Carnahan Hall    Russell Renka

PS103 Syllabus -Fall 2005
Professor Russell Renka

Internal links:
° Introduction
° Online Instructor Suite (OIS)
° Course Textbook and Readings
° Course Requirements and Credits
° Source Citations and 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), a Chat Room, and personal grade and assignment record (Gradebook).  To ensure that your off-campus PC does work with OIS, use Checker to confirm that.  If you are new this semester to Southeast, go to Southeast Portal for acquisition of your Southeast e-mail address; you'll have to use that address for this class.

Course Textbook and Readings:                           Next Down; Top

Textbook:  Fiorina, Morris P., Paul E. Peterson, Bertram Johnson, and D. Stephen Voss.  2005.  The New American Democracy, 4th ed.  New York:  Pearson Longman.  This is issued by Textbook Service.  Also see The New American Democracy Companion Website (URL: wps.ablongman.com/long_fiorina_nad_4/) for Student Resources.  Each chapter has summary, multiple choice test, flashcards, and Web Destinations.

Readings:  These are specified in the Weekly Readings and Examination Itinerary below.

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.  There is an in-class multiple-choice part worth 100 points; and there is a take-home essay also worth 100.

   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:  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.  The multiple-choice part is done on the date of the final.  There is no comprehensive final exam.  The 4^th essay part is done during Week 16 as an option.  So the semester's net value is either 700 points or 800 points.

Review for Exams:  I run an afternoon oral review in CR101 or CR202 before each exam.  I also do review on the OIS Forum.

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 plans to conduct at least two public symposia this semester on contemporary events of public importance.  You should plan to attend both.  If that's impossible, then find comparable events elsewhere such as Common Hour events.  Your assignment is to write a 2 to 3 page summation of what took place at each event.  If the summary is adequate, each Symposium is worth 50 points.   Total Value:  100 points.

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.

    In summary, points are allotted by:

Examinations - multiple choice sections   400 points (100 per exam)
Examinations - take-home essays           400 points (100 per exam); or 300 if 4^th essay is not done
Polling Assignment                                50 points
Political Science Symposia                     100 points

All assignments:                                 950 points; or 850 if 4th essay is not done

Grades:   The online Gradebook posts interim grades and the eventual course grade, to let you keep up with your assignments and grades.  It includes a statement on the criteria for A, B, C, and D level performances.

Source Citations and 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 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.  Or try Rich Timpone's Interactive American Government Links.

    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 avoid poring through 899 superfluous pages.  Simple.

    Websites are a special problem.  When using one, do not cite the URL alone.  URLs are easy to lose and hard to find.  If I cannot find the source, then it doesn't count as one.  Cite the author, the filename, the URL, and the date or dates it was accessed.  Then I am almost sure to find it.  A general guide on separating good from crappy websites is Evaluating Websites from Donnelley and Lee Library in Chicago.  On use of blogs:  better establish why that person is authoritative.  Some are, but others are just rants.  As a professional skeptic, I won't assume a blog is valid; you have to establish that it is.

    To do a web search now, look below:

What is Expected of You:             Next down; Top

Attendance:  Those who attend typically do well in my classes.  Those who don't, 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 6.5 or higher on the Richter Scale, Armageddon witness, seance with Elvis).  I frequently use material not from the readings, and you're responsible for it.  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).  Many of these are done impromptu, and I'm not likely to have it written down in detail where you can be absent and then get everything despite that.

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.  One caution:  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.

On electronic devices in class:  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 they pay 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.  Messaging is a modern version of whispering the answer or glomming your neighbor's paper--old hat cheating.

    Laptops are A-OK in class, and so are tape recorders.  I encourage them both.

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 was 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 12-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; but never use these terms:  "urgent" or "God Bless You" or "Respond Immediately."  All of those habitually are used in Nigerian letters, and I automatically delete such messages.  Same for anything in all capitals.
        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 - Fall 2005             Top

Master Calendar - click at upper left corner for Academic Calendar

 Week 1 - August 22-26       Politics, Democracy, and Government
Readings:
    ºFiorina Text, Chapter 1 - Democracy in the United States
    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 - August 29-September 2     A Constitutional Democracy
Readings:
    ºText, Chapter 2 - Establishing A Constitutional Democracy
    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 - September 6-9       Federalism; U.S. and State Constitutions
Note:  Monday, September 5, is Labor Day:  no classes.
Readings:
    ºText, Chapter 3 - Federalism:  Division of Power Among National, State, and Local Governments
    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 - September 12-16       Civil Liberties    **
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 16 - 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)

    **Thursday and Friday, September 15-16 - 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 (Top).

 Week 5 - September 19-23      Civil Rights; and American Political Culture
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 17 - Civil Rights
    ºText Chapter 4 - American Political Culture

 Week 6 - September 26-30      Public Opinion and Polling
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 5 - Public Opinion
    ºwebsite reading - Russell D. Renka, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Public Opinion Polls

 Week 7 - October 3-7      Political Participation and Voting
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 6 - Individual Participation
    ºVoter Turnout from Michael P. McDonald, including Turnout Rates for Voting graph, and 2004 Voting-Age and Voting-Eligible Population Estimates and Voter Turnout
    ºText Chapter 8 - Political Parties

 Week 8 - October 10-14         Political Parties

Note:  October 13-14:  Fall Break, no classes
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 8 - Political Parties

 Week 9 -October 17-21     Election 2004    **
Readings:
    ºWebsite reading:  Russell D. Renka, The Election of 2004
    ºwebsite reading:  Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - 2000 and 2004 presidential election results

**Monday and Tuesday, October 17-18 - 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).

 Week 10 - October 24-28     Interest Groups and the News Media
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 7 - Interest Groups
    ºText Chapter 9 - The Media
    ºThe Separate Realities of Bush and Kerry Supporters - Report of Findings, October 21, 2004 (a 17-page pdf file) from Program on International Policy Attitudes.  Pathway:  at PIPA's Studies of U.S. Opinion, click on Iraq, then click on The Separate Realities of Bush and Kerry Supporters, and click on its Report of Findings.  (At the next-to-last site you'll also find a Press Release, and a Questionaire.)
    ºPIPA's Misperceptions, the Media, and the Iraq War - 10_02_03_Press Release (2 page pdf)

 Week 11 - October 31-November 4       The U.S. Congress
Readings:
    ºText, Chapter 11 - Choosing the Congress
    ºText, Chapter 12 - The Congress and Its Work
    ºwebsite:  Presidents and Congresses from Russell D. Renka 

 Week 12 - November 7-11    The U.S. Congress
Readings:
    ºText, Chapter 12 - The Congress and Its Work
    ºText, Chapter 19 - Economic Policy

 Week 13 - November 14-18   The Presidency  **
    **Monday and Tuesday, November 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 (Top).
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 10 - Electing the President
    ºwebsite reading:  Russell D. Renka, Presidential Elections through 2004
    ºText Chapter 13 - The Presidency: Powers and Practice

 Week 14 - November 21-22    The Presidency; The Bureaucracy
    Note:  No classes are held on Thanksgiving week from W Nov. 23 through F Nov. 25.
Readings:
    °Text Chapter 13 - The Presidency
    °Website reading - Russell D. Renka, The Election of 2004

 Week 15 - November 28-December 2     War, Peace, and Diplomacy of a Superpower
Readings:
    °Text Chapter 14 - The Bureaucracy (Note:  We won't do this chapter because of time limits.)
    °Text Chapter 20 - Foreign and Defense Policy

 Week 16 - December 5-9   The Federal Bench; our social future
Readings:
    ºText Chapter 15 - The  Judiciary
    ºText Chapter 18 - Domestic Policy

 Finals Week - December 12-16   ** This is Exam no. 4, not a comprehensive exam.
   º Section 05 (MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.) - 10:00 a.m. Monday, December 12
   º Section 07 (TR 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.) - 10:00 a.m. Thursday, December 15

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July 24, 2007 03:43 PM
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