Semester: Spring 2008Instructor: Cyrus Hayat

1

Political Science Y-103

Introduction to American Politics

Semester: Spring 2008Instructor: Cyrus Hayat

Section:21666Phone: 274-0570

Thurs 6:00-8:40p.m. Office: Cavanaugh Hall 313 S

Cavanaugh Hall 227 Email:

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies.” Groucho Marx

Introduction and Course Expectationsand Goals: Introduction: Greetings and welcome to Y-103 or Introduction to American Politics. Y-103 is an introductory level Political Science course. Since this class is an introductory course, not all students come into it with the same level of knowledge and so any student that attends class regularly, turns in all their work in a timely manner, and makes an effort to engage the material shall be successful in this course. This class shall focus primarily on American Government, examiningthe key players, and how they make the rules and laws that govern our nation. We are also fortunate this semester because this class shall take place during the 2008 Presidential Election Primary Season. That means that we shall regularly discuss and explore various issues and aspects of the 2008 Election. In order to do this, one must occasionally turn on a television and watch some sort of news network; open a newspaper and read about the news; or log on to the world wide web and find online sources of news information. Regardless of which medium floats your boat, after following stories you will either be more informed or at the very least more entertained than you were before you engaged the news source. Expectations: Students should check their Oncourse regularly as Oncourse shall be utilized for this course and announcements shall be sent via Oncourse email. If you are unfamiliar with Oncourse or have questions about using it please contact UITS or ask the instructor for assistance. Students are also expected to complete their readings before the day that they will be discussed in class and coursework should be turned in on the day that it is due.Late work will be accepted but will be subject to a reduction in points. It is now general policy at IUPUI that attendance is required for all classes! If you know in advance that you shall not be able to attend class, it would be greatly appreciated if you notify the instructor via email as Attendance will be taken during every class session and the attendance grade is one element of your overall participation grade. For more information on course grades see below. Goals:My number one goal is to provide students with a better understanding of the American political process and American Politics. I also hope that you will become inspired or encouraged to become more involved in the American political process. In support of the IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learningthis course is designed to develop Communication and Critical Thinking skills through carefully structured written assignments.

Academic Honesty:One of the worst offenses that can be committed in Academics is plagiarism! A bad paper actually written by an individual is better than a great paper that was plagiarized. That being said, cheating is like speeding. You may not get caught every time you do it, but if you do it often enough you can rest assured that you will be caught eventually. It is very important for one to submit work that is entirely their own unless cited giving proper citation to the originator of the thought, idea, quote, chart, graph, etc… that was borrowed from another source.

It is important that you abide by the Academic Misconduct which is briefly mentioned below. The School of Liberal Arts Faculty has adopted the following policy regarding plagiarism: "Plagiarism is the use of the work of others without properly crediting the actual source of the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, entire articles, music or pictures. Using the work of other students, with or without their permission is plagiarism if there is no indication of the source of the original work. Plagiarism, a form of cheating, is a serious offense and will be severely punished. When plagiarism is suspected, the instructor will inform the student of the charge; the student has the right to respond to the allegations. Students whose work appears to be plagiarized may be asked to produce earlier drafts of work as well as the books and the articles used in a paper or speech. Students should, for this reason and as a protection in cases of lost papers, retain rough drafts, notes, and other work products for 2 or 3 weeks after the end of each semester. The penalties for plagiarism include reprimands, receiving a failing grade (for a particular take-home exam, paper, project, or the entire course), disciplinary probation, or dismissal. Faculty, after consulting with their chair and/or the School of Liberal Arts Dean of Students, must notify students in writing of their decision. Students have the right to appeal such decisions by submitting petitions to the Academic Affairs Committee. Petitions can be obtained in CA4O1. For further information, see the IUPUI Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct, which can be found online at

Administrative Withdrawals: If you miss more than half our class meetings within the first four weeks of the semester without explanation, you may be administratively withdrawn from this section. Our class meets twice per week, so if you miss more than four classes in the first four weeks, you may be withdrawn. Administrative withdrawals take place after the full refund period, so you would not be eligible for a tuition refund. Administrative withdrawals may also have academic, financial, and financial aid implications.Failing to meet these expectations will make it difficult for students to succeed in this course. If you have questions about the policy, please contact the instructor.

Text(s):Keeping the Republic: Power and Citizenship in American Politics, 2nd Brief Edition, written by Christine Barbour and Gerald Wright, and published by CQ Press in July 2006. In addition to our main text there will also be other readings from time to time that will either distributed as a hard copy in class or online readings available on either Oncourse or the internet. It is also important to read the newspaper, or visit online news sites to keep informed on politics and current events.

Grades: There will be six main elements that will determine your course grade. Class participation will be worth 10% (50 points) of your grade. The Journal will be worth 20% (100 points) of your grade. The State presentations shall be worth 10% (50 points) of your grade. The midterm is worth 20% (100 points) of your grade. The Research Presidential Paper will be worth 20% or (100 points) of your grade. The Final Exam will constitute the remaining 20% (100 points) of your grade.

Grading Scale:

1. A+ 100%

2. A 90

3. A- 86

4. B+ 82

5. B 78

6. B- 74

7. C+ 70

8. C 66

9. C- 62

10. D+58

11. D54

12. D-50

13. FBelow 49%

Important Dates:

January 14 100% refund period ends

January 1975% refund period ends

January 2650% refund period ends

February 225% refund period ends

March 6Midterm

March 11 & 13Spring Break (No Class)

May1Final Exam from 5:45-7:45pm in Cavanaugh 227

Class Schedule

Exams- This course shall consist of two examinations, a midterm and a final exam. Themidterm exam shall cover the first half of the textbook and the final exam shall cover the secondhalf of the book. Both exams shall consist of multiple choice, matching, true and false, and essayquestions. Study guides shall be issued before each exam.

Paper Assignment-The Presidential Paper should be 5-9 pages in length and should have

anywhere from 5-10 sources in the bibliography. The paper should be typed using Times New

Roman 12 point font, double spaced and should include a bibliography. Be sure to use spell

check and double check your paper forgrammaticalmistakes. If you need additional assistance

writing papers, please see the instructoror visit the WritingCenterin Cavanaugh 427 or call

their office at 274-2049.

Journal- The journal should consist of 10 political articles from newspapers, political websites,

the evening news, political magazines, or political journals. Be sure to include the article or a

copy of the article. If you chose to write about a television story, then be sure to include the

date, time of the broadcast, news reporter, and what station you were viewing along with a page

to half page written response to the article. The written response can be your reaction to a story,

or the short or long term significance of the piece that you chose to write about.

State Presentation: The state presentation can either be done individually or with a group

ranging in size from 2 to 4 members. The presentation can either be done in front of the class live or submitted on VHS or DVD. Content is much more important to time, but you should aim for 3-7 minutes. Things to include in your presentation: Presidents from the state, Presidential Candidates from the State, Famous Governors, Senators, or US Representatives from the state. Other information could include founding fathers or early famous Americans in politics from the state. In essence the short State Presentation will give people a better idea of the political contributions of the state you have chosen.

Class Participation- Class participation consists of attending class, taking part in group discussions, completing in class and online assignments and overall becoming engaged with the class material.

Syllabus Mutability-All information contained herein and posted above is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. If such a change were to take place, student would receive notification both in class and on Oncourse.

Y-103 Presidential Paper

1. Read the Syllabus. Be sure to double check all of the requirements listed there as well as in this document.

1. Choose a topic. Any world leader either living or dead will work except an American leader. (The purpose of this course is to expose you to World Politics and not simply American)

1. Do your research. You’ll probably start with the Web, but you should not use the Web as your sole source. You must also incorporate books, journals, and other hard copy sources into your paper as well. The University Library is an excellent resource that most students do not fully utilize!

1. Write the Paper:

A. Beginning/Introduction. Be sure to say what your paper is about (main idea). It is important that you also spell out the argument you’ll be making. You might want to pose your argument in form of a question.

B. Middle/Body. Be sure to avoid being solely descriptive. The body is where you will include your background material and supporting evidence. It is important that you work through and expand on argument to its fullest extent in the body. (This is the critical section, in which you quote all your supporting material. Beware Plagiarism: (Passing off other people’s ideas as your own.)

1. End/Conclusion. Finally, remind your reader what your paper was about and be sure to

outline and highlight your conclusions.

1. List your sources. My preference is for you to use the footnote or endnote system for citation. However you may use the parenthetical in-text citation method if that is the method you are most familiar with. Be sure to include 7-10 sources and again they shouldnot be exclusively websites. Include all details about the source: author, title, publisher, year, etc.

1. Mechanics. Your paper should be at least five full pages (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font, Reasonable margins) It should be partly descriptive but mostly analytical. Finally conduct a full check for grammar and spelling errors.

7. Deadline. The paper is due on May 1st. This is also which is also written on the syllabus.

Web source on writing papers: WritingCenter- For help or assistance their number is 274-2049.

Y-103 Presidential Paper

Before submitting your paper, go through this list of questions—the answers to all of them should be YES. If you have any NO answers, you will inevitably lose points.

1. Have you gone through all the term paper requirements listed on the syllabus and ensured that your paper meets them?

1. Is your paper at least five full pages in length (excluding tables, pictures, charts)?

1. Is your paper predominantly a political science paper? In other words, is it a study of a political leader?

1. Have you gone beyond description and devoted at least 25% of the paper to reasoned analysis supported by the careful use of cited sources?

1. Have you used at least the minimum number of sources required, and are they predominantly recent (post 2000) political science sources?

1. Do those sources include at least two of the following?

Internet SitesGovernment Documents

Authoritative NewspapersPolitical Science books

Major news magazinesGeneral information books

Specialist magazinesMaterial from organizations

Academic JournalsThe text for this course

Other books related to topic

1. Have you made it clear (through the use of endnotes, footnotes, or in-text citation) where and how you have used all the sources you have cited, and are they accurately and completely listed at the end of your paper?

1. Have you backed up and substantiated all your opinions and conclusions?

1. Have you begun the paper with the title and your name?

1. Is each page numbered?

1. Have you undertaken a check for spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors, and are you confident that they are minimal in number.