LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY
PS 130 State and Local Governments
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 3:00 – 4:00 PM
Tuesday and Thursday
10:30 AM – Noon
and by appointment
E-Mail: rconboy@lssu.edu
Dr. Richard Conboy
Fall 2004
2004215 Library
Tel. 635-2339
Course Description and Objectives
At this time, state and local governments are experiencing great pressures and stresses due to the
economic and political conditions facing the country, and especially Michigan. Difficult decisions are
being made concerning budget cutbacks and fundamental changes in such policy areas as criminal
justice, education and health care. This course concentrates on the institutions, politics, processes,
people and policies of state and local governments that are involved with making those decisions. It
focuses on government at the grassroots level--those governments and programs that directly affect
our daily lives. The policy areas that we will study include the criminal justice system, educational
policies, environmental issues, and economic development.
The goals of this course include:
1) providing an understanding of the essential institutions and procedures of state and local
governments;
2) describing and analyzing the important, current political issues associated with state
and local governments;
3) providing opportunities for the students to apply various theories through research projects,
computer simulations and in class writing assignments and discussions;
4) presenting some of the basic concepts of political science in the context of state and local
governments;
5) familiarizing the students with resource materials for conducting research in political science;
6) developing critical thinking techniques in analyzing political issues.
Course Requirements
Three examinations @ 100 points
Four quizzes @ 10 points
Analytical paper
Class participation
Two public meeting papers @ 20 points
1
300 points
40 points
20 points
100 points
40 points
--------------
Total
500 points
The following scale will be the basis used to determine your final grade:
Points
Grade
460 - 500
420 - 459
380 - 419
340 - 379
0 - 339
A
B
C
D
F
Textbook
Bowman and Kearney. State and Local Government, New York: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 2002.
Examinations
There will be three examinations in this course. Each examination will only cover the material
covered since the previous examination. They will be short answer examinations. The dates for the
five quizzes are noted in the schedule. The questions will be taken primarily from the text; however,
some questions will be on material discussed only in class. Scantron answer sheets will be needed
for the examinations, but not the quizzes.
If you require special conditions for taking the tests or quizzes, please contact me so a suitable
format can be arranged. Requests for test make-ups are to be submitted to me prior to the exam
date, when possible. If needed, the makeup examination will be given on the next class day. No
make-ups will be given for the quizzes.
Analytical Papers
These papers will require you to access Internet sites associated with a specific state or local
government and compare the quality of the sites. You should select sites that are of interest to you,
that have multiple or extensive Internet sites, and that are related to topics being covered in the
course. Local newspapers that are online are very useful sources of information about
communities. You will be asked to select a jurisdiction within the first two weeks of the course and
follow the developments in that community for at least one month.
The Learning Center is also available to help you in developing your papers. You should organize
your papers using the following format:
• cite the name of the jurisdiction and the locations that you are examining
• explain how the site is related to the topic in the text
2
• describe the information provided at the site
• compare or contrast the range of sites that are related to your jurisdiction
• what do these sites say about the jurisdiction?
Limit your analysis to three pages, typed, double spaced. Provide edited print outs of the sites with
your paper.
Political Meeting Paper
This requirement requires you to attend or observe and report on a political meeting. Some
examples of local meetings that would satisfy this include: city or county commission, board of
education, court trials, planning or zoning boards, the LSSU Board of Regents, local political party
meetings, student senate meetings, MGTV (the equivalent of C-SPAN at the level of the Michigan
state government) and Court TV. All of these provide a wide range of possible offerings. Other
possibilities include meetings conducted in your hometown or that you view on TV. Your paper is to
be limited to one typed page.
Your paper should include the following elements:
•
identify the meeting
•
describe who was in attendance
•
explain the topics discussed
•
describe how the meeting was conducted (e.g., was an agenda available, were there any
points of conflict, were votes taken, were there any comments from the public, were you
asked why you were attending)
Explain how the meeting compares with the text; for example, did the meeting provide an example
of democracy in action. Include, if possible, any documents handed out at the meeting and a
description of whether the meeting was covered by the media. You may find it valuable to interview
one of the participants at the meeting. You may also want to read or view the media coverage given
the meeting and compare that with your own view of the meeting.
General Comments
Outside speakers will be scheduled for the class time. Please make every effort to attend class on
these days and participate to the fullest possible extent, e.g., by asking questions. Various articles
will be distributed during the term and some will also be placed on reserve in the library. You will be
responsible for reading these
All of your written work will be evaluated on both the quality of its content as well as how it is
expressed. Proper grammar, spelling and punctuation will help your grades.
3
The penalty for plagiarism is a failing grade for the course.
Your attendance in class is necessary for your class participation grade.
.
Schedule
Week
Chapter
Topic
1
1
Where is state and local government today
2
2
Federalism
3
3
State constitutions
*First Meeting Paper due
4
4
Citizen participation and elections
5
5
Political parties, interest groups, and campaigns
*First Exam
6
6
State legislatures
*Second Meeting Paper due
7
7, 8
Governors, budgets and services
8
9
Judiciary
*Second Exam
9
10, 11
Structure of local government and leadership
10
12, 13
State-local relations and finance
*Analytical Report on Jurisdictions Due
11
15
Education policy
12
16
Criminal justice system
13
14, 18
Environmental policy and economic development
14
Final Examination on material covered since
the second exam.
4