PS 101

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PS 101, also known as American National Government, and informally as AmNat, is the introductory American political science course offered at Knox. It counts for 1 credit. In 2007-2008 it will be taught by three professors (Lane Sunderland, Duane Oldfield, and Andy Civettini).

Course Description[edit]

Official Course Description[edit]

"An introductory study of the United States national government. The Constitution, the development of representational, judicial, and administrative procedures, and contemporary problems of the democratic process are described and analyzed."[1]

Credits and Prerequisites[edit]

The course is worth one credit. The course satisfies the History and Social Sciences foundation requirement. This course is required to satisfy the Political Science major and the American Politics minor. There is no prerequisite.

Texts[edit]

  • Brewer, Mark D. And Jeffrey M. Stonecash. (2007). Split: Class and Cultural Divides in American Politics. ISBN 978-0872892989.
  • Diamond, Martin. (1981). The Founding of the Democratic Republic. ISBN 978-0875812717.
  • Wilson, James Q. (2005). American Government: Brief Version. ISBN 978-0618357246.

Course Format[edit]

The course is generally subdivided into parts, taught by the different professors. Lane Sunderland teaches on the Constitution and its framing, the Federalist Papers, and the philosophical background of central American governance concepts, using the Diamond and Wilson books. The remainder of the course is taught by one or two other professors and deals with modern day procedure, theory, and practice in American government. There are three usually noncumulative exams, one for Sunderland's component and two for the others. Depending on the professor teaching the second component there is some sort of paper, most recently a profile of a 2008 presidential candidate.

Course Schedule[edit]

Typically, the course is offered every fall and spring term, but due to Professor Sunderland's leave for the first part of the 2007-2008 year it will be offered Winter Term 2008 in lieu of Fall Term 2007. The class is always held first period, on a MWF schedule.

2007-2008[edit]

Term Days Period Location Instructor
Winter 2008 MWF 1 Lane Sunderland, Duane Oldfield, Andy Civettini
Spring 2008 MWF 1 Lane Sunderland, Duane Oldfield, Andy Civettini

2006-2007[edit]

Term Days Period Location Instructor
Fall 2006 MWF 1 CFA 110, GDH 303 Lane Sunderland, Duane Oldfield, Randall Smith
Spring 2007 MWF 1 GDH 303 Lane Sunderland, Duane Oldfield, Randall Smith

2005-2006[edit]

Term Days Period Location Instructor
Fall 2005 MWF 1 GDH 303 Lane Sunderland, Sean Matheson
Spring 2006 MWF 1 GDH 303 Lane Sunderland, Duane Oldfield

References[edit]