Political Science 10, Fall 1998
Office Hours: Monday, 1:30 - 4:30 pm; Tuesday, 2:30 - 4:30 pm; Thursday, 2:30 - 4:30 pm; and by appointment
(afternoons only)
COURSE OVERVIEW: This course is intended to introduce you to the institutions, policies, and processes which comprise the American political system. There are three basic questions to be addressed:
• What is the relationship between the government and "the people", and does it live up to the ideals of democracy?
• Why should we care about any of this?
AREA E: Because this course satisfies the Area E requirement for Curriculum I, particular attention is paid to the nature of the political institutions that comprise our governmental system, and the actions of individuals within these institutions. The interplay between these two factors is most crucial to understand; thus one goal of the class is to demonstrate how political scientists study government and why some choose to focus on institutions and rules, while others focus on people, their behavior and attitudes.
BOOKS: All of these are or will be available in the Book Mark for purchase.
Burns, Peltason, Cronin, Magleby, Government by the People, Brief Second Edition
(comes with a free study guide and free Internet guide)
Thomas et al., Back from the Dead: How Clinton Survived the Republican Revolution
CLASS FORMAT AND ATTENDANCE: Your instructor will do a good deal of talking, but this is not strictly speaking a lecture course. A typical class will not only cover material you have read, but go beyond to ask why it matters and to elaborate on important topics the books do not cover. For every major topic covered, we will also have some sort of in-class exercise to further illustrate the themes. I ask a lot of questions, and your participation is welcome and encouraged. Be prepared to state your opinions and defend them to your peers, respecting their views even (especially!) if you strongly disagree with them. Attendance and class participation do not factor directly into your grade. However, given the class format described above, it is most wise to attend class regularly. You should definitely plan on attending quiz days (see quizzes section below for details).
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS: GRADING SCALE:
Quizzes - best 10 out of 11 15% A = 92.500 average and above
First exam (October 5) 20% A- = 90.000 through 92.499
Second exam (November 6) 20% B+ = 87.500 through 89.999
Research paper (due November 25) 20% B = 82.500 through 87.499
Final exam (December 15) 25% B- = 80.000 through 82.499
grades C+ and lower calculated on same scale;
minimum avg. for passing (D) = 60.000
QUIZZES: There will be 11 short quizzes in the course of the semester, usually on Fridays and always at the start of class. Each quiz will cover reading material for that particular week. At the end of the semester, I will drop your worst quiz grade in determining grades (thus 10 out of 11 count). Quizzes cover major points of the assigned reading and consist of multiple choice questions.
Missing Quizzes: If your absence from class on a quiz day is excused (e.g. you are sick or otherwise have cleared your absence with me in advance whenever possible), you may take a make-up quiz as soon as possible upon your return, OR you can skip that quiz (thus you will count 9 of 10 quizzes, rather than 10 of 11). If your absence is unexcused (e.g. no advance notification, you oversleep, etc.), you will receive a 0 for that quiz and this score will not be dropped from your quiz grade.
EXAMS: The two class exams and the final will each cover about one-third of the course. The final exam will cover the last third of the course, plus one question that is more cumulative in nature (this is why it is worth more than the first two exams). The exam questions will be a combination of short paragraphs and short essays (no multiple-choice). Before each exam I will distribute a study guide with specifics about question formats and themes for you to study in advance.
PAPER: Although this course is not a writing (W) course, improvement of your writing skills is a goal of the course. The paper will be 6-8 pages in length (it can be longer), discussing a topic of your choosing. The final pages of this syllabus discuss the research paper in detail.
ACADEMIC HONESTY: Violations of academic honesty destroy all we strive for as a community of learners. The penalty for violations such as plagiarism, cheating, or other misconduct will be at least a grade of 0 for that assignment. This policy is fully consistent with the Gustavus Academic Honesty Policy, described in full in the College Catalog, page 31.
TOPICS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND DUE DATES
It is expected that reading assignments be done in advance of the dates when they will be covered. This will make your life much easier, and you will get more out of class as well.
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the U.S. Constitution QUIZ: none this week |
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W - Federalist #10, Federalist #51 (Burns book, pp. 451-455) F - Burns ch. 2 QUIZ: Friday, September 18 (Burns ch. 1) |
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W - Burns ch. 3 F - continue Burns ch. 3 QUIZ: Friday, September 25 (Burns ch. 2) |
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W - Burns ch. 5 F - continue Burns ch. 5 QUIZ: Friday, October 2 (Burns ch. 5) |
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W - none/Nobel Conference F - Burns ch. 6 EXAM: Monday, October 5 QUIZ: not this week! |
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W - Burns ch. 7 and 8 F - continue Burns ch. 8 QUIZ: Friday, October 16 (Burns ch. 7) |
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W - continue Burns ch. 9 F - none/no class - fall reading break PAPER TOPICS: due Wednesday, October 21 QUIZ: Wednesday, October 21 (Burns ch. 9) |
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W - Thomas, intro and pp. 1-78 F - Thomas, pp. 79-116 QUIZ: Friday, October 30 (Thomas book, pages to be announced) |
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W - Thomas, pp. 174-end F - none/exam EXAM: Friday, November 6 QUIZ: Wednesday, November 4 (Thomas book, pages to be announced) |
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W - continue Burns ch. 10 F - more Burns ch. 10 PAPER OUTLINE, ETC. - due Friday, November 13 QUIZ: Friday, November 13 (Burns ch. 10) |
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W - continue Burns ch. 11 F - more Burns ch. 11 QUIZ: Friday, November 20 (Burns ch. 11) |
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W - more Burns ch. 12; Federalist #78 (Burns book, pp. 455-457) F - none/no class - Thanksgiving break PAPER DUE: Wednesday, November 25 QUIZ: none |
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W - continue Burns ch. 13 F - Burns ch. 14 QUIZ: Friday, December 4 (Burns ch. 13) |
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W - Burns ch. 15 F - none/final exam review QUIZ: Wednesday, December 9 (Burns ch. 14) |
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(This is based on the preliminary final exam schedule, and may change) |
RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Your task is to write a 6-8 page research paper addressing some topic in the area of U.S. government and politics. The topic itself is up to you; at the end of this document you will find a brief list of some things that students have chosen to write about in the past. They are only suggestions. Generally, I would suggest that you choose something that you have found interesting from class, from readings, or from your own experiences.
Your grade for this paper will be based on the following criteria:
STRENGTH OF ARGUMENT and CONTENT (most important):
A good paper addresses a specific topic, issue or question; gives a theme, point of view, or answer through a clear, concise thesis statement; and presents evidence in support of the thesis. A good paper also considers and rebuts major arguments from an opposite point of view; i.e. if a paper argues that the death penalty is wrong, it should at least mention reasons why some people think it is acceptable, and respond to those reasons. Finally, a good paper does not merely list or recite what other people have written; it interprets and analyzes the thoughts of others and puts its own personal interpretation on such thoughts.
MECHANICS (also quite important):
The paper should be typed and double-spaced. It should be carefully proof-read for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. All sources used should be properly cited (either with footnotes, endnotes, or citations in the text), and the paper should have a bibliography listing all works consulted.
SOURCES (necessary):
Feel free to use any and all class readings or notes in writing. But -- your paper must include at least three sources not utilized in class. Publications such as Newsweek and Time are ok but should not be relied upon for the bulk of your outside sources - have something besides news magazines, in other words. The same holds true for internet sources. Library personnel and/or your instructor can assist you in locating appropriate source materials for your paper.
Plagiarism is defined as the use of ideas or words not your own without crediting the actual author or source of those words or ideas. It is your responsibility to give credit where credit is due. The safest general rule is - when in doubt as to whether or not you should cite a source, CITE IT. Systematic failure to adhere to these guidelines will result in failure of this assignment. If you are unsure on any aspect of this, please consult me.
A GENERAL STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS:
Generally speaking, an "A" paper covers a topic well, presents a clear theme and evidence to support your argument, is well written and has well chosen, properly documented sources.
A "B" paper covers a topic, presents a theme but may not be completely logical or organized in presentation of supporting evidence, has writing problems or is somewhat sloppy in presentation, and has the bare minimum of sources or fails to properly cite some information.
A "C" paper has no consistent theme, may not cover a topic in much depth, has logical or organizational flaws, has significant writing problems, and has a bare minimum of sources and no consistent citation of sources.
"D" papers fail even to reach these low achievements.
IMPORTANT DATES (required; failure to meet them will result in a slight grade reduction on the final product)
Start thinking about paper: as soon as possible!
Turn in and/or discuss paper topic to/with Prof. Gilbert by: Wednesday, October 21 (just before Fall Break)
Rough outline of paper, list of sources due: Friday, November 13 (Note: if you have a rough draft (text) by this point, that is fine too, I will be happy to read it and offer suggestions)
Papers due: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, by 5 pm, at my office (in other words, before you leave for Thanksgiving break); you may turn in the paper earlier as well.
LATE PAPER/LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY:
All these deadlines are absolute unless you and I discuss in advance specifically why you cannot meet them. I realize that circumstances (e.g. illness) sometimes prevent you from completing the assignments on time, despite a good-faith effort on your part to do so. Requests for extensions will be handled on a case-by-case basis. "Too much work for other classes" is not a valid excuse for requesting an extension -- plan ahead now for the time you will need to complete the assignments for the paper. If you complete the first two assignments on time, you should have little difficulty finishing the paper on time. Late papers without approved extensions will be penalized one letter grade (10 points) each day.
POSSIBLE TOPICS:
- Bias in the mass media; the role of the media
- The role of money in American politics
- Why participation in politics and elections is so low (perhaps in comparison to other countries)
- A specific issue such as capital punishment, abortion, the environment, education, gun control, foreign policy
- Should members of Congress be limited in their number of terms?
- Is the president too powerful?
- Should the U.S. have more than two political parties?
- Third parties in U.S. politics
- A specific election or appointment (Clarence Thomas, for example)
- A specific interest group or government agency (e.g. John Birch society, CIA, FBI)
- Freedom of speech, freedom of religion
- Scandals, particularly comparisons between two or more scandals
These are conventions and styles normally used when writing about U.S. government. Please observe them and write accordingly!