University of Nevada, Las Vegas Department of Political Science Political Science 101 Section 001: Introduction to American Politics Prof. Jonathan R. Strand Spring 2006 Phone: 895-3356 E-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: M 2:30-4:30; W 11:30-12:30 (and by appointment) Office: WRI B210 Course Content: This course is a survey of United States national, state, and local governments with attention to unique aspects of Nevada government. Course Requirements: Exams: There will be four 100 point exams. Your lowest exam grade will be dropped. All make-up exams are scheduled for Monday May 8th 10:10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Make-up exams will only be allowed when the instructor is notified before the scheduled exam and only for verifiable and excusable grounds. Students are required to obtain scantron sheets for exams. All written portions of exams and quizzes must be written in black ink, dark blue ink, or a number 2 pencil. Exams and quizzes not conforming to this requirement will not be graded. Scantron sheets must be completed with a pencil. Students must take care to use legible penmanship. Students who do not exercise intelligible penmanship will be penalized on their exam and quiz grades. Please note that all final exams must be taken during the officially scheduled time and that make-up exams are not offered for the final exam except in the most unusual of circumstances. Class Participation and attendance, including quizzes, will account for another 50 points. Make-up quizzes will not be offered. Missing more than 3 classes lowers your final grade by one-third (e.g., an A- turns into a B+). Missing more than 5 classes determines that your grade is an F. Students who arrive late or leave early will be marked absent. Disruptions – such as using a cell phone, text messenger, pager, computer or other device – will have a deleterious effect on your grade. The instructor requires all cell phones and pagers to be switched off and out of sight during class. Electronic devices, including language translation equipment, may not be used during exams. Recording devices may not be used at anytime. Late assignments will be penalized 20 percent per day beyond the due date. Incompletes will only be offered when requested in writing on behalf of a student by the Chair of the Department of Political Science or the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. All grade disputes must be in writing. Students who expect to miss class because of the observance of a religious holiday will have an opportunity to make up missed work given that the instructor has been notified in writing regarding the anticipated absence by the last day of late registration. Students who expect to miss class due to an officially sanctioned, UNLV activity (e.g., intercollegiate athletics) must notify the instructor in writing at least 7 days prior to the anticipated absence and provide written verification of participation. The instructor reserves the right to have students’ written materials submitted electronically and assessed by plagiarism detection software. The University requires all members of the University Community to be familiar with and to follow copyright and fair use laws. YOU ARE INDIVIDUALLY AND SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLATIONS OF COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE LAWS. THE UNIVERSITY WILL NEITHER PROTECT NOR DEFEND YOU NOR ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMPLOYEE OR STUDENT VIOLATIONS OF FAIR USE LAWS. Violations of copyright laws could subject you to federal and state civil penalties and criminal liability as well as disciplinary action under University policies. To help familiarize yourself with copyright and fair use policies, the University encourages you to visit its copyright page at: www.unlv.edu/committees/copyright. Plagiarism of any form will result in a failing grade for the course and the instructor will file a case with the Office of Student Conduct.Required Texts: Bond, Jon R., Kevin B. Smith, and Richard A. Watson (2005) The Promise and Performance of American Democracy. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN: 0534643159. Frank, Thomas (2004) What’s the Matter with Kansas? New York: Owl Books ISBN: 080507774X Student Accommodation: The UNLV Disability Resource Center (DRC) houses the resources for students with disabilities. If you have a documented disability that may require accommodations, you will need to contact the DRC for the coordination of services. The DRC is located in the Student Services Complex (SSC) room 137. The phone numbers are 702-895-0866 (voice), 702-895-0652 (TDD), and 702-895-0651 (Fax). For additional information please visit: www.unlv.edu/studentlinf/les. Course Outline: The instructor reserves the right to adjust this schedule (and any other part of this syllabus) Date Topic Readings 1/16 Holiday no class 1/18 Introduction Bond Chapter 1 1/23 American Constitution Bond Chapter 2 1/25 American Constitution Bond Chapter 2 1/30 Nevada Constitution The Nevada Constitution (available at http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Const/NvConst.html) 2/1 Constitutional Traditions Bond Chapter 2 & The Nevada Constitution 2/6 Exam 1 2/8 Federalism Bond Chapter 3 2/13 Civil Liberties Bond Chapter 4 2/15 Civil Liberties Bond Chapter 4 2/20 Holiday no class 2/22 Civil Rights Bond Chapter 5 2/27 Civil Rights Bond Chapter 5 3/1 Exam 2 3/6 Interest Groups Bond Chapter 6 3/8 Parties Bond Chapter 7 3/13-15 Holiday no class 3/20 Parties Bond Chapter 7 3/22 Media Bond Chapter 8 3/27 Public Opinion Bond Chapter 9 3/29 Elections Bond Chapter 10 4/3 Voting Behavior Bond Chapter 11; Frank passim 4/5 Voting Behavior Bond Chapter 11; Frank passim 4/10 Exam 3 4/12 Congress Bond Chapter 12 4/17 Congress Bond Chapter 12 4/19 Presidency Bond Chapter 13 4/24 Presidency Bond Chapter 13 4/26 Bureaucracy Bond Chapter 14 5/1 Federal Judiciary Bond Chapter 15 5/3 Federal Judiciary & Conclusion Bond Chapters 15 & 16 5/8 FINAL EXAM 8:00-10:00
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