SYLLABUS
American National Government
POLS 201; CRN: 10660
Harlan Hall 222
TTH: 9:30-10:45 a.m.
FALL 2013
Dr. Magdaleno Manzanárez
Global Resource Center, 201
Phone: 538-6634
manzanarezm@wnmu.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesdays: 11-12noon &
by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an introductory course to American government and politics. The main
purpose is to provide you with a general understanding of the American national
government and of our political system. It is my intention to underscore the
importance of knowing why and how government affects the individual and viceversa. In order to achieve these goals we are going to examine several political
institutions and processes. You are expected to keep abreast of current events to
engage in meaningful class discussions.
COURSE OUTCOMES
It is expected that by the end of course you will have a general
 Ability to identify, describe, and explain how human behaviors are influenced
by social and political structures, institutions, and processes within the
contexts of complex and diverse communities.
 Ability to articulate how beliefs, assumptions, and values are influenced by
factors such as politics, geography, economics, culture, biology, history, and
social institutions.
 Ability to describe ongoing reciprocal interactions among self, society, and
the environment.
 Ability to apply the knowledge base of the social and behavioral sciences to
identify, describe, explain, and critically evaluate relevant issues, ethical
dilemmas, and arguments
We will address these competencies as we examine:
1. The American System
a. By studying political democratic theory and its influence in creating our
republic
b. By learning about the main ideas found in our Constitution
c. By learning about federalism
2. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
a. By examining civil liberties and civil rights both in historical and
contemporary application
3. Political Processes
a. By learning about public opinion and political socialization
b. By learning about interest groups and political parties
c. By learning about the campaigns, nominations, and elections and their
links to the media and cyber politics
4. Political Institutions
a. By learning about the major political institutions in our society: the
congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and the courts
5. Public Policy
a. By learning about the processes involved in the formulation and
implementation of domestic, economic, and foreign policy
PRACTICUM IN SERVICE LEARNING/CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
The combination of theoretical knowledge and its practical application has a double
purpose for this class. One such objective is to enhance your learning experience
by applying the rigor of theoretical critical thinking to specific “real-life” situations.
This process of thinking about issues and taking action to help understand and
resolve them will give you a strong handle on our political system. Consequently,
the act of applying theory to practice will go a step further for it is also intended to
promote your civic engagement. We will accomplish these twin objectives by
completing the class work as explained below and by working on a political project
outside the classroom. This last part is what we call service learning/civic
engagement. The specific requirements will be discussed in class and additional
written material will be shared with you.
REQUIRED TEXTS AND OTHER READING MATERIAL
Losco, Joseph & Baker, Ralph (2013-2014). AM GOV. New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill. [3rd Edition] ISBN-13: ISBN-13 9780077409937
Stinebrickner, Bruce (2014). Annual Editions, American
Government 13/14. [43rd Edition]. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
ISBN-13 9780078136139
Other readings as assigned.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
You are expected to:
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Take three exams.
Participate in all class debates.
Write a reflection paper.
Write essays
Participate in class discussions.
Participate in service learning project.
Keep up with current political events.
Read assigned material.
Exams
All exams will be combination of essay and multiple choice questions. The
essay portion of the exam will be assigned 70 percent of the grade while the
multiple-choice section will be worth 30 percent of the grade.
Current Events Debates
Readings and Debates
As noted above you are required to read all the assigned material.
Additionally, there might be other readings that are not listed in the syllabus.
As you know the political world is a fluid one; therefore it is imperative to stay
on top of current events to help us understand these changes and patterns.
Aside from the weekly readings specified in the syllabus, each group is
required to write a debate position paper on the assigned topic to use as
basis for the classroom debate.
FORMAT
 Length: One page
 Font: 11 or 12
 Margins: One inch (left, right, top, and bottom)
 Single-spaced
(Follow the instructions for logical reasoning found in our course
homepage in Canvas).
Reflection paper
You are expected to write a three pages (single-spaced) reflection paper.
Instructions about style and other specific requirements will be addressed
during class time.
ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE
Your performance in this course will be assessed based on the quality of overall
participation during the semester. Your participation in this context is defined by
the tasks mentioned above under course requirements. To quantify your semester
performance a final grade will be assigned to your work based on the total number
of points earned in each of the required tasks.
Points
Attendance
50
Participation
50
Debates
100
Writing Assignments
50
Service Learning Meetings and Preparation 50
Service learning Forum
150
Reflection paper
50
Three exams
300 (100 point for each exam)
TOTAL
800 points
Final Grades Calculation
90-100%
80-89
70-79
60-69
<59
A
B
C
D
F
SCHEDULE
DATE
Aug
Sep
TOPIC
READINGS
20 The American People
Losco & Baker: Chapter 1
Stinebrickner’s Annual
Editions:
Article 1
22 The American People
Project Overview
Losco & Baker: Chapter 1
Stinebrickner’s Annual
Editions:
Article 2
27 The Constitution
(Research topic)
Losco & Baker: Chapter 2
Stinebrickner’s Annual
Editions:
Article 2
29 The Constitution
(Choose topic)
Losco & Baker: Chapter 2
Stinebrickner: Article 11
3
Federalism
Project Update
(Choose date for forum)
Losco & Baker: Chapter 3
Stinebrickner: Article 3
5
Federalism
Losco & Baker: Chapter 3
Stinebrickner: Article 4
10 Civil Liberties
Losco & Baker: Chapter 4
Stinebrickner: Article 13
12 Civil Liberties
Losco & Baker: Chapter 4
Stinebrickner: Article 14
17 Civil Rights
Losco & Baker: Chapter 5
Civil Rights articles: DuBois &
Washington
[Canvas]]
19 Civil Rights
Losco & Baker: Chapter 5
Civil Rights articles: King &
Douglass [Canvas]]
24 Exam I
Oct
26 Public Opinion & Political
Socialization
Losco & Baker: Chapter 6
Stinebrickner: Articles 6 & 10
1
Political Participation
Losco & Baker: Chapter 7
Stinebrickner: Article 47
3
Interest Groups
Losco & Baker: Chapter 8
Stinebrickner: Article 42
8
Interest Groups
Losco & Baker: Chapter 8
Stinebrickner: Article 41
10 Political Parties & Political Campaigns
Losco & Baker: Chapter 9
Stinebrickner: Article 34
15 Political Parties & Political Campaigns
Losco & Baker: Chapter 9
Stinebrickner: Article 40
17 The Media
Losco & Baker: Chapter 10
Stinebrickner: Article 45
22 The Media
Losco & Baker: Chapter 10
Stinebrickner: Article 43
24 Exam II
Nov
29 The Congress
Losco & Baker: Chapter 11
Stinebrickner: Article 21
31 The Congress
Losco & Baker: Chapter 11
Stinebrickner: Article 22
5
The Presidency
Losco & Baker: Chapter 12
Stinebrickner: Article 19
7
The Presidency
Losco & Baker: Chapter 12
Stinebrickner: Article 18
Dec
12 The Bureaucracy
Losco & Baker: Chapter 13
Stinebrickner: Article 32
14 The Bureaucracy
Losco & Baker: Chapter 13
Stinebrickner: Article 31
19 The Judiciary
Losco & Baker: Chapter 14
Judicial Review: [Canvas]
21 The Judiciary
Losco & Baker: Chapter 14
Stinebrickner: Article 27 & 28
3
Public Policy
Losco & Baker: Chapter 15
Stinebrickner: Article 54 & 55
5
Foreign Policy
Losco & Baker: Chapter 16
Stinebrickner: Article 59
10 EXAM III
7:30-9:30 a.m.