Political Science 200 (Video)
American Government and Politics
Syllabus and Course Information
Fall 2004
Scott McMillan
Assistant Professor of English, History, and Political Science
Office Hours: MT 1:00-5:30/W 1:00-5:00/R 12:30-1:00; 5:30-6:00/F 1:00-2:00
800.563.8220/931.823.7065/Ext. 238
931.403.3220 (VSCC-LIV Fax)
931.761.3585 (Home)
“A government, deriving its energy from the will of the society, and operating by the reason of its measures, on the understanding and interest of the society. Such is the government for which
philosophy has been searching, and humanity has been sighing, from the most remote ages. Such are the republican governments which it is the glory of American to have invented, and
her unrivalled happiness to possess.”
--James Madison (1792)
Course Information
Description and Goals
Political Science 200 is an analysis of the democratic values, constitutional framework, and political dynamics of the United States political system with emphasis upon an evaluation of the Congress, Presidency, and Supreme Court.
Texts
Cummings, Milton C., Jr. and David Wise. Democracy under Pressure: An
Introduction to the American Political System. 9th ed: 2002 Election
Update. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2003.
Lynch, Eileen, Linda Camp Keith, and Sue Lee. Telecourse Guide for Voices in
Democracy: United States Government. Rev. Ted Lewis. 2nd ed: 2002
Election Update. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2004.
Videos
Three videos—Voices in Democracy: United States Government—must be checked o from the College-at-Home office on the second floor of the Thigpen Library. If you have any technical problems with your videos, please contact the College-at-Home at 888.335.8722, ext. 3409.
Grading
Three tests will be given during the semester with all three tests counting equally. Each test will consist of three sections:
I. Objective (50%) There will be approximately 20 multiple-choice
questions and approximately five identification questions
(fill in the blank).
II. Short Answer (20%) There will be four short answer topics in which
you will informative paragraphs identifying a topic,
providing details about that topic, and explaining the
significance of that topic in American gov’t/politics
III. Essay (30%) In a well-written and well-developed essay, you will
discuss a major topic in American gov’t/politics.
Generally, this essay will cover the material of a video
lesson/textbook chapter. Your essay should be at least two
pages long.
Test dates are listed in the course guide. It is your responsibility to take each of the three scheduled tests, so please plan your schedule to take the tests at the College-at-Home office in the Thigpen Library during scheduled test times. You will need to make an appointment with the College-at-Home staff in order to take the tests. Livingston Center students may take the tests in Livingston and will need to make arrangements with Brent Carter.
If major extenuating circumstances prevent you from taking a test at the scheduled time, then you may request a makeup, which may or may not be given at my discretion. If approved, makeup tests will be scheduled at the convenience of the College-at-Home staff. All makeup tests must be completed by the Friday following the official test date.
Each student will also complete three homework assignments during the semester. These assignments will count 33 points each and the total points received on these assignments will equal a test grade.
Each student also has the option of writing a short research paper (4-6 pages) on an approved topic in American gov’t/politics for “extra credit.” Contact me for details about this project if you are interested.
Tests and papers will be graded according to the following scale: A=90-100,
B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, and F=59 and below.
Plagiarism
All writing for this class must be your own work! The VSCC Student Handbook defines plagiarism as “using other people’s ideas as your own work, copying all or parts of someone else’s work, having another person write the assignment, getting too much assistance in writing, or failing to document accurately the use of source material”(14). Any such act of plagiarism will result in an automatic F for the course and possibly the course, as well as the potential filing of a report with the Office of the Vice-President of Academic Affairs at VSCC.
Video Class Tips
Video classes require initiative and self-discipline, because a video class is essentially a self-study in a particular academic discipline. This means it is extremely important for you to set aside enough time (at least an hour a day for this class) to read and study. To be successful in this class be sure to:
1) watch the lessons on the videos
2) carefully read the assigned chapters in the textbook and study guide
3) take good notes over both the video and the readings
4) as you take notes, be sure you know and understand the meaning of
terms, the details/background of events, ideas, ..., and why these things are significant in American gov’t/politics
5) answer questions in your study guide for each chapter using your notes
Activate and check your VSCC student email frequently for messages from me regarding the class, especially before tests! I frequently offer bonus points on tests through email-only questions, so it is definitely in your best interests to check your email.
If you have any problems or questions with any aspect of the class, please contact me by phone or email.
Special Notices
It is the student’s responsibility to identify himself/herself with the Office of Disability Services in order to receive accommodations. Disability Services is located in C-206-B in Gallatin and in Livingston in the Office of Student Services. Only those students with official documentation from the Office of Disability Services will receive services.
Volunteer State Community College is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Educational Institution. No person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of the College because of race, national origin, age, or handicap.
“Government is a plain, simple, intelligent thing, founded in nature and reason, quite comprehensible by common sense. . .”
--John Adams
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;. . .”
--Thomas Jefferson
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely as they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
--Abraham Lincoln
“Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine destiny.”
--Robert F. Kennedy
“I believe that America today stands between hope and history—at the edge of a moment when these two powerful forces are as one, when we can embrace the dawn of a new century, drawing strength and guidance from our past, filled with confidence that in this new age of possibility, our best is yet to come.”
--Bill Clinton
Course Outline
Each video lesson is approximately 30 minutes long.
Sept. 4 Introduction
Sept. 7-Oct. 1 Video: Democratic Voices in a Changing Society
Text: Chap. 1
Guide: Lesson 1
Video: The Living Constitution
Text: Chap. 2
Guide: Lesson 2
Video: The Constitution in Crisis
Guide: Lesson 3
Video: Federalism
Text: Chap. 3
Guide: Lesson 4
Video: Intergovernmental Relations
Guide: Lesson 5
Video: Public Opinion and Political Socialization
Text: Chap. 6
Guide: Lesson 6
Video: Mass Media and Government
Text: Chap. 8
Guide: Lesson 11
Sept. 24 Homework Assignment #1 Due
Oct. 4-9 Test 1 (College-at-Home office)
Oct. 11-Nov. 5 Video: Interest Groups
Text: Chap. 7
Guide: Lesson 9
Video: Political Parties
Text: Chap. 9
Guide: Lesson 10
Video: Media and Elections
Text: Chap. 11
Guide: Lessons 7&11
Video: Presidential Elections
Text: Chap. 10
Guide: Lesson 12
Video: Congressional Elections
Text: Chap. 11
Guide: Lesson 13
Video: Congress
Text: Chap. 12
Guide: Lesson 14
Video: Legislative Process
Text: Chap. 12
Guide: Lesson 15
Video: Congress and the President
Guide: Lesson 16
Oct. 29 Homework Assignment #2 Due
Nov. 8-13 Test 2 (College-at-Home office)
Nov. 15-Dec. 11 Video: The Presidency
Text: Chap. 13
Guide: Lesson 17
Video: Foreign Policy
Text: Chap. 16
Guide: Lesson 20
Video: Federal Courts
Text: Chap. 15 (pp. 488-507)
Guide: Lesson 22
Video: Due Process of Law
Text: Chap. 4 (pp. 104-114)
Guide: Lesson 24
Video: Criminal Justice
Text: Chap. 15 (pp. 508-529)
Guide: Lesson 23
Video: First Amendment Freedoms
Text: Chap. 4 (pp. 87-104)
Guide: Lesson 25
Video: The Struggle for Equal Rights
Text: Chap. 5
Guide: Lesson 26
Dec. 4 Homework Assignment #3 Due
Dec. 13-18 Test 3 (College-at-Home office)
REMINDER
Bring your videos with you to the final test.
A hold will be placed on your grades if you do not turn in your videos.