PSC 1113-050 American Federal Government, Fall 2014
Instructor: Allen Hertzke, David Ross Boyd Professor of Political Science
 Office: 231 Cate Center 4 (just south of Cate Food Court), Phone: 405-325-4713
 Office Hours: Tuesday 1:15-2:15 and Wednesday 2:00-4:00, and by appointment or drop-in. Or
catch me hanging out at Cate Main Food Court.
 Democracy Forum: Tuesday: 12:00-12:50, Thursday 12:00-12:50, Nielsen Hall, Room 270
 Email: ahertzke@ou.edu
Boren Teaching Fellows: The Civic Engagement Resource Center, 220 Dale Hall Tower,
405-325-6418
 Dylan Billings: Monday: 9:30-11:30, Tuesday: 1:30-2:30
dylan.billings@ou.edu
 Dillon Byrd: Tuesday: 11:00-12:00, Friday: 10:30-12:30
dillon.P.Byrd-1@ou.edu
 Miranda Canody: Monday: 3:30-5:00, Tuesday 1:30-3:00
mcanody@ou.edu
 Eli Potts: Tuesday: 2:00-4:00, Friday: 11:00-12:00
eli.potts@ou.edu
 Melody Huckaby Rowlett: Tuesday: 9:30-11:30, Friday: 2:30-3:30 melodyrowlett@ou.edu
Course Description:
Government shapes our lives in profound ways, but do we shape it? In human history the ability
of people to influence government -- or protect themselves from it -- has been extremely limited. That
aspiration lies at the heart of the American promise, that citizens can shape their collective destiny and
enjoy liberties enshrined in the Constitution.
But the ability of citizens to do so depends on understanding the system and actively engaging in
it. That's the premise of this course at the University of Oklahoma, to equip citizens and leaders of
tomorrow with the tools they need to sustain healthy communities and influence the course of our
nation, at home and around the world.
This course is focused on critical knowledge and active engagement. Through readings, on-line
interactive, class lectures, and lab discussions we will probe the constitutional origins, evolution,
structures, and challenges of American politics and government. After meeting twice a week in class
forums, students will gather in Democracy Labs with 25 of their fellow students, led by a Boren
Graduate Teaching Fellow, to share, discuss, and engage. The focus of these sessions is handson engagement -- engagement with our civic life, engagement with issues, and engagement with
political information.
Through exercises and readings students will learn what animates fellow citizens to vote, volunteer or
protest, how activists organize and mobilize to influence politics, and how public officials make
laws, balance budgets, or structure elections. Students will be challenged to clarify their own ideas
about good government and see themselves as vital to its realization. Students will engage in a real
world simulation of the challenges and tradeoffs of public policy. Finally, students will learn how to
understand complex political information by conducting their own analysis of government data and
polls, including a survey of the thousand students collectively enrolled in this course.
Our concept is this: by exploring how our system works and providing opportunities for active
engagement, we will help students become informed and active citizens in the great human experiment
called self-government.
Required Readings:
 Joseph Losco and Ralph Baker, Am Gov 2013-2014 with Connect Plus Access Code (McGrawHill, 2013): ISBN 978-0-07-780228-8: NOTE: You can purchase the online text and access
code for less than the hard copy of the book. Further instructions will be provided.
 David Boren, A Letter to America (University of Oklahoma Press, 2008 and 2011).
 Select articles or links for class or discussion groups as posted in D2L.
 I have arranged to create an account to support text purchases in cases of serious hardship.
Grading:
 Connect Plus Assignments 15%
 Democracy Labs
30%
o 5% - Attendance and Participation
o 5% - Letter to President David Boren
o 5% - Report on Civic Participation and Observation
o 5% - Report on Representation
o 10% - Capstone essay answering “What would improve American Democracy?”
 Exam 1
15%
 Exam 2
15%
 Final Exam
25%
Total
100%
Note: Students will receive a percentage grade on each assignment or exam, and the final grade will be
calculated through the weights accorded above. Grading scale for all elements and the overall grade: 90100 A; 80-89 B; 70-79 C; 60-69 D; 59 and below F. In addition to its percentage of the grade, attendance
and participation in both the Forum and Lab will be decisive in borderline cases.
Make-up Policy: For make-up assignments you must have a note from doctor or university authority
regarding illness or family emergency. Late papers will be docked.
University Policies:
Accommodation Policy: The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable
accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations
in this course are requested to speak with the professor as early in the semester as possible. Prior to
receiving accommodations in this course, students with disabilities must be registered with the Disability
Resource Center, located in Goddard Health Center, Suite 166, 325-3852.
Beyond this university policy statement, if anything is impeding your ability to participate fully in this
course, please see the instructor.
Academic Integrity: Academic integrity means honesty and responsibility in scholarship. Professors
have to obey rules of honest scholarship, and so do students. For more information about academic
integrity, including a statement of what constitutes academic misconduct and plagiarism, see OU’s “A
Student’s Guide to Academic Integrity” at http://www.ou.edu/provost/integrity/
Religious Obligations: It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from
religious observances and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of examinations and
additional required class work that may fall on religious holidays.
OU Cares: We want you to succeed, not only in this course but in your career at OU. There are a host
of programs and services aimed at facilitating that success, including tutoring, study skills, counseling,
and financial aid. A great resource to access these resources is the clearinghouse OU Cares:
oucares@ou.edu 405-325-0841.
Course Format:
Class format: We will employ a variety of teaching modalities. There will be thematic lectures, roleplaying presentations, interactive assignments through Connect Plus, and intensive discussion and
engagement through Democracy Labs. Attendance and participation is a must and will be the deciding
factor in borderline cases. Students should come to both Forums and Lab prepared with reflections and
questions about the reading material that you have studied in the week. Even while we critically
analyze issues of the day, our aim is to achieve a level of civil discourse often not found on cable
television or the blogosphere. The premise is that college is a time to think deeply, to learn from others,
to challenge, clarify, and define your own convictions.
Connect Plus: Connect Plus is an online learning tool keyed to our Am Gov textbook from McGrawHill. It is important that all students have a Connect Plus access code in order to use Learn Smart for our
weekly assignments. For each chapter assignment students can take as much time as necessary to
complete the assignment for full credit.
Desire2Learn: In addition to in-class instructions, we will post a copy of this syllabus, announcements,
assignments, select readings, and your grades on the OU educational platform, Desire2Learn (D2L for
short) at https://learn.ou.edu
Course Outline:
Unless otherwise indicated, Learn Smart assignments are due on the date indicated by 10:00 am before
class. There may be occasional adjustments in this outline, and additional short readings, which will be
announced in advance and posted on D2L.
Week
1
Date
Readings
Assignment
Challenges of American
Democracy
Introductions and Discussion
of Challenges
Founding Ideals and
Challenges
Letter to America, Chapter 1
and AmGov Chapter 1
Learn Smart Chapter 1, Due
Noon on Tuesday, August 26.
Thurs. 28-Aug
Visit by James Madison
Federalist #10 and #51
Fri. 29-Aug
Discuss Letter to America
Finish Letter to America
Tue. 2-Sep
Constitutional Structures
AmGov Chapter 2
Thurs. 4-Sep
Debate between Patrick Henry
and Alexander Hamilton on
Liberty and Government
Power
Speech by Patrick Henry and
Federalist #1 (on D2L)
Fri. 5-Sep
Discussion of Constitution
The Constitution of the
United States
Bring a question to Lab about
the Constitution
Tue. 9-Sep
Civil Liberties
AmGov Chapter 4
Learn Smart Chapter 4
Thurs. 11-Sep
Rights and responsibilities
AmGov Chapter 5
Learn Smart Chapter 5
Fri. 12-Sep
Issue Forum:
Tue. 16-Sep
Rights and Opportunities
in American Politics/civil
disobedience
Tue. 19-Aug
Thurs. 21-Aug
Fri. 22-Aug
2
3
4
5
Tue. 26-Aug
Topic
Introduction
Thurs. 18-Sep
6
7
Democracy Lab Project
Tue. 23-Sep
The Imperial Judiciary?
Thurs. 25-Sep
Debate on Gay Marriage and
Religious Freedom
Fri. 26-Sep
Discussion of Representation
Tue. 30-Sep
Public Opinion
Fri. 3-Oct
8
In-lab Issue Forum exercise
MLK, Letter From
Birmingham Jail, on D2L
In class writing exercise
Exam 1
Fri. 19-Sep
Thurs. 2-Oct
Letter to President Boren:
2-3 pages double spaced
Learn Smart Chapter 2,
Due 10:00 am.
Presentation on
Ideology and Polarization
Understanding and Evaluating
Political Information
AmGov Chapter 14 and
Federalist #78
Learn Smart Chapter 14
Report on “Who Represents
You?” 2-3 pages.
AmGov Chapter 6
Learn Smart Chapter 6
The Big Sort
Analysis of survey results
Tue. 7-Oct
Voice and Participation
AmGov Chapter 7
Learn Smart Chapter 7
Thurs. 9-Oct
Debating Lobbies
AmGov Chapter 8
Learn Smart Chapter 8
No Labs – Fall Holiday
Fri. 10-Oct
9
10
Tue. 14-Oct
Congress and Representation
Thurs. 16-Oct
Is Congress Broken?
Fri. 17-Oct
Lab project
Tue. 21-Oct
Media and Campaign Ads
Thurs. 23-Oct
Fri. 24-Oct
11
Tue. 28-Oct
Thurs. 30-Oct
12
13
Learn Smart chapter 10
Exam 2
Report on “Who Represents
You?” 2-3 pages.
Discussion of Representation
The Presidency in a
Separated System
International Lenses on the
American President
AmGov Chapter 12 and
Federalist #70
Learn Smart Chapter 12
Learn Smart Chapter 9
Tue. 4-Nov
Parties and Elections
AmGov Chapter 9/ Election
Day
Thurs. 6-Nov
Inside campaigns
Featuring political consultants
Fri. 7-Nov
Democracy Lab Project
Voting behavior
Tue. 11-Nov
Bureaucracy and Federalism
Am Gov Chapter 13
Learn Smart Chapter 13
AmGov Chapter 3
Learn Smart Chapter 3
Am Gov Chapter 15
Learn Smart Chapter 15
Guest Lecture by Local
Elected Representatives
Discussion of State and
Local Government
Tue. 18-Nov
Policy Making and the Budget
Thurs. 20-Nov
Dueling Economists
Fri. 21-Nov
Budget Simulation
Tue. 25-Nov
Discussion of Education
Policy and Challenges
Fri. 28-Nov
No Lab- Thanksgiving Holiday
Tue. 2-Dec
America’s Global Leadership
Thurs. 4-Dec
Last Forum: State of the
Union
Fri. 5-Dec
Thurs. 8-Dec
Capstone Essay: “What
Would Improve American
Democracy?”, 4-5 pages.
No Forum – Thanksgiving Holiday
Thurs. 27-Nov
16
AmGov Chapter 10
Discussion of the Presidency
Fri. 14-Nov
15
Learn Smart Chapter 11
Fri. 31-Nov
Thurs. 13-Nov
14
AmGov Chapter 11/
Federalist # 57,62,63
AmGov Chapter 16
Finals Prep
Final Exam 1:30-3:30 pm
Learn Smart Chapter 16