Carnahan Hall Russell Renka

PS103 Syllabus - Professor Russell Renka - Fall 2003

Internal links:
°Introduction
°Online Instructor Suite (OIS)
°Course Textbook and Reader
°Course Requirements and Credits
°Source Citations and Source Locations
°What's 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 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  federal and state constitutions.  There are no formal course prerequisites, although I assume nearly all of you have some background in civics and U.S. history courses.

    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 2001 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 (at School of University Studies - University Studies Objectives).  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):                       Top

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 is run by Center for Scholarship in Teaching and Learning.  OIS uses automatically generated Southeast e-mail addresses that you activate by using the Southeast Key, at Activate SE Key.  More details are shown at http://www6.semo.edu/infotech/sekeyfaq.  I'll use your Southeast e-mail address to communicate with each of you.  OIS also generates a set of randomly selected passwords that you'll receive from an introductory e-mail.  These are specific to this class, and aren't related to your self-selected SE Key passwords.  You can always change your class password by going to OIS - Change Student Password and adopting your own.  I recommend you employ the same one as you use for the SE Key, but that's up to you.

Course Textbook:                          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 (http://logic.cqpress.com/).

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

Supplement to Textbook: Jacobson, Gary C., and Samuel Kernell.  2003.  The Logic of American Politics in Wartime: Lessons from the Bush Administration.  Washington, D.C.:  CQ Press.  This is issued directly by me during the latter weeks of the course.  You're responsible for returning it to me upon your completion of the course.

PS103 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 multiple choice questions cover all readings, classroom materials, and other materials we may address during that four-week period.  These questions combine the basic and the analytic, but largely bypass the judgmental (although some will require you to recognize an opinion of a writer or your instructor on an issue raised in class and/or readings).  On the proportion of questions taken directly from reading, v. those taken from lecture:  I don't know, since both are important, and single items often blend both.      Net Value:  100 points per exam, 400 points in all

    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 16 only.  Essay is done during Week 16, 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 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'll be assigning you to do just that in Week 5 or 6 on the  Itinerary.        Value:  50 points

Political Science Symposia:  Our Department will conduct at least two public symposia this semester (details forthcoming).  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 a 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.  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 - possible:                    1100 points

Grades:   Gradebook posts interim grades and the eventual course grade on line, to let you keep up with your assignments and grades.  Your Username is your Social Security number.

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 their Online Writing Lab.
    For internet source citations and other information, see Kent Library's Web Searching Tools.  These include the subtopic entitled "Deep Web Tools" that includes various databases.  For specific citation guides, consult the School of University Studies Documentation Styles site.

For PS103 with APA style, see Poly-Cy Guide to Internet Resources for Political Science - Style and Web Site Citation Guides.  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.

What's Expected of You:             Next down; Top

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.

**On plagiarism:  The Student Handbook says "plagiarism is the act of passing someone else's work off as one's own. In addition, plagiarism is defined as using the essential style and manner of expression of a source as if it were one's own. If there is any doubt, the student should consult his/her instructor or any manual of term paper or report writing. Violations of academic honesty include:
    1. Presenting the exact words of a source without quotation marks; or
    2. Using another student's computer source code or algorithm or copying a laboratory report; or 
    3. Presenting information, judgments, ideas, or facts summarized from a source without giving credit."

     That's pretty clear, yet plagiarism still crops up with distressing regularity.  I cannot and will not accept any work except your own!  In academic circles, proper recognition of authorship is the gold standard.  We are all required to maintain the currency.  You may use any source, so long as you properly distinguish what’s truly yours from what is borrowed from and attributed to someone else.  Note:  I did not plagiarize the University's statement, since it's attributed to its proper source.  See More about Plagiarism from Dr. Dennis Holt.

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 12-point type doesn't work; or you can use computer-assisted expansion of hypertext.  There is an Accessibility Plan at .  The Learning Assistance Center offers tutorial assistance.  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 (Social Science) 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 Drop Box.  Or if no on-line access, then FAX it to 573/651-2695.
        f)    Consult Renka's Home Page (URL: http://cstl-cla.semo.edu/renka) for other details about myself and my courses, including this syllabus.

PS103 Weekly Readings and Examination Itinerary - Professor Renka - Fall 2003     Top

°Master Calendar - click at upper left corner for Academic Calendar

Week 1 - August 25-29     Politics, Public Goods, and Government
Readings:  Kernell and Jacobson Text, Chapter 1
    The Declaration of Independence [in textbook].

Week 2 - September 2-5         Constitutional Foundations of Democracy?
    (Monday, September 1:  Labor Day, no classes)
Readings:
    Text, Chapter 2 - The Constitution
    James Madison,  The Federalist #10 (at http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm )
    website reading - Russell D. Renka, Madison and Federalism
    James Madison, Federalist No. 51(at http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm )

Week 3 - September 8-12      Federalism; U.S. and State Constitutions
Readings:
    Text, Chapter 3 - Federalism
    The Constitution of the United States
    handout information on state constitutionalism and government

Week 4 - September 15-19     Civil Rights
Readings:
    Text Chapter 4 - Civil Rights

   **Exam no. 1 - (multiple choice, in class); essays topics are handed out at exam's end and are due by class time five days later 

Week 5 - September 22-26    Civil Liberties
Readings:
    Text Chapter 5 - Civil Liberties

Week 6 - September 29-October 3   Public Opinion and Polling
Readings:
    Text Chapter 10 - Public Opinion
    website reading - Russell D. Renka, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Polling

Week 7 - October 6-10     Political Participation and Voting
Readings:
    Text Chapter 11 - Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
    Text Chapter 12 - Political Parties
    website:  material on California Recall of 7 October 2003 (to be specified)

Week 8 - October 13-15        What was that about in California on October 7?
Note:  October 16-17 are Fall Break.  No classes are held.
        
** Examination No. 2 - October 14, 15

Week 9 - October 20-24   What was that about in Florida during the 2000 Election?
Readings:
        website 1:  Law and Data:  The Butterfly Ballot Episode by Henry Brady et al., in PS Online, March 2001; see a copy of the infamous Palm Beach County ballot itself, at The Sun-Sentinel Virtual Ballot 
       website 2:  Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - 2000 election results, with each state shown county by county for the 3000-plus U.S. counties; State of Florida in 2000 for the results, including Palm Beach County

Week 10 - October 27-31      Linkage Institutions:  Interest Groups and the News Media
Readings:
Text Chapter 13 - Interest Groups
    Text Chapter 14 - The News Media
    From Program on International Policy Attitudes:  At American attitudes, follow links to Media_10_02_03_Press Release (PDF file) and print this out. (new assignment, added 10/30/03 - RDR)

Week 11 - November 3-7    The Congress
Readings: 
    Text, Chapter 6 - Congress
    website:  Presidents and Congresses from Russell D. Renka
    other readings:  Gallup Poll Analyses - Congressional Approval Rating Lowest in Three Years (11/04/2003)
    On Tom DeLay:  Go to http://logic.cqpress.com/cqnews.asp and access the file called DeLay's Conservatism Solidifies GOP Base for Bush

Week 12 - November 10-14   The Congress
Readings: 
    Barbara Sinclair, Bipartisan Governing: Possible Yes; Likely No, PS Online, March 2001
**Exam no. 3(multiple choice, in class) on Thursday and Friday, November 13-14.

Week 13 - November 17-21    The Presidency
Readings:
    Text Chapter 7 - The Presidency
    website:  Presidential Elections through 2000 from Russell D. Renka
    supplement - The Logic of American Politics in Wartime:  Lessons from the Bush Administration

Week 14 - November 24-25    The Presidency
Thanksgiving Recess:  Wednesday through Friday, November 26-28
Readings:     supplement - The Logic of American Politics in Wartime:  Lessons from the Bush Administration

Week 15 - December 1-5        The Bureaucracy
Readings:
    Text Chapter 8 - The Bureaucracy

Week 16 - December 8-12         The Judiciary
Readings:
    Text Chapter 9 - The Federal Judiciary

Essay 4 (optional - due Friday, December 12)

Finals Week - Section 06 (MWF10) - Monday, December 15, 10:00 a.m.
    Section 07 (TR11) - Tuesday, December 16, 10:00 a.m.

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