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POL-110-001 U.S. Government & Politics, Spring 2011

WOLL Brief Summaries:

SCHEDULE & INSTRUCTIONS

As your syllabus explains on pages 3-4, the Peter Woll-edited book American Government: Readings and Cases contains numerous reading selections – some old, some very recent – on U.S. government and politics. TWICE during the semester, you will be responsible for presenting to the class a BRIEF (2-3 minutes) oral summary of one reading selection from the Woll book, and for handing in a 1-page written version of your brief summary.

Your summary is due in written form at the end of the class period when you present. Papers should be no more than one typed, double-spaced piece of paper. If you present but do not have the written version completed, the paper loses 20 points (out of 100) and could lose more if not turned in within 24 hours. Failure to present on your assigned date will result in a 0 for this assignment.

You get to choose the reading for both of your summaries, by telling me in class or e-mailing me your choices. Sign-up for all summaries should be completed by Tuesday, February 15; this webpage will maintain a complete list of who presents when.

Focus on two tasks with each summary: 1) summarize the reading’s main points – think carefully about what the reading is about and pull out only the most important aspects to include in your summary; 2) relate the reading to the class’s main topic – connect the reading to key points we’ve previously read about or discussed, thus showing how this reading is relevant to the course.

Everyone is responsible for reading these selections, not just the presenter. We are using these summaries to start a conversation about these readings, not to be comprehensive in discussing all aspects of the readings.

EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT: The main focus in grading you on this assignment is the content of what you say, which will carry far more weight than how well you present (although you should speak clearly and get your points across to the class effectively, too, without just reading your summary to us). I am looking for evidence that you understand what you read and that you have been thoughtful and diligent in connecting the reading to the main topic we are discussing. The written summary will also be graded primarily for content, with less weight given to writing quality. You do not need to provide a citation to the reading; however, if you choose to quote something from the reading, the page number of the quote should be included in the written synopsis.

READINGS, DATES FOR PRESENTATIONS

Choose the 2 readings you want and e-mail your choice to Chris;

preferences will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis;

sign up should be completed by Tuesday, February 15

LAST UPDATED: Monday, February 21, 10:10 am

DATE	Reading	Topic (read the book for details!)	Presenter
F February 18	6	National power over states	Mark Petersen
F February 18	7	Anti-Federalist arguments	Rikka Holiday
F February 18	8	implied powers of federal government	Kayla Joachim
F February 18	9	Balancing state, federal power	Rikka Holiday
F February 18	10	New Constitution as both federal and national
M February 21	4 (only #47 and #48)	Constitutional structure
M February 21	4 (only #51)	Separation of powers	Emily Papagapitos
M February 21	31	Dealing with factions	Nicole Raebel
W February 23	11	Merits of federalism	Matthias Aunes
W February 23	12	Implied powers of Congress
W February 23	13	Limits to federal power	Kayla Joachim
F February 25	15	State actions and federal regulation
F February 25	16	Federalism today	Matthias Aunes
M February 28	60	Theories of representation	Casey Hagadorn
M February 28	62	Congress, the electoral connection
W March 2	58	Congressional responsiveness to public	Kyle Radtke
W March 2	59	Congress, members’ quest for power
W March 2	61	Why voters like their own members of Congress	Caroline Nelson
W March 2	63	Congress, members’ home style	Anna Michel
F March 4	46	Why the president should be one person	Nicole Raebel
F March 4	47	Theories of the presidency	Nicole Schwarz
W March 9	48	Presidential leadership	Anna Michel
W March 9	49	Presidential power	Dan Bradt
W March 9	50	Presidential character	Elizabeth Logas
M March 14	54	Bureaucratic power	Pete Lindquist
M March 14	55	Rise of the federal bureaucracy	Josh Peterson
W March 16	65	Role of federal judiciary	Nicole Schwarz
W March 16	66	Marbury v. Madison, judicial review	Sophia Ogren-Dehn
F March 18	5	How to interpret the Constitution	Kyle Radtke
F March 18	67	Judicial self-restraint	Pete Lindquist
F March 18	70	How Supreme Court decides cases	Sarah Krech
F March 18	71	Death penalty interpretations	Ida Vaisanen
M March 21	14	Limits to federal power	Mitch Nelson
M March 21	53	Limits of presidential power	Mitch Nelson
M March 21	68	Courts and political questions, one politician’s opinion
M March 21	69	Courts and political questions, the Supreme Court’s opinion
W March 23	18	Right to counsel	Casey Hagadorn
W March 23	19	Free speech limitations	Caroline Nelson
W March 23	20	Freedom of the press	Sarah Krech
W March 23	26	Establishment of religion, school prayer	Julia Lutz-Lawlor
M April 4	27	Right to privacy	Sarah Larson
M April 4	28	Extensions of right to privacy	Thomas Olsen
M April 4	29	Roe v. Wade, abortion	Mark Petersen
M April 4	72	Justice O’Connor on constitutional liberties, abortion rights	Ida Vaisanen
M April 4	73	Justice Rehnquist on liberty, privacy, and abortion rights	Sarah Larson
M April 4	74	Justice Scalia on liberty and abortion rights	Julia Lutz-Lawlor
W April 6	21	Separate but equal doctrine	Nicole Haglund
W April 6	22	Brown v. Board of Education, overturning separate but equal	Nicole Haglund
W April 6	23	Brown II, how to implement desegregation	Emily Papagapitos
F April 8	24	Right to vote	Sophia Ogren-Dehn
F April 8	30	Affirmative action	Dan Bradt
M April 18	Auletta article	Obama White House & press	Andrei Hahn
W April 27	32	Political parties as organizing forces in government
W April 27	40	Dealing with special interests	Thomas Olsen
F April 29	33	Importance of discussion for govt.	Josh Peterson
F April 29	35	Divided government and parties	Nick Nigro
F April 29	43	The governmental process	Stephen Leeb
F April 29	44	Role of interest groups in govt.	Stephen Leeb
F April 29	34	Responsible parties	KZ Eto
W May 4	36	Critical elections	Joey MacGibbon
W May 4	37	Voting behavior	Elizabeth Logas
W May 4	38	Actions of the electorate	KZ Eto
F May 6	41	Campaign spending and the 1^st Amendment
F May 6	42	Campaign finance reform
F May 6	Pomper article	2008 election analysis	Joey MacGibbon
W May 11	Health care article	Health care reform	Andrei Hahn
W May 11	Page & Simmons article	Is American public policy effective?	Nick Nigro