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Welcome to the American Studies Institute
AMERICAN STUDIES GRADUATE
PROGRAM
COURSE OUTLINE
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY & PLURALISM ( 3
credits)
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this course is to introduce
you to the American experience and to familiarize students with the
role of democratic ideas in the American way of life. The larger goal of
this course is to teach students how to critically analyze,
evaluate, and judge competing perspectives on American democracy. If
you disagree with an argument or perspective, or find it biased or
limited, then you should say so. If you find the reading difficult,
confused, or pointless, then you should say so. But, in each case,
you must be prepared to support your argument and larger
conclusions.
COURSE
REQUIREMENTS AND GRADES: Students will be evaluated according to
their performance on written assignments, book reviews, a final exam
and class discussions. Graded assignments include: a midterm (20%),
two review essays (20%), a 12-15 type-written term paper (20%), and
a comprehensive final examination (40%), which will consist of both
essay and multiple-choice questions. Students who view movies
discussing American Democracy, or go to centers or libraries to
learn more about American democracy will receive extra credit.
Students are advised to retain copies of all their work until after
final grades are received. No incompletes are issued in this
course.
Course
grades will be defined in these terms:
A-Excellent --
(Thoughtful, coherent, insightful, contributes)
B-Good -- (Knows
material well, lacks depth, not outstanding)
C-Fair -- (Adequate,
average, passing, little participation)
D-Poor -- (Little
understanding, little effort, incoherent)
F-Fail -- (No evidence
of understanding, no work, no learning)
Scale:
A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
ATTENDANCE.
Students are expected to attend class regularly, and will be
held responsible for all materials presented there. An attendance
sheet will be available every class meeting, and students are
expected to sign themselves "present" upon arrival in class. Student
signature (first initial, last name) on the roll sheet is required
as proof of attendance. Furthermore, in order for an assignment to
be accepted, the student must be in class for the entire class
period. It is critical that students recognize the importance of
attendance and participation in determining their final
grade.
ACADEMIC HONESTY. All
of the work students do in this course is expected to be their own.
Students should not use the ideas or writings of others as their
own. Plagiarism, or presenting the work of another student as one's
own, warrants a failing grade in the course as well as sanctions
from the university.
REFERENCES:
· Baskin,
Darryl. American Pluralist Democracy: A Critique.
New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold Company, 1971.[Examines three aspects of American pluralism: (1)
structural features such as governmental decentralization, economic
diversity, religious and ethnic heterogeneity, voluntary
associations; (2) the prescriptive tradition in American political
thought; and (3) the group theory of politics. Argues that the
special setting in which American politics occurs imposes a unity
upon theory, practice, and ideology not found in other
societies.]
· Dahl, Robert. Dilemmas of
Pluralist Democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1983.
· Patterson,
Thomas E. The American Democracy. Boston:
McGraw-Hill, 1999.
· Sartori, Giovanni. Theory
of Democracy Revisited. Chatham, NJ: Chatham
House, 1987.
· de Tocqueville, Alexis.
Democracy in
America. New York; Mentor Books,
1956.[A nineteenth-century classic by
a French aristocrat, considered one of
the most insightful works on the nature of American society and
government.
The first English edition
translation appeared in 1838.]
FILMS:
· Vote For Me:
Politics in America
Four hours
series videotape of PBS special of fall 1996. The central premise of
Vote for Me is that American politics is a reflection
of culture, local, regional, and national.
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