Political Science 495
Dr. Fairlie
Internship in Local Politics
Spring 2013
Office hours: Tuesday 2:00 - 3:00 and Wednesday: 3:00 – 3:30 and by appointment
Office phone: 594-6278
Office: AH 4146
If you feel ill, please do not come to class. Go to Health Services. Take care of yourself and
your classmates. Please do not come to office hours if you do not feel well.
ELIGIBILITY. This course is open to seniors who are Political Science majors. All internships
must be approved before work can begin. After getting approval, you may begin field work in the
vacation period immediately preceding the semester of your enrollment. This course is staffed
during spring and fall semester but not during the summer or winter break when it is not on the class
schedule.
COMMUNICATION: You may receive notices via Blackboard. For that reason, using a Rohan
e-mail address is a course requirement. If you do not have a SDSU Rohan address, log in to
Webportal. Click Get a Rohan e-mail account. Make sure to enter this new address into Webportal.
It will take 4 – 6 hours to be recorded. This advice appears in the Blackboard website under Student
Support. Look in Frequently Asked Questions for the question from students who are not receiving
e-mail from faculty.
If you are sending e-mail, be sure to put the course number, Pol. Sci. 495, in the subject
line. I do not reply to e-mail on weekends.
FIELD WORK HOURS. All internships must be approved before work is begun. All
students must submit the Field Work Application Form. Any student who does not have an
approved internship will receive an automatic F in the course. The only proof of approval is
completion of the Field Work Application form which will be kept on file.
80 hours of field work are required. The rest of the time you spend on the course will be
devoted to attending class, library research, writing your papers and commuting to your field work.
In order to find the internship best suited to you, please make an advising appointment with the
professor. Based in part on the discussion during the advising appointment, students choose their
own internships within the following guidelines: Internships should be done off-campus in San
Diego County and must be done for organizations that have a paid staff member in an office (in
contrast to volunteers who work from their homes). Frequently, students choose internships that are
closely related to their career interests. Some examples of previous internships include offices of
interest groups, political campaign firms, government agencies, the judicial system or offices of
elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. Be sure that you choose an internship with an
organization which has a full-time employee and a business office with work hours that are
acceptable to you. This is to your advantage because, in principle, it increases the chance of getting
a supervisor who can send in your grade forms on time and provide you with sufficient guidance so
that you can have a valuable learning experience and leave at the end of the semester with a good
letter of recommendation from a recognized organization.
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FIELD WORK GRADES. Several people play a role in making sure that your field work grades
are received in a timely manner so that you can receive your final grade on time. The student’s
responsibility is to fill in COMPLETELY the information requested on the black and white
Department enrollment form which will be distributed in class. You are asked for your own
address and phone number and the complete address and phone number of your supervisor.
If your supervisor has a business card, please staple it in the section which asks for supervisor
contact information. You must turn in this form to the professor when you turn in your first
paper. Department office staff will mail the form to your field work supervisor with a letter
thanking them for giving you an internship opportunity. Field work supervisors will be asked to
evaluate you after the completion of each third of your field work. Each of the three reporting
periods counts for 10% of the course grade. As a whole, field work counts for 30% of your grade.
Grade forms are submitted by supervisors once, at the end of all field work. The form submitted
will show the three grades, one grade for each third of your work. In the rare cases in which the
supervisor gives a grade of zero for all three reporting periods, the student will receive an automatic
F grade for the course. If you do not like the grade a supervisor gave you, you may not ask that a
different supervisor submit the grade, so BE SURE that the name you submit as supervisor is the
accurate name for all three reporting periods. The reports are mailed by the Department to the
Supervisor and returned by the Supervisors to me. Students do not handle the grade forms after
they fill out the address of the student and the supervisor and turn in the form. Supervisors are
asked to grade you with a numerical score ranging from 0-100 for each third of the course. The
grading scale is A 93-100; A- 90-92; B+ 87-89; B 83-86; B- 80-82; C+ 77-79; C 73-76; C- 70-72;
D+ 67-69; D 63-66; D- 60-62; F 0-59. They are asked to use the following grading standards which
are published in the undergraduate catalog: A outstanding achievement, available only for the
highest accomplishment; B praiseworthy performance, definitely above average; C average-awarded for satisfactory performance--the most common undergraduate grade; D minimally
passing; less than the typical undergraduate achievement; F failing
UNIVERSITY COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The university requires that all students who are doing some part of their course work off
campus must sign the “Warning, Waiver and Release of Liability” form. This will be done in class
on the first day. If you are not present on the first day, it is your obligation to sign the form as soon
as possible.
ACADEMIC WORK. Because the internship is accepted in place of the senior thesis and 500 level
courses, a comparable level of academic work is required. Two essays, each with four pages of
written text, are required in this course.
Attendance Attendance will be taken at specified class sessions. If you hope to do well
on essays, you must attend specified mandatory classes and you should be bringing in your work for
review at various stages during class consultation sessions. All class consultation sessions will be
held in the classroom. Be sure to check both in class and on Blackboard for the correct class
meeting room. The following GRADE PENALTIES will apply in the case of absence from
mandatory classes: during specified class periods attendance will be taken. If you are not present or
do not have an acceptable excused absence, your grade on the next paper due will be lowered by
one grade increment. For example, if you are absent during one of the specified sessions and you
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later receive a grade of B+ on the next paper, your grade will be lowered to B. If you are absent for
another session, an additional penalty will be applied to the next paper that is due and the same
penalty will be deducted for each absence from a specified session.
Absence excuses: The following are examples of legitimate documentable absences:
illness requiring the aid of a medical doctor, death in the family, mandatory military duty, a
conflicting university-sponsored activity such as a sports team competing out of town or an
emergency which can be documented, such as a car accident or required military or job duty which
cannot be rescheduled.
Required documentation: Any absence from mandatory class sessions requires
documentation from an appropriate professional such as the Student Health Center in case of
absence for medical reasons. A note from a family member or friend is not acceptable
documentation.
Family occasions are not grounds for excused absences. Examples of family
occasions which are not excused absences include but are not limited to the following: sister’s
wedding, brother’s family gives birth to a child, grandparents’ wedding anniversary etc.. Be sure to
check with your friends and family regarding these matters before you decide to remain in this
course.
Student Learning Objectives:
Purpose of essays: The purpose of the essays is to analyze your field work experience
within the intellectual context of academic research that is relevant to your field work. Depending
on your field work experience, you may be reading and analyzing research from fields such as
political science, public administration, criminal justice, sociology, or psychology.
Grading standards and advice on writing a good paper:
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After you have received a grade on a paper, you may never re-write it for a higher
grade. If you want feedback, bring in a rough draft before you submit the paper for a
grade. Don’t wait until the last office hour before the due date, because if there are a lot
of students, it may not be possible to answer all of your questions in the specified time
frame.
Your objective in writing the paper is to compare your own experience with the
research findings published by scholars who have studied situations similar to your field
work experience. Your essay should be exploring why your experience is similar to or
different from the findings reported in academic literature.
In the essays, you are assigned to integrate on each page both academic literature,
meaning scholarly books and articles, and your field work experience. Academic
literature and field work should be equally balanced on each page.
o Both essays must have both of these components.
o To find current academic books and articles in the literature,
 pay close attention and take excellent notes during class.
 consult the bibliographies at the end of chapters in text books and library
resources as a starting point.
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use additional advice on use of library resources for these assignments
(given during our class session with a librarian.)
be careful to be sure that you are using scholarly publications as opposed
to things such as chat groups on the Internet. Do not cite dictionaries and
textbooks in your paper. You may want to refer to them to help you use
footnotes and bibliography to locate research materials but in your papers
use peer-reviewed academic literature which is as close as possible to your
own field work situation. For advice on finding peer-reviewed literature see
class and go to the Library website. Go to Research and look for the section
on “Finding articles (especially peer-reviewed and scholarly ones).”
Academic literature you study must have a level of analysis comparable to
your field work. If you are working in a City Council office, you should be
looking at academic literature for U.S. cities. Do not choose academic
journals published in foreign countries because their cities are not
necessarily comparable with ours. If you are working in a county office or a
state govt. office, choose literature about how your level of government
works. The same applies for internships in offices of elected officials in the
U.S. House of Representatives or Senate. Be sure you have literature that is
a correct match from this level of analysis perspective. If you are working
in an unusual internship such as SANDAG, an inter-governmental
organization, be sure to talk with the instructor about appropriate academic
literature. If you have questions, ask during weekly class consultation
sessions. Use several academic sources on each page. Sources such as
newspapers, magazines, interviews, textbooks and trade journals may be
used as supplementary materials but do not substitute for academic sources.
Papers which only discuss field work or use sources limited to the internet,
newspapers and magazines etc. and do not include the required library
research including books and scholarly articles will receive an F.
include in your paper quotations (and appropriate citations of them) from
books and articles which illustrate why the book or article has made a
contribution to your intellectual understanding of your internship field site
and how it fits comparatively with comparable campaigns, judicial systems
etc.. (Caution: be sure not to include quotations which are so vague or
general that they could apply to almost any internship and/or could have
been written by almost any author. Examples: Do not include quotations
which say things like: “The author claims that leaders often have more
power than others” or “the author writes that politics is a complex process”.
These are examples of vague quotations which do not demonstrate that you
have read and carefully thought about the author’s work and how it relates
to your field work.)
Any student who aims at a passing grade on a paper must never be guilty of
plagiarism. For details on what constitutes plagiarism go to the SDSU
website. Under Academics go to General Catalog. Under University
Policies see the section on Cheating and Plagiarism, Section 41304, page
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478 of the General Catalog 2012 – 2013. Note that the penalty section says
in part: “…any student…may be expelled, suspended, placed on probation
or given a lesser sanction for Cheating and Plagiarism.” To avoid
plagiarism be sure that all of the ideas and words you use from academic
literature are fully cited in MLA format. This is common courtesy. All
authors must be given credit for their creativity, ideas and word choice.
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Read the sample papers on reserve in the Department office to see an example of a
paper written by a student who received an A or A- in the past.
o Do this in the first two weeks of your internship field work.
o Model your work on theirs and ask questions during weekly class consultation
time in order to get advice on how to modify the model to fit closely with your
particular internship.
In order to prepare for analyzing your field work, you should keep a journal of your
daily activity at your field work site. Your journal entries should be kept from the
perspective of the essay theme.
Attributes of the good essay:
o Good essays are well written and logically organized with a clear logical flow
linking ideas. In part, this means you will be graded on English language usage.
Your grade will include evaluation of the accuracy of your word choices, grammar
and sentence structure.
o Good essays have a significant number of academic articles and books from
appropriate academic journals. Be sure the level of analysis matches your
internship.
o Papers also have correct paragraphing and use topic sentences with supporting
evidence in each paragraph. Paragraphs are logically linked in a flow of ideas so
that each paragraph clearly follows logically from the preceding paragraph and
clearly links to the following paragraph.
o Writing the ideal first page:
 For both essays, your first page should identify the NAME (do not provide
street address in the essay) of the person or organization with whom you
are interning and which major intellectual concepts you will be using.
Your opening paragraph should contain this information. Give a brief
summary of your plan for your paper. By the end of your first page, the
reader should have a bird’s-eye-view of how all of your main concepts will
be linked.
o Footnotes and list of Works Cited
 Use of material. Be sure you have used all of the sources in your list of
works cited. Do not use the same two or three sources many times.
o Correct format should be used. Use the MLA format to cite your sources. You can
find examples of correct citations by going to the library’s website. Under Help go
to Research and find he section “Help with citing sources”. Find MLA and study
the examples. You will not be receiving an A or B grade on your paper unless
you alphabetize your bibliography and follow other MLA instructions.
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o
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Format
 The first page of your essay should have this information on the first
line: Your name, Pol. Sci. 495 and Spring 2013. Double space down from
the first line and begin your essay. Do not triple space between paragraphs.
That is a waste of paper. All work must be typed in Times New Roman 12
point font and double spaced with margins on each side no greater than
one inch on each side.
 Length: The essay must have four complete pages of text with footnotes
and list of Works Cited beginning on the fifth page. Text beyond four pages
will not be read.
 All pages must be correctly numbered and typed or printed out on dark
print. Papers without page numbers will not be accepted.
 Staple your paper before you arrive at class. Do not expect someone else to
provide a stapler for you at the last minute. Do not put it together with a
device, which easily comes apart such as paper clips or slip-on side plastic
bindings. This is to insure that your work is not partially lost etc..
 All papers must be submitted in paper form. No e-mail papers will be
accepted. In addition:
 Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be
subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the
detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source
documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose
of detecting plagiarism of such papers. You may submit your papers in
such a way that no identifying information about you is included.
Another option is that you may request, in writing, that your papers not be
submitted to Turnitin.com. However, if you choose this option you will be
required to provide documentation to substantiate that the papers are your
original work and do not include any plagiarized material.”
 Format penalties Any paper that:
 Does not have pages numbered
 Is not stapled
WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
IT WILL BE IMMEDIATELY
RETURNED TO THE STUDENT AND MUST BE SUBMITTED THE
NEXT DAY IN COMPLIANCE WITH INSTRUCTIONS. LATE
PENALTIES WILL APPLY
In order to get the highest grade you can, be sure that your work complies with
EVERY standard discussed in the syllabus.
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For example: the A or A- paper includes:
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compliance with all syllabus requirements
interesting intellectual observations linking field work experience with
library research about a comparable level of analysis of relevant organization
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no major grammar errors;
logically.
excellent writing skills used to link ideas
Details on the first essay:
Your first essay and journal entries should focus on the theme: Which organizations, people,
and other factors outside of this organization affect its behavior? Economists sometimes refer to
these factors as "externalities." Which indicators tell you which externalities are important? Be
sure to cover all the players and their roles. It will be easier to write your essay if you focus your
daily journal entries around any information you get which contributes to this theme. Use topic
sentences that focus on the concept, not on the person. All of the grading standards noted for the
first essay also apply for the second essay. Additional advice on preparing for the second essay will
be given in a class session in the library jointly taught by the professor and a librarian. To get credit
for this paper all externalities in your paper must be from fields such as political science, public
administration or criminal justice. You may encounter externalities that are not political science
subject material such as the weather. No credit is given for discussion of these externalities that are
not part of the assignment and are not related to appropriate academic literature.
Hint: When doing your research, don’t use the word “externalities” as a key word in a data
base search. The word “externalities” is used in many fields outside political science. Instead,
focus on the substance of your internship. For example, if you are doing an internship in a political
campaign, it is probable that externalities in your campaign may include at least the media, voters,
campaign contributors, a government regulatory agency and your opponent. In this case, for
example, your inquiries to data bases would focus partly on looking for academic literature which
examined the relationship between campaigns and the media. Your key words would be campaign
and media, not externalities. You would also have to make inquiries about academic literature
which explored the relationship between campaigns and voters etc. etc.. Be sure to look for
literature about comparable campaigns. If you are working in a congressional campaign, look for
literature on congressional campaigns. Don’t seek out academic literature about presidential or
local government campaigns. This instruction regarding reading academic research about the
comparable level of analysis appears in previous sections of the syllabus.
Details on the second essay:
The theme for the second essay is: who in this organization has power and who has
authority? How do you know? What are the "indicators" you are observing? Are the relationships
changing? If so, how are they changing? Draw upon definitions of power and authority which you
draw from library research. Use the works of political philosophers and political scientists who
have written about power and authority. You might wish to draw upon writings about political
elites, organization theory, the work of political philosophers, or biographies or autobiographies of
U.S. politicians and their assistants who have commented on power and authority relationships in
their organizations.
When you are writing about the relationships in your field work, the topic sentence of
each paragraph should begin with a concept, which you illustrate with data from your field work
and related literature later in the paragraph. Do not begin topic sentences with the names of
people in your organization. Example: don't start a paragraph with a topic sentence which says
something like "Mrs. Joan Smith is very powerful in our organization." From a long-term
perspective, it is not Mrs. Smith you want your reader to focus on. Instead, you should focus on
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some concept which explains why she is important, such as the importance of experience or
knowledge or loyalty to the candidate during a political campaign. Be sure to include on each
page academic literature from political science or public administration articles and books,
which explore factors such as experience, technical ability, psychology or loyalty and
campaigns etc.. You can use illustrations from your field work to illustrate these conceptual
relationships. The fictional example "Mrs. Smith" may, as an individual, retire or quit etc., so
for your long term understanding of political and public administration concepts, it is the idea
which is important in your topic sentence rather than the individual. Be sure to use enough
concrete examples from your field work to convince the reader of your paper that you have
intellectually examined your field work experience in the context of relevant literature in fields
such as political science, public administration or criminal justice.. Also see syllabus section on
grading standards.
MORE ON GRADING. Grades submitted by your field work supervisor count for 30 per cent of
your grade. Each essay counts for 35% of your grade. No extra credit is allowed, so do your best
on assigned work. No exceptions regarding extra credit will be granted.
PROCEDURES FOR TURNING IN AND PICKING UP PAPERS. In order to
calculate late penalties for papers, it is necessary to have evidence of the date students turned in their
paper. Therefore, it is a course requirement to turn in your paper in person to the instructor and to
sign the attendance sheet when you turn in the paper. Never leave your paper in my Department
mailbox or under the door etc. where it might get lost. You will also be asked to sign in when you
pick up your paper to be sure there is a complete record.
PENALTIES FOR LATE PAPERS. As with the senior thesis, grades are lowered 1/3
of a grade for every 24 hours of a business day which it is late. For example, a paper grade would be
lowered from "B" to "B-" for the first 24 hours it is late. Essays are due in class on the dates
indicated in the course schedule.
You may avoid late penalties if your work is late for any of the reasons listed below. In
order to be excused from late penalties you must provide documentation of the reason for your
lateness at the time you submit your paper. Documentation musts be from an appropriate
professional such as the Student Health Center in the case of medical reasons for absence. A note
from a family member is not an acceptable excuse.
The following are examples of legitimate documentable reasons why late penalties would
not be applied: illness requiring the aid of a medical doctor, death in the family, mandatory military
duty, a conflicting university-sponsored activity such as a sports team competing out of town or an
emergency which can be documented such as a car accident or required military or job duty which
cannot be rescheduled. Family occasions are not grounds for excused absences. Examples of
family occasions which are not excused absences include but are not limited to the following:
sister’s wedding, father’s change of command ceremony, brother’s family gives birth to a child,
grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary, family reunion etc..
EXCEPTIONALLY SEVERE AND UNUSUAL PROBLEMS. Occasionally,
students request exceptions to late penalties etc. due to problems which they perceive to be
exceptionally severe or problems which do not fall within the general guidelines given above.
Sometimes these involve grief, addictions, accidents, job layoffs or other problems. In any such
case, the student will be asked to take advantage of a free advising service offered to students at the
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office of Counseling and Psychological Services. Find them on the campus website. You will be
asked to make an appointment with them and to have the counselor you met with send me a letter
making a recommendation for appropriate action to be taken in your case. They are very busy and
sometimes have long waiting times for appointments. Be sure to contact them as soon as possible.
If you wait until the crisis has passed, you may not be eligible for their help. They never provide
excuses for a problem you had in a previous semester.
INCOMPLETES. This course operates like all other courses. Incompletes are only
available in those rare cases in which students have a very few hours of field work remaining to be
completed. For this course, in order to be eligible for an incomplete, a student must have completed
both essays by the due dates and have field work reports for both the first and second reporting
periods. No student is ever granted an Incomplete in order to finish a paper. If you need an
incomplete, get a Request for Incomplete form from the professor or the Department Office. Fill it
out and attach a letter on letterhead from your Supervisor identifying why an Incomplete is needed
and identifying a target date for completion. Work which is submitted after the target date will have
the above-mentioned late penalties applied. This course is not staffed during the summer or winter
break when it is not on the course schedule.
CLASS SCHEDULE Be sure to inform your field work supervisor in advance that on days when
a class is scheduled, you must attend class and you cannot work at your field work site during class
time This class will meet in MCS 103. Any change in classroom will be announced on
Blackboard. Be sure you have given Blackboard a current e-mail address. A Rohan address
reportedly provides the best insurance that you will receive messages. Other addresses
reportedly sometimes result in messages being sent to your junk mail.
1/17 Brief introduction to syllabus and in-class office hour of advising for those students who are
looking for internships. Those present will be asked to sign the university liability release form.
This is university policy. The Field Work Application Form will also be available.
1/22
Tuesday
Introduction to the syllabus. (The detailed review of the syllabus takes place on this date
because on the first day of class many students are only beginning to find out about internship
course requirements.)
University liability release form process continues. (See 1/17)
Field Work Application Form distributed. All students must have the instructor’s
signature on this form, signifying that the internship is acceptable as a Political Science internship.
Any student who does not have an approved internship will receive an automatic F in the
course.
1/24
Thursday
office hour in the classroom during class time
1/29
Tuesday
MANDATORY CLASS. YOU WILL RECEIVE A GRADE PENALTY IF YOU
ARE ABSENT FROM ANY PART OF THIS SESSION. See paragraph on attendance.
Focus for this session: How to avoid low grades when writing papers. Last semester, the grade
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distribution on the first essays was as follows: A 1; A- 2; B+ 3; B 3; B- 4; C+ 1; C 5; C- 3; D+ 1; D
3; F 1. This session will focus on tips to help you write a good paper.
Field Work Application Form must be turned in today or a schedule set for its submission.
1/31
Drop deadline.
2/4
MONDAY Add deadline.
2/5
Tuesday
office hour in the classroom during class time
2/7
Thursday
MANDATORY CLASS. YOU WILL RECEIVE A GRADE PENALTY IF YOU
ARE ABSENT FROM ANY PART OF THIS SESSION.
A librarian will join me in conducting this class. He will give a lot of helpful hints about
new resources available at the library and ways to use the library efficiently in order to write a
competitive paper. The focus will be on the topic for the first paper.
The Department field work enrollment form will be distributed. This is the form your
field work supervisor will be filling in with your field work grades. It must be turned in along with
your first paper.
2/12
Tuesday –2/26 Tues. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
2/28 Thursday
MANDATORY CLASS.
YOU WILL RECEIVE A GRADE
PENALTY IF YOU ARE ABSENT FROM ANY PART OF THIS SESSION. Two items are
due during class. If you have not completed the two items listed here, please bring the paperwork
necessary to drop the course late.
Your first essay will be checked in along with your Department field work enrollment
form, filled out completely.
Bring journals for discussion of the second essay theme as it worked in your field work site.
A librarian will join me in conducting this class. The focus will be on doing research for the
second paper.
3/5 – 3/19
office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
3/21
Thurs. First papers will be returned.
3/26
Tues. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
3/28
Thurs. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
Spring recess 4/1 – 4/5
4/9
Tues. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
4/11
Thursday Second paper due.
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4/16
Tues. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
4/18
Thurs. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
4/23
Tues. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
4/25
Thurs. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation.
4/30
Tues.
5/2
Thurs. office hour during class time in the classroom for consultation
5/7
Tues.
Field work grades due from field work supervisors.
office hour during class time in the classroom
Second paper returned.
5/16 Thursday
No attendance required. I will be in the classroom from 10:30 – 11:30 if
you have any last minute questions. This is part of the time period for final exams for classes in this
time slot. This is the last time during the semester that I will be in the classroom to answer
questions so be sure to come by if you have any outstanding issues.
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