Spring 2010

GOV 312L • Issues and Policies in American Government

Course Description

This is a multi-section course. Lecture meets on MW, discussion meets on F in 4 sections. This is the second semester of the two-course legislative requirement in American and Texas government. The course seeks an understanding of the basic principles of American government in a close reading of a number of classic constitutional, theoretical, and political texts. The core of the readings are The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, The Constitution of the United States, selections from The Federalist Papers by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay, and excerpts from Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. The interaction of democracy, equality, and liberty in the American system, the constitutional shape these values take, and the effect of these ideas on American life will be the recurring themes of our discussions.

Grading Policy

Grades will be computed in the following manner: Exam I 25 Exam II 25 Exam III 25 Paper 20 Section participation 05 Total 100

Texts

Rossiter, ed., The Federalist Papers (edition with the Constitution, Declaration, and Articles of Confederation in the appendices) Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vols. I and II, edited by J.P. Mayer, translated by G. Lawrence

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