PS 101-020 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT – SUMMER 2008
Instructor: Jason Kehrberg, M.A.
Class Time: M-F 8:00am – 9am in CB 304
Email: jkehrberg@uky.edu
Web Page: http://sweb.uky.edu/~jekehr2/
Office Hours: 1618 POT, T &W 9am to 10am (Please check 1622 POT if I am not at my desk).
Course Summary: This is an introductory course in American government, thus it provides a general overview of American politics. We study American institutions, behavior, and other areas that impact American politics. American institutions include the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial), the U.S.
Constitution, and federalism. American behavior examines public opinion, elite behavior, media, and elections. The course is designed around five lectures a week, with opportunity for class discussion of reading material and current events.
Textbooks. There are two required texts for this course.

Shea, Daniel M., Joanne Connor Green, and Christopher E. Smith. 2007. Living
Democracy: Brief National Edition . Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
(Referred to as “DS” hereafter.

Serow, Ann G. and Everett C. Ladd. 2007. The Lanahan Readings in the
American Polity (4 as “AS” hereafter). th
Edition). Balitmore: Lanahan Publishers, Inc. (Referred to
Grading.

Exam 1 – 20% of final grade.

Exam 2 – 20% of final grade.

Exam 3 – 20% of final grade.

Final Exam – 30% of final grade (April 30 th
at 1pm).

Class Participation and Quiz grades – 10% of final grade.
Grades: Your final grade is determined as follows: A= 90-100, B= 80-89, C= 70-79, D=
60-69, E 0-59. This course is not graded on a “curve.”
Make-up Exams & Quizzes: All exams will be multiple-choice. Each student is responsible for bringing a no. 2 pencil with them for each exam. All quizzes will not be announced, thus they are “pop” quizzes. They are to encourage individuals to read the material and attend the lectures. I will give at least 6 quizzes and drop the lowest two quiz grades.
The final exams and midterm exams will be allowed to be made-up if the student schedules it with me in advance of the exams , or if the student can provide a University approved reason ( i.e. personal medical emergency). An unexcused absence will result in a zero for that assignment.
All make-up exams will be short identification and essay exams. Since I drop the lowest four quiz grades, I will not allow people to make-up quizzes.

The University considers the following as excused absences: illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the student's immediate family; death of a member of the student's immediate family; University sponsored trips; or major religious holidays. If the absence is due to a foreseen reason, written verification will be required at least one week before the scheduled exam. Permission to miss an exam must be secured before the scheduled exam time unless the cause of the absence is unforeseen. For an unforeseen absence, it is your responsibility to contact me ASAP by either email or in person no later than one week following the exam. All makeup exams will be held the week after the exam at a pre-set time.
Incompletes: I do not give incompletes, except for University approved reasons. See school guidelines.
Course Policies.
Lectures: I do use PowerPoint presentations for lectures. These will be posted on the course webpage within a week of the lecture. The PowerPoint slides are not a substitute for class attendance. They are general outlines of the material presented and do not contain all of the material discussed during the lecture. I will not post notes or slides from class discussions.
Reading: All material listed on this syllabus is required and should be read by every student. All material covered in the reading material and lectures are eligible to be on a quiz or exam, even if the material is not discussed in class .
Students with Disabilities: Please inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester if you need assistance so that adequate arrangements can be made. Students must be registered with the Students Disability Resource Center.
Academic Honesty: Cheating and plagiarism are unacceptable. Students are expected to do their own work. A student found cheating or plagiarizing will be reported and dealt with under the University Senate Rule 6.4 DISPOSITION OF CASES OF ACADEMIC
OFFENSES.
Course Schedule.
All items in the course schedule are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
All changes will be announced in class and posted on the course webpage, but it is your responsibility to keep up with any and all changes.
Introduction: 6/6
1. Democracy: Chapter 1 “DS”, Mills “The Power Elite” and Dahl “Who Governs” from “AS”; 6/9; 6/10.

2. Discussion: Primary System; read Scala “Stormy Weather” in “AS” 6/11.
3. Constitution: Chapter 2 “DS”, Hofstadter “The American Political Tradition”,
Madison “The Federalist 10” and Kammen “The Machine that Would Go of Itself” in
“AS”; 6/12 and 6/13.
4. Discussion:
Guinier “The Tyranny of the Majority” in “AS”; 6/16.
5. Test #1: Review day 6/17; Test #1 6/18.
6. Federalism:
Chapter 3 “DS”, Elazar “American Federalism” and Madison “The
Federalist 39 and 46” in “AS”; 6/19, 6/20.
7. The Judiciary:
Chapter 4 “DS”, Hamilton “The Federalist 78”, Rostov “The
Democratic Character of Judicial Review”, and O’Brien “Storm Center” in “AS”; 6/23,
6/24, and 6/25.
8. Discussion: Judicial decision-making, Scalia interview. 6/26.
9. Civil Liberties: Chapter 5 “DS”, Alderman and Kennedy “In Our Defense”, Glendon
“Rights Talk” in “AS”; 6/27, 6/30.
10. Discussion: Civil Liberties: Rimmerman “From Identity to Politics” and Kettl
“System under Stress” in “AS”; 7/1.
11. Test #2: Review day 7/2; Test #2 7/3.
12. Congress:
Chapter 6 “DS”, Mayhew “Congress: the Electoral Connection”, Fenno
“Home Style” Binder “Stalemate”, and Ellwood and Patashnik “In Praise of Pork” in
“AS”; 7/8, 7/9.
Class Cancelled: 7/4, 7/7
13. The Presidency:
Chapter 7 “DS”, Neustadt “Presidential Power and the Modern
Presidents”, Cronin and Genovese “The Paradoxes of the American Presidency”,
Rimmerman “The Rise of the Plebiscitary President”, and Heclo “A Government of
Strangers” in “AS”; 7/10, 7/11, 7/14.
14. Discussion: Presidential Expectations and Constitutional Power. 7/15.
15. Public Opinion:
Chapter 10 “DS”, Key “Public Opinion and American
Democracy”, Jacobs and Shaprio “Politicans Don’t Pander” in “AS”; 7/16, 7/17.
16. Discussion: Lippmann “The Phantom Public” in “AS”; 7/18.
17. Test #3: Review day 7/21, Test #3 7/22.

18. Media:
Chapter 10 “DS”; 7/23
19. Elections: Chapter 12 “DS”, Jamieson “Dirty Politics”, Ansolabehere and Iyengar
“Going Negative” in “AS”; 7/24, 7/25
20. Discussion:
Wattenberg “Where Have All the Voters Gone?” in “AS”; 7/28.
21. Political Parties: Chapter 13 “DS”, Burnham “Critical Electins and the Mainsprings of American Politics”, Black and Black “The Rise of Southern Republicans”, White
“The Values Divided” in “AS”; 7/29, 7/30.
22. Final Exam: Review day 7/30; Final Exam 7/31.