Syllabus

American National Government

(Government 3)

Instructor: Dr. Brian L. Werner
Office: 234M St. John's Hall
Phone: (718) 990-6161 ext. 5268

Office Hours: MWF 10:00 - 11:00 A.M.
E-Mail: DrBLW@aol.com
Gov 3 home page: http://users.aol.com/drblw/homepage.htm

This on-line course is a new way of learning about American government. You and I will be exploring about the possibilities (and pitfalls) of this medium. This course has the potential to be an incredible learning opportunity for us all!

It is almost paradoxical that remote learning has the potential to increase communications between the instructor and students. We will be able to communicate through the web pages, e-mail and our own bulletin board. Use these opportunities to ask questions, share observations about government (especially the upcoming elections), suggest ways in which the class could be improved, whatever is on your mind. The only limitation is that all communications related this class must be made in a mutually respectful manner.

Instructors of introductory courses (including this one!) have a responsibility to set a foundation of knowledge for continued learning in the field. This class will examine the institutions (Congress, the presidency, the courts, etc.) and the processes (elections, policy-making, federalism, etc.) of the American system of government. This class will attempt to go beyond the dry facts and present an analytical framework for understanding why the institutions and processes produce the outcomes we as citizens enjoy and endure. Politics is a game, but it is an important and complex one.

The Text: The Play of Power by Eisenstein, Kessler, Williams and Switzer. (available at St. John's Bookstore)

The Schedule: Week by week, you may read the book, work the web pages and write the assigned essays at your own pace as long as the following deadlines are observed. Like any other class, graded essays and other written assignments that are turned in late will be penalized 2 % per weekday. You have all the assignments in your hands right now, plan ahead and avoid late penalties.

January 13 - January 16 .. Orientation
January 23...... Introduction
January 30..... Web page #1 due
February 6..... Web page #2 due
February 13...... Web page #3 and Web research exercise #1 due
February 16-20 Spring Break

February 27 .......Web page #4 due
March 6......... Web page #5 and Web research exercise #2 due
March 13.......... Web page #6 due
To Be Announced.. Midterm exam (Sections 1-6)
March 20......... Web page #7 and Web research exercise #3 due
March 27....... Web page #8 due
April 3..... . Web page #9 and Web research exercise # 4 due

April 6-13 Easter Break
April 17 ...... Web page #10 due
April 24 ...... Web page #11 due
April 29 .......Web page #12 due
To Be Announced.. Final exam (Sections 7-12)

A Typical Week: At the beginning of the semester you will have most of the resources you need to complete the course. I expect that you will complete one section of the web pages and 1-2 chapters of the book each week. Responses to questions on the web pages will be graded. Inadequate or haphazard responses will be returned until they are satisfactory.

I will e-mail weekly lectures directly to you. These will tie the ideas and concepts of the text to current political events.

You will have four additional graded Web research exercises to write. You can find the research exercises linked from the home page. The exercises direct you to Web sites to find information which will help you write a short (1-2 pages) essay. If you run into problems with the links please let me know. You can submit this essay by e-mail.

Additional political links can be found at St. Martin's Press' Links Pages.

The mid-term and final exams will be take-home essays based on the text, the web pages, and the e-mail lectures.

Grading:

Web pages:.....................10%
Web research exercises...30%
Mid-term Exam:..............30%
Final Exam:.....................30%

Good Luck to us all on this step into remote learning!