POLS 375: California Politics
Instructor
Dr. Michael S. Latner
Preferred Email:
mlatner@calpoly.edu
Twitter: @mlatner
Office Location: 47-11L
Office Phone: 756-2978
Office Hours: Varies by quarter
Other times by appointment
Class meeting time & location:
Varies by quarter, see Polylearn
Required Electronic Materials
This course will use a large number of articles and excerpts that will be posted on the course Polylearn.
If you do not have access to a reliable printer, consider printing or making copies at the library (10 cents/page), in a campus computer lab, or at a local copy shop, or using the GoodNotes, or iAnnotate app for marking up PDFs on mobile devices. Note that this course involves significant amounts of reading. Unless otherwise indicated, you are expected to complete all the readings. You are strongly encouraged to bring copies of all readings to class each day, as well as to take notes as you read. Stay on top of the assigned readings and any multimedia content. Read or view them in pieces if you are pressed for time. Do what works best for you to achieve high levels of comprehension and engagement with the course content.
NOTE: Students who complete all required course readings will be positioned to do well in the course. Students who do not complete all assigned readings – for whatever reason – will not do well. Do not take this course if you do not plan to complete the assigned readings.
Assessment
| Assessment | Due | Value |
| Participation/Student Led Discussion | Weekly | 15% |
| Policy Challenge Brief | Week 3 | 20% |
| Draft Legislative Analysis | Week 6 | 15% |
|
Final Legislative Analysis |
Week 10 | 20% |
| Project Presentation | Week 10 | 10% |
|
Take Home Final Exam |
Finals Week | 20% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
Course Content
- Additional Guidelines
- Assessments
- Readings and Class Schedule
Links
Course Description
Political culture, processes, behavior, institutions, public policy and distribution of power in California state and substate governments. 4 lectures.
Students will demonstrate:
- Knowledge of the political science discipline; its principal theoretical frameworks and applications, conceptual vocabulary, and methods of inquiry; its major subfields of study; and its interrelationships with the other social science fields.
- Understanding of basic facts and concepts about the California political system, including its history, philosophical, constitutional and legal foundations, leading political values and ideas, governing institutions, and policymaking processes.
- Recognition of the major problems, the leading policies, and the legal issues confronting contemporary political systems, particularly in the U.S.
- Citizenship skills, ethical values, and the ability to understand and appreciate human diversity; and to engage in community life as active citizens.
- Understanding of political science research and analytical skills, including the ability to think critically; to construct logical arguments; to collect, analyze, and interpret evidence and data; and to formulate reasoned conclusions.
- Development of writing skills through research papers, essay exams, senior projects in political science topics, and collaborative research/writing opportunities.
Course Communications
Polylearn: Polylearn will be used as our primary course web site. This site will house the course syllabus, schedule, electronic readings, and online activities. You will also submit assignments through this site, access your grades, and participate in class discussions. Make it a habit to regularly visit the Polylearn course site. All announcements will be posted to this site. You are responsible for timely receipt of announcements.
email: You must have a Cal Poly User name for this course. This address is necessary to receive course email and to log onto the electronic Polylearn system. If you wish to use AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc., as your primary email address instead of your Cal Poly email account to, log into http://my.calpoly.edu and use the Personal Information channel to change your Email Delivery Address. When you email me, please include POLS 375 in the subject line.