College of
Sciences and Humanities School of
Humanities 2021-2022
COURSE SYLLABUS
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Course Number POL 320 |
Course Title The Congress |
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Fall Semester |
Spring
Semester X |
Summer Semester |
Credit Hours 3 |
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Name of Instructor William Miller |
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Meeting Day, Time, and Room Number |
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Final Exam Day, Time, and Room Number Tuesday, May 3d, 2:00-4:30pm, Rowley G207
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Office Hours, Location, Phone Tuesday and Thursday, 3:15 to 4:15pm; Rowley
Hall 1018 or Zoom |
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E-mail and Web Site wmiller@marymount.edu; millerpolitics.com |
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Course Description (This
is the course description listed in the Catalog) A review of the history of Congress and a description
of its functions, its structure, and the legislative process. The course
examines current and historical issues that relate to the proper role of
Congress in the American scheme of government. Prerequisites: grade of C or
better in POL 104 or POL 230, and a grade of C or better in POL 250 or its equivalent, or permission of instructor. Liberal Arts
Core/University Requirements Designation: SS-2. (3) |
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Check Out: University
Policies, Statements and Student Support Resources are now accessible in the
menu of each Canvas course and can also be accessed at https://sites.google.com/marymount.edu/academic-success/home?authuser=0 |
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Click Academic Calendar for Spring 2022 for drop, add or withdrawal dates for the spring semester. |
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1. COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course
students will be expected to do the following:
Liberal Arts Core Outcomes (general and discipline-specific)
General Learning Outcomes – Skills – Analysis, Critical
Reasoning and Problem-Solving
· Students will practice analytical
discourse, critical reasoning and problem-solving through examination of
the structure and function of the Congress as they pertain to the resolution of
conflict and/or process of policy development available to the lawmaking body.
The outcome will be measured by performance on short and
long answers on tests and the research paper.
General Learning Outcomes – Attitudes – Civic Responsibility
· Students will apply their appreciation of the
relation among individual choices, social issues and global concern through
analysis of the lawmaking function of the United States Congress as exercised
by its members.
The outcome will be measured by class participation demonstrating
knowledge of the reading and performance on tests.
Course-Specific Outcomes
Upon
successful completion of this course students will be expected
(1) to demonstrate
familiarity with the problems faced by contemporary congressional campaigns and
with the techniques used to address and solve those problems;
(2) to demonstrate
a general knowledge of the legislative process;
(3) to demonstrate
an understanding of the major institutional changes and the development of
Congress since 1789;
(4) to demonstrate
familiarity with several of the significant issues presently facing the
institution and the members of Congress; and
(5) to be
able to analyze the structure of discursive writings about Congressional issues
and to write and defend a short thesis on a topic relating to Congress.
These
outcomes will be measured by class participation and in written papers and
exams.
2. TEACHING METHOD Lectures,
multimedia, class discussions, presentations, projects, group activities. Courses
designated as Inquiry (DSINQ) should demonstrate active learning methods.
Class
discussions of the assigned readings, lectures, and student presentations and
projects.
3. GRADING POLICY
The value (points
and/or percentage of grade) of assignments, exams, quizzes, participation, and
other graded course components must be specified.
Last day to drop a
class without academic record: January 18th .
First day to drop a
class with a grade of “W”: January 19th .
Last day to drop a
class with a grade of “W”: March 18th .
The final grade will
consist of the following components:
30% Exam
on the legislative process: Oleszek
chapters, Sundquist chapter, other assigned essays
20% Exam
on the budget process, congressional oversight, and selected chapters of Dodd
and Oppenheimer text
25% Review
of article on legislative process (10%) and Review-presentation of a Dodd &
Oppenheimer chapter (15%)
20% Quizzes
and short class assignments
5% Active
and informed participation in class discussions
ATTENDANCE AND MAKE-UP EXAM POLICY
Attendance: Federal law requires us to keep tabs on your attendance.
Beginning with the second
week of classes, students are allowed a total of nine absences, excused and/or
unexcused.
Students who miss ten or more classes for any reason whatever will receive
an “FA” in the course.
Excused absences, up to the
absolute total of nine, will not be penalized. Each unexcused absence
beyond three, again up to the absolute limit of nine, will result in a lowering
of the final grade by two percentage points. To be excused, an
absence must be documented, unless I indicate otherwise. Excused absences are
typically medical-, legal-, or job-related excuses. Acceptable documentation
typically consists of a statement or form on official stationery (1) signed by
a third party (doctor, clinic, police, judge, supervisor) that (2) refers
specifically to the day of absence from class and (3) the reason for the
absence. Merely informing me ahead of time that you will be absent from class
does not mean I will excuse the absence, though I appreciate your courtesy. I
need the documentation. Remember, you all are permitted three unexcused
absences with absolutely no penalty, as long as you do not have an exam or
presentation on the day of the absence.
The limit of nine total absences
recognizes that excessive excused absences may also be a
problem. You should discuss such situations with me well before the last month
of the semester. Any absence prevents you from participating in the class, but
if your job or an illness or a family crisis keeps you away from class, it will
significantly affect the class participation component of your grade and may be
a good reason to drop the course and take it another time. All of us find
ourselves in these situations from time to time and have to deal with them
appropriately. You also have an obligation to report this to a University
office (see the section titled “Attendance” in the University Catalogue).
When in doubt about any of these
policies, please come and talk to me. They have been formulated with our
substantial commuter and working student population in mind and are intended to
be fair to everyone. You should also review the University's policies on
absenteeism in the section titled “Attendance” in the University Catalogue.
Make-up Exams and Papers: The same basic rules about excused absences apply
to taking mid-terms and presenting papers. My policy of giving makeup exams on or near the same
day as the final does NOT mean that you may choose to take the mid-term exam on
that day rather than on the regularly scheduled day: it is not an alternative
test date. To be eligible for a makeup, you must qualify for an excused
absence, and this you should do a reasonable time before the day of the
mid-term, if that is at all possible. You may be excused from taking a mid-term
if you are certifiably sick or your job prevents you from attending class or
you have a legal, family, or personal emergency on the day of the test. If one
of these applies, and I am informed in a reasonable time before the exam, and
you have written documentation to support your request, you may take the exam
on or around May 3. If none of these reasons apply, you may not take the
exam at another time, and you will get a zero for the exam. If you are
late for the exam because of events outside of your control, let me know
immediately or as soon as possible that day, and I will let
you take the exam later that same day if possible.
The same policy
applies to your presentations in class. An unexcused absence
on a day you are scheduled to present a paper results in a zero for the paper.
An excused absence with advanced notice to me allows
you to present the paper the following week. More than one such excused absence requires a
discussion with me. The papers that you present in class are intended to
provoke discussion, questions and comments by fellow students. The extent of
the discussion, questions, and comments that you provoke is a part of your
grade and part of the class participation grade of the other students.
4. REQUIRED TEXTS
Lawrence
C. Dodd, et al. Congress Reconsidered, 12th ed. Washington,
D.C.: Sage/CQ Press, 2021.
Walter
J. Oleszek, et al. Congressional Procedures and
the Policy Process, 11th ed. Washington, D.C.: Sage/CQ Press,
2020.
5. CLASS SCHEDULE
For each class session, students should be able to
see what is being covered and assignments due. This is an example of how this
information could be represented.
The following topics and
dates of discussion are approximate and are subject to change due to cancelled
classes, Covid policies, and so on. I shall try to maintain the due dates for
papers and exams as they are listed below. Plan on about sixty to seventh
pages of reading a week and frequent short quizzes, announced and unannounced.
WEEK 1 (1/11 & 13) ZOOM CLASSES
Introduction to the
course; comments on some basic rules of Congress, some basic political and
election history; introduction to congressional history: James Sundquist, “Endemic Weaknesses of Congress.”
WEEK 2 (1/18 & 20) Sundquist, “Endemic Weaknesses”; Oleszek,
ch. 1.
WEEK 3 (1/25 & 27) The Legislative Process:
Preliminary & House of Representatives; chapters from Oleszek
WEEK 4 (2/1 & 3) The Legislative
Process in the House of Representatives; chapters from Oleszek
WEEK 5 (2/8 & 10) The Legislative
Process in the House and Senate; chapters from Oleszek
WEEK 6 (2/15 & 17) The Legislative
Process in the Senate; chapters from Oleszek
WEEK 7 (2/22 & 24) The Legislative
Process—Endgame; Oleszek & article; choice
of paper topic.
WEEK 8 (3/1 & 3) Mid-term Examination and
Article Review
SPRING
BREAK!!
WEEK 9 (3/15& 17) The Budget Process: Oleszek,
ch. 2; Dodd and Oppenheimer (“D&O”), ch. 13.
WEEK 10 (3/22 & 24) Congressional Oversight and Investigations: Oleszek, ch. 9; D&O, ch. 15.
WEEK 11 (3/29 & 31) Elections and/or Nominations
WEEK 12 (4/5 & 7) Elections and/or Nominations; Second Mid-term
examination
WEEK 13 (4/12) Student Presentations on
selected chapters from D&O
WEEK 14 (4/21) Student Presentations on
selected chapters from D&O
WEEK 15 (4/26 & 28) Student Presentations on
selected chapters of D & O
Final Draft
of Selected Chapter due Tuesday, May 3d.
If you cannot take a mid-term at the regularly
scheduled time because
of an excused absence, you may take it on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of Finals Week.
Please make your travel plans accordingly.