Steven Majstorovic   207B   Schneider Hall   836-2266
Office Hours: M-W-F 11:00 - 12:00 AM; M-W-F 2:00 - 3:00 PM; T-Th 9:00 - 11 AM, T - Th 2:00 - 2:30 PM or by appointment.  E-Mail:  majstos@uwec.edu

Course Description:
     This is an introductory course in the government and politics of the United States, and in the political trends and developments that mark the American experience at the dawn of the third millennium. Some of the specific topics that will be addressed include historical evolution, political culture, institutions, political parties and interest groups, the Constitution, the government and decision-making processes, socio-economic structures, civil rights, public opinion, foreign policy, and public policies.
     The objective of this course is to introduce the student to political analysis and the various ways that a political system can be constructed and organized. The general purpose of this enterprise is to understand how and when democracy occurs and whether there is one general formula or many various approaches toward achieving the goal of a democratic society. The definition of democracy itself will be thoroughly considered.  Furthermore, two of the dominant themes in this class will be the ongoing tensions in the America polity between liberty and equality and between liberty and order.
     The course will also briefly address other democratic systems in order to lend a comparative perspective to the unique and perhaps even exceptional aspects of the American political system. The final section of the course will be devoted to some of the current political debates in the American polity.  These debates will be presented in a format which examines both sides of a debate and the class is expected at this point in the semester to actively participate in the discussions.

Required Texts:
       Kenneth Janda, Jeffrey M. Berry, and Jerry Goldman. The Challenge of Democracy: Government in America, Seventh Edition.
      George McKenna and Stanley Feingold. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Political Issues, 13th Edition (Dushkin-McGraw Hill, 2003).

Course Requirements:
         There are three examinations scheduled for this course, two midterms and a final.  The midterms will be essay exams combined with identifications of key concepts.  Study questions for the midterms will be posted on the class web site a few days before each examination.  The final will be a rather open ended essay examination which will challenge the student to make her/his own independent analyses of the issues addressed in this course.
         The written requirements for this class are one short essay and a term paper.  The short essay will be 3 to 4 pages typed and double-spaced and will address topics and questions that are raised in class discussions.  The design of the essay will be posted on the web site one week before the essay is due.  Careful editing and proofreading of your essay is an important component of the essay grade.  The final research paper will be 10 to 12 pages in length and will explore some subject matter which is directly related to this course.  Moreover, at least nine sources (not including the class texts) must be used for the term paper and there is a limit of three WWW (World Wide Web) sites as research sources.  I am very open on paper topics and students can meet with me to kick around ideas.  Spelling, grammar, and syntax errors will reflect poorly on your grade and careful proofreading and editing is strongly suggested.  A discussion of how to organize and present your term paper will be posted later on the class web site in the file termpapr.htm.  The requirements on citations will also be presented in this file and
you should read them carefully.
         Keeping up on current events, reading the assignments, taking good notes, and attending class is imperative for success in this course.  Thus, reading a good newspaper every day (New York Times, Washington Post, etc.) and going to the library to examine periodicals like the Economist will be helpful in orienting you to contemporary events and to perhaps help you find an interesting topic for your research paper.  Moreover, the World Wide Web has sites that carry national and international news (www.nytimes.com, www.washingtonpost.com  www.latimes.com, and www.yahoo.com).  I expect the class to access the WEB regularly and students should be prepared to comment on current events.  The class WEB site will have this syllabus posted along with study guides for examinations, essay topics, and timely articles that I may download and post to the site or send to you via E-Mail.  The class WEB site is at:

http://www.uwec.edu/majstos/p110/links

E-Mail Policy:
            During the semester I will regularly send the class E-Mail messages about upcoming exams, written assignment, general class related issues, and in some cases an article to be read before an upcoming class.  All students at UWEC have a UWEC E-Mail address and it is your
responsibility to check your UWEC E-Mail at least twice a week.  I cannot send E-Mail to AOL, HOTMAIL, etc. accounts so be prepared to access your UWEC E-Mail account.  I will also not respond to E-Mail from AOL, HOTMAIL, etc. accounts.  The reasons for this policy are
simple.  I cannot individually craft messages for the whole class but send them out on a global class address.  Consequently, missing an E-Mail message is no reason to not be prepared for a pop quiz.
            I reserve the right to give quizzes at the beginning of any class when I feel that the reading assignment has not been fulfilled.

Textbook Policy:
     I assume that students will either rent or purchase the assigned textbook for the semester.  I reserve the right to check whether students have complied with this course requirement.  I also will include questions on exams that are not addressed in class and are dependent on the textbook.
 

Grading Scheme:
Plus/Minus grades will be employed in this course.
First midterm, Feb 27         25% (25 pts)
Second midterm, April 17   25% (25 pts)
Final exam, May 14            10% (10 pts)
Short essay, Mar 13           10% (10 pts)
Term Paper, May 8            20% (20 pts)
Participation/Quizzes          10& (10pts)

 A  = 93 - 100 pts A- = 90 -  92 pts
 B+ = 87 -  89 pts B  = 83 -  87 pts
 B- = 80 -  82 pts C+ = 77 -  79 pts
 C  = 73 -  76 pts C- = 70 - 72pts
 D+ = 67 -  69 pts D = 63 - 66pts
 D- = 60 - 62pts F  =  0 -  59 pts

         The examinations, essays, term paper, and class participation will receive a letter grade which will then be converted to the weighted point
scheme depicted above.

Student Issues:
            A late paper will be penalized one letter grade for each day that it is late.  Makeup exams will only be allowed under circumstances which are considered reasonable (protracted illness, death in the family, accident, getting a tattoo removed, etc) and the reason for missing the exam can be documented.  Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated; the penalties are severe (an F on the exam, an F in the course, and possibly worse).   The guidelines of the student honor code policy are covered in your student handbook.  The lesson here is to cite your sources well on
the final paper; again read the file termpapr.htm which will be posted later in the semester on the class website.  If requested your work must be available on disk; modern computer search engines easily find plagiarism.  For more information about the technology used in discovering pagliarism, log on to www.plagiarism.com.

Portfolio Project:
         Each student at UWEC upon entering the university is given a portfolio notebook.  The goal of the portfolio project is to create a body of work that the student can then use later in their career, especially for job applications and interviews.  The project also enables UWEC to assess student performance and improvement during their time at UWEC.  Consequently, it is imperative that you not only save your paper in hardcopy but also on disk since the UWEC portfolio project now enables students to upload their papers to an electronic archive on the UWEC system; there is an area set aside for you.  It is up to you to familiarize yourself with the portfolio requirements and the goals of the baccalaureate as outlined in your notebook.  You can then assess which category fits your paper best  and then when you upload your paper to the archive you can put it in the suitable category.

21 - Class Introduction and a discussion of the syllabus; a discussion of the American model

23 - Part I Dilemmas of Democracy: Chapter 1 - Freedom, Order, or Equality?

28 - Chapter 2 - Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy?

30 - Part II The Foundations of American Government: Chapter 3 - The Constitution
 
 

 4 - Chapter 4 - Federalism

 6 - Part III Linking People With Government: Chapter 5 - Public Opinion and Political Socialization

11 - Chapter 6 - The Media

13 - Chapter 7 - Participation and Voting

18 - Chapter 8 - Political Parties

20 - Chapter 9 - Nominations, Elections, and Campaigns

25 - Chapter 10 - Interest Groups

27 - First Midterm Examination: Be sure to bring 2 Bluebooks for the exam.

 4 - Part IV Institutions of Government: Chapter 11 - Congress

 6 - Chapter 12 - The Presidency

13 - Chapter 13 - The Bureaucracy;  Short Essay is Due!!

18 - 20 Spring Break

25 - Chapter 14 - The Courts

27 - Part V Civil Liberties and Civil Rights: Chapter 15 - Order and Civil Liberties

 1 - Chapter 16 - Equality and Civil Rights

 3 - Part VI Making Public Policy: Chapter 17 - Policymaking

 8 - Chapter 18 - Economic Policy

10 - Chapter 19 - Domestic Policy

15 - Chapter 20 - Global Policy

17 - Second Midterm Examination; Be sure to bring 2 Bluebooks for the exam

22 - Taking Sides: Issue 1. Are Liberty and Democracy Good for Every Country?  Issue 2. Do Political Campaigns Promote Good Government?  Issue 3. Are the New Limits on Campaign Spending Justified?  Issue 4. Do the Media Have a Liberal Bias?

24 - Issue 5. Is Congress Barred From Regulating Commerce Within a State?  Issue 6. Should the Electoral College Be Abolished?  Issue 7. Was Bush v. Gore Correctly Decided?  Issue 8. Is Capital Punishment Justified?

29 - Issue 9. Do We Need Tougher Gun Control Laws?  Issue 10. Does Affirmative Action Advance Racial Equality?  Issue 11. Should Hate Speech Be Abolished?  Issue 12. Should Abortion Be Restricted?

 1 - Issue 13. Are Americans Taxed Too Much?  Issue 14. Is Socioeconomic Inequality Increasing in American?  Issue 15. Does China Threaten World Peace and Security?  Issue 16. Should America Restrict Immigration?

 6 - Issue 17. Is America’s War on Terrorism Justified?  Issue 18. Is Free Trade Fair Trade?Issue 19. Must America Exercise World Leadership?  Issue 20. Should Terrorist Suspects Be Tried By Military Tribunals?

 8 - Term Paper is Due; Final Exam Study Guide and Final Exam Review; do not miss this class!!

14 - FINAL EXAMINATION, Wednesday, May 14 10:00AM - 11:50PM; Be sure to bring 1 or 2 Bluebooks for the exam.