INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE PSCI 150 Section B Fall ...

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE
PSCI 150 Section B
Fall 2010
MWF, 9:40 – 10:30 am
Hoover 102
Dr Michael MacLeod
Center Street House, Room 3
Telephone: 503-554-2675 (office) or 503-625-2734 (home)
Email: mmacleod@georgefox.edu
Office Hours: Tues 10:45-11:45 am, Thurs 10:45 am-12:30 pm
(You can also drop by or schedule an appointment)
Course Description & Objectives
This class provides an introduction to the study of politics. Over the term, we will consider the nature
and purpose of politics, and introduce you to key concepts and relationships, terminology and
methodology in the field of political science.
Although this course emphases the systematic investigation of the functions and structures of political
systems, it is also a survey course. Which means we will cover a lot of territory very fast; this class is an
in-depth, full immersion into political science. By the end, students completing the course will be able to
• Define, understand, and apply the concepts, principles, and practices of politics as background
for the study of American and non-American political institutions, including the key concepts of
power, ideology, legitimacy, state, among many others.
• Compare and contrast the basic features of political systems from around the world, especially
democracy and different elements of democratic governance.
A final note: this course is being taught at a Christian university by a professor of the Christian faith.
This does not necessarily mean that your political views will be the same as mine, nor does it mean that
my opinion is more “correct” than yours. It just means that our exploration of the political world will be
informed by a perspective that sees political phenomena as but one facet of a broken yet redeemed (or
redeemable) world.
Unless I clearly and unambiguously change something on this syllabus, you are responsible for
everything on it. You should read it, keep it & follow it religiously.
Course Materials
Required Text.
• Michael Roskin. Political Science: An Introduction. (New York: Pearson Longman). Note: only the
11 th edition of this book is being used in this course, and only the package sold by the Campus
Bookstore is appropriate, since is it also contains access to:
• MyPoliSciKit (www.mypoliscikit.com) – hereafter MPK – which includes reviews & tests
designed to facilitate your understanding of the material. We will discuss how to use this in class.
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Other Required Reading.
• For class discussions and for testing, you are required to follow current political issues & events
by regularly reading: The New York Times (online at www.nytimes.com, free registration) and
some of the articles (your choice and/or at my suggestion) posted daily at
www.RealClearPolitics.com. The latter website is a ‘clearinghouse’ for political information and
tries to balance views from a variety of perspectives. If you wish for a more interesting political
news website, the best known political blogger (and site is) Andrew Sullivan at the Daily Dish:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com
• Other readings for the course may be uploaded by me to FoxTALE (see below).
FoxTALE.
• The FoxTALE site for this course will be the main communication interface between you and
the course materials. In addition to the syllabus, I will upload lecture notes (powerpoint slides)
regularly there, post grades, etc. I will also post additional articles (beyond the text) to read and
will notify you appropriately. The site will be made functional after the first week of classes.
Course Requirements & Grading
Attendance.
Students are expected to attend class regularly. Attendance will be taken for every class after the first one
(using sign-up sheets) and more than 4 absences during the term (there will be about 40 classes in all) will
result in a deduction of 1% from your final grade. More than 8 absences will result in a deduction of 5%
from your final grade. No exceptions to this will be unless there is a medical note verifying an illness that
required time away from class.
Participation.
Proper note-taking and active participation in class are essential for success in this course. The use of
laptops is allowed but not their use for non-classroom related activities, i.e. checking email or facebook,
etc. If you use a laptop in class, I will be periodically ask you to email me (or my assistant) your notes.
The main reason for this is that students in past classes have complained to me about others using their
laptops for facebook, videos, etc, during class and distracting them. Failure to abide by this expectation
will result in a warning and penalty (a deduction of 1% per violation after warning). Lecture powerpoint
slides are posted to FoxTALE regularly, however, these are not detailed notes, just general outlines and
key points, therefore it is imperative that you take good notation of my lecture points and integrate these
with your other readings (of the textbook, online, etc).
Because this is a lecture-based course with more than 30 students, I don’t expect that each student will
be able to fully participate in each and every class. However, because I want to strongly encourage quality
participation (meaning: not just talking but engaging the subject matter in a timely and helpful manner)
and because we will be discussing not just theory but practical, political matters as they arise, I will give
bonuses to students who make regular contributions to the class (adding 1% to their final grade) and
those who show superb contributions (adding 2% to their final grade). Please note: this is not a reward
to students who are merely more talkative and more extroverted than others. Blowing random hot air
into the class in the form of making obvious points or talking because you like to hear your own voice
are not valuable contributions. If you have concerns or wonder if your participation is making a
difference (my definition of ‘contribution’) please feel free to talk to me.
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Textbook Online Quizzes.
Students are required to read the textbook according to the schedule laid out below. The MPK site has
online tests (multiple choice and true/false) for you to take for each chapter. These can be taken openbook
and are designed so that you can do them at your own pace as you read the chapter. The purpose
of these quizzes is to prepare you for a) in-class lectures & discussions and b) for in-class tests and
examinations (described below). It is up to you to take advantage of this tool. My assistant will be
monitoring who is (or isn’t) using this resource, and I will be encouraging (exposing) you in class to
utilize it. Plus, you paid for this help when you purchased the textbook.
In-class Tests.
Starting in week 2, I will administer in-class tests about once a week or so until a week or two before the
term ends. These will be short (10-15 minute) quizzes (fill-in-the-blank and/or multiple-choice) that will
test you on course matter taken in the previous few classes and on the material in the textbook and/or
readings (as per above) and on current political events as discussed in class and in the online sources
noted above. There will be approximately 10 tests, and these will be worth 35% of your grade. I will
count the top 7 quizzes (we will discount the three lowest grades, including those you might miss
because of illness or non-attendance). Thus, each of these tests will be worth 5% of your final grade.
Examinations.
Two exams are scheduled in this class. The mid-term exam will be held on Friday, October 15. It will
be 50 minutes in length and worth 25% of your grade. The final exam (which is comprehensive) will be
held during Final Exams Week (Dec 10-14) is two hours long and worth 40% of the final grade.
Exams will consist of some combination of fill-in-the-bank, multiple choice, true/false, short answer
and/or essay questions. You are responsible for all of the material covered in the classes and the assigned
readings.
Note: Students who miss an exam must present a medical or counseling certificate in order to avoid
receiving an F. Any missed exam will have to be rescheduled immediately.
Grading Scale.
A final letter grade based upon the percentage of overall points you earn in this course will be based on
this scale:
A 93-100
A- 90-92.99
B+ 87-89.99
B 83-86.99
B- 80-82.99
C+ 77-79.99
C 73-76.99
C- 70-72.99
D+ 67-69.99
D 60-66.99
F 0-59.99
Course Schedule
Below you will find the relevant weeks and themes for the class and the required readings from the
course textbook. Please note: these represent the basic framework of the course and I will not be simply
re-hashing what the textbook says. Instead, I will be highlighting some points I think worth noting but
will also occasionally discuss items (issues, terms, thinkers) that are not in the text, thus attendance at
class (and review of lecture slides) is important. Moreover, this schedule will undoubtedly change as we
go forward.
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Week 1 (Aug 30, Sept 1, 3): Introducing Politics and Political Science
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapter 1
• FoxTALE readings
Weeks 2-3 (Sept 6, 10, 13, 15, 17): Political Theories, Theorists and Ideologies
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapters 2 and 3
• FoxTALE readings
Week 4 (Sept 20, 22, 24): Political Systems – States
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapter 4
• FoxTALE readings
Week 5 (Sept 27, 29, Oct 1): Political Systems – Constitutions and Regimes
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapters 5 and 6
• FoxTALE readings
Week 6 (Oct 4, 6): Political Culture
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapter 7
• FoxTALE readings
Week 7 (Oct 11, 13): Political Communication and Public Opinion
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapters 8 and 9
• FoxTALE readings
Mid-Term Exam: Friday, October 15
Week 8 (Oct 18, 20, 22): Interest Groups
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapter 10
• FoxTALE readings
Week 9 (Oct 25, 27, 29): Political Parties and Electoral Systems
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapter 11
• FoxTALE readings
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Week 10 (Nov 1, 3, 5): Voting and Elections
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapter 12
• FoxTALE readings
Week 11 (Nov 8, 10, 12): Legislatures
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapter 13
• FoxTALE readings
Weeks 12-13 (Nov 15, 17, 19, 22, 24): Executives, Bureaucracies and Judiciaries
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapters 14 and 15
• FoxTALE readings
Weeks 14-15 (Nov 29, Dec 1, 3, 6, 8, 10): Politics Outside: International Relations
Readings:
• Roskin, Chapter 18
• FoxTALE readings
Final Exam: week of Dec 10-14
Other Important Information
If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please
contact the Disability Services Office as early as possible so that your learning needs may be
appropriately met. You will need to provide current documentation of your disability to the Disability
Services Office. For more information, go to ds.georgefox.edu or contact Rick Muthiah, Dean of the
Center for Teaching and Learning (503-554-2314 or rmuthiah@georgefox.edu).
The university deals strongly with cases of cheating & plagiarism. Stress is no excuse, so it’s better to
discuss with me (and other appropriate people) before temptation hits.
The Academic Resource Center (ARC) provides all students with free writing consultation, general
tutoring, and learning enhancement strategies (e.g., techniques to improve reading, note-taking, study,
time management). Students can make an appointment with the ARC Writing Center for guidance and
feedback on written projects. ARC consultants can also provide basic tutoring for many general
education and other courses. Go to www.georgefox.edu/arc/ for information about consultants’ areas
of study, how to schedule an appointment, and helpful learning tools. Call Rick Muthiah, Director of the
Academic Resource Center, at x2314 if you have questions.
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