PSC 120-103 Syllabus
Class
Participation
In-class
Quizzes
Take-Home
Essays
American Political System
Tu. & Th., 11:20-12:50
Autumn 2010
990 Fullerton Avenue, Rm. 2404
DePaul University
Christopher Ball
Adjunct Lecturer
Dept. of Political Science
Email: CBALL5@depaul.edu
Office Hours: after class & by appt.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/uspoldepaul
Website: http://ampolsys.wordpress.com
Blackboard site: https://oll.depaul.edu/
Voicemail: 773-325-1453
Precis
This course examines national politics in the United States of America. It explores the origins of U.S. political institutions and the ideological, economic, and social factors that have affected those institutions over time. It studies in closer detail how these factors and institutions influence contemporary politics. The course will also explore the political thought of the Founders of the U.S. and their critics, and the supporters and critics of contemporary institutions.
Requirements
All students should be prepared to participate in class discussions based on readings and on lectures. Profound orations are not necessary, but thoughtful questions and comments are.
The goal is a colloquy, not a shouting match. Participation on the Blackboard discussion forum counts toward the participation grade, as does substantive discussions during office hours. Participation is worth 20% of the course grade.
There will be seven, in-class, short-answer quizzes. The quizzes will be administered at the end of class on most Tuesdays, beginning 21 Sep. The days on which there are quizzes are noted with a “°” on the schedule below. I will issue a set of questions on the Thursday prior to the quiz. The questions on the quiz will be a sub-set of those questions. Students will be graded only on the top five quizzes. Each of the five is worth 6%, totaling 30% of the course grade. This scoring system permits students to miss two quizzes without any grade penalty.
There will be 3 take-home essays based on topics that I present. The third one will be the final exam. They count for 50% of the course grade and are weighted progressively: the first essay is worth 10%; the second one is worth 20%; and the final one is worth 30%. If a student does poorly on the first essay, the student can drop that grade and rely solely on the other two essays for the 50% of the course grade. Alternatively, if a student does poorly on a later essay, he or she can substitute 10% of the grade on that essay with the better grade on the first essay. Plagiarism is punished by failure for the course.
A choice of topics for the essays will be presented a week before the essays are due, along with detailed guidelines for writing the essay. The first two essays should each be 1500-2000 words long. The third essay should be 2000-2500 words long. The first essay is due in class on 5 Oct.
, and the second essay is due in class on 4 Nov.
The final-exam essay is due on the scheduled exam day at 5 pm. Late papers will not be accepted without prior arrangements and for good cause.

Readings
PSC 120-103 Syllabus
The following books were ordered for the course:
Jones, Charles O. The American Presidency: A Very Short Introduction . Oxford University
Press, 2007.
Kenski, Kate. The Obama Victory: How Media, Money, and Message Shaped the 2008
Election . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Maisel, L. Sandy. American Political Parties and Elections: A Very Short Introduction .
Oxford University Press, 2007.
Rauchway, Eric. The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction .
Oxford University Press, 2008.
Ritchie, Donald A. The U.S. Congress: A Very Short Introduction . New York: Oxford
University Press, 2010.
Troy, Gil. The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction . Oxford University Press,
2009.
The should be available at the bookstore and on reserves at the library. They can also be ordered from on-line sellers (for used copies) and from Oxford University Press.
Schedule of Readings
9 Sep. 28° & 30 Sep. (°Quiz #2)
Introduction
14 Sep.
Founders on the Founding
Federalist Papers
Penn #2
, #10 , #51
Anti-Federalist Papers, Brutus #1
The Constitution (as ratified)
, William
Congress and its Discontents
Ritchie, chaps. 3-5
Rauchway, chaps. 2-3
5° & 7 Oct. (°Quiz #3 & 1 st essay due)
The Ascendancy of the Presidency
Jones, chaps. 4-7
Rauchway, chaps. 4-5
16 Sep.
Making Democracy Work?
Selections from Alexis de Tocqueville,
Democracy in America
• Of the Uses which the Americans
Make of Public Associations.
• Of the Relation of Public Associations and the Newspapers.
• Relation of Civil to Political
Associations.
21° & 23 Sep. (° Quiz #1)
The Politics of Republic Building
Jones, chaps. 1-2
Ritchie, chap. 1
Maisel, chap. 1
12° & 14 Oct. (°Quiz #4)
Parties, Campaigns & Elections, I
Maisel, chap. 2
Ritchie, chap. 2
Jones, chap. 3
Rauchway, chap. 6-7
19° & 21 Oct. (°Quiz #5)
Parties, Campaigns & Elections, II
Maisel, chaps. 3-7
26° & 28 Oct. (°Quiz #6)
The 2008 Campaign & Election, I
Kenski, et al, chaps. 1-4 (skim chaps. 5-10)

PSC 120-103 Syllabus
2 & 4 Nov. (no quiz; 2 nd essay due 2 Nov.)
The 2008 Campaign & Election, II
9°, 11 & 16 Nov. (°Quiz #7)
Reagan Revolution in Retrospect
Kenski et al, chap. 11-13
Final Essay Due on Scheduled Exam Day at 5 pm
Troy, chaps. 2-5, 7-8