GVPT 170 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT Fall 2006 T Th 2 00 2 50 SKN 0200 Contact Information Professor Frances E Lee Sections TA 201 209 211 OZAN Kalkan Sections TA 202 208 210 Kim Karnes Sections TA 204 206 212 Patrick Woody Sections TA 203 205 207 Justin Wu 301 405 4339 flee gvpt umd edu Office Hours and Location Tydings 2126B TTh 3 30 5 30 301 405 5021 kkalkan gvpt umd edu Tydings 1135A Th 10 00 12 00 M 12 00 2 00 301 405 4559 kkarnes gvpt umd edu Tydings 5133 TTh 10 00 12 00 804 347 6115 pwoody gvpt umd edu Tydings 5141 T 3 00 6 00 F 12 45 1 45 301 405 4156 jwu gvpt umd edu Tydings 5119 TTh 1 00 2 00 COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is designed to acquaint students with the institutions of American government and the political ideals that inform those institutions In the first part of the course we will explore a fundamental tension between two central commitments in American political life majority rule and individual rights Is the foremost purpose of government to respond to the majority s will or is it to protect individual rights The United States Constitution reflects an effort to strike a balance between these two goals We will evaluate its success in doing so both generally and with respect to the contemporary political context In parts two and three of the course we will examine the formal and informal institutions of American government From this I hope students will acquire an appreciation of the difficulties of governing in the United States Taken together the decentralized institutional party and electoral systems make it difficult for officeholders to take effective action The complexity of the legislative process the limitations on presidential influence and an independent judiciary complicate the task of governing even more The difficulties of government become all the more apparent in part four of the course when we examine contemporary public policy problems REQUIRED TEXTS Ginsberg Benjamin Theodore J Lowi Margaret Weir 2005 We the People An Introdution to American Politics Brief 5th edition NY W W Norton Canon David T Kenneth R Mayer and John Coleman Eds 2006 The Enduring Debate Classic and Contemporary readings in American Politics 4th edition NY W W Norton Dahl Robert A 2003 How Democratic is the American Constitution New Haven Yale University Press Selected readings in a coursepack available at the College Copy Print Center located at 7319 B Baltimore Avenue 301 985 5100 You will need to pay for the packet in cash COURSE REQUIREMENTS Midterm Exam Short research paper 5 pages Participation Personal essay 3 pages Book review 3 pages Final Exam 25 20 10 10 10 25 READING ASSIGNMENTS Reading assignments from the required texts and the coursepack are specified on following pages in the syllabus It is important that students do the assigned reading before class in order to facilitate understanding of the material under discussion ATTENDANCE Excessive absences will adversely affect grades in the course 0 3 unexcused absences no penalty on course grade 4 unexcused absences 2 points subtracted from final course grade for each unexcused absence after 3 Absences will be excused for illness self or dependent religious observance participation in university sponsored activities or compelling circumstances beyond a student s control All excuses must be requested in writing and accompanied by appropriate documentation ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND OTHER POLICIES The University of Maryland College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity administered by the Student Honor Council This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating fabrication facilitation and plagiarism For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council please visit http www studenthonorcouncil umd edu whatis html As such academic honesty is taken very seriously in this course Students are expected to carefully observe rules of appropriate citation and documentation A word about plagiarism According to the MLA Handbook New York MLA 1988 to plagiarize includes two activities 1 repeating as your own someone else s sentences more or less verbatim and 2 paraphrasing another person s argument as your own and presenting another s line of thinking as though it were your own Any incidents of academic dishonesty will be reported to the University Honor Council Students should write and sign the following statement on the cover page of each paper they submit in this course I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment Papers should be double spaced and word processed in 12 point font with one inch margins A cover page should list the student s name the date the section of the course and the title of the paper Papers are due at the beginning of class on their due dates Late papers will be penalized a grade for each day the paper is late Any papers turned in after the beginning of class will be penalized as late A make up exam will only be given if justified by a written excuse accompanied by appropriate documentation PERSONAL ESSAY Political Ideology and Socialization due 10 20 2006 Go to http idealog org idealog asp ClassID 758043 First interact with the Tutorial on political ideologies Then take the Self Test Write a personal essay about your own political beliefs in response to this test In doing so you should address the following topics 1 Do you think this label is a good representation of your views What if anything does this label fail to take into account about your political beliefs 2 Reflect on your own political socialization How did your political beliefs develop What experiences individuals events or circumstances most influenced your political ideology NOTE Although this is not a formal research paper the writing should be clear polished and well organized Creativity and original thought will be recognized and rewarded BOOK REVIEW due 09 21 2006 In How Democratic is the American Constitution political scientist Robert Dahl argues that compared with other democratic countries our performance appears on balance to be mediocre at best 118 Assess Dahl s argument in a three page review essay How convincing is Dahl s case Use examples to illustrate your points RESEARCH PAPER due 11 17 2006 Students will write a short