GOVT 2306-047 (45628) Texas State and Local Government, Spring 2012

NAVIGATION

• Course goals
• Expectations
• Technology requirements
• Course readings
• Communication
• Grades (Exams, Participation, Blogs)
• Other guidelines
• Course schedule

COURSE GOALS

This course is an introduction to Texas state and local government. The course includes an introduction to a framework for analyzing Texas state and local government and politics, the constitutional basis for Texas state and local government and politics, the processes of Texas state and local government and politics, the institutions of Texas state and local government and politics, and the policies of Texas state and local government and politics.

During the course of the semester I hope to pique your interest in becoming an informed, responsible, and critical citizen.

EXPECTATIONS

Even though this is an introductory class that most (if not all) of you “have to” take, I expect high quality performance. I expect you to: 1) attend all classes; 2) read the assigned material in advance; and, 3) arrive prepared to participate in discussion. You are responsible for the material covered, including information on deadlines and examinations.

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS

In addition to a basic technological prowess, there are certain technology requirements you’ll need to take full advantage of the resources used in this course.

• ACCmail: Activate (or verify) and regularly check your ACCmail address. ACC provides all students with an ACCmail address (taking the general form firstname.lastname@g.austincc.edu) for official communication. This is the only address I can use to send official communication. I’ll send notices and supplemental readings to your ACCmail address on a regular basis.
• Blackboard: You'll need to log in and regularly check Blackboard--the virtual learning environment containing the course syllabus, announcements, handouts, study guides, assignments, discussion board, and a grade book where I'll post your grades. Log in instructions are available here. ACC's Instructional Computing and Technology Services has published a Blackboard Support site with a brief Getting Started guide and answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
• Modern web browser: You’ll need a modern web browser to access some of the online resources.
• PDF Reader: You’ll need a Portable Document Format (pdf) reader to read some of the supplemental readings. Adobe’s Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from the Adobe Corporation for most modern operating systems.
• QuickTime Player: You’ll need Apple’s QuickTime player (or a media player that will play QuickTime video) to view certain video files. QuickTime Player is available free of charge from Apple Computer.
• Windows Media Player: You’ll need Windows Media Player (or a player that will play Windows Media files). Windows Media Player is available free of charge from the Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh users can install Flip4Mac to view Windows Media files.
• Adobe Flash Player. You’ll need Adobe’s Flash Player to view certain video files. This is the software necessary to view files on YouTube. If you can’t view Flash files, visit Adobe Corporation’s Adobe Flash Player site to download a free player.

NOTE: ACC’s Instructional Computing & Technology Services provides computing resources for ACC students to complete course assignments, write papers, conduct research, use specialized course software, search the Internet and communicate with their professors and classmates via web e-mail.

COURSE READINGS

Required readings are drawn from:

Keith, Haag. Texas Politics and Government: Roots and Reforms. Fourth Edition, Pearson, 2012. ISBN-10: 020507863X ISBN-13: 9780205078639 NOTE: The textbook is available from multiple sources. Prior versions may cover the same material, but the page numbers do not map to the page numbers listed in the syllabus.

There are a several supplemental readings listed in the course schedule. Follow the links to access the supplemental materials. These are required readings and are "fair game" for exam questions.

Class discussions are largely driven by current events and you should regularly read the Texas Tribune and/or the Metro and State section of a major Texas newspaper (the Austin American Statesman for example).

I’ll occasionally publish supplemental readings, notes, and audio or video files. I’ll notify you via email with either full text or the URLs for stories I expect you to read.

Strongly suggested reading:

Lynne Truss. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. 2004. Gotham. ISBN: 9781592400874. This wonderful little grammar guide is available from multiple sources. If you’re grammir is gud; dont bye this book. If under tha udder hand ur grimmer is’nt sew gud, buy all mens, dew ur self uh faver and bi dis buk.

COMMUNICATION

Email will be our primary form of correspondence outside of class. I read class-related email between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. If you send email outside these hours I may not reply until my normal email hours the next business day. I don’t typically read class-related email on the weekends. I’ll aspire to reply within one business day.

In addition, I'll be be available by phone (512.223.4231) during my “in-person” office hours.

GRADES

There are three components to your final grade:

• Exams = 50%
• Participation = 16.66%
• Political Weblog = 33.33%

1. Exams

There are four exams. Each exam counts for 12.5% of your final grade. The fourth exam is NOT comprehensive.

2. Participation

Every class begins with a discussion of a topical story (or stories) from a major Texas newspaper. You must lead one discussion over the course of the semester. The story must be related to Texas state and local government. Arrive to class ready to lead or join in discussion on one or more of the stories. Although I am a strong believer in volunteerism, I will "cold call" on you to elicit your input should the volunteer spirit wane.
 
Participation counts for 16.6% of your final grade. Participation is graded on your: 1) displaying knowledge about the story; 2) effectively presenting the story to your classmates; and, 3) linking the story to issues discussed in lectures or the textbook.
 
You will encounter a variety of viewpoints on volatile topics over the course of the semester. You may disagree, perhaps strongly, with opinions expressed by your classmates (and most certainly me).

As long as we treat each other with respect, these differences enhance class discussion and create an atmosphere where we learn from each other. Your grades will not be influenced by beliefs or ideas expressed in class, in assignments, or on exams.

And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?
--Milton, Aeropagitica, 1643

3. Political weblog (“blog”)

Establishing a Texas state and local government-oriented political blog counts for 33.3% of your final grade. You’ll display your knowledge and ability to think critically about Texas state and local government during this process. You’ll develop your blog in eight discrete stages. Each stage is worth 4.17% of your final grade.

Stage One: Creation and initial blogroll

Deadline: January 31

NOTE: The deadline means that you have until 11:59:59 p.m. on the day the assignment is due to submit the assignment via Blackboard’s assignment feature. Given that “stuff happens,” and it typically happens when you least expect it, I suggest you not wait until the last possible second to submit your assignments.

Create a blog using Google’s Blogger service. Doing so requires that you create or use a Google Account different from the Google Account created by your ACCmail address (taking the general form firstname.lastname@g.austincc.edu). Follow the instructions here.

Name your blog something meaningful and socially acceptable. Select a name that is general enough to encompass a variety of topics about Texas state and local government.

Choose a template that allows you to display these elements: a meaningful title, individual articles, comments on those articles, and a link list where you’ll add a list of recommended sources and other blogs (a blogroll). Take care to enable comments on your blog.

NOTE: You are writing for an academic audience. Focus on readability. Don’t use a template that’s hard to read. For instance, light text on a dark (especially black) background is extremely hard to read.

Use Blogger’s “link list” feature to create an initial list of recommended sources--sources that you find informative and/or interesting. Start with these suggested sources. Include at least five of the mainstream sources and five blogs. You may wish to create separate lists for the mainstream sources and the blogs. Feel free to add other sources to your blogroll. You’ll be adding links to all your colleague’s blogs as part of the Stage Two exercise.

Add political information to your “Profile,” including your political ideology, influences (if any), and your political experiences (voting, working on a campaign, and so forth). Why are you taking the class? What do you hope to get out of the class?

I’ve created a very simple (and very boring) blog demonstrating the essential elements for this first stage

Kris S. Seago’s Demo Govt 2306 Blog

Send me the complete link http://youruniqueaddress.blogspot.com to your blog using Blackboard’s Assignment feature before the deadline.

Stage Two: Article introduction and colleague’s blogs

Deadline: February 14

Create a substantial (100-200 words) post (new article) on your blog that introduces, summarizes, and provides an embedded link to an article (news, editorial, or commentary) about Texas state and local government from one of these suggested sources. Tell your readers why you think the article is worth reading.

Use Blogger’s “link list” feature to publish a blogroll consisting of links to all your classmate’s blogs. I'll publish the links under the Class Blog Links link in the left-hand navigation bar of the Blackboard page for this class. The links will be available as soon as I finish grading your Stage One assignments.

Send me the link to your blog using Blackboard’s Assignment feature before the deadline.

Stage Three: Critique an editorial or commentary from a Texas newspaper

Deadline: February 28

Write a substantial (250-500 words) critique of an editorial or commentary (NOT a pure news article, but an article where the author is making an argument) about Texas state and local government from the opinion/editorial/commentary section of one of the major Texas newspapers listed in the suggested sources. Provide an embedded link to the work you are critiquing. Evaluate the author’s intended audience, the author’s credibility, and their argument (including their claim, evidence, and logic). You may agree or disagree with the author. A guide to critical thinking is available under the Handouts link in Blackboard. Post your critique to your blog.

Send me the direct link to the post you’ve written (not a general link to your blog) using Blackboard’s Assignment feature before the deadline.

Stage Four: Critique an editorial or commentary from a Texas blog

Deadline: March 22

Write a substantial (250-500 words) critique of an editorial or commentary from one of the Texas blogs listed in the suggested sources. Provide an embedded link to the work you are critiquing. Evaluate the author’s intended audience, the author’s credibility, and their argument (including their claim, evidence, and logic). You may agree or disagree with the author.

Send me the direct link to the post you’ve written (not a general link to your blog) using Blackboard’s Assignment feature before the deadline.

Stage Five: Original editorial or commentary #1

Deadline: April 3

Write a substantial (250-500 words) and original editorial or commentary about Texas state and local government. Post this article to your blog.

Send me the direct link to the post you’ve written using Blackboard’s Assignment feature before the deadline.

Stage Six: Comment on a colleague’s work #1

Deadline: April 17

Write a constructive and reasoned criticism or commentary on one of your colleague’s editorial or commentary published in Stage Five. Provide an embedded link to your colleague’s work. Post this article to your blog and as a comment in your classmate’s blog.

Send me the direct link to the post you’ve written on your blog using Blackboard’s Assignment feature before the deadline.

Stage Seven: Original editorial or commentary #2

Deadline: May 1

Write a substantial (250-500 word) and original editorial or commentary about Texas state and local government. Post this article to your blog.

Send me the direct link to the post you’ve written using Blackboard’s Assignment feature before the deadline.

Stage Eight: Comment on a colleague’s work #2

Deadline: May 11

Write a constructive and reasoned criticism or commentary on one of your classmate’s editorial or commentary published in Stage Seven. Provide an embedded link to your colleague’s work. Post this article to your blog and as a comment in your classmate’s blog.

Send me the direct link to the post you’ve written on your blog using Blackboard’s Assignment feature before the deadline.

Grading

I grade your blogs on their content, not their aesthetic presentation. Write for a formal academic audience when writing your introductions, commentaries, and articles. Think of these as papers submitted and published by new media instead of ink and paper (or toner and paper).

NOTE: I take spelling, grammar, and composition into account when grading your work. Your work must be well-written to receive full credit.

Be respectful of others.

I’ll be glad to offer feedback given 48 hours notice before the deadline. If you want feedback, request it by email, with a link to the posting for which you desire feedback. I’ll offer feedback via email.

OTHER GUIDELINES (How to do well in this class)
 
1. Attend class. It is extremely unlikely that you will perform well if you are not in class for the lectures.
 
2. Complete the required readings before class. The course is conducted as a lecture/discussion, aimed at teaching you how to think about politics.

3. Make-up exams are granted and late work is accepted only under extraordinary circumstances, such as a family emergency or illness severe enough to require a visit to a health professional.

4. Scholastic dishonesty is not acceptable. In accordance with ACC policy, I will issue a grade of “F” to any student caught engaging in academic dishonesty.
 
Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarism (using another author’s words or arguments without attribution), and collusion (the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for fulfillment of any course requirement).
 
Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to, tests, quizzes (whether taken electronically or on paper), projects (either individual or group), classroom presentations, papers, and homework.
 
If a student commits any of the above actions, the instructor will seek disciplinary action in the form of an academic penalty (which will include a zero on the academic work in question and may include a course grade of “F”). Such disciplinary action will be at the discretion of the instructor following College procedures outlined in the Student Handbook.
 
5. Incompletes
 
I will assign a temporary grade of “I” under the following conditions: (a) you have a valid reason for requesting an incomplete and have completed at least three-quarters of the course requirements; (b) you request an Incomplete and complete the required form; and, (c) you agree to complete the course by the deadline established on the Report of Incomplete Grade form.

NOTE: I will not process incompletes unless requested to do so.

6. Withdrawing from the course
 
The last day to withdraw is Monday, April 23. You must withdraw on your own. Failure to withdraw combined with failure to complete the course requirements will result in an “F.”
 
7. Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD)
 
Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical, cognitive, or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.

Tentative schedule of events