American National GovernmentPO 1311

Monday – Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Summer I

Reinbolt 004

Timothy L. PowellSt. Louis Hall 319Office Hours:Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00 – 12:00 noonAlso by appointment(210) 436 – 3110tpowell1@stmarytx.edu

Textbooks

AMGOV 2009, Ralph Baker and Joseph Losco, McGraw-Hill Publishing, 2009

The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli – whatever edition is in the bookstore

PLEASE NOTE, BOTH OF THESE BOOKS ARE REQUIRED

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is a survey of the national government of the United States. It is designed to provide the student with an understanding of the foundations, constitutions and processes of their national government. The major institutions of the government will be examined in order to gain a more thorough understanding of how it works, the significant role people play in the political system, and the consequences and benefits of a democratic political system. Issues such as the role and influence of the media will also be studied as will the current state of US foreign and defense policy.

I hope that at the end of this brief summer session you will better understand the role of government and how it directly affects your life, the lives around you and the world at large.

Assignments

Blackboard discussion forum – Use of the Blackboard discussion forum will be counted as part of your participation grade. Every week I will post several questions from readings assigned on the syllabus. I do not expect you to answer every single one of them, but I do expect students to answer more than one or two. I encourage all students to comment on their classmates answers and engage with one another in online discussions. Students will be able to go back and further discuss their answers during the course of the class. I will also let students go back to earlier chapters throughout the semester and post answers or updates if they wish.

Chapter Summaries – Every week, students are expected to complete summaries on the previous weeks readings. I realize that this is a shortened semester and the topics can be rather dense. I do not want or expect a word for word summarization however. Condense the chapters and include what YOU find important. Grading will be based in part upon the thoroughness of

the writing and the correct use of grammar and punctuation. These summarizations should be 5 pages long, no more, no less.

Final paper – The final will consist of a short (5 to 7 pages) paper in part based upon the book The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. Students will assess if the book remains relevant in today’s political world. Further instructions will be provided through Blackboard as the semester progresses.

EXTRA CREDIT - There will be opportunities throughout the semester for extra credit. I will alert you to these opportunities through blackboard and provide you with instructions.

Grading

Blackboard discussion participation – 25%Chapter Summaries – 60%, or 15% each (4x15 = 60)Final paper – 15%

The following grading system is to be strictly followed:A = 100-90 B = 89-80 C = 79-70 D = 69-60 F = 59 and below

Tentative Schedule

WEEK ONE – May 26 - May 28

AMGOV Chapters 2, 3, 4

WEEK TWO – June 1 – June 5

AMGOV Chapters 5, 6, 7 Chapter summary #1 (Chapters 2, 3, 4) due in the office by 12 noon, Friday June 5

WEEK THREE – June 8 – June 12

AMGOV Chapters 8, 9, 11Chapter summary #2 (Chapters 5, 6, 7) due in the office by 12 noon, Friday June 12

WEEK FOUR – June 15 – June 19

AMGOV Chapters 12, 13, 14Chapter summary #3 (Chapters 8, 9, 11) due in the office by 12 noon, Friday June 19

WEEK FIVE – June 22 – June 26

AMGOV Chapters 15, 16Chapter summary #4 (Chapters 12, 13, 14) due in the office by 12 noon, Friday June 26

WEEK SIX – June 29 – July 2

The Prince Paper due in the office by 12 noon, Thursday, July 2

Other class policies

Late assignments will only be permitted for a medically excused reason (a physician’s note is the only accepted form of documentation) or other extenuating circumstances to be discussed between the student and instructor.

All students should acquaint themselves with the University’s policy concerning plagiarism (an online copy of the Student Handbook can be found at: http://www.stmarytx.edu/handbook/). If an assignment is plagiarized in part or in full, the assignment will receive a failing grade and the incident will be reported to the Dean of the School of Humanities, Dr. Janet Dizinno. We will spend a bit of class time reviewing academic honesty.