Welcome to Malone's Homepage

212-346-1146 cmalone@pace.edu  

Pace University

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Introduction to American Politics: Liberty, Equality and American Life

POL 111 LC

Tuesday: 12:20pm-1:15pm, Thursday 11:15am-1:05pm

W608

 

 

Instructor: Dr. Christopher Malone

Office: 41 Park Row, 1114/Pace Plaza 207I

Office Hours:  TBA                                       

Phone:            212-346-1146/1697

E-mail:  cmalone@pace.edu

 

Overview:

Welcome! This course will introduce you to American politics, but will do it through a unique learning community (LC) taught by me and Dr. Bill Offutt. The theme of the class is Liberty, Equality, and American  Life.

We will use the course to seek an understanding of the political, social, cultural, theoretical and historical underpinnings of American life and society. In traditional Introduction to American Politics courses, we do this by studying the Constitution, the national institutions of government, and keep aspects of politics such as civil rights, political parties, the media, etc. We will be talking about those aspects of American politics. However, with this course will focus on the process of exploring American politics through interdisciplinary “modules” about place (The Road, New Orleans), race and gender (Harriet Jacobs) and period (The Gilded Age). In these modules, we will read, view, and listen to a variety of sources, with the idea of coming to a more complete understanding of these people, concepts, periods, or phenomena through multiple perspectives.

 

Required reading:

WEB DuBois, Souls of Black Folk, ISBN-10: 014018998X Penguin Classics

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ISBN-10: 0451527526 Harvard Press

Jack Kerouac, On the Road  ISBN-10: 0142437255 Penguin Classics

John Miller, ed., New Orleans Stories ISBN-10: 0811844943 Chronicle Books

 

And handouts

 

Course Requirements:

The requirements for this course consist of four separate aspects of your grade:

1. Quizzes: Each week you will be asked to take quizzes on the readings/film/class discussions to ensure you are keeping up with course work. THESE QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS. THOSE LATE TO CLASS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE THE QUIZZES. I take attendance through the quizzes, so if you are late, make sure you turn in a piece of paper with your name and the date.

2. Weekly Summary Responses: Every Tuesday you will also be asked to submit a one-page summary response to at least one of the weekly readings. Your summary responses should be SINGLE SPACED (ROUGHLY 500 WORDS) and will be picked up at the beginning of class every Tuesday. You will be asked to submit a total of 10 summary responses over the course of the semester. LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

3. Module Papers: You will be asked to write 3 short essays (4-5 pages each, typed double-spaced, 12 point font with 1” margins) on FOUR of the FIVE modules we cover this semester. Paper topics will be given well in advance, and you will be able to determine which module you wish to skip. You will be allowed one late paper (for one class) without penalty.

4. Media Journal: You will also be required to keep a media journal this semester. Specifically, you will be asked to read and write about THREE (3) new stories you find in any various sources of new, a list of which I will provide for you. I want you to use your journals to REFLECT upon politics – be it the presidential campaign, the war in Iraq, Dafur, the stock market, etc. etc. -  and use it as a way to begin to understand the political world around you. I expect you to write at least two full page per week, typed, double-spaced (about 500-600 words) in your journal. Over the Course of the class you should have a journal that is no shorter than 20 pages.

 

Grading:

Quizzes                                                                                    10%

Weekly Summary Responses: (10 one-page summaries)           20%

Module Papers (three 4-5 page papers)                                                45%

Media Journal                                                                           20%

 

Attendance: There are no excused absences. Accordingly, missing class for any reason but illness and obligations is not recommended.

You can miss three classes without a grade penalty; after that, you cannot receive an A in class participation. You will fail if you miss seven or more classes. Although you are welcome to tell me about upcoming absences, please do not ask for “permission” to miss class.

Only a note from the Dean of Students—one that is issued generally to all your professors--will excuse you from absences and assignments; notes from doctors, parents, or other professors will not be accepted. Please do not schedule meetings with professors or doctor’s appointments during class hours.

 

Classroom behavior: You are expected to attend class with punctuality, proper decorum, and required course materials. To be deficient in this area will be grounds for a loss of credit in class participation. Cell phone or PDA use—this means talking, text messaging, or other uses--is not permitted at any time in the classroom. You will be asked to leave the room is you are engaging in such activity, and it will count toward your number of absences.

 

Honor Policies: Because our work will often be collaborative, there are important integrity issues. You should not copy or print anyone's work from the computer without his or her permission. Whenever you use material from another source, including student papers, you must document clearly, whether you are quoting directly, summarizing, or paraphrasing. In other words, respect the work of others and in no way present it as your own.

 

There is a basic rule that ALWAYS applies: Plagiarize (copy from a textbook or off the Web, turn in someone else's work as your own, hand in a purchased paper or one downloaded off the Internet, etc.,) and you fail. If you have any questions about this code in a collaborative environment, or indeed any questions at all, bring it up for a discussion of the issues involved.  We take plagiarism personally and will do everything we can to track down work we think has been plagiarized.

 

Note: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 require Pace to provide an "academic adjustment" and/or a "reasonable accommodation" to any individual who advises us of a physical or mental disability. This assistance includes evaluating your medical documentation, conducting appropriate tests, making recommendations for accommodation, and contacting your professors to arrange for the recommended accommodations. You must, however, contact the Coordinator of Disability Services (346-1526) at the beginning of the semester to ensure that you receive these services.  If you fail to do this, we cannot make special accommodations for you. If you believe that you have a disability that requires an academic adjustment or an accommodation, please make the necessary arrangements as outlined above, and arrange a meeting with us at your earliest convenience but as soon as possible.

 

Course schedule (subject to change):

 

September 6^th: Introduction: Liberalism and the Study of American Politics

• John Winthrop, “Model of Christian Charity”

 

September 11^th – September 27^th Module I: The Road

• Jack Kerouac, On the Road

• from W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk

• Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (film)

• Readings on Lewis and Clark

• Readings on Trail of Tears

• Readings on the Great Migration

 

October 2^nd – October 23^rd Module II: New Orleans

• from Walker Percy, The Moviegoer

• from W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk

• Royce Osborn film, “All on a Mardi Gras Day: Black Carnival in New Orleans”

• from Tom Piazza, Why New Orleans Matters

• Christopher Malone, “Just A Closer Walk With Thee (Do Not Cry for the Crescent City)”

• Spike Lee (film), When The Levees Broke

 

October 11^th – October 30^th Module III: Harriet Jacobs

• from W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk

• Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

• from Angela Davis, Women, Race and Class

• A Raisin in the Sun (film)

• Langston Hughes, “Let America be America Again”

 

November 1^st – November 29^th  Module IV: The Gilded Age

• William Graham Sumner, “What the Social Classes Owe to Each Other”

• from Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

• from Upton Sinclair, The Jungle

• from Jane Addams, Hull House

• W.E.B. DuBois, Souls of Black Folk

• F. Scott Fitzgerald, “A Diamond as Big as the Ritz”

 

December 4^th and 6^th - TBA

 

 

EXAM WEEK: Media journals due