Syllabus POL 1101 Section PTRA

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School

Baruch College, CUNY *

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Course

1101

Subject

Political Science

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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pdf

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Uploaded by CoachMetalTrout31

Baruch College, CUNY Department of Political Science Political Science 1101 American Government: Practices and Values Section PTRA - Tu Th 5:50-7:05pm - Online Synchronous Fall 2023 Instructor: Josh Keller Of�ice Hours: By appointment via Zoom (link will be provided via Blackboard) Email: jkeller1@gradcenter.cuny.edu Class Location: Online via Zoom Course Description In this course, we will learn about the US government by examining its practices and institutions as well as the underlying values that have helped shape them. The course is divided into �ive sections as follows: 1. Section I: In this section, we will explore the US governmental system with a special focus on foundational documents such as the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. 2. Section II: In this section, we will focus on civil rights, civil liberties, public opinion, and voting/elections. 3. Section III: In this section, we will examine the role of the media, political parties, and interest groups. 4. Section IV: In this section, we will discuss the formal institutions of government (e.g., the presidency, congress, the courts, and state/local government). 5. Section V: The �inal segment of the course will address public administration, as well as foreign and domestic policy. Learning Goals After taking this class you will be able to: understand the American political system - its key institutions and actors, and the ideas that drive policy debates. Course Materials We will use one main book for this course. 1. Glen Krutz et al. 2021. American Government from OpenStax, Print ISBN 1947172654, Digital ISBN 1947172662. The book is FREE ! Get the course book here: https://openstax.org/details/books/american-government-2e

Course Requirements Attendance You are allowed two unexcused absences throughout the semester; more than two and it will start to affect your grade. Class Participation You are encouraged to participate in weekly in-class discussions by raising your hand using the Zoom functionality, and/or by posting questions and comments in the chat. Weekly Quizzes Starting in week 2, there will be weekly quizzes on Blackboard. You are required to complete 9 out of 11 quizzes. In other words, you can miss up to two quizzes with no penalty. Students may also elect to complete more than 9 quizzes. In such cases, I will take the 9 highest scores to determine your average. The quizzes will be available for nearly a full week, starting at 5:00pm on Thursdays, and will be due in by 11:59pm on each subsequent Wednesday. The full schedule of quizzes may be found on the course schedule that follows on the next page. IMPORTANT: You will have a limited amount of time -25 minutes or less- to complete each quiz once you have started. Once a quiz is started, you cannot shut it off. No late quizzes, no makeup quizzes, no retakes. I will post speci�ic instructions for each quiz on Blackboard. Exams There will be three exams throughout the semester. All exams will be taken on Blackboard. There will be 40-50 multiple choice questions on each exam as well as 4-6 short answer questions. 1. Exam 1 covers material from chapters 1-7 only and will take place on October 5, 2023. 2. Exam 2 covers material from chapters 8 – 14 only and will take place on November 16, 2023. 3. Exam 3 covers material from chapters 15 – 17 only and will take place on December 14, 2023. Exams MUST be taken on the dates speci�ied above. All exams will be taken during the regularly scheduled class time. You will have 1.25 hours to �inish each exam. Once an exam is started it cannot be paused. No late exams, and no makeups unless approved in advance.

Grading 1. Each exam is worth 30% of your grade (however, see #3 below). 2. The average grade for your quizzes is worth 30% of your grade (however, see #3 below). 3. I will drop your lowest grade. In other words, I will either drop one test grade, or your average grade for the quizzes if this average is lower than all of your exam grades. 4. Attendance and class participation (which includes comments made in the class chat) is worth 10% of your grade. Exam and quiz grades will be posted to Blackboard. I will strive to turn the grades around within 7 days. If you have questions and/or concerns about grades, please email me at jkeller1@gradcenter.cuny.edu to set up a time to discuss them via Zoom. Course Schedule Date Required Readings Topics Assignment T ues 8/29 None Basic Introduction to the course and the syllabus Introduction None Th 8/31 Chapter 1 (all) American Government & Civic Engagement None Tues 9/5 Chapter 2 (all) The Constitution and Its Origins None Th 9/7 Chapter 3 (all) American Federalism Quiz #1 Assigned (due by 9/11/23) Tues 9/12 Chapter 4 (all) Civil Liberties None Th 9/14 Chapter 5 (intro. – section 5.3) Civil Rights Quiz #2 Assigned (due by 9/18/23) Tues 9/19 Chapter 5 (section 5.4 – end of chapter) Civil Rights Continued None Th 9/21 Chapter 6 (all) The Politics of Public Opinion Quiz #3 Assigned (due by 9/25/23) Tues 9/26 Chapter 7 (all) Voting and Elections None Th 9/28 Reading to be Assigned TBD Quiz #4 Assigned (due by 10/2/23) Tues 10/3 Exam Review Exam Review None Th 10/5 EXAM #1 Exam EXAM #1

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