POLS122OnlineSpring2016
POLS122:AmericanGovernmentandPolitics
OnlineCourse
Spring2016
Professor:Dr.MaCherieM.Placide
Email:m-placide@wiu.edu
Telephone:(763)280-0239
Office:
Morgan411A
OfficeHours:ByappointmentonlyviaSkype
COURSEOVERVIEW
ThisonlineversionoftheAmericanGovernmentandPolitics(POLS122)classisan
introductiontothestudyofthegovernmentalandpoliticalsystemoftheUnitedStates.
Itexaminestheinstitutions,processes,functionsof,andactorsinourpoliticalsystem.
Thecourseisdividedintothreemainunits:
•
•
•
UnitOnesurveysthehistoricalandconstitutionalfoundationsofAmerican
government.WewillexploretheevolutionoftheConstitutionalongwithkey
politicaldevelopmentsinourhistory.
UnitTwofocusesonthemajorinstitutionsoftheU.S.nationalgovernment.We
willexaminethestructureandfunctionofnationalpoliticalinstitutions.
UnitThreeanalyzesthepoliticsofordinarycitizens.Wewillassesshowordinary
citizensformopinionsaboutpoliticsandparticipateinthepoliticalprocess.
Asindicatedintheundergraduatecoursecatalog,“thiscoursemeetsthestate
requirementthatallcandidatesforgraduationpassanexaminationontheFederaland
IllinoisStateconstitutions.”Thecoursealsoisrequiredforallstudentswhoseeka
bachelor’sdegreeinpoliticalscience,aswellasforthosewhoaregettingaminorin
politicalscience,publicadministration,and/orinternationalrelations(studentswhose
minorisininternationalrelationshaveanoptiontotakePOLS101:Introductionto
PoliticalScienceclassinlieuofPOLS122).
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POLS122OnlineSpring2016
COURSEOBJECTIVES
Thegoalofthisclassistohelpyoubetterunderstandtheforcesthathaveshaped
Americangovernmentandpoliticssothatyoumaybecomeamoreinformed,
sophisticated,andengagedparticipantintheAmericanpoliticalsystem.More
specifically,itaimstohelpyou:
• Understandtheoriginandconstitutionalunderpinningsofourformof
government;
• Appreciatethemultifacetedstructuresandrolesofournationalpolitical
institutions;
• Comprehendtheprocessbywhichordinarycitizenslearnaboutpoliticsand
publicaffairs,developpoliticalattitudesandpreferences,andarriveatpolitical
decisions;
• Identifytheimpetusbehindtheparticipationofordinarycitizensinthepolitical
process;
• Criticallyandindependentlyevaluateavarietyofpoliticalissuesfacingour
nationandtheworld;
• Developthecapacityandskilltobettercommunicateandexchangeideasand
opinionsaboutthepoliticalworld.
COURSEMATERIALS
Abookrequiredforthecourseis:
Lowi,TheodoreJ.,BenjaminGinsberg,KennethA.Shepsle,andStephenAnsolabehere.
2014.AmericanGovernment—PowerandPurpose(CORE13thEdition).New
York,NY:W.W.Norton.ISBN9780393922455
“AttheWaterCooler”1isaforumset-upatWesternOnlinetopostadditional
currentevent readings that maybeassigned.Ifadditionalreadingsareassigned
theywillbeannouncedatleastoneweekinadvanceandpostedonthe“News”
sectionand“AttheWaterCooler”atWesternOnline.
1“AttheWaterCoolerisalsoset-uptodiscussanyquestionsyoumayhaveregarding
theonlinecoursenotnecessaryrelatedtothecoursecontent.
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POLS122OnlineSpring2016
COURSEREQUIREMENTSANDGRADING
Participation(140points)
Participationinclassdiscussionisrequiredandhighlyvalued.Thecourseincludes13
differenttopics,eachofwhichwillbecoveredinaweek.Overthecourseofthe
semester,youwillthusbegiven13differentsetsofdiscussionquestions—asetof
discussionquestionsoneachofthe13topics.Youareexpectedtochooseandrespond
inaminimumofoneparagraph(ideally,twoormoreparagraphs)toanyoneofthe
discussionquestionsonthetopicoftheweeknolaterthan11:59PMontheSaturday
ofthatweek.Yourresponseshoulddrawinpartonthetext.Youcertainlyarefreeto
citeanddrawonothermaterials(includingpublishedscholarlyarticlesorbooks,
newspaperarticles,orpostsonInternetsites).Butyoushould
NOTsimplycopythetextoranyothersources,butmakeeffortstocomposearesponse
inyourownwords.
Youarecertainlyencouragedtoreacttoanotherstudent’spostandaddasmanyposts
tothediscussionboardaspossiblethroughouttheterm.Youwillbegradedonthe
quantityandqualityofyourparticipation.
Youwillearnupto10pointsforyouroriginalposttooneoftheweeklydiscussion
questionsintheweek(foratotalofupto130points).
Youwillalsoreceive10pointsforyourintroductiontotheclass(foragrandtotalof140
points).Yourintroductionshouldbepostednolaterthan11:59PMonSaturday,
January30th.
WeeklyQuizzes(130points)
Aftercompletingtherequiredreadingassignmentforeachweek,youareexpectedto
takeaweeklyquizby11:59PMonSaturdayintheweek.Theweeklyquizisintendedto
assesshowwellyouhavecomprehendedthereadingsfortheweekandwillconsistof5
multiplechoicequestions,eachofwhichwillbeworth2pointsforatotalof10points.
Eachweeklyquizistocovereachofthe13topicsforthecourse.Youwillreceivezero
pointsonanyweeklyquizzesyoumiss.
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POLS122OnlineSpring2016
Exams(300points)—100pointseachforExam1,Exam2,andExam3
Overthecourseoftheterm,therewillbethree(unit)exams.Theexamswillinclude
multiple-choicequestions.Eachunitexamwillbeworthatotalof100pointsandshould
betakennolaterthan11:59PMontheSaturdayoftheexamweek.Exam3—afinal—
willnotbecumulative.Ifyoumissanyoftheexams,youwillbeallowedtomakeupthe
examONLYduringtheweekofMay8(betweenSunday,May8the,andFriday,May
13the).
Youmayconsultthetextbookoranycoursematerialswhiletakingtheweeklyquizor
theexam.ButyoushouldNOTworkwithanotherstudentintakingthetest,norshould
youshareanyofthequizorexamquestionswithanotherstudent.
GradingScale
528—570points(93-100%) =A
505—527points(89-92%)=A-
504—488points(86-88%) =B+
487—471points(83-85%) =B
470—448points(79-82%) =B-
447—431points(78-76%) =C+
430—414points(75-73%) =C
413—391points(72-69%) =C-
390—374points(68-66%) =D+
373—357points(65-63%) =D
356—334points(62-59%) =D-
Below334points(Below59%)=F
COURSEPOLICIES
GuidelinesforClassCommunication
Thiscourseisdeliveredcompletelyonline.Assuch,allcommunicationsbetweenyou
andtheprofessorandamongstudentsenrolledinthecoursewillbeprimarilydonevia
WIUemail(Icanbebestreachedbyemailatm-placide@wiu.edu)andpostingonthe
discussionboard.However,youmaycontactmebyphoneat(763)280-0239andleave
abriefmessageonmyvoicemailifIamnotavailabletotakeyourcall.Iwillmakeevery
efforttorespondtoyouremail,orcall,withinthe24-48hoursafterIreceiveyour
message.Thatsaid,sinceallcommunicationsinouronlineclassroomarenotdonein
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POLS122OnlineSpring2016
real-time,youshouldnotexpectinstantresponsesfromyourfellowstudentsandme.
Onlinecommunicationcanstillbeaveryefficientandeffectivetoolforexchangingand
sharingfacts,ideas,andopinions.Asyouprobablyareaware,however,ithas
downsides.Itwouldnotbeveryunusualtomisunderstandtheintentofwhatothers
writetoyouorpostonthediscussionboard,sincewrittenwordsandexpressionscan
beparticularlyambiguousandseenascarryingmultiplemeaningsattimes,whenthey
arepresentedwithoutthehelpofnon-verbalgesturesandexpressions.Thus,asa
generalrule,whenyoucomposeamessagetosharewithmembersoftheclass,please
domaintainaciviltoneanddonotusesarcasticandoverlystrongwords.Pleasebesure
totreatyourfellowstudentswithrespect.Allofussharetheresponsibilitytokeepup
decencyinourclassroomcommunications.
AcademicHonesty
PleaserefertotheWIUStudentAcademicIntegrityPolicyat
http://www.wiu.edu/policies/acintegrity.php.Itisyourresponsibilitytostrictlyfollow
thispolicy.
“InaccordancewithUniversitypolicyandtheAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct(ADA),
academicaccommodationsmaybemadeforanystudentwhonotifiestheinstructorof
theneedforanaccommodation.Fortheinstructortoprovidetheproper
accommodation(s)youmustobtaindocumentationoftheneedforanaccommodation
throughDisabilitySupportServicesandprovideittotheinstructor.Itisimperativethat
youtaketheinitiativetobringsuchneedstotheinstructor'sattention,ashe/sheisnot
legallypermittedtoinquireaboutsuchparticularneedsofstudents.Studentswhomay
requirespecialassistanceinemergencyevacuations(i.e.fire,tornado,etc.)should
contacttheinstructorastothemostappropriateprocedurestofollowinsuchan
emergency.ContactDisabilitySupportServicesat298-2512foradditionalservices.”
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POLS122OnlineSpring2016
COURSEOUTLINE
Lowi:Lowi,Ginsberg,Shepsie,andAnsolabehere’sAmericanGovernment—Powerand
Purpose(CORE13thEdition).
Unit1:FoundationofGovernment
Week
Topic
ReadingAssignments
1(1/19—1/23)
FivePrinciplesofPolitics
LowiCh.1
2(1/24—1/30)
Constitution
LowiCh.2
3(1/31—2/6)
Federalism
LowiCh.3
4(2/7—2/13)
CivilLiberties
LowiCh.4
5(2/14—2/20)
CivilRights
LowiCh.5
6(2/21—2/27)
Exam1
NoReadings
Unit2:InstitutionsofGovernment
Week
Topic
ReadingAssignments
7(2/28—3/5)
Congress
LowiCh.6
8(3/6—3/12)
Presidency
LowiCh.7
9(3/13—3/19) SpringBreak
NoClasses
10(3/20—3/26) FederalBureaucracy
LowiCh.8
11(3/27—4/2) Judiciary
LowiCh.9
12(4/3—4/9)
NoReadings
Exam1
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POLS122OnlineSpring2016
Unit3:PoliticsofOrdinaryCitizens
Week
Topic
ReadingAssignments
13(4/10—4/16) PublicOpinion
LowiCh.10
14(4/17-4/23)
Elections
LowiCh.11
15(4/24-4/30)
PoliticalParties
LowiCh.12
16(5/1—5/7)
InterestGroups
LowiCh.13
17(5/8—5/14) Exam3
NoReadings
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