PS 101-002 FALL 2009

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
MWF 11AM-11:50AM BS 107 (Hunt Morgan Bldg.)
http://ukps101.pbworks.com/

INTRODUCTION:
This is an introductory course in American government, and as such, is designed to present students with
a broad overview of the American political system. However, this course is NOT simply a college-level
civics course. We will be learning to study American government and politics as political scientists do,
with attention given to both empirical and critical theoretical approaches. By the end of the course we will
have examined the following questions/issues:
• What are the bases of the American republic in political & democratic theory and in political
culture? How is the Constitution of 1787 a reflection of these elements and the tensions between
them? How have the continued evolution of American political culture and our interpretation of the
Constitution resulted in our current understanding of civil liberties and civil rights? How might the
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Constitution be amended to better reflect the political needs and realities of 21 century America?
• What are the constitutional powers and responsibilities of all three branches of the federal
government? How do they relate to each other in the constitutional system of checks and
balances and shared powers? How do they function together to translate the will of the people
into policy and law?
• What are political parties, and what crucial roles do they play in the American political system?
How are they related to interest groups? What is the current status of both the Democratic and
Republican parties? Why have third parties so rarely been successful in the U.S.? How are
elections supposed to result in democratic outcomes? What are the roles of political parties,
interest groups, the media and money in American elections?
• What is the role of the media in American politics? What should their role be? Why is high quality
information and debate so important to the functioning of our republic? Is there a bias to the
media, and if so, what kind and to what extent? What is the role of the emerging Internet media in
contemporary politics?

This course is structured for three 50-minute lecture classes per week. Although class time will largely be
spent in lectures, I will always allow room for questions and discussions, such activities being necessary
to achieve the best possible learning environment. We will also occasionally engage in small-group
activities in class as time allows. This course is part of the University Studies Program and can be taken
to fulfill one of the Social Science requirements in University Studies.

INSTRUCTOR & COURSE INFORMATION:

Instructor: Dr. Christopher S. Rice Email: christopher.rice@uky.edu

Office: 1649 POT Twitter: @ricetopher
Office Hours: M 9-10:30AM Telephone: 257-7030

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Grade Determination: Your final course grade will be based on six (6) components:
• Exam I – September 23 (20%)
• Exam II – October 26 (20%)
• Exam III – November 23 (20%)
• Final Exam – December 16 (20%)
• Attendance (10%)
• Participation (10%)

Course Readings: The following two (2) books are required reading for this course:
• AmGov 2009 by Losco and Baker. ISBN: 978-0-07-724025-7
• Annual Editions: American Government 09/10, ed. Stinebrickner. ISBN: 978-0-07-812769-4

All of the reading in this syllabus is required. You should read all of the assigned material on the dates of
the learning unit for which it is assigned, be prepared to discuss it or be quizzed over it in class, and also
be prepared to be examined on it EVEN IF IT IS NOT DISCUSSED IN CLASS. Our class time will not
be spent simply “going over” the assigned readings. Rather, the readings will serve as our point of
departure for the lectures and class discussion. Indeed, most lectures will involve information not
contained in the readings. So do the readings for each class on a timely basis! We will have a total of
five (5) short unannounced multiple-choice quizzes over the assigned readings to test your completion
and comprehension of the assigned readings.

Exams (80%): There will be three exams given during the course of the semester and a cumulative
final exam. Exams will consist of Multiple-Choice questions only. I will provide the examination paper, but
you are REQUIRED to bring a PENCIL to each exam. Review questions for each exam, as well as
PowerPoints for lectures covered by each exam, may be found on the course website a few days prior to
each exam.

Makeup exams will be given only for university-excused absences (See “Excused Absences” below) or if
you have obtained approval prior to the absence. If you miss an exam with an unexcused absence you
will receive a zero for the exam. If the absence is due to a foreseen reason, written verification will be
required at least one week before the scheduled exam. Permission to miss an exam must be secured
BEFORE the scheduled exam time unless the cause of the absence is unforeseen. If the exam must be
missed due to an unforeseen reason, it is your responsibility to contact me ASAP following the exam (by
phone, email or in person). Make-up exams must be scheduled as soon as possible following your
absence.

Exam grades will be posted to the course website, usually about one week following the exam period. If
you have questions regarding your exam grades you should speak with your TA during office hours. We
will not provide exam grades by phone or by email. If you miss class on the day exam grades are
returned, you must come to your TAʼs office during their office hours to receive them.

Attendance (10%): Regardless of what you may have heard, attendance is very important for
success in most college courses. This is especially true for my courses. A great amount of the lecture
material will not appear in the course readings, and you are responsible for all information presented in
the lectures. Moreover, the lectures will provide important clues as to what things are likely to show up on
the examinations. It is highly unlikely that you will do well in this course without regular and engaged
attendance. I expect you to come to class every session.

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For purposes of this course, attendance will be taken through the use of “attendance cards.” You MUST
bring a 3x5 index card to class every day. Other sizes of index card or scraps of paper, etc. WILL NOT
BE ACCEPTED. At some point during each class period you will be required to write a brief response to
the Question of the Day and turn this in to the TAs. You will be awarded 1 attendance point for each dayʼs
attendance card on which the Question of the Day and your name are filled out BY YOU. You may not fill
out an attendance card for any other student. If we catch anyone doing this (we will compare handwriting
on the cards regularly and at random), the student falsely filling out the attendance card will lose their
attendance point for the day as well as the student for whom they were filling out the card. Attendance
credit will also not be given if you arrive late or leave early from class, or leave and return during class, or
are otherwise not present while Question of the Day is offered and cards are filled out and collected. You
class participation grade (10% of your final course grade) will be determined as a percentage of your total
number of earned participation points out of 30 points. That percentage will then be used to calculate 10%
of your final course grade. Because this effectively means you get to drop ~5 days worth of class
participation without penalty (for whatever reason), there will be NO makeup attendance
opportunities given for either excused or unexcused absences or for tardiness/leaving
early/leaving & reentering class. You have been warned!

Please do not bring us doctorʼs notes, yellow slips from the Clinic, funeral programs, etc. in regards to
missed attendance points. We will not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences for
purposes of attendance, only for exams (see “Exams”). Budget your allotted absences accordingly. You
may also find that coming every day is an excellent extra credit opportunity. If you accumulate more than
30 class participation points during the semester, we will still divide that number by 30. So, were you to
accumulate 35 class participation points during the semester, your class participation grade would be
117%. It is each studentʼs responsibility to keep up with his or her own point totals for class participation
throughout the semester. Neither Dr. Rice nor the TAs will calculate your class participation grade for you,
so please do not ask. Bring your 3x5 index card. EVERY. DAY. No exceptions.

Participation (10%): To succeed this course, however, requires much more than just showing
up. Active participation is required. This means actively engaging with the course materials, the lecture,
your instructor and TA, as well as your fellow students, both in class and out. To facilitate this we will be
using The Big Blue Network, UKʼs private social network. If you are a new freshman, you should already
be on this list. If you are not, Dr. Rice will add you at the end of the add/drop period. You will be invited to
a private group on the network where we will host discussion threads for each lecture and reading. You
will be expected to participate regularly on this forum outside of class. Comments should be serious, well-
thought out, critical and civil. You will not be graded on your point of view, but rather how often and how
strongly you have participated, and how thoughtful your comments/responses have been.

Moreover, we will be using The Big Blue Network during class as a form of instant feedback and class
participation. I strongly encourage you to bring your laptop, internet-capable phone (if you have a data
plan), or other internet capable device to class and log into The Big Blue Network. During class I would
like you to participate in the lecture discussion thread of the day and, more importantly, discuss the
lecture material, ask questions and provide other feedback using BBNʼs chat function. We will display The
Big Blue Network during class on a secondary screen so that the class may see class-related chat and
discussion activity in real-time during class. In this way, we can make our 300-student class more
intimate, responsive and interactive. Bring your internet device and participate during class!

COURSE POLICIES:

Email Policy: You may always feel free to contact me via email. However, I do have a few general
guidelines you must follow when doing so. First, always begin the subject line of an email to me with “PS

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101:”. Be certain to use EXACTLY this subject line start (i.e., include spaces and the colon, capitalize
“PS”, etc.). This will put your email into the appropriate inbox, allowing us to respond to your email in a
timely fashion. Emails that do not have “PS 101:” at the beginning of the subject line may not receive a
response. Also, emails are NOT text messages/IM communications. When emailing me you should open
the email by addressing me as Dr. Rice, identifying yourself, concisely providing the nature of your
problem/request, and then signing off with your name. If you have followed these directions, you may
expect a response within 48 hours of its receipt. If you have a pressing emergency, you should speak to
me before or after class, or by phone. As a final note, I will NOT provide your grades (nor discuss any
personally-identifiable grade information) over the phone or by email.

Classroom Standards: I expect all students to behave in a professional manner during class
time. This means coming to class on time and being ready to start class at 11am. It is disrespectful
to me and to your fellow students to come late and disrupt class, so be on time. I will not tolerate chronic
tardiness, and if you arrive to class more than 5 minutes late, you may be asked to turn around and leave.
Also, unless you have obtained prior approval from me, you may not leave class early. Furthermore, I do
not tolerate rude and disruptive classroom behavior. During class, refrain from talking during the lecture
(unless it is to ask me a question!), reading a newspaper, doing crosswords, sudoku or other
puzzles/games, sleeping, text messaging or other (non-BBN related) cellphone use, or listening to your
iPod or other .mp3 players. When in class, turn off your cell phones unless using it to access The Big
Blue Network – silencing will not suffice when many of your phones have a “vibrate” function that could
crack a walnut. Finally, due to the potential for distracting you and your fellow classmates, please avoid
using laptop computers or other devices that may be used to access the Internet for purposes other than
class activities (e.g., Facebooking, shopping eBay, emailing, etc.). I encourage you to use your computer,
phone or other internet-capable device during class to participate in class activities on The Big Blue
Network or to look up elements from the lecture online to supplement the lecture and your notes. I reserve
the right to dismiss from class any student in violation of any classroom standards policies.

Disputing Exam Grades: Should you wish to dispute the grading of an exam, you may
submit a written grievance. Your grievance should identify the question(s)/answer(s) in dispute and
provide arguments supporting your position. The appeal must be submitted IN WRITING (attached to the
corresponding exam) to me within two class periods following the exam in question. I will provide a written
response to your grievance within one week of its receipt.

Excused Absences: The University defines the following as acceptable reasons for excused
absences: illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the studentʼs immediate family; death of
a member of the studentʼs immediate family; trips for members of student organizations sponsored by an
academic unit, trips for university classes and trips for participation in intercollegiate athletic events; major
religious holidays; any other circumstances which the instructor finds reasonable cause for
nonattendance. I reserve the right to require documentation for any excused absence. It is the studentʼs
responsibility to notify me before any absence if possible, but no later than one week following the
absence in any case. It is the studentʼs responsibility to provide proper documentation and notification in
all cases.

A Brief Note on Cheating & Plagiarism: In addition to being in generally poor

form, plagiarism and cheating are theft of othersʼ intellectual property. Plagiarism or cheating will NOT be
tolerated. If cheating or plagiarism is found to occur, it will be dealt with according to University Senate
Rules. If you have ANY doubts or questions as to what constitutes plagiarism, I recommend you review
this document: http://www.uky.edu/Ombud/Plagiarism.pdf.

Classroom and Learning Accommodations: If you have a documented disability

that requires academic accommodations, please se me as soon as possible during scheduled office
hours. In order to receive accommodations in this course, you must provide me with a Letter of

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Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (Room 2, Alumni Gym, 257-2754,
jkarnes@email.uky.edu) for coordination of campus disability services available to students with
disabilities.

One Last Thing – Dropping the Course: Not that I hope you choose to leave our
little soiree, but there are a couple of dates you should keep in mind should the need arise. The last day
to drop this course without it appearing on your transcript is September 16, 2009. The last day to
withdraw from the course is November 6, 2009.

COURSE SCHEDULE:
NOTE: All items in the Course Schedule are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. These
changes will be announced in class and/or on the course website. You are responsible for all announced
changes, so come to class and check the course website regularly.

Foundations of American Political Culture (August 28,31, September 2)

Read AmGov, Ch.1, Annual #5,6

The Constitution (September 4,9,11)

Read AmGov, Ch.2, Annual #2,3,4,10

September 7 – Labor Day – No Class

Federalism (September 14)

Read AmGov, Ch.3

Civil Liberties & Civil Rights (September 16,18,21)

Read AmGov, Ch. 4,5

September 23 – EXAM I

Congress (September 25,28,30, October 2)

Read AmGov, Ch.11, Annual #21,22,24,33

The Presidency (October 5,7,9,12)

Read AmGov, Ch.12, Annual #16,17,19,20

The Bureaucracy (October 14,16)

Read AmGov, Ch.12, Annual #28

The Federal Judiciary (October 19,21,23)

Read AmGov, Ch.14, Annual #13,26

October 26 – EXAM II

Polling, Public Opinion and Political Socialization (October 28,30)

Read AmGov, Ch.6, Annual #31

Political Participation and Voting (November 2,4)

Read AmGov, Ch.7, Annual #32,35

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Interest Groups (November 6,9,11)
Read AmGov, Ch.8, Annual #37,38

Political Parties & Elections (November 13,16,18,20)

Read AmGov, Ch.9, Annual #30,41,42,44,45

November 23 – Exam III

November 25,27 – Thanksgiving Break – No Class

The Media and American Politics (November 30, December 2,4,7,9)

Read AmGov, Ch.10, Annual #39,40, TBA

December 11 – MAKE-UP EXAM DAY – Last Day of Classes

December 16 (Wednesday) – 10:30AM-12:30PM – FINAL EXAM