Spring 2005

GOV 310L • American Government

Course Description

Fulfills first half of legislative requirement for 6 hours of American government. If you love to hate politics, this course is for you-it will give you more ammunition than you've ever dreamed of. Or, if you love politics, then this course is for you-it will give you more insight into the real politik world of American and Texas politics than any other political junkie could absorb in one semester. For those in the middle-you'll get enough thrown at you that you might end up in one of those other two camps by final exam time. GOV 310L is an introductory course in U. S. and Texas politics and government-national, state, and local. The format will be lectures, readings, discussion, writing, and examinations. We will meet in a smart classroom, so we will use the Internet and Powerpoint in class when appropriate.

The study of politics and government is incomplete without some knowledge of the society, culture, history, and economy of the nation and state. We will study political economy, constitutionalism, democracy, federalism, legislative politics, executive politics, judicial politics, public policies, public opinion, participation, and parties and elections. Current and recent political events will serve as focal points for the lectures and discussions.

Grading Policy

The minimum required for the course is achieving and understanding of the materials covered in lectures and readings as reflected in the student's scores on three examinations plus short (online) writing assignments. The final course grade is based on the exam grades and writing assignments.

Texts

Tentative: Gary Wasserman. The Basics of American Politics, 2004.

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