POS 110
Prof. Kate Lehman Classroom: SS 229
Office: SS 111until
Feb. 14 T/Th
5:15 to 6:30 p.m.
Foundation Bldg. 1136, after Feb. 14 Office
Hours T/Th 4:30 – 5:00
Phone: (480)
965-6506 or
by appointment
e-mail: kate.lehman@asu.edu
Fax: (480)965-2110
O'Connor, Karen, and Larry J. Sabato. 2005. American
Government: Continuity and Change, 6th edition
2004 Election Update.
Lindsay, James M., ed. 2004. American Politics after September 11, 3rd
Edition.
Publishing.
The purpose of this class is to acquaint students with
the structure, process, and theory behind American government and
politics. In doing so, we will focus not
only on the institutions of government in this country, but on the political
behavior of the mass electorate and political elites as well as the effect of
the media on the day-to-day process of governing and on campaigns.
The
course will operate as a hybrid and comprises 350 possible points. The breakdown of points is as follows:
Exam
1 -- 100 points
Exam
2 -- 100 points
Exam
3 -- 100 points
Blackboard
Discussion
Boards 50
points
Final
grades will be determined by adding up all points earned during the class. The grade awarded will be based as follows:
A+ = 343- 350; A = 322 – 342.5; A- = 315 – 321.5; B+ =
304.5 – 314.5; B = 287 – 304; B- = 280 – 286.5; C+ = 269.5 – 279.5; C = 245 –
269; D = 210 – 244.5; E = < 210.
Grades will be posted in the gradebook in Blackboard, so that you can
keep track of your progress.
Exams. Each exam will be comprised of objective
(multiple choice, true false) and short answer components. The final is not comprehensive but will cover
only the material not addressed in the other exams. The first two exams will be taken on
Blackboard, while the final will be taken in class at the time and date
regularly scheduled for final exams, May 10.
For the first two exams, you will have a window of availability to take
the exam online. Exam #1 will be available from February 19 (5
a.m.) through February 21 (9.p.m.); Exam # 2 will be available April 1 (5 a.m.)
through April 3 (9 p.m.). Missing
any of the exams will likely result in a failing grade for the course. Please also refer to the “no make-up policy”
in the Rules and Policies section of this syllabus.
Group discussion. Each of you will be required to participate
in five (and only 5) Blackboard discussions related to the LIndsay book. Eight
discussion forums will be posted. You must then write a response to the
question asked in 5 of them by the deadline date posted for each particular
forum. For due dates and questions,
please make certain you have an ASU rite id and have access to Blackboard on My
ASU. Late submissions will lose 20% for the first day and an additional 5% for
each day after.
If
you give a thoughtful and full answer to a forum, you will earn up to 10 points
for each. Usually, it is impossible to
give a critical and analytic response in just a couple of sentences. Take time to think and reflect. Logical writing, grammar, punctuation, style,
and spelling also go into the grade assigned for each forum.
Remember,
about 14% of your entire grade comes from these discussions. Therefore, even if you earned a perfect score
on every exam, you could not do better than a ‘B’ in the course unless you participate.
The
due date for each of the forums is:
Forum #1 February 4 – 5 p.m.
Forum #2 February 18 – 5 p.m.
Forum #3 March 4 – 5 p.m.
Forum #4 March 21 – 5 p.m.
Forum #5 April 1 – 5 p.m.
Forum #6 April 15 – 5 p.m.
Forum #7 April 29 – 5 p.m.
Forum #8 May 6 – 5 p.m.
You
need not wait until the due date to post your response; that can be done
anytime you read the material and feel ready to give a thoughtful answer. If you post more than 5 forums, I will only
grade the first 5 posted.
If I
have any announcements to make, or if class should be cancelled for any reason
(don’t plan on it!), I will post an announcement on the Blackboard. Please make sure you log in and check it
before class. Blackboard is a great
tool, and I say that after being dragged kicking and screaming to learn to use
it. You will find yourself needing it in
several of your classes, so it is best to get used to it now. Computing Commons offers instruction in Blackboard,
should anyone need it.
As in any political science course, we will deal with
topics that are controversial and involve individual and group norms, values
and perspectives. Expressions of competing attitudes, perceptions and
preferences are vital to the maintenance of democratic processes and open
exchange, debate and learning. No
individual, candidate, party or interest has a corner on the market for truth,
virtue or patriotism. Consequently, it is essential that we try to achieve
balance and breadth in our discussions.
No single individual or preference should dominate our exchanges. This
is a college course; it is not an advocacy forum. The norms of common courtesy
and the spirit of tolerance, inquiry and sharing must prevail. If, at any time,
a student feels the discussion is biased or closed, it is the student's
responsibility to articulate this perception to the instructor or to voice
competing positions and preferences in class discussion.
Students are responsible for knowing and following the
withdrawal policy of
No lecture notes will be posted on Blackboard. I expect you to attend class to get your
information. If you miss a class, you
will want to ask other students in the class if they are willing to give you
the notes. It is clear that students
learn best when they are active participants in a class. There will be no opportunities for
extra credit. Make-up exams will be
given only in the event that (1) a student receives prior permission to miss an
exam, or (2) a student can provide a hospitalization form. I can tell you that I took many an exam with
a raging fever and illness and managed to do just fine. Just sit far away from the rest of the class.
Any student requiring accommodation as the result of a
previously documented disability will be granted such in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, the student is responsible for
arranging his/her own accommodation and for notifying the instructor during the
first week of class.
Academic
Dishonesty
Students who commit
an act of academic dishonesty may be subject to various sanctions. The college
has a set of procedures
that a faculty member or the department must follow to initiate such sanctions.
If a faculty member charges you with academic dishonesty, you should
familiarize yourself with the procedures and understand that you have a right
of appeal. You can find the procedures
on the CLAS website:
http://clas.asu.edu/students/roadmap/special/dishonesty.htm
Please note that all
readings are to be completed prior to class time so that you can participate in
discussion. I will not necessarily
lecture on all the material in the text.
However, you are responsible for all material. If you don’t understand a concept, please ask
about it during the class for which the reading has been assigned.
I. Foundations
of Government
January
18 – 20 Overview of
course;
January
25 – 27
February
1 – 8
II.
Institutions of Government
February
10 – 17
Don’t
forget: Exam #1
over Chapters 1 – 5 and lecture materials
Februrary
22 –
March
1
March
3 – 8
March
10 – 24
March
13 – 19 Spring
Break, Classes Excused
III. Political
Behavior
March
22 – 24
Don’t
forget: Exam #2
over Chapters 6 – 9 and lecture materials
March
29 – 31
April
5 -- 12
April
14 – 19
April
21 – May 3
May
10 Final
(Exam #3) 4:40 – 6:30 in SS 229 over
Chapters 10 – 24 and relevant Lindsay articles.