GOVT 180
Professor Witko
Tahoe Hall 3115 Phone: 278-3572
Office Hours: MW 3:00-4:30 and by appointment e-mail:witkoc@csus.edu
Course Objectives:
First, you should come away from this course with a basic understanding of the institutions and processes surrounding California State and Local Government. Second, you should be able to make critical assessments of these institutions and processes. Many people think the California political system is fundamentally broken and that it needs to be drastically altered if it is to effectively confront the state’s problems. You need to be able to agree or disagree with these critics, and determine which institutions are working and which aren’t. Finally, you should have enough knowledge to actively and successfully participate in the political life of your state and local community.
Required Texts:
Broder, David S. Democracy
Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money
Debow, Ken and John C. Syer. Power and Politics in California. 7th ed.
Michaels, Jay and Dan Walters. The Third House: Lobbyists, Power and Money in Sacramento.
Schrag, Peter. Paradise
Lost: California’s Experience, America’s
Future.
You are also required to read the Sacramento Bee
Monday-Friday (on-line is ok)
Methods of Evaluation
Exams -There will be a midterm and final exam. These exams will be based on both readings and in class activities.
Papers- There will be a 2-3 and a 5-7 page paper due during the semester. For the second paper you will take a position and conduct research on an issue of importance, which will serve as the basis for your participation in a debate during the last 2 weeks of class.
Debate- During the last two weeks of class students will participate in debates on important controversial issues in California Politics.
Attendance and participation are required. While some classes may be primarily lecture, most will involve discussing the readings and current state issues. Furthermore, we will begin most classes with a discussion of recent political events covered in the Sacramento Bee. Therefore, student participation is crucial. Each recorded absence beyond three will letter grade reduction in your participation and attendance grade. Perfect attendance does not ensure a high participation grade - active, intelligent involvement does.
Grading
Debate (10%)
Midterm (20%)
Final (30%)
Paper 1 (10%)
Paper 2 (20%)
Participation (10%)
From time to time supplementary class materials may be posted on my website.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the use of distinctive ideas or
works belonging to another person without providing adequate acknowledgement of
that person's contribution. Regardless of the means of appropriation,
incorporating another's work into one's own requires adequate identification
and acknowledgement. Plagiarism is doubly unethical because it deprives the
author of rightful credit and gives credit to someone who has not earned it.
Acknowledgement is not necessary when the material used is common knowledge.
When the course is not noted, the following would constitute plagiarism:
1. Word-for-word copying.
2. The mosaic (to intersperse a few words of one's own here and there while, in
essence, copying another's work).
3. The paraphrase (the rewriting of another's work, yet still using the
fundamental idea or theory).
4. Fabrication (inventing or counterfeiting sources).
5. Ghost-written material (submitting another's effort as one's own).
It is also plagiarism to neglect quotation marks on material that is otherwise
acknowledged. Plagiarism and acts associated with it are cause for disciplinary
and/or legal action.
DISCIPLINE
California Code of Regulations, Sections 41301 through 41304 of Title 5,
Article 1.1 states, "Following procedures consonant with due process
established pursuant to Section 41304, any student of a campus may be expelled,
suspended, placed on probation or given a lesser sanction for one or more of
the following causes which must be campus related:
(a) Cheating or plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a
campus."
Students with
Disabilities
If you have a disability and
require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation to SSWD,
Lassen Hall 1008, (916) 278-6955. Please
discuss your accommodation needs with me after class or during my office hours
early in the semester.
(1/26-1/30)
Week 1: Course Introduction and The California Context
Read: D+S Chapters 1 and 2
(2/2-2/6)
Week 2: Political Development and Culture
Read: Schrag, preface and p. 1-126.
(2/9-2/13)
Week 3: Critiques of the California System
Read: Schrag p. 127-283.
(2/16-2/20)
Week 4: The Politics of Diversity
Read: D+S Chapter 4
2/16 Paper 1 Due
(2/23-2/27)
Week 5: Political Parties and the Media
Read: D+S Chapter 5
(start to read Michaels and Walters this week-see below)
(3/1-3/5)
Week 6: Interest Groups
Read: D+S Chapter 3 and Michaels and Walters (ALL)
(3/8-3/12)
Week 7: Elections
Read: D+S Chapter 6
3/8 Midterm Exam
(3/15-3/19)
Week 8: The Legislature
Read: D+S Chapter 7, Michaels and Walters
(3/22-3/26)
Week 9: The Governor and the Executive Branch
Read: D+S Chapter 8
(3/29-4/2)
Week 10: The Judiciary
Read: D+S Chapter 10
3/31 – No class, Happy Birthday Cesar Chavez
Week 11 (4/5-4/11)
Spring Break, No Class
(4/12-4/16)
Week 12: Budgetary Politics
Read: D+S Chapter 9
4/14 or 4/16 Debate Group Meetings
(4/19-4/23)
Week 13: Local Government
Read: D+S Chapter 11 (begin reading Broder this week, see below)
(4/26-4/30)
Week 14: Direct Demoncracy
Read: Broder (ALL)
4/28 Paper 2 Due
(5/3-5/7)
Week 15: Class
Debates
(5/10-5/14)
Week 16: Class Debates continued
Final Exam:
MWF 9 a.m. is 5/21,
MW 1:30 p.m. is 5/17,