GOVERNMENT 2302
AMERICAN and
SUMMER 2008 INTERNET
Instructor:
Dr. Terry Spurlock,
LOGGING IN TO YOUR E-COURSE
To log in to Trinity Valley Community College’s internet courses go to https://ecourses.tvcc.edu or click e-Courses on the TVCC homepage.
If you were enrolled in an internet class (e-Course) in the fall 2007 semester and created an 8-digit, strong security password, you may continue using that password. If you were not enrolled in an e-course in the fall 2007 semester, read the following instructions for logging in to your e-Course.
The log in and password information has changed. The new log in and password will now be the same. (Example log in: doej1234, Password: Doej1234), except the first letter will be capitalized on the password. Log in using your last name, first initial and last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. If you are a VCT student, use the last four digits of your college-issued ID. Upon initial login, you will have to create an 8-digit password that conforms to the strong password security requirements. If you don’t, you will get these error messages until you comply.
1. Please enter a password with at least 8 characters.
2. Your password does not meet the strong password requirement. It must include 3 of the following types of characters: Uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. For example: Pa55w*rd.
HOW TO SETUP E-MAIL RETRIEVAL OF FORGOTTEN PASSWORDS
Once logged in, on your homepage where your courses are listed, click on My Settings (upper right hand corner), this will open your My Profile page. Click on Edit Profile and enter your email address, click SAVE. This will take you back to your My Profile page. Click on Change Password, the Change Password page opens. Enter your current password and then create a new 8 digit secure password (see above), enter your new password again. Next, you will need to create a secret question, such as: What is my pet’s name? or What city was I born in? Enter the correct answer to your secret question. When you are through, click on SAVE. Now, if you forget your password, you can retrieve it through your e-mail account.
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
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, 2008) ISBN: 0-618-41067-5
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. All communication about the course will be within the course shell.
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 password must be entered before you can begin the exam. After the password has been entered by the proctor, click “begin exam”.
3. TVCC
students may test at Terrell (LRC), Palestine (LRC), or
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. Usually you will have several days to take an exam before the expiration of the deadline. Only under the most extraordinary circumstances will missed exams be made up.
Approaches to Learning
The
Challenge of Democracy 9ed. is a general textbook about government and
politics in the
Texas Politics Today 13ed. is a traditional structural look at Texas government. We will use it in conjunction with the American government book.
Methods of Evaluation
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 three times 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 and Practice Tests
Study guides are available within the WEBCT course shell.
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. The exemplary objectives for this course
are:
1. To
comprehend the origins and evolution of
2. To analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on the area under study.
3. To
understand the evolution and current role of the
Assessment: Satisfactory completion of these objectives (1, 2, and 3) will be demonstrated by the students earning a grade of 70 or more on the mid-term, final exam and the chapter quizzes covering these topics.
4. To analyze, critically assess, and develop creative solutions to public policy problems.
5. 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, and by obtaining information through the news media and other appropriate information sources about politics and public policy.
Assessment: Satisfactory completion of objectives 4 and 5 will be demonstrated by the students receiving a passing grade on short essays covering areas of civic responsibility
Course Objectives*
The course content includes, but is not limited to, the following objectives:
1. Acquire a general knowledge of the nature, scope and purpose of American government.
2. Understand the structure and organization of the national government.
3. Appreciate the responsibilities of the Congress, the presidency, the federal courts, and the bureaucracy in policy development and implementation.
4. Understand the relationship between government and individual right and liberties
1. Acquire a general knowledge of the
nature, scope and purpose of
2. Understand
the structure and organization of
3. Appreciate the responsibilities of the state legislature, the governor, state courts, and the bureaucracy in policy development and implementation.
4. Acquire an understanding of the problems facing cities and counties.
5. Understand the relationship between government and individual rights and liberties
*
More specific learning objectives for each lesson are listed in the individual
study guides.
GOVERNMENT 2302
CALENDAR
JUNE 2: JANDA: CHAPTER 11, 12 AND 14.
TAKE CHAPTER
QUIZZES
JUNE 9: JANDA: CHAPTERS 17 AND 18
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES
JUNE 16: CHAPTERS 19 AND 20
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES
JUNE 23: MID-TERM EXAM
MAXWELL: CHAPTERS 6, 7 AND 8.
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES
JUNE 30: MAXWELL: CHAPTERS 10, 12 AND 13.
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES
JULY 7 AND 8: FINAL EXAM
ESSAYS
1ST ESSAY: Committees: The Workhorses of the Congress. Go to the Thomas site (http://thomas.loc.gov/) to complete the following exercises. Scan the home pages for the Committees of the House and the Senate, noting the jurisdictions of the committees you have chosen to view. (Hint: If you look on the left side of the page you will see House and Senate hyper links.) Click on them to take you to the committees. Read their jurisdictional summaries. Note in particular the role and jurisdictions of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. While the jurisdictional domains of these committees appear relatively short compared to the other committees in the Congress, many members of Congress and Congress-watchers consider Appropriations one of (if not the) most powerful committees in either chamber. How could that be given that the list describing its jurisdiction is so short? Write a short essay (no more than two pages) explaining your answer.
2ND ESSAY: The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (WCPD), published by the Office of the Federal Register, contains statements, messages, and other Presidential materials released by the White House during the preceding week. Essentially, whenever the president utters words in public or acts in an official capacity, it is recorded and compiled into this publication, which is eventually reprinted as the Public Papers of the President. All of the editions of the WCPD for President Bush's tenure are maintained on the web by the National Archives and Records Administration at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html. (Look on the left side of the page for the link). Go to this website and retrieve the tables of contents of the four issues of the WCPD for January 2007. (See the "Search Tips" link on the web page for instructions on how to do this.) Write a short essay (no more than two pages) on how do the activities listed in these tables of contents illustrate the many roles that the president plays, such as a policy leader, political and party leader, and a potential shaper of public opinion?
3RD ESSAY: Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) describes itself as a single-issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health care program. The organization maintains a web site, which is located at http://www.pnhp.org/. Go to the PNHP web site and review its mission statement. Then follow the group's basic information link to obtain a fact sheet on the single-payer national health program that it supports. Write a short essay (no more than two pages) on how does this reform proposal differs from the current health care programs-Medicare and Medicaid-that the United States has today? What evidence from the past suggests that politically, the single-payer approach would be an extremely difficult one to pass in the United States?
4TH ESSAY: TERRORISM. What are some of the goals of terrorist acts? How can terrorism affect democracy? How can/should democracies respond? Must security come at the price of liberties? How can democracies, particularly the United States, deal with new restrictions imposed as a result of terrorist acts/threats? Answer the questions in essay form. No more than two pages. Grammar is important.
5TH ESSAY: Criminal Justice in Texas. Write a two page
essay on the issue of crime and punishment in Texas. How does Texas rank in the
number of prisoners, use of the death penalty, and in the success of the system?
Is the system working, and is it working for all Texans equally? Give examples
to support your arguments.