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Syllabus and Course Outline

Course Title: American National Government Course Number: POS 2041

Credit Hours: 4.0 Quarter Credit Hours Course Length: 12 Weeks

Date: Course Schedule: Thurs 6-10 pm

Prerequisite: None Instructor: Ron Ziegler

Course Description: A study of the Constitutional structure and dynamics of the American Federal system; included is an examination of the current structure, organization, powers, and procedures of the American national government. Prerequisite: None. Lecture Hrs. 040 Lab. Hrs. 000 Other Hrs. 000

Objectives: Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Compare and contrast the federal system with alternative systems. (Week 2, 3, 11)

2. Discuss and interpret the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. (Week 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9)

3. Understand the role of political parties, campaigns, and elections within the national government. (Week 3, 4, 9)

4. Define and discuss the concepts of bureaucracy, national economic policy, and foreign policy. (Week 1, 2, 7, 10, 11)

5. Demonstrate a general knowledge of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. (Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8)

Text: Government by the People, Brief, 8^th Edition

Magleby & Obrien

Prentice Hall, 2009

Instructional Methods: This course occurs in a totally asynchronous, on-line environment and will combine lecture and individual and collaborative team assignments.

Grading:

Participation/Assignments 25%

Papers/Projects 25%

Midterm 25%

Final 25%

100%

A=90-100 B=80-89 C=70-79 D=60-69 F= Below 60

COURSE OUTLINE (* indicates video)

Week of 7/16 – Discuss Chapter 1 – Constitutional Democracy - Syllabus, Grading, etc

Assignment – Read Chapters 1 and Declaration and Constitution

Week of 7/23 – Discuss Chapter 1 & Declaration – American Political Culture(Global Warming*)

Assignment – Read Chapter 2 and Federalists 10, 51, and 78

Week of 7/30 – Discuss Chapter 2 and Federalist (Fahrenhype 911*)

Assignment – Read Chapters 3 & 4

Week 8/6 – Discuss Chapter 3&4 – The American Culture (Boom and Bust*)

Assignment – Read Chapter 5 & 6 -- Public Opinion, Voting, Elections, and the Media and American Politics

Week of 8/13 – Discuss Chapters 5 & 6 – Public Opinion, Voting, Elections (Fiscal Policy*)

Assignment – Read Chapter 7

Week of 8/20 – Discuss Chapter 7 - Media and American Politics (Keynesianism*)

Assignment – Read Chapter 12, 13

Week of 8/27 Mid Term is due - Discuss Civil Rights and Liberties (Free to Choose 1*)

Assignment - Read Chapter 8 - Congress

Week of 9/3 – Discuss Chapter 8 - Congress (Free to Choose 3*)

Assignment – Read Chapter 9

Week of 9/10 – Discuss Chapters 9 - Presidency (Federal Reserve*)

Assignment – Read Chapter - 10

Week of 9/17 – Discuss Chapter 10 - Bureaucracy (CIA part 1*)

Assignment – Read Chapter 11

Week of 9/24 – Discuss Chapter 12 - Judiciary (CIA part 3*)

Assignment – Read Chapters 12 and 13, Policy Process

Week of 10/1 – Final Exam, etc., due

Grading

The grade each student earns in this class will be the average of grades earned
on several different instruments, each constituting 1/6 of the total grade:

Mid Term
Final
Critical Review of One Article each from heritage.org and from scholarly journal
Case Brief
Class Participation

Web Projects

Exams (find the online version of this syllabus at ejournalofpoliticalscience.com)

Mid Term
Go Here
Study Guide for Case Law on Mid Term
Go Here
Final Exam
Go Here

Article Reviews (one before the midterm, and the other before the final)

Go to www.heritage.org and select a study from one of the topical categories

under Leadership for America, Latest Policy Research, or elsewhere on the page

which is of interest to you to read, review, and write a 500 word critical analysis about it.
You will email this to the instructor at [email protected]

You will do the same thing with one article which you select from Everest Library
media bank resources taken from any one of the following professional journals:

The American Political Science Review
The Journal of Politics
Political Research Quarterly
Political Science Quarterly
Polity
American Politics Quarterly
Presidential Studies Quarterly
Political Theory
Foreign Policy
Foreign Affairs
American Journal of Political Science
Political Behavior
Legislative Studies Quarterly
Policy Studies Journal
Policy Studies Review

Case Brief

Select a Supreme Court decision which is of interest to you from the text and submit the assignment by the time of the mid term

Google the case of go to the following web site:
http://www.findlaw.com

find the link to US Supreme Court

You will be shown several ways to find cases; try several of them

If you google any case, one of the hits will be the actual text of the decision.

Prepare a paper which includes the following:

1) The name of the case
2) The date it was decided by the Supreme Court
3) The facts of the case
4) The issue being decided
5) The decision of the court
6) The legal reasoning behind the case
7) The justice who wrote the decision
8) The vote
9) The concurring and dissenting decisions
10) Indicate whether the decision is still law of if it has been overturned

Web Projects

Project 1) Legislative Branch

Locate the official website of the United States Congress

Identify each of the following:

Speaker of the House

Majority Leader of the House

Majority Whip of the House

Minority Leader of the House

Minority Whip of the House

the number of members who are Republicans

the number of members who are Democrats

the name of the member of Congress whose district you live in

and the committees that member serves on in the Congress

(look at the state district map at

http://www.leg.state.fl.us)

President of the Senate

President pro temp of the Senate

Majority Leader of the Senate

Minority Leader of the Senate

the Florida members of the U.S. Senate and their party affiliation

Which Florida House District do you live in, and what is the name of the Representative

elected from that district?

Which Florida Senate District do you live in, and what is the name of the Representative

elected from that district?

(use www.myflorida.com to search out this information)

　

　

Project 2) Executive Branch

Go to www.whitehouse.gov

a) click on 'other offices'

list five of the agencies of the Executive Office of the President

tell one duty of each

name the current official serving in that position

b) click on President Bush's Cabinet

name each department, one duty of each, and the current head of each

c) click on Federal Agencies and Commissions

list five independent regulatory commissions

five government corporations

five executive/administrative agencies

(and identify the primary task of each)

　

Project 3) New Media

Find each of the following on line:

Newsmax.com

The Drudge Report

World Net Daily

Rush Limbaugh.com

Fox news network

copy and paste the front page of each to an email which you send to instructor at

[email protected]

Project 4) Elections/FEC

Go to www.fec.gov

what does it tell you about campaign finance reports and data?

what does it tell you about reporting and compliance?

Go to http://election.dos.state.fl.us/

what agency is this webpage?

what kinds of information could you learn from this webpage?

Class Participation

You will receive a grade based on two factors, your preparation and participation
in class activities and discussions. This will be primarily structured around your
attendance at class sessions and your ability to maintain proper decorum in that
setting. There is a strong statistical correlation of attendance, preparation,
and participation with grades which students earn, and this grade is also intended
to reinforce the practicality of regularly being in class. It is often not possible to make
up work that is missed in a class built around discussion. While the instructor will
work with the student who may have to miss a session, that should be avoided
to as great an extent as possible.

Contacting Instructor

You may contact the instructor through email at [email protected]
or by calling at 321-805-2507 (cell). You may leave a voice mail.
If necessary, I will contact you as necessary. If you have to miss a class,
it is advisable that you contact the instructor with that information beforehand.

About Your Instructor

Ron Ziegler taught high school in Detroit, Michigan from 1967 until his retirement
in 1999. During those years, he also taught adult education classes with the
Cass Outreach program, and Kettering, Hazel Park, and Monroe/Bedford adult ed programs.

Since 1984, he has taught political science, history, and economics
at Detroit College of Business/Davenport College, Wayne State University,
Macomb Community College, Monroe Community College, Florida Metropolitan
University/Everest, Keiser, and Valencia Community College. He earned his Bachelors degree
in education and political science from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1968,
where he also was awarded a Masters degree in political science in 1980. He
completed work on his PhD in political science and history there as well. He lives
with his three children, Alexander, 21, Sarah, 19, and Kalani, 16, in Kissimmee, to which they relocated following his retirement on thirty plus years of teaching with the Detroit Board of Education and following the passing of his wife in 1998.

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