American Government - POLS 1101/27 (CRN: 10351) Spring Semester 2013 MW: 3:30-4:45 PM Social Sciences Bldg- 3019

Professor: Dr. Amir Azarvan Office Hours: MW 11:00-1:00 PM, and by appointment Office: Social Sciences Bldg - 5061 Phone: 404-403-5366 E-mail: aazarvan@kennesaw.edu (please send all emails to this address) * If you are in need of counseling, please visit Counseling & Psychotherapy Services at http://www.kennesaw.edu/studentsuccess/cps/cps.counselpsyserv.html.

I. Course Description Welcome to POLS 1101. This course is designed to introduce students to the study of American government. We will cover (a) the structure and workings of the American political system; (b) how leaders are recruited into Americas key political institutions; (c) the various determinants of U.S. domestic and foreign policy; and (d) the philosophical bases on which the American polity is and should be built. Students are expected to learn not only from the textbook and lectures, but also from role-playing games as well from each other in the context of class discussions.

II. Readings Janda, Kenneth, et al. 2011. The Challenge of Democracy (KSU edition). New York: Pearson Longman. Additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester.

III. Course Evaluation Exams 70%: There will be four multiple choice exams. Your lowest exam grade will be dropped if you get a score of at least 40% on each exam. Attendance 20%: You are allowed no more than 2 unexcused absences (depending on how late you arrive, tardiness may count as an absence). If you miss 1-2 classes, there is no need to contact me and explain your absence. Your attendance grade is calculated by dividing the number of days you attend class by the total number of days on which attendance is recorded, minus 2. Term Paper: 5% - You are expected to write a 3-5 page critical analysis of an article written from an ideological perspective that differs from your own. Details will be given in class.

 Assignments: 5% - there will be several assignments throughout the course of the semester, chiefly the General Education Assessment test. Details will be given in class. Extra Credit Earn as many as 10 bonus points by participating in the POLS 1101 Political Simulation. Details will be given in class. Earn 2 bonus points by volunteering with a United Way-affiliated organization that works on an issue relevant to this course (the list of issues is limited to the following: disabilities, the environment, health, homelessness, hunger/food, or poverty).1 Be sure to present written evidence from a relevant third party - of having volunteered at least 3 hours. Contact information for the organization is also required.

IV. Test Rescheduling Policy I only allow make-ups or pre-takes (i.e., before the scheduled exam) when one of the following four types of situations arises: (a) medical emergencies; (b) family events/emergencies; (c) religious holidays; or, if you are a college athlete, (d) a sporting event (practices do not count) in which you are required to participate. In all cases, you must present written proof from a relevant third party- regarding the nature of your absence. In addition, an exam must be made-up no later than one week after its scheduled date. Exams will be rescheduled for the class as a whole only in the event of a weather emergency.

V. Grading Scale A B C D F 90-100 80-89 70-79 60-69 0-59

Visit the following website for volunteer opportunities: http://www.volunteersolutions.org/uwatl/volunteer/

VI. Rules Punctuality: Please make every effort to attend class on time. Just as important, do not pack up to leave before the end of class. I am the one who invented this strategy of encouraging instructors to finish up early, so it will not work with me. Submitting Assignments: You are not permitted to submit assignments via e-mail. Cell Phones and Pagers: If a students cell phone or pager goes off during class, I will automatically fail him / her for the semesterno I wont; but please shut it off before class or put it on silent. In addition, please refrain from texting. Academic Honesty: The University assumes as a basic and minimum standard of conduct in academic matters that students be honest and that they submit for credit only the products of their own efforts. Both the ideals of scholarship and the need for fairness require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit. Academic dishonesty occurs in the following forms: 1) Plagiarism, 2) cheating on examinations, 3) unauthorized collaboration, and 4) multiple submissions. **Plagiarism includes any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another students work as ones own. Plagiarism frequently involves a failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases written of spoken by someone else.

VII. General Education Assessment POLS 1101 satisfies one of Kennesaw State Universitys general education program requirements. It addresses the US Perspectives learning outcome. The learning outcome states: Students identify the historical, political, social, or institutional developments of the United States. For more information about KSUs General Education program requirements and associated learning outcomes, please visit http://catalog.kennesaw.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=12&poid=881 Kennesaw State University is currently engaged in a campus-wide assessment of its general education program. The purpose is to measure student achievement with respect to faculty defined student learning outcomes. This course has been selected to participate in the process. No individually-identifiable student information will be collected as part of the assessment. Data will be reported only in aggregated form. Students should know that the data may be used for scholarly work by members of KSU faculty (but only in anonymous and aggregated form). If you are opposed to having your anonymous data used for scholarly work, you can opt out of this specific aspect of the process. For more information on the general education assessment process and for access to an opt out form, please click the following link: https://web.kennesaw.edu/academicaffairs/genedassessment

VIII. Tentative Schedule

Date 1/9 1/14 1/16 1/21 1/23 1/28 1/30 2/4 2/6 2/11 2/13 2/18 2/20 2/25 2/27 3/4 3/6 3/11 3/13 3/18 3/20 3/25 3/27 4/1 4/3 4/8 4/10 4/15 4/17 4/22 4/24 4/29 5/1 5/6 Agenda Review of syllabus Discussion of the Political Simulation Chapter 1: Freedom, Order, or Equality No Class Chapter 2: Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy? Chapter 3: The Constitution Chapter 4: Federalism Chapter 5: Public Opinion Chapter 6: The Media Exam 1 Video Chapter 7: Participation and Voting Chapter 8: Political Parties Chapter 9: Nominations, Elections, and Campaigns Chapter 10: Interest Groups No Class No Class Chapter 11: Congress Exam 2 Video Chapter 12: The Presidency Mock Presidential Debate Mock Presidential Election Chapter 13: The Bureaucracy Chapter 14: The Courts Georgia's Constitution and Government Exam 3 Video; Term Paper Due Chapter 15: Order and Civil Liberties Chapter 16: Equality and Civil Rights Chapter 18: Economic Policy Chapter 20: Global Policy Budgetary Vote Exam 4 (3:30-5:30 PM)