POS 106-02: U.S.

Government and Civic Practices

Spring 2022 – Dr. Lane Crothers

1
I. Course Description:

This course offers an applied approach to understanding American politics and American political life.
Lectures will build from contemporary controversies, issues and problems in American political and
social affairs to describe and analyze the way(s) these concerns are influenced by, react to, and are the
focus of government and other kinds of political actions. The goal of this class is to help students to
understand the complex interrelationships among people, political institutions and other elements of
society. Ultimately, the course is intended to help students become more responsible citizens -- people
capable of recognizing and working through the complex and difficult choices that characterize civic life.

II. Contact Information:

1) Office: Schroeder 429

2) Student hours: MW 12:15-1:30 pm, or by appointment.
3) Email: alcroth@ilstu.edu
4) Phone: 309-438-8813
5) Reggienet: Please do not block course emails from Reggienet as I will be sending course
information through the course learning page.

III. Required Text:

James A. Morone and Rogan Kersh, By the People, brief 5th edition (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2020). ISBN: 978-0197545829

This text should be available in both the University Bookstore and the Alamo II. It is also widely
available online.

IV. Grading and Other Course Policies

1. EXAMS:
a) There will be four (4) examinations in this class.
b) Each exam will cover equal portions of the class and will weigh equally in your grade.
c) The dates and times of the exams are scheduled below except for the final, which will be
scheduled later.
d) Exams will be taken within the Reggienet testing function.
e) The format for each of these exams will be multiple choice.
f) If you miss any exam and do not make it up, you will be assigned an F for the entire course.
g) Students will receive a study guide that lists key terms from the lectures a few days before
each exam.
h) The exams will include questions based on information not covered in the study guide. This
includes material from the text that is not covered in lecture. The guide is to assist you, not to
substitute for class attendance and readings in the text.
i) You may form study groups before exams, but all work on exams must be your own.

2
 j) There is a “HOW TO STUDY” guide on the resources page of the Reggienet site. It has many
ideas that students have told me help them prepare for my exams. I encourage you to refer to this
guide as you prepare for exams.

EXAM SCHEDULE:

All exams will be scheduled from 3:35 pm – 4:50 pm on the dates listed below. University and other
approved accommodations will be met as required.

Exam 1: February 7, 2022 (covers unit 1)

Exam 2: March 2, 2022 (covers unit 2)
Exam 3: April 4, 2022 (covers unit 3)
Exam 4: TBA – as scheduled by the university

2. MAKE-UP EXAMS: Exams should be taken on the day they are scheduled. Make-up
exams will be offered only under extraordinary circumstances, and only if the student contacts the
instructor to schedule a make-up exam before the date of the scheduled exam. Absences from exams
must be scheduled in advance unless a documentable emergency makes such advance notification
impossible.

3. CALCULATION OF COURSE GRADE:

Average Grade Points

90-100%: A 320-288
80-89%: B 287-256
70-79%: C 255-224
60-69% D 223-192
0-59%: F 191-0

4. EXTRA CREDIT: Write a five-page paper (double-spaced, using normal fonts and margins)
about some aspect of the class you found interesting. Tell me why it interested you and how you think it
is important for politics. I am not looking for a research paper, nor should you repurpose a paper you did
for English 101 or Comm 110 to try to fulfill this opportunity. I also don’t want a restatement of a lecture.
This is about your reaction to some aspect this class and cannot be fulfilled with other work. It is due in
your Reggienet Drop Box by 3:15 pm on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. Papers will not be accepted until
3:15 pm on Monday, April 25. EMAILS FOR HELP OR PERMISSION WILL BE IGNORED. JUST
DO IT. Plagiarism will result in a minimum automatic full grade deduction from your overall course
grade.
Note that this deadline is BEFORE the final exam. This is EXTRA credit and requires
EXTRA work and EXTRA effort. It is not a thing to do once the semester is over and you discover
you just need a few points.

3
A note on how I count the extra credit: The extra credit does not earn a specific number of points. It is a
“benefit of the doubt” project: if you are near a grade boundary, and do a good job addressing the project,
I try to raise your grade. If you’re not near a grade boundary, there’s probably nothing I can do for you
however good the project is. If you’re near a grade boundary but do a poor job, I won’t necessarily raise
your grade just for turning a paper in. You will know if you got credit for your work if your grade is
higher than you expected when you get notification about your grades.

5. COURSE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND OTHER MATERIALS: Support materials like

the syllabus and exam study guides will be available on the Resources tab of the course Reggienet page,
and announcements related to the course will be added on the announcements page. You should check the
Reggienet page regularly for updates.

6. TEACHING ASSISTANT: Grace Burgener (gjburge@ilstu.edu) is the teaching assistant for

this course. She’ll try to answer any questions you might have – as, of course, will I!

7. WITHDRAWAL GRADES AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: When students

withdraw from the course, their withdrawal grades will be calculated according the appropriate university
catalog’s rules. Incidences of cheating or other academic malfeasance like plagiarism are expressly
forbidden and will be handled according to University rules and procedures.

8. ACCOMMODATION FOR DOCUMENTED DISABILITY: Any student needing to

arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability and/or medical/mental health condition
should contact Student Access and Accommodation Services at 350 Fell Hall, (309) 438-5853, or visit the
website at StudentAccess.IllinoisState.edu.

V. TOPIC OUTLINE:

Part 1: Introduction to the American Way of Politics and Government – This section describes the
ideas, pressures and circumstances that shaped the development of the US Constitution

Topic 1: Introduction to the course

--Reading: None
Topic 2: Understanding Political Life
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, Chapter 1
Topic 3: Making a Government
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, Chapter 2

EXAM 1: February 7, 2022

4
Part 2: The Growth in the Power of the Federal Government, 1789-2020 – This section explores several
forces and changes that led to the increased power of the federal government from the time the
Constitution was created to the modern era

Topic 4: Federalism, then and now

--Reading: Morone and Kersh, chapter 3
Topic 5: Civil liberties, then and now
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, chapter 4
Topic 6: Civil rights, then and now
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, chapter 5

EXAM 2: March 2, 2022

Part 3: Policymaking, Policy Implementation, and Resolving Disputes – This section examines the ways
government makes decisions and then acts to implement those decisions

Topic 7: Making Policy

--Reading: Morone and Kersh, Chapter 10
Topic 8: Implementing Policy
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, Chapter 11, 12
Topic 9: Judging Policy
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, Chapter 13

EXAM 3: April 4, 2022

Part 4: Linking Citizens to Government – This section considers the many ways individuals and groups
try to influence government to get what they want

Topic 10: The Media

--Reading: Morone and Kersh, chapter 7
Topic 11: Public Opinion and Political Participation
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, Chapter 6
Topic 12: Elections, Campaigns, and Voting
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, Chapter 8
Topic 13: Political Parties and Interest Groups
--Reading: Morone and Kersh, Chapter 9
Topic 14: Concluding thoughts and observations
--Reading: None

EXAM 4: TBA – During finals week