GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

Department of Public & International Affairs

Summer 2003

GOVT 103-C01: Introduction to American Government

MTWR 9:30-11:35 a.m., Enterprise 175

7/22/03

Instructor: Ann Ludwick

Office Location: Robinson A201A

Office Hours: Tue/Thur 2:00 – 3:00 and by appointment

Phone: (703) 993-1410

Email: aludwick@gmu.edu

Course Objectives: This course will help you to develop a deeper understanding of the basic facts and concepts concerning America’s experiment in self-government. This semester’s work is intended to expose you to the fundamental values and principles of American constitutional democracy. Most importantly, the goal of this course is to start you on the path to informed and active citizenship. Lectures, videos, discussion, group work, critical thinking exercises, and guest speakers will be used in this course.

Course Expectations: All members of the class - instructor and students alike - are expected to:

1) appear punctually for each class;

2) prepare conscientiously by reading and note taking on the assigned topics;

3) treat each other with respect, honesty and intellectual seriousness; and,

4) communicate with each other openly should it appear at any time that the first three expectations are not being met.

Should medical conditions or family responsibilities make it impossible for you to take an examination or complete an assignment on the scheduled date, you must inform the instructor in advance. Unless you have received permission before or (in case of a dire emergency) on that scheduled date, there will be no opportunity for make-up work. Voice mail at my telephone number is available to you 24 hours a day, as is my e-mail address. If we fail to speak in person, you should make it a point to leave a message.

If necessary, the instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus. Students are responsible for all announced changes to the syllabus.

Required Textbook: The Basics of American Politics by G. Wasserman (2002), 10^th ed., and other readings which are posted on WebCT.

WebCT:

We will use an online course management tool, WebCT, to view the syllabus, review lecture notes, access additional readings, manage the group presentation, and view assignment grades throughout the course. Students are already loaded into the system. To activate your WebCT ID, go to:

http://webct.gmu.edu – enter your username (same as the first part of your GMU email address) and initial password (the last four digits of your SSN).

Course Requirements: There will be one two-part individual citizenship paper, one group project, and two examinations that will cover both the reading material and lectures. There will be an opportunity for extra credit.

Citizenship Reflection Mid term exam Group Project Citizenship Paper Final exam

10% 20% 25% 20% 25%

Grading Scale:

A (95-100) A- (90-94)

B+ (86-89) B (83-85) B- (80-82)

C+ (75-79) C (70-74)

D (60-69)

F (59 or less)

Honor Code:

The Honor Code Policy endorsed by the members of the Department of Public and International Affairs relative to the types of academic work indicated below is set out in the appropriate paragraphs:

1.Quizzes, tests and examinations. No help may be given or received by students during the taking of quizzes, tests, or examinations, whatever the type or wherever taken, unless the instructor specifically permits deviation from this standard.

2.Course Requirements: All work submitted in fulfillment of course requirements is to be solely the product of the individuals(s) whose name(s) appears on it. Except with permissions of the instructor, no recourse is to be had to projects, papers, lab reports or any other written work previously prepared by another student, and except with permission of the instructor no paper or work of another type submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of another course may be used a second time to satisfy a requirement in the Department of Public and International Affairs. No assistance is to be obtained from commercial organizations which sell or lease research help or written papers. With respect to all written work as appropriate, proper footnotes and attribution are required.

The Citizenship Paper

Citizenship Reflection 1-2 pages

One of the goals of this course is to start you on the path to informed and active citizenship. We will read about and discuss politics, government, and citizenship over this summer session. The Reflection is designed to encourage you to think about the definition of “citizen.” Consider the following statement with respect to you own life:

An alarming trend over recent years has been the disengagement of young citizens from the American political system. They seem to be disconnected from public deliberation, community involvement, volunteerism, and educational values. This detachment is of critical concern to America today.

Explain what you think this statement means – do you agree or disagree?

*DUE July 2

Citizenship Paper 3-4 pages

Based upon what you have found during your citizenship reflection, write a paper about your personal sense of citizenship. The paper should discuss:

• what you believe citizenship is about and why
• your perspective on the role of government and why
• any changes in beliefs or perspectives that may have occurred during this course and why
• use sources – the textbook, outside readings, newspaper, internet research – to support your paper

*DUE July 28

The Group Project:

Students will work together in teams to analyze a court case. Teams will present their findings in an oral presentation and submit one written case portfolio (3 pages). The case portfolio will include the following three sections:

• Summarize the court case
• Describe the judicial process
• Highlight the implications of the case on the political process, for example impacts on current events, branches of government affected, changes in the process affected.

*DUE July 21

Course Outline:

30 June – Mon	Introduction to GOVT 103, WebCT demo, Democracy and Ancient Greece
1 July – Tue	What is Politics? Chapter 1 Video on Bill of Rights: KF4749 .B54 1997
2 July – Wed	The Constitution – Chapter 2 Personal Review of Citizenship is due
3 July – Thu	-Independence Day Holiday – -no class-
7 July – Mon	Federalism – Chapter 2 pp. 27-32 & 38-40 Reading:US Constitution Video Clip: Can the States Do It Better? JF751 .C36 1996
8 July – Tue	The Executive Branch – Chapter 3 Guest Speaker: John McMahan, Dept of Homeland Security
9 July – Wed	The Legislative Branch – Chapter 4 Video on Congress: JK 1061 .P58 1995 Reading:Crackup of the Committees Library Research demo: Barbara Hillson, GMU Libraries
10 July – Thu	Mid term Exam -Note: July 11 last day to drop-
14 July – Mon	Mid term Review, Group project details Time to work with groups
15 July – Tue	Civil Rights and Liberties – Chapter 6 Video on First Amendment Rights: KF 4558 1^st.F57 1990 Time to work with groups
16 July – Wed	Civil Rights and Liberties – Chapter 6 Reading:Letter from Birmingham Jail
17 July – Thu	The Judicial Branch – Chapter 5 Guest Speaker: Dr. Robert Dudley, Dept Chair
21 July – Mon	Group presentations Voters and Political Parties – Chapter 7
22 July – Tue	Interest Groups – Chapter 8 Guest Speakers: Derick Malis & Nancy Murphy – Baseball in Washington
23 July – Wed	The Media – Chapter 8 Video on Constructing Public Opinion: P 96 .P83 C66 2001
24 July – Thu	Seminar on Capitol Hill Room SD-628, Dirksen Senate Office Bldg, Washington DC
28 July – Mon	Pluralism vs Elitism – Chapter 9 FINAL Citizenship paper is due Last class meeting – extra credit is due
31 July - Thu	Final Exam Time Revised to: 10:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.