GCC POS 220 - POS 220 Course description and competencies

1 Arizo n a Con st i t u tio n –"Online"POS"220"(#17721)!&!POS"221"(#1 7635)"!Glendale!Community!College!!Spring!2012!(Jan.!17!–!Feb.!24)!!Inst ructor:!Oriol!Vidal‐Aparicio!!E<mail:!oriol.vidal.ap a [email protected]!!Office"hours:!By!a ppointment,!Wednesdays,!6‐7!PM.!Since!this!is!an!online!class,!we!sho uld!be!able!to!resolve!all!is sues!via !e‐mail—you!shoul d !expect!to!have!your!e‐mails!responded!to!in!about!24!hours.!If!you!e‐mai l!me,!please!include!“POS!220”!or!“POS!222”! in! the !subject!line!and!sign!with!your!full!name!so!that!I!can!easily!identify!you.!! Course description and competencies Throughout!six!wee ks,!this!1‐credit!onli ne!course!(o r!approximately!the!first!third!of!the!course!for!students!enrolled!in!POS!220)!examines!the!government!of!Arizona!using!the!state!constitution!as!a!focus.!It!reviews!the!main!features!of!the!Arizona!Constitution,!with!special!emphasis!on!the!design!and!fu nctioni ng!of!the!three !branches!of!the!state!govern men t!(le gislative,!executive,!and!judicial).!This%course%meets%Arizona%Constitution%requirements%for%teacher%cert ifi cation.!(Off icial!course!descr iption!by!t he!MCC CD: http://www.maricopa.edu/curriculum/M-Z/936pos221.html.) As!T oni!McClory!stated!in!previous!syllabi!of! this!course,!there!are!many!reasons!to!learn!about!Arizona!government :!!!1. It!matters.!Most!people!don’t!r ealize!that!state!government—not!national—has!the!primary!respo nsibility!for! education,!public!safety,!public!health,!the!environment,!and!other!important!issues.!!2. Arizona!is!a! “direct!democracy”!state!and!demand s!a!lot!of!pa rticipation!fr om!voters!(think !of!all!those!ballot!propositions!).!This!cou rse!will!help!you!mak e!more !informed !choices.!!3. Arizona!government!is!quirky !and!unique .!Learning!how!it! d iffers!from!the!U.S.!govern men t!will!deepen!your!understanding!of!politics!in!general.!!4. Future! public!employees!(teachers,!firefighters,!e tc.) !have!added !reason!to!understand!a!gove rnment!with!major!impact!on!their!career.!This!course!is!intended!for!citizens,!scholars,!and!public!employees.!! Online courses and their particularities You!have!registered!for!an!online!course,!which!means!that!there!w ill!be!no!regular!meetings!on!campus —tests!and!assignme nts!will!also!be!managed!online.!Online&courses&are&suggested&for&s elf1motivated&students&with&strong&time1management&skills&a nd&good&study& habits.!I!assume!that!stu d ents!in!this!c ourse!have!a!good!enough!handle!on!how!to!survive!in! an!online!environment—e.g.!using!a!web!browser!efficiently,!following!links,!downloading!documents!from!the!Intern e t,!l ogging!on!and!off!of!web!sites!that!require!identification…!This!course!will!mainly!use!Blackboard!for!the!dissemination!of!materials.!For!technical!support,!use!th e !“Help”!option!on!the!course’s!Blackboard!page!(menu!on!the!left!of!your!screen).!!Make!sure!that!the!e‐mail!address!linked!to!your!Blackboard!profile !works!properly .!For!general!i nformation!on!GCC’s!eCourses,!go!to!http://www.gccaz.edu/eCourses—click!on!the!links!on!the!top!right!menu!(“Be fore!Re gistering”,! e tc.).!You!should!definitely!take!into!account!the!recommendations!yo u!will!find!on!these!pages:!“ Expect!to!spend!6!or!more!hours!weekly!on!each!eCourse,”!“log!in!regularly!…!and!be!prepared!to!read,!vi ew!and!listen!to!a!great!deal!of!information.”!!2 !Materials for the course RequiredRequired::""""• Toni"McClory,"Understanding&the&Arizona&Constitution"–&Second&Edition.!University!of!Arizona!Press:!Tucson,!2010.!Book!available!at!the!GCC!bookstore!and!throug h !onli ne!vendors.!It!is!important! that!you!acquire!the!second%edition,!as!considerable!changes!have!taken! place!in!Arizona!government!since!the!first!edition!wa s!published!in!2001.!!• Arizona"Constitution,!108‐pag e !pdf!file!downloadable!from!the!Arizona!Legislature’s!website: http://www.azleg.gov/const/Arizona_Constitution.pdf.!At!the!GCC!bookstore!you!will!also!f ind!hard!copies!of!the !Arizona!and!the!U.S.!Constitutions!combined!in!one!document,!put!together!by!the!Arizona! Secretary!of!St a te.!!• Toni"McClory,!Arizona&Constitution&Fact&Sheets!(nine!2‐page!pdf!files!plus!2!handouts,!“Legislative!Process!Flowchar t”!and!“Ballot!Pr opositions! Sta ts!(191 2!to!present).”! All!downloadable!from!McClory’s!website: http://www.tonimcclory.com/publications.! • Toni"McClory,!Online"L ectures.!Available!in!the! course’s!Blackboard!page!(Course!Materials!content!are a,!Online!Lectures!folder).!These!lectures!are!aroun d !10!minutes!long!each.!Click!on!the !corresponding!link!an d !allow!the!lecture!to!load!(this!should!just!take!a!few!sec onds).!!• Vidal<Aparicio,!PowerPoint"Slides.!Available!weekly!in!the!course’s!Black bo a rd!page!(Course!Materials!content!area,!PowerPoint!Slides!folder).!! OOptionalptional——if"you"want"to"know"moreif"you"want"to"know"more::"""" Fac ts!and!figures!about!the!State!of !Arizona: https://az.gov/education_history_factfigure.html  Arizona!State!Legislature: http://www.azleg.gov  Ari zona%Legislative%Manual%(1998%Edition) ,!by!the!Arizona!Legislative!Council: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/council/legman.pdf  Arizona!Revised!Statutes: http://www.azleg.gov/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp  Initiative,!referendum,!and!recall!applications!for !the!2010!election!in!Arizona:!http://www.azsos.gov/election/2010/General/Initiatives.htm  Actual!propositions!that!made!it!to!the!ballot,!with!a!summary!of!arguments!for!and!against!each!one: http://www.azsos.gov/election/2010/info/PubPamphlet/english/prop106.htm (click!on!each!numbered!proposition!to!see!it)!! Official!results!of!the!2010!election!(including!retentio n! elections!for!judges!and!ballot!propositions): http://www.azsos.gov/election/2010/General/Canvass2010GE.pdf Every!wee k! the re!will!be!assigned!readings!from!McClory’s!book!and!Arizona%Constitution%Fact%S heets,!and!you!will!have!to!view!the!corresponding!Online!Lec tures!(also!prepared!by!McClory),!which!provide!you!w ith !additional!explanation!and!context!to!help!you!better!understand!certain!aspects!of!Arizona!government.!My!PowerPoint!Slides!are!meant!to!be!reviewed!after!you!have!done!the!reading/viewing!assigned!for!that!week;!they!summarize,!reinforce,!and/or!comp leme nt!the!other!sources!and! serve!