American Federal Government PSC 1113

Fall 2017
T-TH, 4:30-5:45 PM
GLCH 0123

SYLLABUS
Instructor
Dr. David R. Stroup
david.r.stroup-1@ou.edu
Dale Hall Tower, Room 216
Office Hours: T 9-11am, TH 1-3pm or by appointment

CLASS OVERVIEW

Course Description: This class will be an introduction to the American system of

government. Our primary objective will be to develop a basic knowledge of political and
governmental processes and institutions in the United States. Over the course of the
semester we will examine many different aspects of politics in the United States
including: the foundations of American political culture, the basic theoretical and
philosophical concepts underlining the American system of government, the structure of
American political institutions and the relationships among them, the fundamental
political and governmental processes, and the formation of domestic and foreign policy.
In addition, we will attempt to relate these topics to current events and happenings in
American politics, and discuss the way that political actions impact the daily lives of
citizens in this country. This course will encourage students to reflect upon, and engage
these issues critically and analytically. Together we will examine the ideas and concerns
at the roots of the American political system, and gain a greater understanding of the
continually evolving system that is the American government.

Course Objectives: By the completion of the semester students will be able to:

Explain the origins of the American system of governance, and discuss the
ideas underlying the founding of the nation.
Define the concept of federalism and its various interpretations, and
discuss the relationship between the national and state governments.
Describe each of the three branches of the federal government and their
respective responsibilities, as well as the relationships to other two
branches.
Describe the processes that facilitate and sustain representative
government (campaigns, elections, lawmaking, policy making), as well as
the entities that participate in this process (parties, interest groups, the
bureaucracy, etc.).
 Discuss the range of political beliefs and ideologies active in American
politics, and describe how these measured and recorded in public opinion.
Assess the ways in which politics influences our daily lives and the course
of current events.
Speak, think and write critically and analytically about all of these
subjects.

Required Texts: Lectures and discussions will concentrate largely on the textbook for
the course:

Samuel Kernell, Gary C. Jacobson, Thad Kousser, and Lynn Vavreck. 2017. The
Logic of American Politics. 8th Edition. DC: CQ Press.,
ISBN: 978-1-60871-274-8

In addition, students will be asked to do short readings from works of historical political
importance or from contemporary sources of political commentary (e.g. The Washington
Post, Newsweek, The Economist, et al.). These readings are listed on the class schedule,
and are linked directly on the electronic version of this syllabus. Links to these readings
will also be posted on Canvas.

Students are also highly encouraged, though not required, to follow current events and
keep track of political developments throughout the semester (See D2L for a list of links
to reputable sources for political news).

GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS

Grades will be assigned as follows:

Assignment % of Grade
Daily Feedback Forms 10%
Quizzes (3) 20%
Short Paper 20%
Midterm Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%

Daily Feedback: Students will fill out a daily feedback form distributed each class
period by answering 2-3 questions related to the content of the lecture. Sheets will be
turned in at the end of lecture.
Quizzes: Three short (5-10 question) quizzes will be administered during the first 15
minutes at the beginning of class. Quiz dates are listed on the syllabus
Short paper: A short paper (between 1,000-1,500 words in length) will be assigned.
Students will respond to a prompt given out by the instructor in class and turned in to the
dropbox on the courses Canvas website. Further details will be given on the assignment
rubric handed out by the instructor in class.
Midterm Exam: Given during class on October 10.
Final Exam: Given on Friday December 15 from 4:30 to 6:30pm
Readings: The readings for each session are listed on the course schedule. The readings
listed for each week are to be completed for that day. Please make sure you have read the
listed material before class, and are familiar enough with the material to engage in class
discussions and activities.

CLASS POLICIES
LATE WORK POLICY:
All assignments must be completed prior to the beginning of class on the day it is due. Work
turned in after the start of class will be considered late. The policy of this class will be to accept
late work, at an initial penalty of 1 letter grade, with an additional letter grade penalty assigned
for every subsequent day the work is late. If you are having personal or scholastic problems that
will lead to you having trouble turning work in on time, please come see me before the work is
due.

MAKE-UP POLICY:
No early exams will be given. Make-up exams are allowed only in cases of documented
emergencies. Documentation for an absence and resulting missed exam is due within one
week of the absence and prior to the make-up exam. It is the students responsibility to
contact the instructor in order to make up an exam. If you do not notify me prior to the
scheduled exam period that you will not make it to the exam, you may not be able to make up the
exam.

CLASS COMMUNICATION:
Please check your OU email account daily. I will use email to communicate with you individually
and collectively from time to time. Please also check Canvas (www.canvas.ou.edu ) often to
download course content and other materials, to see course announcements.

OFFICE HOURS:
The time and location for my office hours are listed at the top of the syllabus. I strongly
encourage you to take advantage of them. If you are unable to attend at any of the listed times,
please see me to arrange a time which will be more amenable to both of us.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
While academic honesty is presumed and required on the part of students in this course, you are
encouraged to read and familiarize yourself with the universitys guide to academic integrity
(http://integrity.ou.edu/students_guide.html) which I will adhere to. I have zero tolerance for
academic dishonesty including cheating and plagiarism. Students who engage in those practices
will receive an F on the assignment, and will be sanctioned according to university policy.

ACCOMMODATION POLICY
The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all
students with disabilities. Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him or
her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me personally at the beginning of
the semester so we can discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and
facilitate your educational opportunities. If you encounter a problem throughout the course of the
semester, it is imperative that you let me know. Please, dont hesitate to contact me. If I cant
solve the problem, I will find someone who can. The university requires students with disabilities
to register with the Office of Disability Services (located in Goddard Health Center, Suite 166,
phone 325-3852 or TDD only 325-4173) prior to receiving accommodations in this course.

RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious
observances and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of examinations and additional
required classwork that may fall on religious holidays. Students who plan to observe a holiday
should notify me immediately in order to make appropriate arrangements.

SOME GENERAL ADVICE

Here are a few suggestions for how to get the most out of this course:

1. Give yourself ample time to do in-class readings and writing assignments, and
come to class prepared.
2. Read actively and take good notes in class and on readings. Engaging the material
critically will help you to better understand the subject.
3. Participate in class discussions and activities.
4. Ask questions. If theres something you dont understand, dont hesitate to ask for
clarification.
5. Ask for help. Come to office hours or schedule an appointment to meet with me if
you find yourself having trouble.

Also remember to take advantage of the resources the University offers you. Services are
available for students, particular with regard to questions about writing assignments. Visit
the OU Learning Resource Center on the second floor of Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall in
Room 280 (At the top of the main staircase), or online at
http://www.ou.edu/univcoll/home/Departments/learning_center.html
For the Writing Center visit: http://www.ou.edu/content/writingcenter/Students.html.

CLASS SCHEDULE

(Note: This schedule is subject to changes which may be required by unforeseen

circumstances. )

All reading assignments are to be completed before the day on which they are listed.

UNIT 1: The Institutions of American Government

Week 1: Introductions
T 8/22- Syllabus Day
TH 8/24: What is politics?
-Kernell, Chapter 1, p. 1-31

Week 2: The Founding and American Political Culture

T 8/29: The Founding
-Kernell, Chapter 2, 32-51
 -Declaration of Independence (Appendix)
TH 8/31: The Road to the Constitution
-Articles of Confederation (Appendix)
-Federalist Nos. 10 and 51 (Appendix)

Week 3: The Constitution

T 9/5: The Constitution
-QUIZ #1: The Constitution
-Kernell, Chapter 2, p. 52-81
-The Constitution of the United States of America (Appendix)
TH 9/7: A Constitutional Crisis?
-Chas Sisk, Rewrite the Constitution? Several states are trying to
-Uri Friedman America Isnt Having a Constituional Crisis The Atlantic
-Julia Azari and Seth Masket 4 Types of Constitutional Crises Five Thirty-Eight

Week 4: Federalism
T 9/12: The American system of Federalism
-Kernell, Chapter 3, p. 82-120
TH 9/14: How does Federalism work?
-Will marijuana make federalism go up in smoke? The Washington Post
- German Lopez, The Spread of Marijuana Legalization Explained Vox,
-Jonathan Alder, This is Your Federalism on Drugs Washington Post

Week 5: The Congress

T 9/19: The Powers of Congress
-Kernell, Chapter 6, p. 212-271
TH 9/21: Is Congress the Broken Branch? (Guest Lecture by J.D. Rackey)
-Mann and Ornstein, The Broken Branch, Ch. 1, p. 1-13
-Interview: Mann and Ornstein Its Worse Than It Looks

Week 6: The Presidency

T 9/26: The Powers of The Presidency
-QUIZ #2: Congress and the Presidency
-Kernell, Chapter 7, p. 272-313
-VIDEO: Crash Course Presidential Powers #1
TH 9/28: An Imperial Presidency?
-Jonathan Malher, After the Imperial Presidency The New York Times
Magazine
- Linda Feldman Is Barack Obama an imperial president? The Christian Science
Monitor
-VIDEO: Crash Course Presidential Powers #2

Week 7: The Courts

T 10/3: The Supreme Court of the United States
-Kernell, Chapter 9, p. 354-396
-Jeffrey Rosen, Why Marbury v. Madison Still Matters Newsweek
TH 10/5: The Politics of Court Appointments
-The Long History of Political Fights Over Supreme Court Seats, CBS
-Jeffrey Rosen How President Trump Could Reshape the Supreme Court
Politico
- Tim Meko, Dan Keating, Kevin Uhrmacher, and Stephanie Stamm,Everything
You Need To Know About Appointing a Supreme Court Justice The Washington
Post

Week 8:
T 10/10: MIDTERM EXAM
TH 10/12: The Federal Bureaucracy
-Kernell, Chapter 8, p. 314-350

Week 9: Civil Rights

T 10/17: The Politics of Civil Rights
-Kernell, Chapter 4, p. 122-169
TH 10/19: Voting Rights (Guest Lecture, Periloux Peay)
-Readings, TBA

Week 10: Civil Liberties

T 10/24: Civil Liberties in the Bill of Rights
-Kernell, Chapter 5, p. 170-211
-The National Archives The Bill of Rights: A Transcription
-VIDEO: Crash Course, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
TH 10/26: Civil Liberties in the Internet Era
-Marguerite Rigoglioso Civil Liberties in and the Law in the Era of
Surveillance, from Stanford University Law School
-Richard A. Clarke, Michael J. Morell, Geoffrey R. Stone, Cass R. Sunstein, Peter
P. Swire, Protecting Citizens, and their Privacy The New York Times
- Lee Rainie The State of Privacy in a Post-Snowden America Pew Research
Center

Week 11: Campaigns and Elections

T 10/31: How do elections work?
-Kernell, Chapter 11, p. 438-472
TH 11/2: The Permanent Campaign?
- Alec MacGillis Permanent Insanity Slate
-As Race Enters Homestretch Many Voters Feel Campaign Fatigue NPR
-American Elections: How long is too long? The Atlantic

Week 12: Parties

T 11/7: Why do we have parties?
-Kernell, Chapter 12, p. 476-521
TH 11/9: Partisanship and ideology
 -Ed Kilgore, In the Trump Era, America is Racing Toward Peak Polarization
New York Magazine
-Five Thirty Eight Politics Podcast Who Makes Up The Base?
(**DISCUSSION STARTS AT 8:25 mark)

Week 13: Interest Groups

T 11/14: Interest Groups (Guest Lecture Tyler G. Camarillo)
-Kernell, Chapter 13, p.522-559
-VIDEO: Crash Course Interest Group Formation
TH 11/16: Interest groups, money, and political influence
-QUIZ #3: Elections, Parties, Interest Groups
-VIDEO: Crash Course Interest Groups
- Ezra Klein, Our Corrupt Politics: Its Not All Money New York Review of
Books
-Lee Drutman, How Corporate Lobbyists Conquered American Democracy The
Atlantic

Week 14: Public Opinion

T 11/21: Public Opinion and the Big Sort
-PAPER DUE TO CANVAS DROPBOX
-Kernell, Chapter 10
-VIDEO: Bill Bishop, The Big Sort
- The Big Sort The Economist

TH 11/23- NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING BREAK

Week 15: The Political Media

T 11/28: The Medias Role in Politics
-Kernell, Chapter 14, p. 560-599
TH 11/30: Framing, and the politics of the Media
-Brooke Borel, Fact-Checking Wont Save Us From Fake News Five Thirty
Eight
-Sapna Maheshwari, How Fake News Goes Viral The New York Times

Week 16:
T 12/5: EXAM REVIEW
TH 12/7: No Class, Instructor will be in office hours

F 12/15, 4:30-6:30pm: FINAL EXAM