Carnahan Hall    Russell Renka

Renka's Home Page º Online Applications in OIS:      Forum      Gradebook      Drop Box      UTest - Exams and Quizzes º Southeast Portal and My Southeast º Southeast Online, including Technical Support and General System Requirements for Online Students **Essay 3 - due by midnight Wednesday, November 18 at the Drop Box under "Essay 3" subheading.

º Center for Study of Teaching and Learning & CSTL Download Site  º Learning Assistance - Learning Enrichment Center  º Writing Assistance - Online Writing Lab  º Kent Library Homepage  º Local voting:  Election Information from Cape Girardeau County Clerk's Office; also Missouri First Vote - Voting In College  º Renka, Madison and Federalism  º Renka, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Public Opinion Polls  º The New York Times

PS103-742:  U.S. Political Systems
Syllabus - Fall 2009, Regular Session (online)
Professor Russell Renka

PS103-742 - U.S. Political Systems (online)	Professor Russell D. Renka
Fall 2009 - Southeast Missouri State University	Campus Office:  Carnahan 211L; Mail Stop 2920
Location:  On line	Office Hours:  MTWRF 10:00-10:50 a.m. or by appointment
Syllabus and Course Website:  online.semo.edu/2009fall/ps103-742/class/index.htm	Office Telephone: (573) 651-2692
Renka's Home Page:  cstl-cla.semo.edu/renka/ or use "renka" at Google > Renka's Home Page	Office FAX: (573) 651-2695
Professor Renka's e-mail:  rdrenka@semo.edu	Department Telephone:  (573) 651-2183

Internal links:
° Introduction
° Course Textbook and Readings
° Course Requirements and Credits
° Source Citations and Source Locations
° What is Expected of You
° How to Reach Me
° Weekly Readings and Examination Itinerary

Introduction                    Next down; Top

    This course addresses government and politics of the United States and its states, including the State of Missouri.  Governments have special authority granted to no other organizations--the power to make laws and regulations and to enforce them, and to collect taxes from all of us.  Government is a nearly universal way human beings regulate themselves and their fellows.  Included here is coverage of our federal and state constitutions which provide the sovereign authority for these governments to exist and exercise powers over us.  The course fulfills the Political Systems requirement of the University Studies Program.

    Politics is the study of the uses of power in pursuit of public objectives.  It's amenable to scientific treatment, and I'm a political scientist.  You must learn some politics to truly understand government.  We'll go beyond dry formalities of government structure and functions such as "how a bill becomes law" (seen in every textbook).  Politics explains why one bill becomes law and a host of fellows fall short.  For example, a Republican 104th Congress passed a minimum wage increase in 1996 despite the traditional Republican disdain of such measures and the ardent hostility of many Members of Congress toward it; but politics can explain why and how this happened.

    This is also a civics course.  Wikipedia acceptably defines civics as "education in the obligations and the rights of the citizen under (some political or ethical tradition such as the American one)."  Not every student wants a dose of this, but it's good medicine.  Many Americans in 2006 dislike politics, politicians, and government.  But it's a democracy, it affects you, and you have no way out of that.  Effective citizenship in democracy is a worthy personal goal.  It requires real knowledge of both government and politics.

    This course is taught at three levels.  Some material is basic description, such as an outline of the trimester system set forth in the Supreme Court's highly controversial Roe v. Wade abortion decision, or a specification of what the First Amendment says about freedom of speech.  Some is analytic; once you know basics, you can interpret whether the distinction in law of first and second trimesters makes sense based on what we know from medical research, or whether public tobacco advertising should be classified as commercial speech.  And ultimately you confront the evaluative or judgmental; you ultimately decide what if anything to accept in Roe v. Wade or in tobacco advertising.  All have the objective of enabling you to understand what you read or hear in the public realm, and to react as an informed consumer and citizen.  Essay portions of exams are designed to let you show knowledge at each of these levels.

    This course emphasizes two core University Studies Program Objectives.  First is effective citizenship.  The course should enhance your ability to be an informed participant and knowledgeable consumer.  This does not mean I promote an automatic acceptance of the American status quo; quite the contrary, blind acceptance is a fool's path.  The second, equally important objective is to master locating and gathering information.  Few things are more confusing to the average American than to figure out sources of the myriad effects our government has upon our lives.  Website access is a great help, but one must still learn navigation and acquisition skills.  Some assignments are therefore designed to ensure that you become conversant in web usage beyond the simple use of search terms in your favorite search engine.

    I'd love to remedy the woeful lack of scientific literacy among the American citizenry.  I cannot fix the fact that 1 in 6 Americans can be defined as scientifically literate, but I can help you to avoid some effects of that.  Some assignments are aimed directly at this objective, as you'll see.  I am a practicing skeptic on the many specious informational claims emanating from AM Talk Radio, from conspiracy theorists, and from self-appointed political experts; the reason is that many don't know what they're talking about.

Course Textbook and Readings:                           Next Down; Top

Textbook:  Patterson, Thomas E.  2009.  The American Democracy, 9th ed.  New York:  McGraw Hill.  This is issued by Textbook Service.  See The American Democracy Companion Website > The American Democracy > Student Study Guide.  Also do The American Democracy > "Choose a Chapter" for Quizzes, Chapter Outline, Chapter Overview, Flashcards, Glossary, and Weblinks.  I strongly recommend that you do the Multiple Choice Quiz for each chapter.

Second Book:  Morris P. Fiorina with Samuel J. Abrams and Jeremy C. Pope, Culture War?  The Myth of a Polarized America, 2d ed.  New York:  Pearson Education, Inc., 2005.  Southeast Bookstore has used copies for $13.95.  You can also get it used at Amazon and elsewhere for about $6 up, but shipping brings net cost close to $10.  On Itinerary it's cited simply as Culture War? in italics; and it's not up until after Week 4.  You have time enough to buy it online if that's your choice.

Other readings are specified in the Weekly Readings and Examination Itinerary below.

Web Reference Sources:  Paul M. Johnson's website has fundamental terminology used widely in political science, economics, and policy analysis classes, at A Glossary of Political Economy Terms.

Course Requirements and Credits                     Next down; Top

Examinations:  Each four-week section is capped by a two part examination worth 200 points.  Each exam has two sections, multiple-choice, and essay, worth 100 points each.  The fourth examination covers Week 4 only. There is no comprehensive final exam.  You can follow this via Gradebook.

   The multiple choice questions cover all readings, classroom materials, and other materials we may address during that four-week period.  These questions combine the basic and the analytic, but largely bypass the judgmental (although some will require you to recognize an opinion of a writer or your instructor on an issue raised in class and/or readings).  On the proportion of questions taken directly from reading, v. those taken from lecture:  both are important, and single items often blend both.  Net Value:  100 points per exam, 400 points in all.

    The essays cover the same materials we cover in the multiple choice exams, except of course that the topics are necessarily defined around broader thematic questions and issues.  I make Essay 4 optional where you can decide to do it if you believe it'll help your course grade average (which you'll see via Gradebook).   Net Value:  100 points per exam, 300 or 400 points in all.

Forum:   Forum is a discussion site for material pertinent to this class.  This Forum covers material from class on which I make a post and request that you respond to it.  It's for addressing what the lecture and readings are about, and for exam preparation.  And there are current events on matters related to this class.  You get credit for meaningful responses, not for cursory or "me too" statements, at 6 points per post.  Once at 16, it's worth a max 100 points.  I add these to numerator and denominator of the course average; so it's minor help to A students and major help to C students.    Value:   0 to 100 points.

    In summary, points are allotted by:

Examinations - multiple choice sections     400 points (100 per exam)
Essay                                                  400 points (100 per essay, including optional Essay 4)
Forum                                                100 points
All assignments:                                    800 points (with optional Essay 4)

Grades:   Gradebook posts interim grades and the eventual course grade, to let you keep up with your assignments and grades.

Source Citations and Source Locations                          Next down; Top

   Kent Library has a Citing Sources tutorial.  The core rule is to cite so any reader can easily track down your sources.  So give full citation to all sources, including names of all authors, the book/article/website file name or name and position of an interviewee, and all publication information (publisher's location, publisher's name, year of pub, volume and issue of journal, URL of a website plus date of its access).  If you got specific information from one page of a 600-page tome, cite that page so they can avoid poring through 599 superfluous pages.  Simple.

    Essay writing in PS103 means using and citing sources.  Use the APA style unless you're familiar with and skilled in a different method such as MLA.  Whenever you cite a website source, don't put the URL in the paper's text.  Instead, put the website's authors (if any) and filename (the self-assigned file's title) in the text.  Then in Works Cited at conclusion, put full reference in, including the URL and date of access.  As a time-saver, whenever you use class readings as sources, you can copy the formal citation straight from this syllabus Itinerary and paste it to your paper.

    For assistance with writing, go to The Writing Center in Kent Library 412.  Or use the Center's OWL, Online Writing Lab.  It includes Tutorials on Writing with Sources and on avoidance of plagiarism.  For PS103 paper links in APA style, go directly to Poly-Cy Guide to Internet Resources for Political Science - Style and Web Site Citation Guides.

    Elsewhere, Kent Library's Web Searching Tools has links to many databases.  On American government and politics, University of Michigan Documents Center includes Federal Government Resources on the Web.  Federal government navigation is assisted by using FirstGov.gov The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal. On state government, The Council on State Governments is a good starting point.

What is Expected of You:              Next down;  Top

Attendance:  Stay posted every weekday of Tuesday through Friday.

Cheating:  I had a certain nasty little cheater in 2003, haven't forgotten that, and have since studied some methods for catching and docking offenders.  If a student cheats on an assignment, it's an automatic zero grade on that work.  If there's evidence of cheating on more than one assignment, it's a zero on each affected assignment.  Once I have documented evidence of cheating, then I first confront the offender to elicit an explanation of the behavior, after which I file a report with the Department chairperson.  If I catch the evidence post hoc and cannot confront the offender, I proceed directly to that report.  If I have my druthers, this will be unnecessary.

Plagiarism (the most common form of cheating):    Plagiarism is a chronic plague of universities.  It refers to someone taking the work of others and passing it off as his or her own.  It can be as simple as taking a quotation and failing to show it properly, to lifting an entire piece verbatim and pasting it to one's own paper or exam.  The common element of this noxious practice is always the same, namely that of falsely claiming for oneself that which another person has created.  In the commercial world, plagiarism brings lawsuits for copyright violation.  In the academic world, it brings verdicts of moral and academic failure on the offender.  See Professor Hamner Hill's Policy on Plagiarism.

    The most commonplace web plagiarism is copy-and-paste from unspecified websites onto papers, followed sometimes by penning some cursory word changes.  I know these critters when I smell them, and it's not hard to follow the scent back to its source.  I do that.  I have an account with turnitin.com.  You can see how that's addressed via library.semo.edu/info/faculty/turnitin_info.html.  I'm familiar with search protocols.

    Also, don't write any your paper by copying that of a classmate.  Two starkly similar papers will mean no grade for either one.  Another commonplace problem is using exact or almost exact text wording without enclosing that in quotations.  Don't do that either.  Any time you use text words directly, enclose them in quotes and cite the source.

    Judicial Affairs - Statement of Student Rights and Code of Student Conduct deals with academic honesty.  The Faculty Handbook's Policy on Academic Honesty pointedly reminds that you must do your papers in your own words.  You may always invoke a source for assistance, but you may not copy or virtually copy their sentences to your paper UNLESS you cite that source and then enclose its wording in quotes.  This, by the way, includes the textbook itself. Look at how they do source citations in the chapters.  That includes websites.  Websites have authors, and filenames (titles), and URLs.  When you use one, cite all those things, alongside the access date of that file.

    If the plagiarism is intentional, I report that as a violation of the University's academic integrity policy while assigning that paper or exam an irreversible grade of zero.  If it is not, I return the paper without a grade to its creator for immediate and thorough correction; once corrected, then I grade the paper while making sure the plagiarism has disappeared.  After one such occasion, I will assume you know how to avoid this.

Cell Phones and Guns:  Normally I prohibit both of these during class, but this being a purely online course, that's unnecessary.

Services and Special Needs:  The Learning Enrichment Center offers special services for those with learning or other disabilities.  I'll make sure the website addresses standard requirements for access.

How to Reach Me:                      Next down; Top

    I have an open door policy, and can very often be found at or near my office computer at Carnahan 211-L; it's in a suite of offices immediately next to Carnahan 202.  You can reach me any of the following ways:
        a) Leave a message at my Department mailbox or with the Department office in Carnahan 211.
        b) Leave a message at the mail drop outside my door at Carnahan 211-L.
        c) Leave a voice mail message at my office telephone number, (573)651-2692.
        d) E-mail me at rdrenka@semo.edu; but don't submit papers here.  The Drop Box is for that purpose.
        e) At Google, write "renka" and find Renka's Home Page (URL: cstl-cla.semo.edu/renka) for details on me and my courses, including this syllabus.

PS103 Weekly Readings and Examination Itinerary--Professor Renka - Fall 2009       Top 

Academic Calendar - Fall 2009

Week 1 - August 24-28     Politics, Democracy, and Government
   º Patterson Chapter 1 - American Political Culture
    º The Declaration of Independence - textbook Appendix 1, or on-line: National Archives - Declaration of Independence
    º on-line reading:  America During the Age of Revolution, 1776-1789
    º Missouri tax increase raising ire in Kansas - AP story by David A. Lieb, Monday, 20 August 2007
Week 1 Notes (from Professor Renka) - Why Do We Have Government?
Friday, August 28 - last day to add a full semester class

** What do you know about America and American politics?  Take the 10-item "What Do You Know?" Quiz on UTest between Friday, August 28, and Monday evening, August 31.  Time limit is 15 minutes.  This is for your knowledge and mine.  I'll post results so you can review them.  It's not for a grade, but I ask each of you to take it in this time span.  Russell Renka, August 28

Week 2 - August 31-September 1    A Constitutional Democracy
Note:  I'm only available online on Monday and Tuesday this week.  I'll be in Toronto and away from a computer on Wednesday through Saturday, September 2 through 5, for the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association.
    º Patterson Chapter 2 - Constitutional Democracy
    º The Constitution of the United States - Patterson Appendix, pp. A5-A16, or Constitution of the United States
    º Roger A. Bruns, A More Perfect Union:  The Creation of the U.S. Constitution at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_history.html
    º James Madison, Federalist No. 10 in Patterson A-17 to A-20, or www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm
Week 2 Renka Notes - Creation of the U.S. Constitution

 Week 3 - September 7-11     Federalism and the American States; U.S. and State of Missouri Constitutions
Monday, September 7 is Labor Day.  No regular classes are held; but I'll be back on the computer on S.
    º Patterson Chapter 3 - Federalism
    º Patterson Chapter 18 - State and Local Politics
    º James Madison, The Federalist No. 51 in Patterson A-21 to A-23 or www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm
    º Russell D. Renka, Madison and Federalism
Week 3 Notes - American Federalism

 Week 4 - September 14-18     Civil Liberties    **
    º Patterson Chapter 4 - Civil Liberties
    º Future of the First Amendment - Key Findings (poll from Knight Foundation’s High School Initiative)
Week 4 Notes - Civil Liberties As A National Concern
Saturday, September 19:  last day to withdraw from a class with partial refund

** Friday, September 18 (6:00 p.m.) through Monday, September 21 (before midnight) **  Examination 1 (multiple choice) is on Utest under an "Examination 1" subheading.  You'll have 90 minutes and 1 take to do this test, which covers all readings including Renka notes.  Initially you will get only a grade for feedback, but once the Exam period ends, you'll get complete feedback from Utest plus a posted grade on your Gradebook.
    Before doing Exam 1 I recommend you prepare in two ways.  Before doing Exam 1 I recommend you prepare in two ways.  One is to take advantage of textbook multiple choice exams, via The American Democracy > "Choose a Chapter" for Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 18.  Then do the Exam 1 Pretest at Utest (per my email message).
    You should have close at hand your Patterson text, and the Renka notes from Weeks 1 and 2.  Go somewhere quiet, and budget up to 90 minutes in case you need it. 
    Essay 1 is due by or before midnight on Monday, September 21, at the Drop Box under "Essay 1" heading.  I will write a critique and grade there as well, and the grade will be posted on your Gradebook under "Essay 1" heading.

 Week 5 - September 21-25     Equal Rights
    º Patterson Chapter 5 - Equal Rights
    º David Pilgrim, What Was Jim Crow? plus More Pictures; main site at www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/what.htm
    º PBS, The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. A Century of Segregation PBS - 1863 to 1954 timeline
    º Pew Center's Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes:  1987-2007 at people-press.org/reports/pdf/312.pdf  - Section 5 on Race, pp. 39-44
Week 5 Notes - Civil Rights As a Growth Industry

 Week 6 - September 28-October 2      Public Opinion and Polling
    º Patterson Chapter 6 - Public Opinion and Political Socialization
    º Russell D. Renka, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Public Opinion Polls (** and 50 point Polling Assignment due by midnight Wednesday, October 7 at the Poll site on Drop Box **)
    º subtle bias in polls:  USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - New Poll Americans Continue To Oppose Funding Stem Cell Research That Destroys Human Embryos v. Polling Report's Science and Nature section on Stem cell research

 Week 7 - October 5-9     Political Participation and Voting
    º Patterson Chapter 7 - Political Participation and Voting
    º Michael McDonald, United States Election Project: Voter Turnout for 1948-2008 (with VEP and VAP); details on 2008:  Voter Turnout 2008 General Election
Week 7 Notes - Voters and Nonvoters

  Week 8 - October 12-14      Political Parties and Elections
Fall Break is Thursday and Friday, October 15-16.  No campus classes are held.
    º Patterson Chapter 8 - Political Parties, Candidates, and Campaigns
    º Pew Research Center, May 21, 2009 > Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2009 > Independents Take Center Stage in Obama Era - Overview and Section 1 - Party Affiliation and Composition
Week 8 Notes - The Two-Party System in America

 Week 9 - October 19-23     National Elections of 2000 to 2008; Are Americans Engaged in a Culture War?

** Examination 2 (multiple choice) is on Utest under "Examination 2" subheading.  This covers Weeks 5 through 8 with Patterson 5-8 and Week 5 Notes through Week 8 notes, plus the other readings for those weeks.   Do Exam 2 by or before midnight Thursday, October 22. 
Essay 2 - due by midnight Wednesday, October 21 at the Drop Box under "Essay 2" subheading.  See Week 4 notes on first exam for more details on procedure.

    º Morris P. Fiorina, Culture War?, Chapters 1 and 2
    º maps - President Map - Election Results 2008 - The New York Times (with comparisons dating from 1992 election)
    º maps - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - 2000 and 2004 and 2008 presidential election results
    º Russell D. Renka, The Election of 2004 and Presidential Election Maps, by County
    º Missouri as a bellwether state - Wikipedia

 Week 10 - October 26-30     Interest Groups and the News Media; Culture War
    º Fiorina, Culture War?, Chapters 3 through 6
    º Patterson 9 - Interest Groups
    º Patterson 10 - The News Media
Week 10 Notes - Interest Groups and Free Riders
Week 10 Notes - Political Bias in the News Media
Friday, October 30:  last day to drop a class

  Week 11 - November 2-6     Selecting the U.S. Congress; Does America have a Culture War?
    º Conclude Fiorina, Culture War?, Chapters 7 through 10
    º Patterson 11 - Congress, pp. 275-288
   º data site:  Psephos - Adam Carr's Election Archive - 2008 U.S. House Congressional Districts, by state
   º data sites:  thirty-thousand.org - Reelection Rates of Incumbents in the U. S. House, and Duration of Representatives’ Incumbency in the U. S. House; both cover 1st through 110th Congresses of 1789 through 2008
Week 11 Notes - The Incumbency Advantage in the U.S. Congress

 Week 12 - November 9-13     The U.S. Congress at Work
    º Patterson 11 - Congress, pp. 288-305
    º Russell D. Renka, Presidents and Congresses
    º data site:  Keith Poole, The Ideological Structure of Congressional Voting, 1927-2000 (still shots of each Congress); and Keith Poole's NOMINATE Roll Call Data, 1st to 109th Congresses
Week 12 Notes - The U.S. Congress At Work

** Examination 3 (multiple choice) is on Utest under "Examination 3" subheading.  This covers Weeks 9 through 12 with Patterson chapters 9-11, Fiorina, Renka notes, and other readings for those weeks.   Do Exam 3 from Friday Nov. 13 at 3:00 p.m. to Tuesday, November 17 (by or before midnight).

**  Essay 3 is due by midnight Wednesday, November 18 at the Drop Box under "Essay 3" subheading.

  Week 13 - November 16-20    The Presidency
     ° Patterson Chapter 12 - The Presidency
     ° Renka, Presidential Elections through 2008
     ° Professor Renka's Presidential Election Maps, by County
     ° Renka on succession in the modern presidency (Timeline of Modern Presidents)
Week 13 Notes - The Selection and Election of Presidents

   Week 14 - M and T, November 23-24   The Presidency 
Thanksgiving Holiday is Wednesday through Sunday, November 25-29.  No classes are held.
    ° Renka, Party Control of the Presidency and Congress, 1933-2010
    º Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 70 - "The Executive Department Further Considered"
    ° Renka on succession in the modern presidency (Timeline of Modern Presidents) - conclusion
Week 14 Notes - Powers of the Modern Presidency

 Week 15 - November 30-December 4    Presidential Succession; War, Peace, and Diplomacy of a Superpower
    ° Renka on succession in the modern presidency (Timeline of Modern Presidents) - conclusion
     ° Patterson 17 - Foreign and Defense Policy
     ° Patterson 13 - The Federal Bureaucracy

 Week 16 - December 7-11    The Federal Judiciary
    ° Patterson 14 - The Federal Judicial System
Week 16 Notes - The Judiciary as a Lightning Rod

Friday, December 11 (6:00 p.m.) through Tuesday, December 15 (before midnight) **  Examination 4 (multiple choice) is on Utest under "Examination 4" subheading.  Essay 4 (optional) - due by midnight Monday, December 15 at the Drop Box under "Essay 4" subheading.  See Week 4 notes on first exam for more details on procedure.

  Finals Week - December 14-18   Examination 4 is not a comprehensive exam.  It covers Weeks 13 through 16 material only.

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November 17, 2009 02:24 PM
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