2 classes matched your search criteria.

Spring 2020  |  POL 1001 Section 001: American Democracy in a Changing World (53329)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
4 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Freshman Full Year Registration
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2020 - 05/04/2020
Mon, Wed 11:15AM - 12:30PM
UMTC, West Bank
Anderson Hall 230
Enrollment Status:
Closed (83 of 83 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
This course is intended to introduce students to the expressed hopes of the American people for their government and to the institutions and processes that have been created and recreated to achieve these hopes. The course is designed to help students understand what liberal education is by engaging in the study of American politics as a fundamentally critical and creative enterprise, and by grappling with the most complex and challenging problems of political life, such as the sources of political equality and inequality, and the tension between individual aspirations and political control. Questions of power and choice, opportunity and discrimination, freedom and restrictions on freedom are fundamental to the historical development of and current controversies within the American political system, and we will attend to all of these. We will explore topics including the ideas underlying the nation's founding and its constitutional foundations; civil rights and civil liberties; the role of the United States in an increasingly globalized world; the structure and function of American political institutions; and the behavior of American citizens in the political process. In addition, we will learn to think and communicate like political scientists. We will read primary documents, such as the Federalist papers, engage with scholarly arguments about the way the American political system works, and critically evaluate critiques of the American political system that have been offered from a variety of perspectives. By the end of the semester students should have a basic understanding of the structure and function of American government as well as an increased ability to critically reflect on the degree to which our institutions, processes, and citizens live up to the expectations placed on them. Students will be able to identify, define, and solve problems and to locate and critically evaluate information. Students will have mastered a body of knowledge and a mod
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?POL1001+Spring2020
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/53329/1203

Spring 2020  |  POL 1001 Section 002: American Democracy in a Changing World (65342)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
4 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2020 - 05/04/2020
Mon, Fri 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Anderson Hall 250
Enrollment Status:
Open (44 of 83 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
This course is intended to introduce students to the expressed hopes of the American people for their government and to the institutions and processes that have been created and recreated to achieve these hopes. The course is designed to help students understand what liberal education is by engaging in the study of American politics as a fundamentally critical and creative enterprise, and by grappling with the most complex and challenging problems of political life, such as the sources of political equality and inequality, and the tension between individual aspirations and political control. Questions of power and choice, opportunity and discrimination, freedom and restrictions on freedom are fundamental to the historical development of and current controversies within the American political system, and we will attend to all of these. We will explore topics including the ideas underlying the nation's founding and its constitutional foundations; civil rights and civil liberties; the role of the United States in an increasingly globalized world; the structure and function of American political institutions; and the behavior of American citizens in the political process. In addition, we will learn to think and communicate like political scientists. We will read primary documents, such as the Federalist papers, engage with scholarly arguments about the way the American political system works, and critically evaluate critiques of the American political system that have been offered from a variety of perspectives. By the end of the semester students should have a basic understanding of the structure and function of American government as well as an increased ability to critically reflect on the degree to which our institutions, processes, and citizens live up to the expectations placed on them. Students will be able to identify, define, and solve problems and to locate and critically evaluate information. Students will have mastered a body of knowledge and a mod
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?cdmyers+POL1001+Spring2020
Class Description:

Why doesn't Congress seem to work? Why do Americans love democracy, but hate politics? Why are there only two political parties, and why do they seem to despise each other so much? This course will introduce students to politics in the United States, addressing these and many more questions about how the American political system really works. We will begin with the founding principles and historical development of the American system of government and then move on to examine the contemporary structure and function of American political institutions and the role that average citizens play in the political process. Students will exit the class with a better understanding of how the American political system succeeds or fails at living up to our ideals and what we can do about it.

Who Should Take This Class?:
This class will be of interest to anyone who wants a better understanding of how the American political system operates, what is going on in Washington, or how to effect change in our current political climate. The class is also an entry point for the department's upper division American politics classes, including classes on political psychology, social movements, Congress, the Supreme Court, and state and local government.
Grading:
Grades will be based on three elements. Short quizzes at the beginning of each class will evaluate students' comprehension of key concepts from readings and lecture (40%), three long quizzes over the course of the semester will evaluate students' ability to apply these concepts to new situations and problems (40%), and a final paper will evaluate students' ability to use these concepts to advance and defend an argument (20%).
Exam Format:
All short quizzes will be multiple choice and closed book. All long quizzes will be short answer/essay and open book.
Class Format:
Class is lecture based, but "lecture" will be broken up by short writing exercises, small group discussion, and other exercises that will ask you to apply the concepts you are learning in real time. While these will not be graded, engaging fully with them will make the subsequent quizzes and essays much, much easier.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65342/1203
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/cdmyers_POL1001_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/cdmyers_POL1001_Fall2017.docx (Fall 2017)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/cdmyers_POL1001_Fall2016.docx (Fall 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
27 March 2017

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