Office Hours:
By appointment (leonhirthj@gmail.com)
Students are welcome to send requests for further explanations of course materials or assignments or other questions by email to the instructor. Please use email as a learning tool. Use leonhirthj@gmail.com to contact me.
To examine U.S. government and its economic system, but study of U.S. government also will also look at the role of economics in government, and the study of economics also will look at the role of government in economics.
To develop an understanding of the
of the U.S. government.
To develop an understanding of the
of the U.S. economy.
The class will include lectures, guest speakers, class discussions, and research projects to explore these topics. Grading of performance in the class and of understanding of course materials will include evaluation of tests, writing assignments, and class discussions.
The required texts for the course are "American Government" and "Economic Principles and Practices."
Readings also will include other materials online and class handouts.
Examinations for the class will include short essay questions and will try to measure your understanding of course materials and allow application of course materials. The final exam for the class will be comprehensive.
Each student will prepare two briefing papers during the semester. One
briefing paper will deal with an individual important in U.S. government or economic system. Please
focus on individuals who made significant contributions, but who may be
less well-known. One briefing paper will deal with a key issue that could be an issue in the 2020 presidential election.
Each briefing paper should be no more than 3 pages
(typed and double-spaced, not including citations and references.
Each briefing paper about the individual will include at least the following information:
I. Concise biography.
II. Contributions of individual to U.S. government or economic system.
III. Current status of those contributions.
IV. Your analysis of the importance of those contributions to the study of U.S. government/economy.
V. List at least five sources for additional reading. These do not include the references that you use for your citations.
Please confer with the instruction about an appropriate subject for the briefing paper about the key issue.
For your briefing paper, include:
I. Information about the issue. Does it represent a legal, ethical, or political question? What provides the foundation for analysis of the
issue?
II. A summary of the facts of the issue you are examining.
III. A summary of the positions of the opposing sides of the issue.
IV. Your analysis of the importance of this issue to the study of U.S. government/economy.
V. List at least five sources for additional reading. These do not include the references that you use for your citations.
Students may do the briefing papers in the order they wish.
GRADES:
Grading Scale
Grading for the class will be as follows:
Grades for attendance will be based on the same scale as overall grading for the class. If you attend at least 90 percent of class sessions, for example, you will receive an "A" for attendance.