UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA, Cumming Campus
Department of Political Science & International Relations
American Government – Accel – CRN 6300 – POLS 1101 – C5
Spring 2015
Meetings: Tuesday and Thursday: 7:35 to 8:50 AM
Class Location: Cumming 103
Office Hours: To support Dual Enrollment students, 30 minutes before class; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and
an additional 30 minutes after class on Monday and Thursday
Office Location: Cumming 103
Instructor: Archibald J. Kielly
E-mail: ajkielly@ung.edu
Phone: Office 706-864-1904, Home: 770-667-3054 (Do not call me at home unless it is really important!)
Special Dates:
Class starts 6 Jan – 7:35 AM
No classes: 19 Jan and 16 through 22 March
Final Test: Tuesday, 28 April at 8:00 AM
Course Textbook: The Basics of American Government; Copyright 2011, 2013; Carl D. Cavalli, published by University
Press of North Georgia.
Additional Reference: Know current world events, national and international political and economic changes by reading
newspapers, magazines, journals, internet, and watching and listening to television and radio news. We begin every
class by discussing current events.
Course Description and Objectives: Economic globalization and other related actions have revolutionized our world
and created unexpected changes in the national and international political environment. The course describes the
American government and our political system. It introduces global challenges, conflicts, theoretical causes, and
historical approaches to past problems. It is essential that you keep up with national and international current
events because they are, almost certainly, a continuation of the issues studied in this course. Students will
analyze political, cultural, or socioeconomic interactions among people or organizations of the world.
Course Grading: Two Exams - 70%, Term Paper - 15%, Class Participation - 15%
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Two Exams: There are two exams, one midterm, and a final. These two exams are 35% each and will give you 70% of
your grade. Exam questions will cover chapter readings in the textbook, issues discussed in class and material extracted
from other official course sources. Exams will be a combination of true and false, multiple-choice questions, fill in, and
possible short essays. If you are having problems with the course, see me. I will give you additional work that may
improve your course grade.
Class Participation: I use the Socratic Method. Class discussions will be used as a vehicle for learning and a way to
assess student knowledge and progress. Student participation is essential to course understanding and has a very high
intrinsic value. You are expected to understand the chapter readings and be prepared to discuss, question, and rebuke
other students’ points of view. Class participation will reinforce your understanding of the subject matter.
During class discussions, you may be asked to discuss an issue or to answer a question. Please do not say that you do
not know. Make an attempt to provide an answer. In most cases, students know the answer to all or part of the
question. Part of our learning process is to think issues through to retain information and you are never penalized for a
wrong answer during class discussions.
Attendance: Course attendance is mandatory. You must arrive on time and not depart until class is ended. If you fail to
observe above, you will be marked absent. If you have unapproved absences, you may fail the course.
Class Conduct: Turn off your phones, tablets and PCs, and put them away before class. Please observe good
discussion etiquette: be polite, avoid generalizations, do not make personal attacks, wait for your turn before you rebuke,
keep discussions impersonal, admit your errors, do not shout, etc.
Spring 2015 Final Examination Schedule: Final test will take place in our classroom on 28 April at 8:00 AM.
University policy established that the final examination is a scheduled part of the class. When a student registers for a
class, he or she is registering for the scheduled final examination as well. Therefore, it is the student's responsibility to be
available to take examinations at the times scheduled. Students are required to report for their final examination as
scheduled except when special arrangements are approved by the instructor and the department head. No student is
required to take three (3) finals on the same day. Please contact me to rearrange your exam schedule. A change in this
examination schedule for an entire class may be made only with the approval of the department head and the dean of the
school.
The grading schedule is as follows: 90 to 100=A, 80 to 89=B, 70 to 79=C, 60 to 69=D and 0 to 59=F
Required Common Assignment Term Paper: Students will submit an analysis paper between 500-750 words. This paper
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should be typed in Arial, 12-point font, double-space, one side page, page-numbered and one-inch margins The paper
will address the following questions based on the following article:
“Supreme Court raises bar for affirmative action in college admissions
Monday Jun 24, 2013 11:24 AM, Email
The Supreme Court returned the case on the affirmative action admissions policy at the University of Texas at Austin to a lower court,
thereby avoiding a major ruling on the issue. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
By Pete Williams and Erin McClam, NBC News
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed affirmative action to survive in college admissions but imposed a tough legal standard, ruling that
schools must prove there are “no workable race-neutral alternatives” to achieve diversity on campus.
While the ruling was not a sweeping pronouncement on the future of affirmative action, it amounts to a warning to colleges nationwide
that the courts will treat race-conscious admissions policies with a high degree of skepticism.
By a 7-1 vote, with one justice recusing herself, the court sent a case about the University of Texas admissions policy back to a federal
appeals court for review, and directed the appeals court to apply an exacting legal standard known as strict scrutiny.
The case was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white woman who applied to the university in 2008 and was denied, and claimed that her
constitutional rights and federal civil rights laws were violated.
“I am grateful to the justices for moving the nation closer to the day when a student’s race isn't used at all in college admissions,” Fisher
said in a statement.
The appeals court sided with the university. But the Supreme Court ruled that the lower court did not hold the university to the “demanding
burden of strict scrutiny.” Instead, the lower court “presumed that the school had acted in good faith” and required Fisher to show
otherwise, the high court found.
While the ruling was favorable to Fisher, civil rights advocates were “really breathing a sigh of relief,” said Tom Goldstein, the publisher of
SCOTUSblog and a Supreme Court analyst for NBC News.
“There was the potential that the justices would issue a really major ruling headed in a conservative direction, limiting or eliminating
affirmative action,” he said on MSNBC. “Instead the justices did something more modest.”
Susan Walsh / AP
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Abigail Fisher, the Texan involved in the University of Texas affirmative action case, and Edward Blum, who runs a group working to end
affirmative action, walk outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012.
The University of Texas admits about three-quarters of its students by guaranteeing a spot to anyone who finishes near the top of his or
her high school class. When Fisher applied, the standard was the top 10 percent of the class. For the remainder of undergraduate
admissions, race is considered as one of many factors.
A Supreme Court ruling in 2003 allowed public universities to consider race to get a critical mass of minority students, but Justice Sandra
Day O’Connor, who wrote that opinion, has since retired, and today’s court is more conservative.
On Monday, in a ruling by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court said that the standard of strict scrutiny “does not permit a court to accept a
school’s assertion that its admissions process uses race in a permissible way without closely examining how the process works in practice.”
Instead, the burden of proof is on a university to show that “each applicant is evaluated as an individual and not in a way that makes an
applicant’s race or ethnicity the defining feature of his or her application,” the court said, quoting language from the 2003 opinion.
The university’s president, Bill Powers, said that the school would defend its policy once again before the appeals court, and said he was
confident that it would meet the high legal bar set by the Supreme Court.
“We remain committed to assembling a student body at The University of Texas at Austin that provides the educational benefits of
diversity on campus while respecting the rights of all students and acting within the constitutional framework established by the Court,” he
said in a statement.
Justice Clarence Thomas, joining the majority but writing his own opinion, argued that considering race in college admissions is categorically
prohibited by the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.
Thomas noted that slaveholders once argued that slavery civilized blacks, and that segregationists once argued that separating students by
race was good for blacks because it protected them from racist whites.
“Following in these inauspicious footsteps, the university would have us believe that its discrimination is likewise benign,” he wrote. “I think
the lesson of history is clear enough: Racial discrimination is never benign.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, part of the liberal wing of the court, was the dissenter. Justice Elena Kagan, who worked on the issue while
she was solicitor general under President Barack Obama, recused herself from the case.
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The decision is not the court’s final word on affirmative action. It has agreed to take a case in its next term about whether voters can ban
affirmative action in their states.
In the latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll, 45 percent said that they believe affirmative action programs are still needed to counteract
the effects of discrimination against minorities. That was the lowest reading since 1991, when the question was first asked.
An equal 45 percent said they felt that the programs have gone too far and should be ended because they unfairly discriminate against
whites.
The Supreme Court still has three major rulings to make in this term. One is a challenge to a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
and two are about gay rights — challenges to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which blocks federal recognition of gay marriages, and
Proposition 8, a California ban on gay marriage.
The Supreme Court said it would issue decisions Tuesday and on at least one day after that. Supreme Court terms traditionally, though not
always, end in June.
This story was originally published on Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:24 PM EDT”
Students will address the following questions:
1. Who are the political actors (including organizations) and what are their respective interests?
2. How does this article demonstrate the inner workings of government institutions?
a. Is this representative of U. S. political culture?
b. Why or why not?
3. Discuss the ways in which the events described in the article impacted the greater community.
This assignment is designed to address the following:
Area E: Social Sciences- Students will analyze the complexity of human behavior as a function of the commonality and
diversity within or between groups.
Learning Goal I: US Perspectives - Students will analyze the interaction between culture and history or politics in the
United States.
This assignment is due on: TBA. No late papers will be accepted, no exceptions! When you write your paper, you
do not have to write the questions, but you must answer all the questions. Do not write quotes; instead, paraphrase them
and give credit to the author. Do not write in the first person, stay away from writing: “In my opinion, I believe, I think”.
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Use below as a format for your paper. Following rubric criterion should guide your writings.
Who are the political actors (including organizations)and what are their respective interests?
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Rubric Criterion (a):
Accurately describes the
respective interests of the
political actors (including
organizations) presented in
the article.
Response describes with
Response describes many of
Response describes some of
Response describes but a few Response fails to describe
exceptional accuracy and in
the respective interests of
the respective interests of
of the respective interests of
with any accuracy the
detail all or almost all of the
most of the political actors
some of the political actors
the political actors (including
respective interests of any of
respective interests of all the (including organizations)
(including organizations)
organizations) presented in
the political actors presented
political actors (individuals or presented in the article in
presented in the article and
the article and does so with
in the article.
organizations) presented in
generally accurate detail.
does so with some accuracy.
limited accuracy.
the article.
Assignment Question 2: How does this article demonstrate the inner workings of government institutions? Is this representative of U. S. political culture? Why or why not?
Rubric Criterion (a):
Response describes with
Response relates with great
Response relates with
Response relates only a few
Response fails to correctly
Accurately relates the events exceptional accuracy all or
accuracy many of the events
general accuracy many of the of the events described in
relate any events described
described in the article to the almost all of the events
described in the article to the events described in the
the article to the behavior of
in the article to the behavior
behavior of government
detailed in the article and
behavior of government
article to the behavior of
government institutions and
of government institutions.
institutions.
relates these events
institutions.
government institutions, but
does not do so with any
accurately and thoroughly to
contains some omissions.
great accuracy.
the behavior of government
institutions.
Rubric Criterion (b): Correctly Response correctly describes
Response describes to a
Response describes to a
Response describes to a
Response fails to describe or
describes the degree to
the degree to which all or
generally correct extent the
generally correct extent the
somewhat correct extent the very inadequately describes
which the events in the
almost all the events in the
degree to which many of the
degree to which many of the
degree to which some of the
the degree to which any
article reflect U.S. political
article reflect U.S. political
events in the article reflect
events in the article reflect
events in the article reflect
events in the article reflect
culture.
culture.
U.S. political culture.
U.S. political culture, but
U.S. political culture, but
U.S. political culture.
contains as well some
contains some erroneous
erroneous associations.
associations as well.
Assignment Question 3: Discuss the ways in which the events described in the article impacted the greater community?
Rubric Criterion (a): Presents
Response presents a logical
Response presents a mostly
Response presents a
Response presents an
Response fails to present a
a logical analysis that
analysis that accurately
(though not always) logical
somewhat logical analysis
analysis that clarifies some of logical analysis that
accurately clarifies the
clarifies the impact of the
analysis that accurately
that accurately clarifies
the impact of the events on
accurately clarifies the
impact of the events on the
events on the relevant
clarifies the impact of many
much, but not all, of the
the relevant elements of U.
impact of the events on the
relevant elements of U. S.
elements of U. S. society.
of the events on the relevant impact of the events on the
S. society, but is not always
relevant elements of U. S.
society.
elements of U. S. society.
relevant elements of U. S.
logical and/or fails to clarify
society.
society.
aspects surrounding several
relevant impacts.
Academic Integrity Policy: UNG honor policy will be strictly enforced. Do not lie, cheat, steal, evade the truth or tolerate
those who do. Plagiarism will not be permitted.
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Supplementary Materials: http://ung.edu/academic-affairs/policies-and-guidelines/supplemental-syllabus.php
This university is committed to equal access to its programs, services, and activities, and welcomes otherwise qualified
students with disabilities. Students who require accommodations and services must register with Disability Services and
submit supporting documentation. Disability Services provides accommodation memos for eligible students to give to their
instructors. Students are responsible for making arrangements with instructors, and must give
reasonable prior notice of the need for accommodation.
Contact Information for Disability Services:
* Gainesville Campus: Carolyn Swindle, Assistant Director,
cswindle@gsc.edu, Dunlap-Mathis Building, Room 107, 678-717-3855
* Dahlonega Campus: Thomas McCoy, Assistant Director,
tmmccoy@northgeorgia.edu, Stewart Student Success Center, Room 313,
706-867-2782.
* Oconee Campus: Erin Williams, Assistant Director, ewilliams@gsc.edu,
Administration Building, Room 112, 706-310-6202
* Cumming Instructional Site: Nicola Dovey, Director ndovey@gsc.edu,
or Beth Bellamy, Test Facilitator, bbellamy@gsc.edu, 678-717-3855.
(For on-site assistance, email Jason Pruitt, Assistant Director of UC 400 at jpruitt@northgeorgia.edu.)
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