Intro to American Politics PSC 101 Prof Battista 421 Park jbattist buffalo edu Office hours TR 2 3 15 W 11 2 or by appt My office phone is 716 645 8438 If you call and don t get hold of me just email me Do not leave a message Introduction This course is an introduction to the political life of the US We will explore how Americans think about politics how Americans organize themselves politically and how American institutions govern us We will cover these topics with an eye towards showing how political scientists have dealt with them which can be rather different from civics book notions of political life Learning outcomes and assessment measures All of these outcomes are assessed with exams cid 136 Be able to identify and discuss important scholarly debates and research questions cid 136 Demonstrate the ability to recognize and apply key concepts and major theories cid 136 Be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of government policies cid 136 Develop the ability to apply social scientific reasoning in the analysis of a wide range of political issues and problems Grading Grades will be determined by cid 136 Three multiple choice midterm exams cid 136 A noncumulative multiple choice final I will drop the lowest exam score Each remaining item is worth one third of your course grade This course is graded on a curve at the end of the course over course averages The long term median of my sections of this course a course average in the mid 70s is approximately the boundary between B and C UB Curriculum Required language from UB If you are completing this course as part of your UB Curriculum require ments please select an artifact from this course that is representative of your learning and upload it to your UBPortfolio powered by Digication account Templates have been created for this purpose Artifacts include homework assignments exams research papers projects lab reports presentations and other course materials Your final UB Curriculum requirement UBC 399 UB Curriculum Cap stone will require you to submit these artifacts as you process and reflect on your achievement and growth through the UB Curriculum For more information see the UB Curriculum Capstone website https www buffalo edu ubcurriculum capstone html If you are taking this course to satisfy UB Curriculum requirements I strongly recommend using your notes 1 Bianco and Canon American Politics Today 7th Essentials ed APT Any recent edition and version is acceptable but it s up to you to sync that edition s contents to the syllabus Readings Schedule Dates 31 Jan 7 Feb 14 Feb 21 Feb 28 Feb 7 Mar 14 Mar 21 Mar 28 Mar 4 Apr 11 Apr 18 Apr 25 Apr 2 May 9 May 18 May 2 Feb 9 Feb 16 Feb 23 Feb 2 Mar 9 Mar 16 Mar 23 Mar 30 Mar 6 Apr 13 Apr 20 Apr 27 Apr 4 May 11 May APT Ch 2 Constitution Feds 10 and 51 Campaigns elections and turnout Topic Introduction The founding Public opinion MIDTERM 1 Voting Parties Interest Groups SPRING BREAK MIDTERM 2 Congress Congress Executive MIDTERM 3 Courts Courts civil liberties Civil liberties Civil rights FINAL EXAM 11 45 AM usual room Reading APT Ch 1 APT Ch 6 APT Ch 8 APT Ch 8 APT Ch 7 APT Ch 9 APT Ch 10 APT Ch 10 APT Ch 11 12 APT Ch 13 APT Ch 13 4 APT Ch 4 APT Ch 5 2