GOVERNMENT 2301

AMERICAN and TEXAS CONSTITUTIONS

INTERNET

Instructor:Dr. Terry Spurlock, Gibbs Building, A131. Office Hours: Not applicable. Office Phone: 903.675.6259; Home Phone: 903.675.7277.Cell: 903.477.0120. E-mail: mailto:tspurlock@tvcc.edu.

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Scope and Emphasis

Do people need government? If so, why? What desirable goals—if any—can government achieve that individuals cannot achieve by themselves? What is the U.S. and Texas’s government’s record in furthering these goals? 

This course grapples with these questions while surveying the broad and complex subject of American and Texas government and politics. This is difficult to do in one semester, especially when students vary greatly in their understanding of national, state and local politics. I will try to make the subject clear to those with little preparation while challenging those who already know a good deal about American politics.

 

In this course, you will analyze politics in the U.S. using five major concepts: freedom, order, equality, majoritarian democracy, and pluralist democracy. These concepts form the core of our main text: The Challenge of Democracy. We will attempt to analyze Texas politics using the same concepts. 

 

Reading Assignments

The weekly reading assignments in your texts will be substantial (averaging about 50 pages a week) but not overwhelming. Assigned readings will are referenced in your syllabus. It is essential, therefore, that you read the assigned material in advance of the tests. Those who do not will be wasting their time and tuition money. The readings, study guides and any additional material posted will figure prominently in the course’s exams. 

 

Texts 

 

Kenneth Janda, Jeffrey Berry, and Jerry Goldman, The Challenge of Democracy, 9th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008) ISBN: 978-0-618-81017-8
 

Maxwell, et.al. Texas Politics Today, 13th ed. (Thomson Learning, 2008) ISBN: 978-0-495-410676

 

Participation

Students should post to the discussion board if they have a question or problem with the course that other students might  help them answer. You should also send one e-mail to the instructor per week. All communication about the course will be within the course shell.

 

Testing

1. Mid-term and final exams must be proctored. Quizzes are not proctored. Proctors will have a password that will allow you to begin testing.

2. You cannot directly sign in to the exam. Click the title of the exam. The proctor will then enter the password. After the password has been entered by the proctor, click “begin exam”.      

3. TVCC students may test at Terrell (LRC), Palestine (LRC), or Athens (Testing Center or at night, in the LRC)

4. VCT students must test at their testing centers. Proctor passwords will be sent to the listed testing contact. If your home college has branch campuses, proctor passwords will be sent to all listed testing contacts.

 

Missed Exam

Students are expected to take exams as scheduled. Only under the most extraordinary circumstances will missed exams be made up. 

 

Approaches to Learning

The Challenge of Democracy is a general textbook about government and politics in the United States. While it does not argue any particular ideological position, it specifically analyzes politics along two ideological dimensions of value conflicts: between the values of freedom and order on the one hand, and between freedom and equality on the other. The book also invites students to evaluate government in terms of two models of democracy: majoritarianism and pluralism. Its aim is to get you to think about what values government ought to pursue and the ways that government should decide how to pursue those values.

 

Practicing Texas Politics is a traditional structural look at Texas government. We will use it in conjunction with the American government book.

 

Grading

Your grade will be based on your performance on the midterm and final examinations (50%), the assigned essays (25% and the chapter quizzes (25%).  Chapter quizzes may be taken twice and the highest score will be used to average for grades. Under Essays, you will find 5 assignment topics. You choose 4 of the 5 to write about. (You may skip one, but the deadlines apply.)

 

Study Guides

Study guides are available within the WEBCT course shell.

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OUTCOMES and OBJECTIVES

COORDINATING BOARD CORE CURRICULUM EXEMPLARY OBJECTIVES (OUTCOMES) FOR SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES.

 

The objective of a social and behavioral science component of a core curriculum is to increase students' knowledge of how social and behavioral scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events, and ideas. Such knowledge will better equip students to understand themselves and the roles they play in addressing the issues facing humanity.

 

1.      To comprehend the origins and evolution of U.S. and Texas political systems, with a focus on the growth of political institutions, the constitutions of the U.S. and Texas, federalism, civil liberties, and civil and human rights. Assessment: Satisfactory completion of this objective will be demonstrated by the students earning a grade of 70 or more on the chapter quizzes and the two major exams covering these topics.

2.      To recognize and assume one’s responsibility as a citizen in a democratic society by learning to think for oneself, by engaging in public discourse, by obtaining information through the news media and other appropriate information sources about politics and public policy. Assessment: Satisfactory completion of this objective will be demonstrated by the students receiving a passing grade on short essays covering areas of civic responsibility.

 

Government 2301 Course Objectives*

United States Government

1. Acquire a general knowledge of the nature and scope of the purpose, the structure, and the organization of the national government. 
2. Understand the significance and importance of the U.S. Constitution as it reflects the culture, values, and expectations of the people in changing times. 
3. Acquire an understanding of problems solved through intergovernmental relations in the system of federalism 
4. Develop knowledge about the potential for individual involvement in the political community to affect policy
5. Develop a basic knowledge of political parties and interest groups and how they impact policymaking
6. Understand the relationship between government and individual liberties.

 

Texas Government

 

1. Acquire a general knowledge of the nature and scope of the purpose, the structure, and the organization of the state's government 
2. Understand the significance and importance of the Texas Constitution as it reflects the culture, values, and expectations of people in Texas.
3. Acquire an understanding of the problems facing cities and counties. 
4. Develop knowledge about the potential individual involvement in the community and in the states’ government. 
5. Develop a basic knowledge of political parties and interest groups and how they impact policymaking. 
6. Comprehend the task of government to provide rights for all Americans. 
7. Develop an understanding of the relationship between government and individual rights and liberties 

 

* More specific unit learning objectives for are listed in the individual study guides.

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 GOVERNMENT 2301 UNITS

Essays may change as the political climate changes.

 

PART I: Dilemmas of Democracy

            Unit I: Political Theory

Janda: Chapters 1and 2.

Maxwell: Chapter 1.

Chapter Quizzes. _________________________________

1st Essay: Idealog. Maximum grade: 25. Due date: _____________

Instructions: Go to Idealog.org. (http://idealog.org.) Click on Run Idealog. Do the Introduction and Tutorial to familiarize yourself with the purpose of the Idealog test. Next, click on the Self-Test. After answering the 20th question, STOP!

Hold down the CTRL key and click on the Print Scrn key. Open a document and paste (CTRL + V) the idealog into it. Now write a short essay about your placement on the Idealog grid. No more than two pages. Grammar counts. Once finished, upload the file in the assignment area and it will automatically come to me. if you do not know how, go to the help menu and find out.

 

PART II: Foundations of American government 

Unit II: Constitutionalism, Federalism and Local Governments

Janda: Chapters 3 and 4

Maxwell: Chapter 2

Chapter Quizzes: ___________________________________

2nd Essay. Charting the Health of American Democracy

Maximum grade: 25. Due date:____________________________

Instructions: League of Women Voters "Charting the Health of American Democracy" The League of Women Voters, founded in 1920 as an outgrowth of the suffragist movement, is one of the nation's premier political education and advocacy groups. The League is non-partisan and neither supports nor opposes candidates for office at any level of government. Recently, the League's concern with the state of democracy in the United States led it to publish a report entitled Charting the Health of American Democracy. Go to the League's home page, located at http://www.lwv.org/, and find the online version of this report. (Type Charting the Health of American Democracy in the search box). Read the sections entitled "Introduction-The Diagnosis" and "Summary." Does the League appear to be focusing its attention and efforts on concerns about the state of majoritarian or pluralist democracy in the U.S.? List a few examples from the Introduction and / or the Summary to illustrate your answer.

 

PART III: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Unit III: Civil Liberties and Civil Rghts

Janda: Chapter 15 and 16

Chapter Quizzes: _________________________________________

3rd Essay: School Vouchers. Maximum grade: 25. Due date:____________________

Instructions: Public school vouchers are one of the most controversial school reform issues on the political agenda today. Two groups that have opposing views on this issue are the National Education Association (NEA), and the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation for School Choice.

* Go to the NEA's web site at http://www.nea.org/ and click on Issues in Education. Next select Vouchers. Read this short piece.

* Then go to the Friedman Foundation's page at http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/. Following the link to "about school choice" will allow you to locate a series of frequently asked questions about school vouchers.

* How could a citizen who is against vouchers argue that vouchers sacrifice equality in an ill-fated attempt to promote individual freedom?

* How could a citizen who is pro-voucher argue that opposing vouchers sacrifice freedom and are an ill-fated attempt to guarantee equality?

 

Midterm: Units I, II and III.

 

PART IV: Linking People with Government.

Unit IV: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

Janda: Chapters 5,6 and 7.

Maxwell: Chapter 3.
Chapter Quizzes: …___________________________________________

4th Essay:  Where Do You Fit? Maximum grade: 25. Due date: ___________________

Instructions: Chapter Five: Public Opinion and Socialization: Where do you fit? The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press is an independent research group that studies public attitudes toward the press, politics, and public policy issues. The Center's "Where do you fit?" feature allows citizens to provide information about their personal values and attitudes, partisan leanings, and involvement in politics in order to place themselves among one of ten groups of American citizens. Go to the Center's "Where do you fit?" feature on the web. Read over the descriptions of the ten groups that the Center has identified. Based on your reading, which group do you identify with most? Least? Why? Next, follow the link to the "Where do you fit?" questionnaire and fill it out. Do you obtain the same result that you predicted for yourself? If not, was the result close to what you predicted? If the result of the quiz did not match your prediction, identify at least one question that you would add to the questionnaire in order to improve its accuracy. http://people-press.org/fit/fit.php3.

 

Unit V: Campaigns, Elections, Parties and Groups
Janda: Chapters 8,9 and 10..

Maxwell: Chapters 4 and 5
Chapter Quizzes:______________________________________________________

5th essay: Party Ideology Essay. Maximum grade: 25. Due date: __________________.

Instructions: Party Ideology in the US Congress.  Professor Keith Poole is a political scientist at the University of San Diego and formerly at the University of Houston who has devoted much of his career to studying the ideological orientations of the political parties in Congress. He maintains a web site at http://pooleandrosenthal.com with animations of some of his research based on a measurement that he has developed called "Nominate Scores." These scores essentially calculate the ideological orientations (i.e. liberal to conservative) of members of Congress based on their roll call voting record. Go to Professor Poole's site, click on "NOMINATE Data, Roll Call Data, and Software" under his picture. Once the next page loads, scroll down to "animated gifs". Here you will find a link to animated "gif" files of Congress from the 1800s to the present. Run the "One Dimensional Animated Gif for the 46th to 105th Houses" file to observe how the ideological characteristics of the parties have changed over time. Based on the animation, what would be your overall conclusion about the ideological differences between the parties? Looking specifically at the periods from roughly 1954 to 1978 and 1988 to 1998, would you conclude that the parties have become more or less ideologically polarized? Write a short essay explaining your answer.

 

Final Exam: Units IV and V.