If I cannot find the source, then it doesn't count as one.

On cell phones and text messaging:  Cell phones may attend my classes ONLY when turned off.  Should one somehow manage to ring anyway, please silence it immediately and avoid any repeat.  If you must be on phone alert, use only its visual signaler for that purpose.  If a cell phone disobeys these rules, it's ejected immediately.

    And now on text messaging:  as with Nancy Reagan on illegal drugs, I just say no.  There's two reasons why.  One is that I don't buy into the general belief that this generation is adept at multi-tasking so that they can pay attention in class and send messages to and fro at the same time.  Automobile drivers are dangerous when a cell phone is attached to one hand and ear, because said driver pays no damned attention to other drivers.  This summer I saw someone texting while driving 75mph on a Dallas urban freeway.  Not good.  As for the second reason, it's cheating during exams. 

On guns:   Real guns may not attend any of my classes.  The Missouri General Assembly passed a "concealed carry" gun statute in 2003 but didn't bother to say when and where it's permissible to pack heat.  So I am obliged to write my own law.  It's a simple one:  no firearms of any kind are permitted in any of my classes, or in my office, under any circumstances.  Should there be a violation, I will not confront the offender.  Instead I will contact the university's legal authorities and have them press action to ensure that the offender may not continue this practice.  There are no exceptions to this rule unless the student is:  a) a law enforcement authority authorized to carry a gun in the normal performance of duties, and b) this student gets my advance clearance to carry in class.  Note:  None of this refers to minor weapons such as Swiss Army knives, Gerber tools, nail files, or the like.  I refer to guns.

Services and Special Needs:  Just advise me directly if you have specific difficulties that I can help you handle.  For example, I'll do oversized-print handouts if someone is visually impaired so that the usual 10-point type doesn't work; or you can use computer-assisted expansion of hypertext.  The Learning Enrichment Center offers special services for those with learning or other disabilities.  And special needs or not, I urge everyone to freely use The Writing Center, including their Proofreading.

How to Reach Me:                      Next down;Top

    I have an open door policy, and can very often be found at or near my office computer.  My office is Carnahan 211-L; it's in a suite of offices immediately next to Carnahan 202.  You can reach me any of the following ways:
        a) Leave a message at my Department mailbox or with the Department office in Carnahan 211.
        b) Leave a message at the mail drop outside my door at Carnahan 211-L.
        c) Leave a voice mail message at my office telephone number, (573)651-2692.
        d) E-mail me at rdrenka@semo.edu.
        e) If you’re out of town and cannot send a paper or assignment by email, deliver it to the OIS Drop Box along with an e-mail notifying me of this.  Or if no on-line access, then FAX it to 573/651-2695.
        f) Consult Renka's Home Page (URL: cstl-cla.semo.edu/renka) for other details about myself and my courses, including this syllabus.

PS103 Weekly Readings and Examination Itinerary - Professor Renka - Spring 2005             Top

Master Calendar - click at upper left corner for Academic Calendar

Week 1 - January 18-21       Politics, Public Goods, and Government
Monday, January 17, is Martin Luther King Holiday.  No classes are held.
Readings:  Kernell and Jacobson Text, Chapter 1
    ºThe Declaration of Independence - textbook Appendix 1, or on-line: National Archives - Declaration of Independence (URL: www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/declaration.html)
    ºon-line reading:  Continental Congress & Constitutional Convention Time Line, 1776-1789

Week 2 - January 24-28     Constitutional Foundations of Democracy
Readings:
    ºText, Chapter 2 - The Constitution
    ºThe Constitution of the United States - text Appendix 2, or National Archives - Constitution of the United States at URL: www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution_transcript.html.
   ºRoger A. Bruns, A More Perfect Union:  The Creation of the U.S. Constitution at URL: www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution_history.html
    ºJames Madison, The Federalist No. 10 in text, Appendix 3 or at www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm

Week 3 - January 31 - February 4        Federalism; U.S. and State Constitutions
Readings:
    ºText, Chapter 3 - Federalism
    ºJames Madison, The Federalist No. 51 in text, Appendix 4 or at www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm
   ºwebsite reading - Russell D. Renka, Madison and Federalism

Week 4 - February 7-11       Civil Rights    **
Readings:
    Text Chapter 4 - Civil Rights

    ** Thursday and Friday, February 10-11 - Exam no. 1 (multiple choice, in class) is held.  The essay part is handed out during this time and is due by class time five days later.  You'll also see the essay part posted atop this Syllabus (back to Top).

Week 5 - February 14-18      Civil Liberties
Readings:
    Text Chapter 5 - Civil Liberties
    ºwebsite reading - Future of the First Amendment and Key Findings (poll from John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s High School Initiative)

Week 6 - February 21-25     Public Opinion and Polling
Readings:
    Text Chapter 10 - Public Opinion
    ºwebsite reading - Russell D. Renka, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Public Opinion Polls

Week 7 - February 28 - March 4      Political Participation and Voting
Readings:
    Text Chapter 11 - Voting, Campaigns, and Elections   

Week 8 - March 7-11         Political Parties
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 12 - Political Parties
**Thursday and Friday, March 10-11 - Exam no. 2 (multiple choice, in class) is held.  The essay part is handed out during this time and is due by class time five days later.  You'll also see the essay part posted atop this Syllabus (back to Top).

March 14-18     Spring Break

Week 9 - March 21-25     Election 2004
Readings:
    ºWebsite reading:  Russell D. Renka, The Election of 2004
    ºwebsite reading:  Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - 2004 election results

Week 10 - March 28-April 1     Linkage Institutions:  Interest Groups and the News Media
Readings:
    Text Chapter 13 - Interest Groups
    ºText Chapter 14 - The News Media
    ºFrom Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA):  Follow links to Media_10_02_03_Press Release (PDF file) and print this out; also print out Report10_21_04 on "The Separate Beliefs of Bush and Kerry Supporters."

Week 11 - April 4-8       The U.S. Congress
Readings:
    Text, Chapter 6 - Congress
    ºwebsite:  Presidents and Congresses from Russell D. Renka

Week 12 - April 11-15    The Congress  **
Readings: 
    Barbara Sinclair, Bipartisan Governing: Possible Yes; Likely No, PS Online, March 2001
    ** Thursday and Friday, April 14-15 - Exam no. 3 (multiple choice, in class) is held.  The essay part is handed out during this time and is due by class time five days later.  You'll also see the essay part posted atop this Syllabus (back to Top).

Week 13 - April 18-22   The Presidency
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 7 - The Presidency
    ºwebsite reading:  Russell D. Renka, Presidential Elections through 2004

Week 14 - April 25-29    The Presidency; The Bureaucracy
    °Renka, Russell D., The Election of 2004
    °Text Chapter 8 - The Bureaucracy

Week 15 - May 2-6      The Judiciary
Readings: 
    ºText Chapter 9 - The Federal Judiciary

Finals Week - May 9-13
     Section 09 (MWF 1:30) - 12:00 to 1:50 p.m., Wednesday, May 11
     Section 11 (TR 2:00) -  2:00 to 3:50 p.m., Tuesday, May 10

Copyright©2005, Russell D. Renka
July 30, 2007 04:22 PM
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