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Contact information:
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houskeonline@yahoo.com
Phone: 310-660-3593 ext. 3741
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Office Hours:
SOCS 113B
M 11:30am-1:30pm
Tu 8:00-10:00pm-online(email me
houskeonline@yahoo.com)
W 5:00pm-6:00pm
Please feel free to visit me in my office if those office hours are more convenient or you are on campus. |
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Please review the below information, register online at www.coursecompass.com, and email me with any questions regarding the course. You must be must be registered in CourseCompass by February 24th or you will be dropped.
Class Information:
Pol Sci 1-online, Section 4184 and Section 4185
This course will be taught completely online. The course is administered through MyPolSciLab CourseCompass, using the Blackboard Management System accessible at www.coursecompass.com.
Before you begin, you will need to register with MyPolSci CourseCompass. For that you will need the following:
1. A "Course ID" provided by your instructor: Sec. 4184-- houske61334
Sec. 4185-- houske84618
2. Your school's zip code: 90506
3. A MyPolSciLab CourseCompass student access code (packaged with your new textbook or available for purchase at www.coursecompass.com
4. A valid email address.
How to register
1. Enter http://www.coursecompass.com in your Web Browser.
2. Under Students, click on "Register."
3. "Get access to new course" will be selected, so click "Next" when you have all the necessary information to register.
4. Enter your Course ID and click Next.
5. Click "I already have an access code." *If you need to buy access online, click that link and follow the prompts to register* Type in your Access Code in the fields provided.
6. Read the License Agreement and Privacy Policy and click "I accept."
7. Enter your school's zip code, select your Country and click Next.
8. Enter your Name and Email and select Your School.
9. Create your Login Name and Password, answer the Security Question and click Next. (Suggestion--you can use your email address as your log-in name). If successful, you will receive a Confirmation Screen with your information (they will also email you this information).
Logging In
1. Enter http://www.coursecompass.com in your Web Browser.
2. Under "Returning Users" click "Log In."
3. Enter the Login Name and Password you created and click "Log In"
4. You will see the name of your Course listed under the heading "Courses You are Taking."'
5. Click on this link and you are ready to access your resources.
Note: A strong word of advice, prior to deciding to take an online course access the Spring 2012 Online Student Handbook from the Distance Education Webpage, found at http://www.elcamino.edu/library/distance-ed The handbook will provide you with among other things; answers to frequently asked questions, a discussion of the skills you will need, and offer you tips for success as an online student.
Course Overview & Policies:
Welcome to Governments of the United States and California. The goal of this course is to become familiar with the basics of government. As part of this class we will evaluate the concepts, theories, and functions of the American political system. This will include an analysis of the Constitution and the three branches of government. By the end of the semester, you should have a basic understanding of our US Constitution, the Presidency, Congress, the Judiciary, elections, political parties and interest groups. You should also have an understanding of political socialization and the role of mass media in the political process.
I will encourage everyone to stay up to date on current events as this will help in your understanding of the political process. Additionally, you are required to maintain a political journal as one of your assignments. You will find many helpful resources at www.coursecompass.com. You should also look to a variety of news sources-TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and websites. Some suggested examples are: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, PBS, etc.
Exams: There are 12 exams that you will take during the semester-10 chapter exams, a midterm, and a final. For each exam, you may make one attempt; once you have begun the exam you must finish it. If for some reason you have a technical problem (your computer freezes, etc.), email me immediately as I will be checking the time of the email with your exam time.
You are required to complete both a paper and political journal for this class. Both are due towards the end of the semester but you have the option of turning them in early.
Any emails that are sent to me, please title the subject line as "PS1-online."
If you intend to drop the class, it is your responsibility to drop yourself. I will not drop you. If you do not drop yourself you will receive an “F” grade. The last day to drop with a “W” is Friday, May 11, 2012.
I will attempt to answer your emails within a day of receiving them. Please be aware that I teach a full schedule of classes so I will not always be able to respond as fast as you or I might like. Another thing to remember is not to panic. If something goes wrong, you do not need to send me frantic emails. There is no problem that we can not solve so no one needs to panic. I will not be checking emails on Sunday and will respond to weekend emails on Monday.
In order to be successful in this class you need to have strong study skills and be a self-motivator. You will need good reading and writing skills as well as being organized. Finally, you will need minimal computer skills and it will be hard to "learn as you go."
El Camino College is committed to providing educational accomodations for students with disabilities upon the timely request by the student to the instructor. A student with a disability, who would like to request an academic accommodation, is responsible for identifying herself/himself to the instructor and to the Special Resources Center. To make arrangements for academic accommodations, contact the Special Resources Center.
Course Objectives:
Upon completing this course, students will hopefully be able to describe the basic concepts, theories and functions of the American and California political systems, and meet the following objectives:
- Identify the theoretical foundations and the applications of the American political system.
- Examine the role played by ideology, its roots in the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debates, and contemporary applications (liberal/Dem., conservative/Rep.).
- Assess the long-term influences and short-term events that impacted the development of the national Constitution, as well as the methods by which that document has changed since its adoption.
- Examine the shared power relationship among national, state and local governments (federalism), and how it has changed over the years.
- Evaluate political participation as a channel of communication, with an emphasis on elections, the factors influencing voting behavior, and the consequences for political power and policy making.
- Assess the roles and functions of the media as sources of information and persuasion.
- Compare and contrast the two major political parties, as well as the historic roles played by minor parties.
- Analyze the various strategies and techniques used by interest groups to gain access and influence policy makers.
- Examine the roles, resources and limits impacting the power of the President and the Governor of California as policy makers.
- Assess the pressures impacting Congress and the California Legislature as policy makers, as well as the participants in the “bill passing process.”
- Examine the role of the courts as political institutions, and the environmental pressures that impact their decisions as policy makers.
- Distinguish between civil right and civil liberties and their evolution in American society.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. After completing this course the student should be able to describe the concepts, theories, and functions of the American political system. The student should be able to identify and describe at least four of the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution and the government of California.
2. In a multiple choice test, students will demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of the United States Constitution including its Articles and Amendments, as well as those for the government of California.
Syllabus:
Week 1 (February 13-19)
Read Chapter 1-Introducing Government in America
Take Chapter 1 Exam
Participate in the Introduction Discussion Board
Week 2 (February 20-26)
Read Chapter 2-Constitution
Take Chapter 2 Exam
Participate in Discussion Board #1
Week 3 (February 27-March 4)
Read Chapter 3-Federalism
Take Chapter 3 Exam
Week 4 (March 5-11)
Read Chapter 4-Civil Liberties
Take Chapter 4 Exam
Week 5 (March 12-18)
Read Chapter 5-Civil Rights
Participate in Discussion Board #2
Week 6 (March 19-25)
Read Chapter 6-Public Opinion & Political Action
Take Chapter 6 Exam
Week 7 (March 26- April 1)
Take Midterm exam
Week 8 (April 2-8)
Read Chapter 7-Mass Media
Participate in Discussion Board #3
Spring Break (April 9-15)
Week 9 (April 16-22)
Read Chapter 8-Political Parties
Take Chapter 8 Exam
Week 10 (April 23- April 29)
Read Chapter 9-Campaigns & Voting Behavior
Take Chapter 9 Exam
Participate in Discussion Board #4
Week 11 (April 30- May 6)
Read Chapter 10-Interest Groups
Take Chapter 10 Exam
Week 12 (May 7-13)
Read Chapter 11-Congress
Take Chapter 11 Exam
Week 13 (May 14-20)
Paper due (Saturday, May 19)
Week 14 (May 21-27)
Read Chapter 12-The Presidency
Take Chapter 12 Exam
Week 15 (May 28- June 3)
Read Chapter 14-The Federal Courts
Journal due (Saturday, June 2)
Week 16 (June 4-8)
Take Final exam
Assignments:
Discussion Boards:
You are required to participate in 4 online discussions. Each discussion board is worth 10 points. A topic will be posted by me during that week. I will assign you to groups and you will discuss the topic within your group during that week. You will be graded on the quality of your responses in the discussion. At a minimum, you are required to respond to my initial posting as well as respond to one of your classmates' postings. (You should make an original posting and a response posting, not two response postings.) Specific dates for these discussions are listed in the preceding syllabus section.
Term Paper:
Please write a 3-5 page paper on the topic described below. Your paper should be well written and punctuation and grammar count so please proofread and spell check. This is not a research paper but rather an analysis paper. I will grade you on the quality and completeness of your analysis.
Your paper is due on Saturday, May 19 and must be sent to houskeonline@yahoo.com with subject of your email being titled "Movie Paper-Section ." You need to send me your paper in the text of the email as well as an attachment. I will respond within 24 hours that I have received your paper.
Paper Description
The movie “Wag the Dog” presents a cynical view of elections and the media’s participation. “American President” presents a very idealistic point of view of the political process. Please pick any movie(s) that represents the political process. Use the movie(s) to illustrate the public’s opinion of the government. Compare and contrast your movie(s) selection’s view of the political process to your own viewpoint. If you choose to use two movies, please make a comparison of these movies in your paper.
Political Journal:
Your political journal will consist of 5 journal entries covering political events during the semester. They can cover any level of government (federal, state or local) as well as international events. Your journal is due on Saturday, June 2 and must be sent to houskeonline@yahoo.com with the subject of your email being titled "Political Journal-Section ". You need to send me your journal in the text of the email as well as an attachment. I will respond within 24 hours that I have received your paper.
Please use the following format for your journal entries:
1. Electronic source: i.e., www.cnn.com, www.msnbc.com, www.news.yahoo.com, etc.
2. Specific Webpage: i.e., http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/Americas/7238214.stm
3. Date of the article: February 10, 2012
4. Summary of the article: here you should give the article’s title and provide a well-rounded summary, at least three to four paragraphs. Then, in a fifth or sixth paragraph you should discuss how it relates to the course, and the political process. NOTE: Your five journal entries should be drawn from five different electronic sources, meaning five different websites. And they should all be submitted in one document, meaning send 1 attachment not 5 different attachments.
Chapter Exams:
There will be 10 Chapter exams that you must complete during this semester. These exams can be found in each chapter folder. Each chapter exam is worth 25 points and you will have one hour to take each chapter exam.
Midterm Exam:
There will be one midterm in Week 7 covering Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6. You must take the Midterm Exam during this week. The exam will be divided into two parts worth 50 points each for a total of 100 points. For each part of the exam you will have 90 minutes.
Final Exam:
There will be one final in Week 16 covering Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, & 14. You must take the Final Exam during this week. The exam will be divided into two parts worth 50 points each for a total of 100 points. For each part of the exam you will have 90 minutes.
Grades
Discussion Boards 40 points
Term Paper 100 points
Political Journal 100 points
Chapter Exams 250 points
Midterm Exam 100 points
Final Exam 100 points
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Total Points 690 points
A 690-621
B 620-551
C 550-481
D 480-411
F 410-341
Course Material:
Edwards, George C., Wattenberg, Martin P., Lineberry, Robert L., Government in America, 2011 11th ed. Brief
with Course Compass
ISBN 1256124036
Options for Buying the book:
1. Buy it from the bookstore on campus. It will come packaged with an access code to www.coursecompass.com.
2. Buy the book from another source such as online. If you choose this route, you need to be certain what you are buying. You must have access to mypoliscilab so you need to be certain that you are also buying an access code.
3. Buy access online which comes with an e-book. This might be the most inexpensive option as buying access costs $63.25 but you must be comfortable using an e-book. If you are more comfortable using a hard copy of the book then this might not be the best option for you. (The publisher has also told me that you can download the book onto an ipad althought I do not know how this is done.)
Online Resources:
www.coursecompass.com
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