POLS C1000 - American Government and Politics

Transfer Status

CSU/UC

Unit(s)

3.00

• Lecture: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
• Total: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)

Course Description: This course is an introduction to government and politics in the United States and California. Students examine the constitutions, structure, and operation of governing institutions, civil liberties and civil rights, political behaviors, political issues, and public policy using political science theory and methodology. (C-ID POLS 110).

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Critique governing institutions and political processes within the United States and California.
2. Explain the founding and development of the U.S. and California Constitution.
3. Employ introductory political science research methods to contextualize contemporary political issues and operations in the United States and California.
4. Assess civil liberties and civil rights of individuals and groups as articulated in the U.S. and California Constitutions and subsequent court decisions.
5. Investigate the role of identity and political ideology in shaping public opinion and public policy in the United States and California.
6. Analyze how to effectively participate in politics at the national, state, county, and/or city levels.

Topic Titles / Suggested Time Topic

Lecture

1. Discussion
2. Group Discussions
3. Guest Speakers
4. Homework: Students are required to complete two hours of outside-of-class homework for each hour of lecture
5. Lecture

1. Examples of potential methods of evaluation used to observe or measure students’ achievement of course outcomes and objectives could include but are not limited to quizzes, exams, essays, field journals, projects, critical analysis papers, service learning, simulations, research demonstrations, etc.
   B. Methods of evaluation and appropriate representative assignments will be determined at the discretion of local faculty.

Reading Assignments

1. Read the chapter on public opinion, then read the supplementary article from the Washington Post's Monkey Cage Blog. Come to class prepared to contrast the majoritarian and pluralist models of democracy with respect to their assumptions about public opinion. Also, be prepared to explain what is happening in the figure about Proposition 19 and social desirability.
2. Read the article about redistricting. Be prepared to discuss the difference between redistricting and gerrymandering, how redistricting impacts the incumbency advantage, and what the United States Supreme Court said in the Rucho case in 2019.

Writing Assignments

1. After reading the chapter on federalism, find a news article that relates to either dual or cooperative federalism in a California based newspaper, like the Sacramento Bee. Write a one-page summary of your article and explain how it relates to either dual or cooperative federalism. Include MLA or APA citations.
2. Comedian Stephen Colbert took the political world by storm in 2011 when he announced the creation of his “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” Super PAC, an independent expenditure committee that would allow him to raise funds from individuals and corporations and engage in unlimited political spending (Comedy Central 2011). After reading the essay on Campaign Finance Reform and watching the video from Comedy Central, write a 2 page essay explaining the differences between Political Action Committees and Independent Expenditure Committees (Super PACs). Your short essay should also discuss the effects of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a landmark Supreme Court case in 2010 that held that the First Amendment protects corporate political speech as part of “an essential mechanism of democracy” (Citizens United v. FEC 2010).

Out-of-Class Assignments

1. In Fall of 2022 various candidates ran for public office at the state level. Locate two speeches or campaign events online. Be able to discuss the public policy differences in the events you observed during our next class. Please review the reading, from our textbook, on Elections and Campaigns before viewing the speeches and be prepared to incorporate key ideas and key terms from the chapter during class discussion.
2. Attend the student debate on campus dealing with diversity and education. Be prepared to discuss in class. Be prepared to describe what “Affirmative Action” is; how this idea was treated by various parties in the debate.

Patterson, T. (2024). We The People. McGraw Hill, 15th. 9781265634568.

Sidlow and Henschen. (2025). GOVT 12: Principles of American Government. Cengage, 12th. 9798214147062.

Van Vechten. (2023). California Politics: A Primer. Sage, 7th. 9781071875445.

Janda, K., Berry, J.M., Goldman, J, Schildkraut, D, & Manna, P. (2024). The Challenge of Democracy: American Government in Global Politics. Cengage, 15th. 9780357794555.

Zero Cost Textbook

Glen Krutz and Sylvie Waskiewicz. (2024). American Government 3e. OER. https://openstax.org/details/books/american-government-3e/

Reti. 2023. Introduction to California Government and Politics. (OER) https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Political_Science_and_Civics/Introduction_to_California_Government_and_Politics_(Reti)

Other Learning Materials

Any college-level introduction to American government and politics textbook. May also include supplementary materials such as, but not limited to, primary sources (e.g. The Federalist Papers), readers, etc.

The Sacramento Bee newspaper

Political Science (Masters Required)