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Political Science 102, section 01 Fall 2002 |
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Syllabus
Professor: Dr. Dave Rausch, Ph.D.
Office: 404C Old Main
Phone: 651-2423
Email: jrausch@mail.wtamu.edu
Webpage: http://www.wtamu.edu/~jrausch
Office hours: MWF 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.; TuTh 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.; other times by
appointment; please feel free to email
me
Remember that this course meets from 8 a.m. until 8:50 a.m. MWF
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Required Text
Attendance
Examinations and Grading
Assignments
Extra Credit
Semester Project
Academic Integrity
Student ADA Policy Statement
Reading Assignments
Issues Relating to Student Success
Course Outline and Schedule
Close browser window to return to State and Local Government page.
In state and local government, we
examine government and politics in the 50 American states, and in the states’
subdivisions. We focus on the purposes of these governments, the way
they operate and the groups and individuals who make decisions in these political
contexts. Since there are 50 states and over 80,000 local governments,
we cannot talk about how all these governments operate. Fortunately,
because many of these subnational governments are fairly similar, we can
classify and generalize about aspects of state and local governments.
The state of Texas will receive most of our attention in this course.
Because of recent changes in national politics, state and local
governments, often called the governments “closest to the people,” are gaining
renewed attention. Throughout this course we will critically analyze
the degree to which state and local governments are prepared to meet the
new responsibilities that they may be given and the degree to which they
represent the goals and desires of their citizens. We will also evaluate
certain proposals that have been offered with the intent of making these
governments more efficient and effective.
This course is foundational stuff, and unlike other subjects
that seem to have little or no meaning in your curriculum, this level of politics
and government has a definite impact on you. Without the services provided
by a state government, you would not be sitting here taking this course.
By the completion of this course, you should have the knowledge
to be able to work with government agencies at all level of government.
Required Text
Maxwell and Crain, et al. Texas Politics Today, 10th
ed. Wadsworth, 2002.
Make sure you have the 10th edition.
Other editions will have outdated information.
The second required book is The Rowman & Littlefield Guide to Writing with Sources, by Davis.
This book will help you avoid problems with plagiarism. Much of the information that appears in this book can be applied to other courses.
Attendance
Each student is expected to attend the regularly scheduled
class sessions. Students are encouraged to raise questions and to discuss
topics of interest during class. Just showing up for class is not enough!
Students are expected to have read the material prior to the class session.
I don't take attendance to include as part of your grade.
I think this information is too important to trivialize by forcing students
to come to class.
Examinations and Grading
Three exams will be administered during the
semester. Exam 1 is scheduled for September 30. Exam 2
is scheduled for October 30. Exam 3 will be administered at
the time indicated for the final exam (Monday, December 9, at 8 a.m.).
The exams will consist of multiple-choice questions with one short essay.
Please purchase “Scantron” forms at the bookstore. Electronic
devices may not be used during examinations. Any improvement
in the quality of a student’s work over the course of a session is taken
into account in determining session grades.
Semester grades in the course will be determined as follows:
| First exam | 75 points |
| Second exam | 75 points |
| Third exam | 75 points |
| Semester project | 100 points |
| Assignments | 50 points |
Exams must be made up within one week of the scheduled date
unless there are extenuating circumstances (a “really good reason”). Make-up
exams probably will consist of essay questions.
As a general rule, exams scoring 90-100 percent
are considered “A,” 80-89 percent “B,” 70-79 percent “C,” and so on.
Scores below 55 are failing.
The third exam is scheduled for Monday, December 9,
at 8:00 a.m. If an extenuating circumstance forces you to miss
the final exam, you will have only 24 hours in which to make up the exam.
If you do not complete all of the assignments for the
course, you may receive a failing grade for the semester. Therefore,
it is in your best interest to communicate with me directly if you are felled
by a life-threatening illness, get drafted, etc., and have to miss a number
of class sessions.
Please note that the last day to drop or withdraw with
an automatic "X" grade is October 11, 2002.
Assignments
Distributed irregularly throughout the semester will be
five assignments. You will access the assignments on the American
State and Local Government webpage (go to http://www.wtamu.edu/~jrausch
and scroll down a bit to find the link "American State and Local Government").
Each of these assignments will be worth 10 points. These assignments
have two objectives:
- Introduce you to the state and local government resources available on the World Wide Web.
- Expand instruction by providing additional examples of topics discussed in class.
Extra Credit
Extra credit is written into each exam in the form of
additional multiple-choice or essay questions.
Semester Project
There is a semester project. It is worth 100 points.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Academic Integrity
It is the responsibility of students and instructors to
help maintain scholastic integrity at the University by refusing to participate
in or tolerate scholastic dishonesty. Commission of any of the following
acts shall constitute scholastic dishonesty. This listing is not exclusive
of any other acts that may reasonably be said to constitute scholastic dishonesty:
- acquiring or providing information for any assigned work or examination from any unauthorized source;
- informing any person or persons of the contents of any examination prior to the time the examination is given in subsequent sections of the course or as a makeup;
- plagiarism; submission of a paper or project that is substantially the same for two courses unless expressly authorized by the instructor to do so (CODE OF STUDENT LIFE, Rules and Procedures for Students, West Texas A&M University).
http://www.wtamu.edu/administrative/ss/code/code.html#procedures[Back to Table of Contents]
Student ADA Policy Statement
West Texas A&M University seeks to provide reasonable
accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University
will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations
and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required
to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility
to register with Disabled Student Services and to contact the faculty member
in a timely fashion to arrange for suitable accommodations.
Reading Assignments
Reading assignments are listed in the course outline.
I expect reading assignments to be completed before class; lectures and discussions
will be of maximum value only if students are familiar with the text material.
Note that Chapter 14 on local government appears out of order. I want
to provide you with information before the semester project is due.
Since this course examines the levels of government closest
to the people, I will be asking the people (i.e., you) to discuss and describe
your connections to and involvement with that government.
In addition to the required readings in the text, it is
strongly recommended that you regularly read the news sections of the local
paper as well as the Dallas paper (better on national news; useful for comparing
government and politics in Texas to other states in the region) and the Austin
paper. These papers have websites.
Issues Relating to Student Success
I want students to succeed in this course, but I do not
“hold hands.” All students at a post-secondary educational institution
are considered to be adults. You must recognize when you are having
problems and contact me for possible solutions. The appropriate time
to tell me that you are having problems in this class is not the day before
I assign semester grades.
I am eager to meet with students and to be of assistance.
Students should not hesitate to arrange such a meeting either after class,
during office hours (listed on the first page of this syllabus), or at a
mutually convenient time. Contacting me by email probably is a useful
way to let me know if you don’t understand something. I have found
(in my many years of college teaching) that if one student has a question,
many other students have similar questions. If you submit your question
via email, I will dis-cuss it in class (without mentioning your name, of
course).
In addition, I participate in the Supplemental Instruction
(SI) program. While the SI program can be beneficial, you should not
think that it can replace attending class or reading the textbook. The
SI leader will provide you with additional information on the opportunities
presented by the SI program. I encourage students to explore these
opportunities.
It is up to the student to determine when he or she is
in danger of not successfully completing the course.
[This schedule is subject to change and you will be notified of any changes.]
| August 26 | Introduction to Course Objective and Procedures "What's a Texan?" |
| August 28-September 6 | The Environment of State and Local Politics I: Culture and History
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 1 |
| August 30 | American Political Science Association meeting No class session; complete Internet assignment #1 |
| September 2 | Labor Day; no class |
| September 9-13 | The Environment of State and Local Politics II: U.S. and Texas Constitutions
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 2 |
| September 16-20 | Political Participation in State and Local Elections
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 3 |
| September 23-27 | Political Parties and Interest Groups
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 4 |
| September 30 | Exam #1 – Bring #2 Pencils, Scantron forms, and paper for the short essay. |
| October 2-7 | The Legislature I: What and Who?
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 6 |
| October 11-14 | The Legislature II: What Does It Do?
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 7 |
| October 16-18 | The Chief Executive
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 8 |
| October 21-23 | The Bureaucracy
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 9 |
| October 25-28 | The Judiciary
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 10 |
| October 30 | Exam #2 – Bring #2 pencils, Scantron forms, and paper for the short essay. |
| November 1-6 | Local Government
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 14 |
| November 8-13 | Crime and Punishment
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 11 |
| November 15-20 | Taxing and Revenue
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 12 |
| November 25-December 4 | Expenditure
Read: Maxwell and Crain, Chapter 13 |
| November 29 | Holiday; No class |
| Friday, December 7 at 8:00 a.m. | Exam #3 - Bring #2 pencils, Scantron forms, and paper for the short essay. |