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online Intro to Political Process and Behavior course at Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: Intro to Political Process and Behavior


Course Title: PS339 - Intro to Political Process and Behavior
Department: Political Science
Instructor: Tanya Mueller, MA, MA, BA E-Mail - Vitae

Please print a copy of this syllabus for future reference.


Required Textbook: - Online Bookstore

Bowling alone: The Collapse of American Community, by Robert Putnam, Lewis Feldstein, and Don Cohen. Simon & Schuster (Touchstone), 2000/2001. ISBN-13: 9780743203043 ISBN: 0743203046

The Dance of Legislation: An Insider's Account of the Workings of the United States Senate, by Eric Redman. University of Washington Press, 1973. ISBN-13: 9780295980232 ISBN: 0295980230

The Irony of Democracy: An Uncommon Introduction to American Politics, by Thomas Dye and Harmon Zeigler. Harcourt Inc. (Wadsworth/Thomas Learning), 2002. ISBN-13: 9780534618933 ISBN: 0534618936

Preparation:

Read and watch everything you can. Not only should you be well-read regarding the advertising industry, you should immerse yourself in various topics, world events, various cultures, history, great writers, philosophy, people, places, etc. Be curious about everything. Throughout the semester, I will be recommending books and magazines to you. One of the initial goals is to get you to begin looking critically at all of the copy you see in the media to which you are exposed daily.

Course Description:

This course is intended to introduce the student to the complexities of the American political system with particular attention to the key players: bureaucracy, political action committees, political parties, politicians and "the average citizen". Close attention will be paid to the relationship between motivation, values and involvement in the political process.

Course Objectives:

At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:
  1. Critique the political process and motivation for political action.
  2. Give insight to the “behind the scenes” tactics of politics.
  3. Describe the roles of political actors.
  4. Describe how the personal is/can be political.
Overview

Throughout the course the student will read three books concurrently. Each book will offer a different perspective to the political process. By reading these three books and doing online research the student will have an in depth understanding of how the political process is perceived from the views of academics (political scientists), sociologists and politicians.

This course will have weekly assignments accompanied by online research that is relevant to the topic of discussion for the week. Five short thought papers, one final and one midterm will be due. Weekly assignments are thought papers based on the readings using citations if necessary. There will be one midterm paper due the 4th week of the course and one final paper due the 8th week of the course. The midterm and final are to be written in APA format with citations from any relevant sources. Alternative topics may be chosen for the midterm and/or final but topics must have prior approval from the instructor.

Please review assignments in advance. Some assignments may take longer than the week assigned to complete. It will be to the student's advantage to pace assignments appropriately.

Student should also read a major newspaper daily focusing on the international news section and the state and local section. In conjunction with a major newspaper student should also find news from one of the alternative news sources listed below. Links are provided to these news sources.

Alternative News Sources
The Christian Science Monitor
Independent Media
National Public Radio
United Nations Website
Links
Library of Congress
Voter Information
House of Representatives
US Senate
Public Policy Search

*Student should also be able to locate the Secretary of State website for their home state. Student should type in "Secretary of State (insert state name)" in any search engine, such as Google.com, to find this information.

Course Policies

On-Line Participation

Since this course is offered over the Internet, which allows students to participate at "any time, any where," it is important to plan your time carefully. Students are expected to pace themselves to access assignments, prepare their work and necessary research, and submit assignments to the instructor by the established due dates. Students are expected to make use of local resources as well as required readings.

Course Week and Due Dates

Generally, Monday is the first of the course week, and Sunday is the last day of the course week. Assignments scheduled for completion during a class week should be sent to the instructor via email or fax by end of the day Sunday, determined by your own time zone. If a student is sending assignments through the postal service, please make prior arrangements with instructor, as there is no postal delivery on Sunday.

Submitting Assignments - Instructions

Students may submit work in MS Word (any version) or Word Perfect (any version). Please send as a file attachment. If you use another word processing program (such as Works), please save as an .rtf file before sending it to me. Formats for files received other than those specified here that I cannot open using MS Word or a Word converter program for PC or Mac will be returned to you for reprocessing, and will considered late. Any questions on formatting of your file attachment documents, please email me with any questions now and we can find a format that will work for your particular needs. Thanks in advance on this matter.

Please include name, reply address, title of assignment, title of course, and date submitted on the document itself, in addition to the email text. Please indicate PS339 in the subject line of your email.

Late Assignment Penalties

I must receive weekly assignments not later than Sunday midnight (your time zone) of the week due according to the syllabus. Students who anticipate that their schedule may cause assignments to be out of compliance are advised to contact instructor at least one week in advance, as an extension may be permitted with prior mutual agreement. Instructor discretion regarding point penalties for any late work will be considered final.

Absentee Policy

While this course is designed to be completed through independent study, "attendance" is recorded through assignment submissions in a timely manner to the instructor's email address (or via post or fax). However, please note that any student who has not participated (completed assignments) for 14 consecutive days without prior discussion with the instructor regarding such absence shall be recommended for administrative withdrawal. The school shall make recommendations to the instructor as to what action will be taken.

Academic Honesty

Canyon College policies are in effect. All work must be your own. Presenting as one's own the words, ideas, or expression of another in any form is cheating through plagiarism, and will not be tolerated.

Grading

You will receive a grade for each completed project. Your final grade will be based on points earned as a percentage of total points possible. Grades will be determined in the following manner:

Assignment Grade Points
Thought papers 100 (5 at 20pts each)
Midterm 100
Final 100
TOTAL 300
Your final grade will be determined by the following grade schedule:
A 285 - 300
A- 270 - 284
B+ 258 - 269
B 249 - 257
B- 240 - 248
C+ 228 - 239
C 219 - 227
C- 210 - 218
D 180 - 209
F below 180 points
Reading and Assignments

Week 1 - Introduction to Elite Theory
Dye and Zeigler Ch 1-3
Begin reading Redman - you must have this book finished by the midterm

Thought paper due 2-4 pages
Critique the arguments made by Dye and Zeigler about Elite Theory. Do you think Dye and Zeigler are correct in their interpretations? Your paper should focus on the Articles of Confederation, the writing of the Constitution and the presumed intentions of the Founding Fathers

Week 2 - The Masses and The Media
Dye and Zeigler Ch 4-6
Don't forget about Redman...

Thought Paper Due 2-4 pages
Pick a news story of major relevance that has been in the news more than one day during the week. Are Dye and Ziegler correct in their statements about the media and politics? Compare and contrast, if necessary, how a major newspaper and an alternative media source cover the same news story.

Week 3 - Political Parties, Elections and Interests
Dye and Zeigler Ch 7-9

Thought Paper Due 2-4 pages
Go to one of the government websites listed in the links section or an alternative site you prefer. Find the voting record of either one your US Senators or your Representative, their interest group rating and the listed donations to their campaign. Compare and contrast their voting record, donations and interest group ratings. Is there a correlation? Does this match with the arguments made by Dye and Zeigler?

Reminder: Midterm due next week!

Week 4 - MIDTERM DUE

Go to the Library of Congress website, thomas.loc.gov and search under the 108th Congress for a public policy issue of interest to you. Limit the areas to one of the following: health care, crime, education, or environment. You may choose any bill of interest but it must have been introduced during the current congressional session.

List some of the groups that may have an interest in the bill and what their interest(s) may be. Do Redman, Dye and Ziegler accurately describe the public policy process according to all your research? If not, what have you observed according to your own research? Use any verifiable references you feel appropriately defend your thesis.

Week 5 - The President and the Bureaucracy
Dye and Zeigler Ch 10-11

Thought Paper Due 2-4 pages
Free forum paper on the President and/or the bureaucracy. You are free to write on any aspect of the reading.

Week 6 - Congress and the Courts
Dye and Ziegler Ch 12-13

Thought Paper Due 2-4 pages
Discuss the role of the Courts in the public policy making process. How do the Courts shape laws? Is this good policy that Federal judges are appointed as opposed to elected? What are some advantages/disadvantages for judge appointments?

Week 7 - Protest and Civic Involvement
Dye and Zeigler Ch 15
Putnam Ch 1-3, 6-7, 9

*Read Putnam Ch 10-15 by next week

No thought paper this week

Week 8 - Final Due

Discuss Putnam's interpretation of social capital within the context of Elite Theory and the arguments made by Dye and Zeigler. You are free to write about any issue using this topic only as a guide for your thesis.