POL 1201: American Government and Politics
World Wide Web Course
Summer Session II
June 25 - July 27, 2007

Professor: Greg Thorson
Phone: (320)589-6208
Office Hours: 1:30-2:30pm  Mondays and Wednesday
Email: gthorson@morris.umn.edu
Personal WWW Page:  http://www.mrs.umn.edu/~gthorson/index.html

Who Should Take This Course?
    This course has been designed for both lower division college students as well as academically strong, college-bound, high school students who are interested in politics.  In addition to covering many of the traditional areas in American politics, we will also take time to discuss current political events.

Course Description
Part I: The Process
This course is quite unusual in that students will have their choice as to whether they want to take the course entirely on the web, meet occasionally in class, or meet more frequently in class. The Summer 2007 administration will be the 14th time that I have offered this course with substantial content on the web.  I have really enjoyed offering it to students throughout the Midwest .  The course will be conducted much like a traditional course in that I will assign readings from selected textbooks, give short video lectures, and write three tests for you to take.  But unlike the traditional classroom, it will also allow you to attend lecture anytime that is convenient for you, watch the lectures anywhere that has a multimedia computer, and allow you to discuss the issues that are interesting to you with virtually unlimited amounts of time and space.  For students that want to attend class occasionally, that option is also available! I think that this course features just as much interaction as the courses that I teach entirely on campus.  Let me explain how the course will work in more detail..
    First, the course will feature approximately one video lecture per day (total of 25 lectures).  These lectures will be delivered over the World Wide Web.  The courses are encoded both using Windows Media and Quicktime software, so you may want to download the latest software at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/default.aspx or http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/.  Both players are free.  You should watch the video clips during the week that we cover the assigned topic.  The length of each video clip varies, but the average length is about 20 minutes.  In the lecture, I will try to set the context for the readings that are assigned for the week, as well as pose some questions that I think are important and that we should discuss.
    Second, you will need to actively participate on the discussion board.  I will ask some important questions that recur in American politics, and I encourage you to either respond to them directly, respond to another student's response, or ask a separate question yourself.  Because there are no time or space constraints, I would like you to work at making postings that are both well reasoned and well written.  Try and make your position as clear as possible.  Try to avoid simply stating your conclusions.  Build strong arguments.  It is good practice for the future! Alternatively, students can choose to attend class and discuss the video lectures together. We will develop those dates early in the term.
    Finally, you will need to take three exams.  Unfortunately, they will all be closed book and closed notes :-).  You may either take the exams in class or solicit a proctor to administer your tests.  For those of you who choose to take the exams outside of class, I will give you directions so that you can download and mail-in proctor verification forms early in the semester to ensure that this process goes as smooth as possible.  Watch for announcements about the proctor selection process during the first week of class.

Part II: The Substance
    This course serves as an introduction to both the institutions (Congress, the Presidency, and the Judiciary) and the processes (Elections, Media, Public Opinion, etc.) of American government. We many times refer to these introductory courses as "survey" courses. In this class, we are going to "survey" a very wide range of different topics, all of which are classified under American politics.  We will read directly from many of the most famous texts published about each topic.
    You should know that for each of the areas that we cover in class, there exists a substantial amount of literature that reveals interesting aspects of each of these subfields. This class will serve as menu of sorts that will allow you to sample various subfields of political science. You may choose to take more American Politics courses as a result of your interests.  Most university political science department offers courses in virtually all of the subfields introduced in this class.
    One of the most effective (and fun!) ways to learn about politics is to pay close attention to current political events. I encourage you to discuss not only the readings but also current events while on the discussion board.  I would like you to actively watch and read about current American politics. Specifically, I encourage you to sample the following news sources: the evening nightly network news (5:30pm CT), The Jim Lehrer News Hour (PBS-6pm and 11pm CT), Inside Politics (CNN-7:30pm CT), the Charlie Rose show (PBS-10:00pm CT), the Larry King show (CNN-8:00pm CT), and C-SPAN 1 and 2.  I would also recommend that you browse the morning newspaper each day, or access the World Wide Web for the latest news (see my homepage for some good sources at http://www.mrs.umn.edu/~gthorson/index.html).  One of my goals is to have you get caught up in the day-to-day events of today's politics arena.  If you do, it will be much easier for you to follow political events when the course is finished.  You will recognize many of the important political players and will likely be able to predict some of their behavior based on your knowledge of American politics.

Textbooks:

There are two primary textbooks that are required:

Edwards, George C. III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry.
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy (Brief Edition). New York: Longman.

Woll, Peter. American Government: Readings and Cases.
New York: Harper Collins.

If you are a high school student in Minnesota, the books will be purchased for you and mailed out quickly.

Grading:

Final grades for the course will be based on your performance in the following areas:
First Exam: 25%
Second Exam: 25%
Final Exam: 25%
Participation in Class or Discussion Board (Student Option): 25%

Exams

The exams will be closed book and be composed of multiple choice, matching and/or short essay questions. They will be proctored. 

Academic Honesty:

All of the exams are closed book and closed notes. You are not to consult with any materials during your tests. In addition, the exams are not collaborative. You are not allowed to talk with anyone during the exam period.

Course Outline:

This course outline serves as a guideline. It is quite likely that we will deviate substantially from the assigned dates. Nevertheless, you can expect that we will cover the topics in the assigned order. The exam dates, on the other hand, are firm. The exams will cover topics covered up until the exam dates.

June 25: Introductions and Technology Check

June 26-28:  The Origins of Our Constitution
Edwards, Chapters 1 and 2
Woll, Readings 1 through 5
    Key Articles:
        John Locke -- Second Treatise, Of Civil Government
        John P. Roche -- The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action
        Charles Beard -- Framing the Constitution
        James Madison -- Federalist 47, 48, and 51

June 29 - July 3: Federalism
Edwards, Chapter 3
Woll, Readings 6 through 13
    Key Articles:
        Alexander Hamilton -- Federalist 16, 17
        James Madison -- Federalist 39

July 4-9: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Edwards, Chapter 4
Woll, Chapter 14 through 25
    Key Articles:
        Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
        Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1955)
        Engel v. Vitale (1962)
        Roe v. Wade (1973)

First Exam:
You should take the first exam between July 9th and 10th.

July 10-13: Congress
Edwards, Chapter 10
Woll, Chapters 58 through 66
    Key Articles:
        Morris P. Fiornia -- The Rise of the Washington Establishment
Lawrence C. Dodd -- Congress and the Quest for Power
        Richard Fenno -- If, as Ralph Nader Says, Congress Is "The Broken Branch," How Come We Love
             Our Congressmen So Much?"
        Nelson Polsby -- "Congress-Bashing for Beginners"
        David Mayhew -- Congress: The Electoral Connection
        Richard Fenno -- Home Style and the Washington Career

July 16-18: The Presidency and the Bureaucracy
Edwards, Chapters 11 and 12
Woll, Chapters 46 through 57
    Key Articles:
        Richard Neustadt -- Presidential Power
        James David Barber -- The Presidential Character
        Aaron Wildavsky -- The Two Presidencies

July 19-20: The Judiciary
Edwards, Chapter 13
Woll, Chapters 67 through 74
    Key Articles:
        Alexander Hamilton -- Federalist 78
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
        John Roche -- Judicial Self-Restraint
        William Brennan -- For "Loose" Construction

Second Exam:
You must take the second exam between July 20th and 23rd.

July 23-24: Political Parties and Interest Groups
Edwards, Chapters 7 and 9
Woll, Chapters 26 through 45
    Key Articles:
        James Madison -- Federalist 10
        E.E. Schattsneider -- Party Government
        David Mayhew -- Divided We Govern
        V.O. Key -- Pressure Groups

July 25-26: Public Opinion, Campaigns, and Elections
Edwards, Chapter 5 and 8

July 27: Media and Politics/Public Policy
Edwards, Chapters 6, 14-16

Final Exam:
You should take the final exam between July 26th and 27th.