PS 101(010-016) FALL 2013

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
MW 2PM-2:50PM
SECTION 010: M 1-1:50pm, 09 Patterson Office Tower SECTION 011: T 12:30-1:20pm, 301 Dickey Hall SECTION 012: W 1-1:50pm, 111 Chem-Phys SECTION 013: M 3-3:50pm, 303 Classroom Bldg. SECTION 014: F 12-12:50pm, 342 Classroom Bldg. SECTION 015: F 1-1:50pm, 203 Ralph G. Anderson Bldg. SECTION 016: F 2-2:50pm, 201 Classroom Bldg.

NURS 201 (College of Nursing)

INTRODUCTION:
This is an introductory course in American government, and as such, is designed to present students with a broad overview of the American political system. However, this course is NOT simply a college-level civics course. We will be learning to study American government and politics as political scientists do, with attention given to both empirical and critical theoretical approaches. By the end of the course we will have examined the following questions/issues: What are the bases of the American republic in political & democratic theory and in political culture? How is the Constitution of 1787 a reflection of these elements and the tensions between them? How have the continued evolution of American political culture and our interpretation of the Constitution resulted in our current understanding of civil liberties and civil rights? How might the st Constitution be amended to better reflect the political needs and realities of 21 century America? What are the constitutional powers and responsibilities of all three branches of the federal government? How do they relate to each other in the constitutional system of checks and balances and shared powers? How do they function together to translate the will of the people into policy and law? What are political parties, and what crucial roles do they play in the American political system? How are they related to interest groups? What is the current status of both the Democratic and Republican parties? Why have third parties so rarely been successful in the U.S.? How are elections supposed to result in democratic outcomes? What are the roles of political parties, interest groups, the media and money in American elections? What is the role of the media in American politics? What should their role be? Why is high quality information and debate so important to the functioning of our republic? Is there a bias to the media, and if so, what kind and to what extent? What is the role of the emerging Internet media in contemporary politics? This course is structured for two 50-minute lecture classes per week, with one small group work session (also known as a discussion or recitation section) with your Teaching Assistant. Although our Monday & Wednesday class time will often be spent in lectures, I will always allow room for questions and discussions (often through LectureTools), such activities being necessary to achieve the best possible learning environment. We will also occasionally engage in small-group activities in class as time allows. Discussion section meetings will largely be conducted through small group exercises. This course is part of the U.K. Core Program and can be taken to fulfill the Community, Culture, and Citizenship in the USA requirement.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students who attend lectures regularly, participate in their discussion section actively, and who do the assigned readings and the assigned MyPoliSciLab activities should be able to: Describe the importance of citizenship to democracy, including the importance of well-protected and maintained civil liberties and civil rights. Identify the key political theoretical and political cultural bases of the American Republic and apply these to a basic analysis of how the Constitution could be amended to better reflect the st political needs and realities of 21 Century America. Identify and describe the constitutional powers and responsibilities of all three branches of the federal government and explain how they relate to each other in the constitutional system of checks and balances and shared powers Identify and describe the ways in which the public communicates values, opinions, and attitudes to public officials Describe how political institutions shape the connections between policies and public demands. Critique the role of the media in shaping American political thought and behavior As this course satisfies UK Cores Community, Culture, and Citizenship in the USA requirement, students who attend lectures regularly, participate in their discussion section actively, and who do the assigned readings and the assigned MyPoliSciLab activities should be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of historical, societal, and cultural differences, such as those arising from race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, language, nationality, religion, political and ethical perspectives, and socioeconomic class. Demonstrate a basic understanding of how these differences influence issues of social justice and/or civic responsibility. Demonstrate an understanding of historical, societal, and cultural contexts relevant to the subject matter of the course. Demonstrate an understanding of at least two of the following, as they pertain to the subject matter of the course: o Societal, cultural, and institutional change over time o Civic engagement o Regional, national, or cross-national comparisons o Power and resistance.

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Primary Instructor: Dr. Christopher S. Rice Office: 518C King Building (Science Library) Office Hours: TBA Teaching Assistant: Meghan Steinbeiss Email: meghan.steinbeiss@uky.edu Office Hours: W 11am-12pm, R 12-1pm Office: 1602 Patterson Office Tower Email: christopher.rice@uky.edu Twitter: @ricetopher Telephone: 257-4011 Sections: 010, 012, 015 Telephone: TBA

Teaching Assistant: Amir Townsend Email: amir.townsend@uky.edu Office: 1618 Patterson Office Tower Teaching Assistant: Ryan Voris Email: ryan.voris@uky.edu Office Hours: T 1:30-3pm, W 3-4pm Office: 1618 Patterson Office Tower

Sections: 016 Telephone: 257-7052 Office Hours: F 11am-12pm Sections: 011, 013, 014 Telephone: 257-7052

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Grade Determination:
Your final course grade will be based on six (6) components: Exam I Week of September 23 (15%) Exam II October 30 (20%) Final Exam December 16 (25%) Attendance & Participation (10%) Discussion Section Attendance & Participation (20%) MyPoliSciLab Quizzes and Activities (10%)

Required Texts: The following resources are required for this course:
Daniel M. Shea, Joanne Connor Green, and Christopher E. Smith. Living Democracy, 2012 Election Edition. (New York: Pearson). MyPoliSciLab (www.mypoliscilab.com), which includes practice tests, multimedia activities, and more to reinforce your understanding of the textbook.
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The new 4 edition of Shea is required, and will come bundled with your access code for MyPoliSciLab. You must be able to access MyPoliSciLab to complete this course. You can access MyPoliSciLab through Blackboard using the navigation bar on the left of the course shell. Follow signup instructions, including how to enter your code, from there. All of the reading and assigned videos, simulations and data explorations for this course are required. You should read all of the assigned material on the dates of the learning unit for which it is assigned, be prepared to discuss it or be quizzed over it in class, and also be prepared to be examined on it EVEN IF IT IS NOT DISCUSSED IN CLASS. Our class time will not be spent simply going over the assigned readings. Rather, the readings will serve as our point of departure for the lectures and class discussion. Indeed, most lectures will involve information not contained in the readings. So do the readings for each class on a timely basis! Readings should always be done prior to the first day of the unit for which they are assigned. Due dates for MyPoliSciLab activities are available on the Assignment Calendar on that site.

Exams (60%): There will be two exams given during the course of the semester and a cumulative
final exam. Exams will consist of Multiple-Choice questions only. The first exam will be conducted online on Blackboard. Details for how this will be conducted will be posted on Blackboard prior to September rd 23 . For the in-class exam on October 30 and the Final Exam on December 16, I will provide the examination paper, but you are REQUIRED to bring a PENCIL to both exams. Review questions for each

exam, as well as PowerPoints for lectures covered by each exam, may be found on the course Blackboard site and MyPoliSciLab a few days prior to each exam. Makeup exams will be given only for university-excused absences (See Excused Absences below) or if you have obtained approval prior to the absence. If you miss an exam with an unexcused absence you will receive a zero for the exam. If the absence is due to a foreseen reason, written verification will be required at least one week before the scheduled exam. Permission to miss an exam must be secured from Dr. Rice BEFORE the scheduled exam time unless the cause of the absence is unforeseen. If the exam must be missed due to an unforeseen reason, it is your responsibility to contact your TA ASAP following the exam (by phone, email or in person). Make-up exams will be scheduled for our regular class time on December 11, 2013. No other make-up days will be available except under the most extraordinary circumstances. Exam grades will be posted to Blackboard shortly after the exam period. If you have questions regarding your exam grades you should speak with your TA during office hours. We will not discuss grades by phone or by email.

Attendance & Participation (10%): Regardless of what you may have heard,
attendance is very important for success in most college courses. This is especially true for my courses. A great amount of the lecture material will not appear in the course readings, and you are responsible for all information presented in the lectures. Moreover, the lectures will provide important clues as to what things are likely to show up on the examinations. It is highly unlikely that you will do well in this course without regular and engaged attendance. To facilitate participation and encourage attendance in our large course meetings, we will be using a learning tool known as LectureTools. A (free) LectureTools account is REQUIRED for this course. We will be using LectureTools to take attendance, give quizzes, take polls and otherwise facilitate class participation. LectureTools works on Laptops, iPad or other tablets using the web interface. You may also participate in most, if not all, LT items using text messaging on your phone. It is your responsibility to create a LectureTools account, link it to the course using Blackboard and connect it to whatever devices you will be using to participate in class. You MUST come prepared to participate in class using LectureTools every day. If you forget to bring a device that can access LectureTools during any class period, you may receive attendance credit by signing a form at the beginning of class (please see your TA for this), but you will not be able to receive any participation credit for the day. If you are having trouble with accessing LectureTools, please see me or your TA BEFORE class and we will attempt to help you get properly set up. You are to use only the LectureTools account that you have registered for your individual use for this course. Use of anyone elses LectureTools account will constitute cheating, and if discovered, you will receive a 0 for your attendance & participation grade for the semester. You must register your LectureTools account through Blackboard by 12am, September 9th. If your LectureTools account is not registered by the 12am September 9 deadline, you will receive no class participation credit for each day it is not registered.

Discussion Section Attendance & Participation (20%): In addition to the

main lecture sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, you must also attend and participate in a discussion or recitation meeting during your scheduled day and time. If you do not know your day/time, please see the top of this syllabus for information on day, time and meeting location for each section. You will be expected to participate regularly in these sessions in a variety of activities, many of which will involve Google Apps or LectureTools. These sessions will be a combination of discussion and small group activities designed to help you dig deeper into the course learning outcomes, especially the learning outcomes for the UK Core requirement. Your comments and work in these sessions should be serious, well-thought-out, critical and civil. You will NOT be graded on your point of view or political beliefs, but rather how often and how strongly you have participated, and how thoughtful and well-informed your

comments/responses and participation have been. Also, you must complete a short writing assignment (approximately 4-5 pages) due December 2 which will allow you to demonstrate what you have learned during the semester in your discussion section. This writing activity MUST be completed for you to receive your Discussion Section Attendance & Participation grade. Non-completion will result in a grade of 0 for this 20% of your course grade. You will upload this assignment into Blackboard by December 2. Full instructions will be provided to you by your Teaching Assistant by the mid-term of the semester.

MyPoliSciLab Activities & Quizzes (10%): This semester we will be using

MyPoliSciLab from Pearson to access multimedia supplements to the textbook, along with quizzes to assess your comprehension of and engagement with these materials. You are required to complete all multimedia assignments/quizzes by the due date on MyPoliSciLab. Your MyPoliSciLab access code is bundled with your textbook. MyPoliSciLab activities and quizzes will be worth 10% of your final grade. In addition to graded assignments, MyPoliSciLab has many additional features, like chapter pre- and posttests and flashcard activities that will help you prepare for the exams. While we do not require these activities, we do recommend them as a way to improve your performance in the course.

Google Apps: This semester we will be using Google Apps extensively for class activities. You are
required to have a University of Kentucky Google Apps account (username@g.uky.edu) for this course. Most of you will already have a Google Apps account for your UK email. For those of you who have a UK Microsoft WindowsLive account, please go to https://ukam.uky.edu/manager/, log in with your LinkBlue ID and password and set up your Google Apps account there. If you have trouble getting set up with a UK Google Account, please let me know and contact the UK Help Desk (218-HELP) immediately. You may use your phone, tablet or laptop computer to engage in these Google Apps activities, and we encourage you to bring these devices to every class session. If you do not have access to a smartphone, tablet or laptop, we will partner you up with a student who does so that you may continue to work on these activities in class.

COURSE POLICIES:
Email Policy: You may always feel free to contact me or your Teaching Assistant via email.
However, I do have a few general guidelines you must follow when doing so. First, always begin the subject line of an email to us with PS 101:. Be certain to use EXACTLY this subject line start (i.e., include spaces and the colon, capitalize PS, put a space after the colon, etc.). This will put your email into the appropriate inbox, allowing us to respond to your email in a timely fashion. Emails that do not have PS 101: at the beginning of the subject line may not receive a response. Also, emails are NOT text messages/IM communications. When emailing us you should open the email by addressing me as Dr. Rice (or your Teaching Assistant by Mr. or Ms. [lastname], identifying yourself, concisely providing the nature of your problem/request, and then signing off with your name. If you have followed these directions, you may expect a response within 48 hours of its receipt. If you have a pressing emergency, you should speak to me or your TA before or after class, or by phone. As a final note, we will NOT provide your grades (nor discuss any personally-identifiable grade information) over the phone or by email.

Twitter Policy: While I do not follow students on Twitter, I will always see Tweets sent using
@ricetopher or the course hashtag #ukps101. I check Twitter often throughout the day and will generally respond to Tweets within 24 hours. While Twitter is a more informal mode of communication, I still insist that you treat me and other members of the class with respect when communicating via these channels, just as you would during an in-class discussion. I will NOT provide your grades (nor discuss any personally-identifiable grade information) by Twitter. Remember: messages sent to me on Twitter, using

the course hashtag are publicly available. If you need to speak to me about a private matter, please use your University of Kentucky email account or speak with me face-to-face.

Office Hours: I will be scheduling several office hours each week, though the times and days for
these will vary as we find what works best for this class. I will provide information on times, days and location for my office course under Course Information on Blackboard. For some office hours, you will have the option of either coming to my office in 518 King at that time to meet with me in person or meet with me using Skype or Google Hangout. Your Teaching Assistant will also schedule office hours during the week. The days, times and location for those will also be listed under Course Information on Blackboard.

Classroom Standards: I expect all students to behave in a professional manner during class
time. This means coming to class on time and being ready to start class at 2pm. It is disrespectful to me and to your fellow students to come late and disrupt class, so be on time. I will not tolerate chronic tardiness, and if you arrive to class more than 5 minutes late, you may be asked to turn around and leave. Also, unless you have obtained prior approval from me, you may not leave class early. Furthermore, I do not tolerate rude and disruptive classroom behavior. During class, refrain from talking during the lecture (unless it is to ask me a question!), reading a newspaper, doing crosswords, sudoku or other puzzles/games, sleeping, text messaging or other non-course related cellphone use, or listening to your iPod or other .mp3 players. When in class, turn off your cell phones unless using it to access LectureTools or Google Apps silencing will not suffice when many of your phones have a vibrate function that could crack a walnut. Finally, due to the potential for distracting you and your fellow classmates, please avoid using laptop computers or other devices that may be used to access the Internet for purposes other than class activities (e.g., Facebooking, shopping eBay, emailing, etc.). I encourage you to use your computer, phone or other internet-capable device during class to participate in class activities on LectureTools or GoogleApps or to look up elements from the lecture online to supplement the lecture and your notes. I reserve the right to dismiss from class any student in violation of any classroom standards policies.

Disputing Exam Grades: Should you wish to dispute the grading of an exam, you may
submit a written grievance. Your grievance should identify the question(s)/answer(s) in dispute and provide arguments supporting your position. The appeal must be submitted IN WRITING (attached to the corresponding exam) to me within two class periods following the exam in question. I will provide a written response to your grievance within one week of its receipt.

Grading: The grading scale for the final course grade for this course is as follows: A = 90-100%, B =
80-89%, C = 70-79%, D = 60-69%, and E = 0-59%. The course is not graded on a curve. There is no extra credit available for this course.

Excused Absences: The University defines the following as acceptable reasons for excused
absences: illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the students immediate family; death of a member of the students immediate family; trips for members of student organizations sponsored by an academic unit, trips for university classes and trips for participation in intercollegiate athletic events; major religious holidays; any other circumstances which the instructor finds reasonable cause for nonattendance. I reserve the right to require documentation for any excused absence. It is the students responsibility to notify me before any absence if possible, but no later than one week following the absence in any case. It is the students responsibility to provide proper documentation and notification in all cases. See Student Rights and Responsibilities, Part II, Section 5.2.4.2 (http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/part2.html) for UKs policy on excused absences.

Late Assignments: University policy will be followed regarding all make-up exams and writing
assignments. Make-up exams and writing will only be allowed for excused absences. For definitions of these terms, please consult the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook.

A Brief Note on Cheating & Plagiarism and Academic Integrity:

Please see the home page for the Office of Academic Ombud Services (http://www.uky.edu/Ombud) for a definition of plagiarism, how to avoid plagiarism and UKs new academic offense policy. See also Student Rights and Responsibilities, Part II, Section 6.3 (http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/part2.html) for UKs policy on academic integrity.

Classroom and Learning Accommodations: If you have a documented disability

that requires academic accommodations, please see me as soon as possible during scheduled office hours. In order to receive accommodations in this course, you must provide me with a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (Room 2, Alumni Gym, 2572754, email address jkarnes@email.uky.edu) for coordination of campus disability services available to students with disabilities.

One Last Thing Dropping the Course: Not that I hope you choose to leave our
little soiree, but there are a couple of dates you should keep in mind should the need arise. The last day to drop this course without it appearing on your transcript is September 18, 2013. The last day to withdraw from the course is November 8, 2013.

COURSE SCHEDULE:
NOTE: All items in the Course Schedule are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. These changes will be announced in class and/or on Blackboard (or MyPoliSciLab, where appropriate). You are responsible for all announced changes, so come to class and check Blackboard regularly. Discussion Session assignments, where appropriate, will be announced on Blackboard. September 2 Labor Day No Class September 3 Discussion Sections begin meeting Foundations of American Political Culture (September 4) Read Shea, Ch.1 MyPoliSciLab: Log into MyPoliSciLab through Blackboard and run the Browser Tune-Up activities. Citizenship Test: Take the citizenship test and see how you would fare as a foreigner attempting to gain U.S. citizenship. Video: Watch the Basics video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Data: How Do You Measure Freedom? (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 1 before and after reading the chapter. The Constitution (September 9,11) Read Shea, Ch.2 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch The Basics video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In Context video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz.

Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 2 before and after reading the chapter.

Federalism (September 16) Read Shea, Ch.3 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch In Context video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 3 before and after reading the chapter. Civil Liberties & Civil Rights (September 18,23) Read Shea, Ch. 4,5 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch Ch. 4 In Context video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch Ch. 5 In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Data: Are All Forms of Discrimination the Same? (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapters 4 & 5 before and after reading the chapter. Week of September 23 EXAM I (Online) Congress (September 25, 30, October 2) Read Shea, Ch.6 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch The Basics video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch Thinking Like a Political Scientist video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Data: Can Congress Get Anything Done? (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 6 before and after reading the chapter. The Presidency (October 7,9,14) Read Shea, Ch.7 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch The Basics video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In Context video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch Thinking Like a Political Scientist video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Data: What Influences a Presidents Public Approval? (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 7 before and after reading the chapter. The Bureaucracy (October 16,21) Read Shea, Ch.8 Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch Thinking Like a Political Scientist video and complete the post video quiz. Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 8 before and after reading the chapter.

The Federal Judiciary (October 23,28) Read Shea, Ch.9 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch In Context video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch Thinking Like a Political Scientist video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Data: Who Are the Activist Judges? (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 9 before and after reading the chapter. October 30 EXAM II (In-Class) Polling, Public Opinion and Political Socialization (November 4,6) Read Shea, Ch.10 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch Thinking Like a Political Scientist video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Simulation: You Are a Polling Consultant (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 10 before and after reading the chapter. The Media and American Politics (November 6,11,13) Read Shea, Ch.11 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch The Basics video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In Context video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch Thinking Like a Political Scientist video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Data: Where Do You Get Your Political News? (Complete post data quiz) Explore the Simulation: You Are a Newspaper Editor (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 11 before and after reading the chapter. Interest Groups (November 18,20) Read Shea, Ch.12 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch Thinking Like a Political Scientist video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Simulation: You Are a Lobbyist (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 12 before and after reading the chapter. November 27 Thanksgiving Break No Class Elections, Parties & Political Participation (November 25, December 2,4) Read Shea, Ch.13, Annual #32,35 MyPoliSciLab: Video: Watch In Context video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch Thinking Like a Political Scientist video and complete the post video quiz. Video: Watch In The Real World video and complete the post video quiz. Explore the Data: Is the Electoral College Democratic? (Complete post data quiz) Explore the Simulation: You Are a Campaign Strategist (Complete post data quiz) Recommended: Complete the Pre-Test and Post-Test Quizzes for Chapter 13 before and after reading the chapter.

Concluding Lecture: What is the Future of the American Republic? (December 9) Reading TBA (see Blackboard) December 11 MAKE-UP EXAM DAY December 16 (Monday) 10:30AM-12:30PM FINAL EXAM

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