Dr. Steve Shone
University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley
Office: SBSC 226 (Edinburg campus)
Phone: (956) 665-3322
E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: TR, 11.15 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. and other times by appointment.
Fall, 2015
POLS 2301
U.S. and Texas Government and Politics
Syllabus
06 Room: SBSC 105 TR 9.25 a.m. – 10.40 a.m.
11 Room: SBSC 115 TR 1.40 p.m. – 2.55 p.m.
12 Room: SBSC 105 TR 3.05 p.m. – 4.20 p.m.
13 Room: SBSC 119 T 4.40 p.m. – 7.10 p.m.
Course Description
This class, together with POLS 2302, forms an introduction to the principles and problems of United States and
Texas government, with particular emphasis on the formation and development of executive, legislative, judicial,
and bureaucratic systems and processes. Topics covered in the two classes include important political institutions,
the intentions of their founders, political practices, questions about rights and liberties, and some contemporary
political issues. In this class, POLS 2301, the focus is on the US and Texas Constitutions and on political processes.
The following is a brief summary of what will be covered in this class. Reading material will differ to some extent.
Civil Liberties
Song lyrics, T-shirts, and funeral protests, Snyder v. Phelps (2011). The 1st Amendment. Sedition: Schenk v. US
(1919), Dennis v. US (1951), Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), and Cohen v. California (1971). Tests employed by the
US Supreme Court. Speech and the Internet: Reno v. ACLU (1997). The 4th Amendment. Search and seizure: Illinois
v. Rodriguez (1990). The 8th Amendment: Austin v. US (1993).
Civil Rights
American politics: the feminist critique. “Paternalism” in the courts: Bradwell v. Illinois (1873), Goesaert v. Cleary
(1948), and Reed v. Reed (1971). “First wave” feminism. The Equal Rights Amendment. The equal protection
clause of the 14th Amendment: developments since Reed. “Second wave” feminism: ideas of Jane Larson, Camille
Paglia, and Susan Moller Okin. American government from the perspective of minority groups, including the
undocumented: Plyler v. Doe (1982), Hoffman Plastic Compounds v. NLRB (2002). Transsexual rights in Texas and
other states: Littleton v. Prange (1999). Rights of poor people: Kadrmas v. Dickinson Public Schools (1988).
Political Ideologies
Five political ideologies, together with the ideas of one of their advocates: conservatism (Samuel P. Huntington);
Native American cultural nationalism (Vine Deloria); classical liberalism (Adam Smith); modern liberalism (John
Maynard Keynes); libertarianism (Ayn Rand). Free trade and protectionism.
The US Constitution and Federalism
Reading from Howard Fast’s Citizen Tom Paine. The Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention.
Main ideas in the Constitution. Separation of Powers. Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison.
Federalist #10. Critics of the Constitution: Charles A. Beard: an economic interpretation; Thurgood Marshall: it’s
taken two centuries to fix it; Jill Lepore: why do the tea partiers like it? Federalism and national supremacy:
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), South Dakota v. Dole (1987).
Texas’ Political Culture, its Spanish Heritage, and the Texas Constitution
Texas’ Mexican past and present, Spanish and Mexican land grants, the Court of Private Land Claims, and “Santa
Fake” architecture. Ideas of Miguel de Oliver, Reies López Tijerina, Laurel Wilkening, Rudolfo Anaya, Alfredo M.
Mirandé, and Gregory Rodriguez. Fired for teaching history from a Hispanic perspective: Nadine and Patsy
Córdova. Political culture. John Fenton and Daniel J. Elazar: differing types of political culture in the states.
Constitution length, amendments, gaps, and efficiency. The Texas Constitution and its six predecessors. The 186869 and 1875 Texas Constitutional Conventions. The “Radical Republican” Constitution of 1869, the Fifth Military
District, and Governor E. J. Davis. Details of the 1876 Texas Constitution, and why the attempt to replace it in the
mid-1970s failed. Town meetings in Northern states and colonias in Texas.
Political Parties
Why US parties are different. The Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans.
Planks and platforms. Tweedledum and Tweedledee? V. O. Key, Jr.: different
ways of understanding what constitutes a party. The “black primary” cases and the
Texas Democratic Party. Functions of parties. From dominant Democrats to
dominant Republicans in Texas politics. The Farmers’ Alliance and the People’s
Party in Texas.
Interest Groups
What do interest groups do? Political Action Committees (PACs), non-connected PACs, Super PACs, and 527 and
501(c) organizations. Ted Lowi: “interest group liberalism.” E. E. Schattschneider: Do interest groups give policy
an “upper class” bias? Clive S. Thomas: Interest groups in Alaska. Schattschneider’s redefinition of politics and its
consequences. Robert A. Dahl’s pluralist theory of democracy and C. Wright Mills’ The Power Elite (1956).
Interest groups in Texas, including Texans for Lawsuit Reform and TexPIRG. Public Interest Groups.
The Media and Politics
Four different eras of reporting norms. Where does news come from? Should the media always tell the truth? Doris
Graber: four models of the news making process. Problems with Web-based media. Evaluating the media’s
effectiveness. Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988). The media and the presidency.
Campaigns and Elections
The Electoral College. “Non-citizens can’t vote” in Santa Ana, California. “If you’ve moved, you can’t vote” in
North Carolina. Campaign financing reforms. Citizens United vs. FEC (2010). Microtargeting. The Voting Rights
Act of 1975 and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Voter registration and Voter ID in Texas: Texas
NAACP v. Steen (2015). Endorsements. Straight ticket voting and attempts to restrict or eliminate it in Texas. The
Federal Election Commission and the Texas Ethics Commission. A history of opinion polls. Party identification.
Reading Schedule
Required texts:
1. David Paletz, Diana Owen, & Timothy Cook, American Government and Politics in the Information Age (2011)
(Paletz). This online text is free.
To obtain the text in html, pdf, or Word versions, go to: http://www.saylor.org/books/ and find “American Politics
in the Information Age”; then, click on HTML, PDF, or DOCx.
2. The Texas Politics Project, Texas Politics, 1st ed. (2014) (Texas Politics). This online text is free.
Go to: http://www.soomolearning.com/catalog/texas-politics/overview and click on “Access Basic Version.”
To view the book’s table of contents, click on the icon at the top left-hand corner of the page.
3. Handout of readings (Handout).
Reading can be at your own pace, so long as you “catch up” in time for each test.
Read the following before Quiz #1, ideally in the following order:
Handout D (Will); Handout E (Campbell); Handout I (Geist); Handout B (Barnes); Paletz, Chapter 4; Handout N (Hoch);
Handout G (Gillespie); Handout O (Bruder); Paletz, Chapter 5; Handout H (Hodgman); Handout A (Thompson). Quiz #1
will be on Tuesday, October 6.
Read the following before Quiz #2, ideally in the following order: Paletz, Chapter 2; Paletz, Chapter 3; Texas Politics,
Chapter 2. Quiz #2 will be on Tuesday, November 10.
Read the following before Quiz #3, ideally in the following order:
Handout C (Chadde); Texas Politics, Chapter 10; Handout T (Jensen); Paletz, Chapter 1; Handout R (Reiter); Paletz, Chapter
11; Paletz, Chapter 7, section 7.3 (“Polling the Public”) only. Quiz #3 will be at the assigned final time.
Course Requirements
The class has several different requirements, each of which contributes only a limited percentage to the final grade.
Nonetheless, having a diverse system of assessment does NOT imply that the syllabus should be treated as a menu! For a
student to receive a grade other than “F,” ALL assignments must be completed. Not submitting two take-home final essays
within the allocated time constitutes non-completion of an assignment, and always results in a failing grade for the class.
Combined 2301 and 2302 General Course Objectives: The course is designed to develop and document content
knowledge in eight areas: (1) To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the separation of powers as described in the
U.S. and Texas constitutions; (2) To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Congress and its institutions; (3) To
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Texas legislature and its institutions; (4) To demonstrate knowledge and
understanding of the Presidency and the workings of federal agencies; (5) To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of
the Texas governorship and the workings of Texas state agencies; (6) To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the
federal and Texas judicial systems; (7) To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the processes by which federal
domestic policy is made and executed; and (8) To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the processes by which
Texas fiscal, social welfare, and education policy is made and executed.
Mandatory Course Evaluation Period: Students are required to complete an ONLINE evaluation of this course, accessed
through your UTRGV account (http://my.utrgv.edu); you will be contacted through email with further instructions. Online
evaluations will be available Nov. 18 – Dec. 9, 2015. Students who complete their evaluations will have priority access to
their grades.
Attendance: Since participation and discussion are an integral part of the course, class attendance is strongly recommended.
Being in class makes it possible to earn points for participation, and is the most reliable way of preparing for quiz questions
that address what is covered in the classroom.
Note-taking and Computer Usage: Students will be given comprehensive note sheets at the beginning of each class. These
note sheets provide much more detailed information than anyone would be able to acquire by writing or typing notes. To
some extent, the note sheets function as worksheets, and students may also wish to supplement the material by writing
additional comments. However, most activity in the classroom involves listening to the faculty member and other students,
simultaneously reading note sheets, and oral participation – typically with very little time being spent writing. For this reason,
and also due to the damage that would be inflicted upon student performance by allowing participants to shop online, read email, send instant messages, check scores, or gaze aimlessly at Facebook, this is strictly a “no laptop class.” Computers must
be closed and off student desks at all times during class, the sole exception being when they are actually being used to make a
presentation. Compliance with the no laptop policy is a condition of continued enrollment.
Behavior Guidelines: Students are encouraged to express themselves, and audio-taping the class is permitted. However, in
the interest of fairness to the entire class community, most usage of other electronic devices is not allowed under any
circumstances. In particular, there is to be no use of cell phones (including texting), playing of music (whether or not it can
be heard by others), waving of semaphore flags, or photography, except when it is specifically authorized as part of an
assignment. Cell phones must always be turned off. Slamming the door and/ or screaming loudly is acceptable when
expressing an opinion, but persons arriving late for class or leaving early should do so quietly. UTRGV policies regarding
academic dishonesty are applicable to this class.
Late Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted, and make-up tests given if the student has an appropriate excuse.
Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, and Violence: In accordance with UT System regulations, your instructor is a
“responsible employee” for reporting purposes under Title IX regulations and so must report any instance, occurring during a
student’s time in college, of sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, domestic violence, or sexual harassment about which
she/he becomes aware during this course through writing, discussion, or personal disclosure. More information can be found
at www.utrgv.edu/equity, including confidential resources available on campus. The faculty and staff of UTRGV actively
strive to provide a learning, working, and living environment that promotes personal integrity, civility, and mutual respect in
an environment free from sexual misconduct and discrimination.
Course Drops: According to UTRGV policy, students may drop any class without penalty earning a grade of DR until the
official drop date. Following that date, students must be assigned a letter grade and can no longer drop the class. Students
considering dropping the class should be aware of the “3-peat rule” and the “6-drop” rule so they can recognize how dropped
classes may affect their academic success. The 6-drop rule refers to Texas law that dictates that undergraduate students may
not drop more than six courses during their undergraduate career. Courses dropped at other Texas public higher education
institutions will count toward the six-course drop limit. The 3-peat rule refers to additional fees charged to students who take
the same class for the third time.
Students with Disabilities: If you have a documented disability (physical, psychological, learning, or other disability which
affects your academic performance) and would like to receive academic accommodations, please inform your instructor and
contact Student Accessibility Services to schedule an appointment to initiate services. It is recommended that you schedule
an appointment with Student Accessibility Services before classes start. However, accommodations can be provided at any
time. Brownsville Campus: Student Accessibility Services is located in Cortez Hall Room 129 and can be contacted by
phone at (956) 882-7374 (Voice) or via email at [email protected]. Edinburg Campus: Student Accessibility Services
is located in 108 University Center and can be contacted by phone at (956) 665-7005 (Voice), (956) 665-3840 (Fax), or via
email at [email protected].
Assessment: A point system will be used to determine final grades. Scores for individual pieces of work will be converted to
the appropriate percentage of the allocated points.
%
Due
10%
Tuesday, September 15
15%
Tuesday, October 6
15%
Tuesday, October 27
15%
Tuesday, November 10
10%
Continuous
15%
Assigned final time (see below)
20%
Assigned final time (see below)
100%
No UTRGV classes meet on Monday, September 7 (Labor Day); Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27
(Thanksgiving); or Thursday, December 10 (Study Day).
Treasure Hunt
Quiz #1
Dramatization
Quiz #2
Participation
Quiz #3
Final Essays
Participation (10%) Up to 10% can be earned for frequent, relevant class participation.
Dramatization (15%) Students will be asked to write and perform a play or video that illustrates a political issue, problem, or
viewpoint. This is a group project. Performances will be on Tuesday, October 27 and (in sections that also meet on
Thursdays) on Thursday, October 29. More details in class.
Treasure Hunt (10%) Students will be assigned to groups, which will search for answers to questions; the answers will be
found somewhere on the Internet. More details in class. Treasure Hunt answers must be returned by Tuesday, September 15.
Quizzes (15% each) Quizzes will contain multiple-choice questions, testing both reading and classroom material. Quiz #1
will be on Tuesday, October 6. Quiz #2 will be on Tuesday, November 10. Quiz #3 will be at the assigned final time:
Thursday, December 17 at 8.00 a.m. (Section 6), Tuesday, December 15 at 1.15 p.m. (Section 11), Thursday, December 17 at
1.15 p.m. (Section 12), or Tuesday December 15 at 5.45 p.m. (Section 13). Students should bring a Scantron and a pencil,
and remember to study beforehand. A review of material will be given on the class day immediately before each quiz.
Final Essays (20%) The final examination will consist of take home essay questions, to be returned at the assigned final time.