GVPT 170 Sec 0101 0115 American Government and Politics Spring 2008 MW 3 30pm 0130 Tydings Hall Wayne V McIntosh 3140 Tydings Office Hours MW 2 30 3 30pm or by appt Phone 405 4134 e mail wmcintosh gvpt umd edu Ms Katherine Baxter Sections 0107 0108 0109 kbaxter gvpt umd edu Ms Melissa Bell Sections 0101 0105 0106 mbell gvpt umd edu Ms Heather Creek Sections 0110 0114 0115 hcreek gvpt umd edu Ms Blessing Okoroafor Sections 0111 0112 0113 bokoroafor gvpt umd edu Mr Matthew Spino Sections 0102 0103 0104 matthewspino gmail com COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is a general introduction to the American Political System and the Politics of American life It is designed to acquaint students with some basic facts and theories so that you may begin to formulate a personal understanding of how our society functions In addition a broad perspective is presented as an introduction for those wishing to study political matters in more detail The course has two components The first part surveys the major institutions of American national government Presidency Congress Courts Bureaucracies The second considers the setting within which government operates and examines what we want or expect from government and how we go about getting it A concern throughout the course is the relationship between the various aspects of the political environment and the policies produced by the system Course Requirements In this course we shall collectively assess some of these questions relying primarily upon information that we make available to you Your active participation in this class is both vital and required Specific requirements follow FIRST REQUIREMENT Read the remaining requirements thoroughly REMAINING REQUIREMENTS Books Some material will be online available on the Blackboard system Available at the bookstores 1 O Connor and Sabato Essentials of American Government 2008 edition 2 Wright Richard Native Son The following book is strongly recommended Hacker Diana A Pocket Style Manual 4th Sprl edition Computer Accounts Everyone must immediately make sure you have a valid computer account and e mail capability This will be essential to completion of the course Reading and Discussion Successful completion of this course will require careful preparation and active participation by me as well as each student You are responsible for and will be tested on all assigned materials including the novels the academic texts and several films The format of the course will be lecture discussion To facilitate this goal and to promote understanding of the issues small groups will meet weekly as discussion sessions under the direction of my graduate assistants My assistants possess a great deal of expertise regarding the subject matter we are considering here and they are interested in your progress If at any time during the semester you would like to talk over the readings or other course related issues with any of us our doors are open to you preferably during office hours or by appointment The readings are assigned in advance see Course Outline and I will expect you to come to class prepared to discuss them My wish is to spend some of each class in general discussion and devote the smaller group meetings each week more to give and take open consideration of the material However if you have a question or a comment to make during one of our regular lecture meetings please do not hesitate to raise it Each of you can make valuable contributions to our general understanding of the materials and no one s perspective or opinion is any more or less important than any other We will have to read think write and compare our thoughts with each other For these reasons you will place yourself at a significant disadvantage if you do not prepare for our class sessions and if you do not attend them In order to help you think through the readings and supply material for discussion I have provided at least one question for your consideration following each set of readings Attendance Although I do not intend to take attendance your attendance is entirely voluntary a premium is placed upon your class appearances This also includes discussion section meetings The course is structured such that the discussion group meetings constitute one third of your class time We have set things up this way for your benefit to facilitate discussion and exchange of ideas in a small group format If you choose not to attend you do so at your own risk Examination questions will be based largely upon class discussions of the course materials Moreover 10 of your final grade depends upon your active participation in discussion section meetings Arriving late to class or discussion group is much better than not arriving at all However if you must arrive after a session has started please show consideration to your colleagues by entering quietly and discretely finding a seat near the door Similarly if you must leave a class session early please be kind enough to anticipate this and locate yourself in a seat that will allow a nondisruptive exit If you have a conflict with either of the exam dates because of religious observance please inform me of this conflict by February 15 No excuses will be accepted after that date Exam and Papers 90 of your final grade will be determined on the basis of a mid term exam 3 short papers and a final exam Exams The mid term examination will present short answer essay questions and counts 30 toward the final grade I will provide you with a list of potential examination questions in the week preceding the designated test date to help you prepare In addition we will also schedule a review session prior to the exam again to help you prepare The date scheduled for the examination March 12 is fixed Make up exams are possible only under very unusual circumstances If for good reason you must re schedule the examination be prepared to provide me with documentation as to why it is necessary The final exam 30 will follow a similar format with similar expectations and it will be cumulative Short Papers Through a substantial portion of the semester you will be responsible for brief written papers in response to a set of questions about the readings There will be three of these Each document will be electronically transmitted to your discussion section leader as an e mail attachment Papers must be neatly typed with standard font and margins and fully documented Your answers must clearly reflect that you have read the assigned material Grammar style