Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
and Texas
Spring 2008
UTD
EPPS
Description:
This class covers the main political institutions of the US federal government (Congress,
president, courts, and bureaucracy) as well as the companion institutions in the state of Texas.
The course also covers the major policy areas (social, economic, and foreign). Highway and
transportation policy serve as a case study to illustrate the real world workings and interactions of
government at the national, state, and local levels. It affords students the opportunity both to
realize the pervasive nature of government in their daily lives and to apply knowledge of said
institutions in making informed arguments.
Objectives:
1. Provide examples and apply important theoretical and scholarly approaches to explaining state
and national institutional behavior, citizen involvement, and interaction between citizens and
institutions of government.
2. Analyze and appreciate historical trends in the development of government institutions and
their constitutional foundations.
The instructor neither expects nor assumes any prior government (or political science) courses or
knowledge.
The instructor neither expects nor assumes any prior public policy courses or knowledge.
No pre-requisites or co-requisites are required.
(1) AND ‘America's New Democracy (Penguin Academics Series),' Morris P. Fiorina, Paul E.
Peterson, Stephen D. Voss, Bertram Johnson, Penguin Academics Series, 4th Edition,
paperback,
August 3, 2007, isbn 0205572480
(3) 'Getting There: The Epic Struggle between Road and Rail in the American Century,' Stephen
B. Goddard, University Of Chicago Press, paperback, 15 November 1996, isbn 0226300439
(4) 'Road, River, And Ol'boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb,' Linda
Scarbrough, Texas State Historical Association, Hardcover, 30 September 2005, isbn
0876112025
(5) ‘Texas Almanac 2008-2009,’ by Elizabeth Cruce Alvarez (Editor), Robert Plocheck (Editor),
Dallas Morning News, September 30, 2007, isbn 0914511416
1 RECOMMENDED book:
(1) ‘Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life’
(Paperback), Tom Lewis, Penguin, March 1, 1999, isbn 0140267719
(2) Daily reading of a respected newspaper (Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Dallas
Morning News, Austin American Statesman, etc.) and/or weekly reading of a worthy periodical
(The Economist, Time, Newsweek, etc.) to keep up with current events. All are available at the
UTD library.
50%: Exams
Three in-class exams will be given. The lowest score of the three will be dropped. Each
counted exam is thus 25% of your final grade.
Exam 1, 15 February 2008
Exam 2, 21 March 2008
*** Exam 3, 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, 7 May 2008, non-comprehensive final,
note the time change for finals week! ***
The exams are closed book and closed note. The exams consist of True/False,
matching, and short answer/essay sections.
15%: Two page précis (short review) for 'Getting There: The Epic Struggle between Road
and Rail in the American Century'
Précis due 22 February 2008 at the beginning of class. It will help organize your
participation in the class discussion of the book. It will be two typed, double-
spaced pages of one-inch margins using 12 point standard fonts. This does not
include references or title pages.
15%: Two page précis (short review) for 'Road, River, And Ol'boy Politics: A Texas
County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb'
Précis due 4 April 2008 at the beginning of class. It will help organize your
participation in the class discussion of the book. It will be two typed, double-
spaced pages of one-inch margins using 12 point standard fonts. This does not
include references or title pages.
• The In-Class Quizzes are specifically designed to help students. In-Class Quizzes offer
previews of questions that will appear on the Exams. They afford students the opportunity to
get feedback and evaluation from the instructor throughout the semester.
• No make-up exams or quizzes will be given and late précis will receive a one-time, full letter
grade reduction as penalty, except for cases of official UTD absences (representing the
university) or UTD defined circumstances. In order to receive an excused absence or
exception, students need to notify the instructor in advance via phone, e-mail, or both. I must
receive any late précis by 7 May 2008.
• Grades are not negotiations. If a student wishes to challenge a grade, then upon re-grading
it is possible that the grade may go up (i.e. I erroneously deducted too many points) or go
down (i.e. I erroneously didn’t deduct enough points) or stay the same (i.e. no grading errors).
• Cell phones and pagers must be turned off during class, unless you are an emergency
professional (i.e. doctor, EMT, firefighter, police officer). In this case, please switch them to
silent/buzz.
• All hand held electronic devices (ex. palm pilots) and laptop computers should be on silent.
• The class is early in the day, so in the likely event that you are tired, please bring your
caffeinated beverage of choice (mine is coffee) to help you stay awake. Sleeping in class will
be noted negatively by the instructor, as being awake is a pre-requisite for participation.
• Please raise your hand to speak and respect your classmates as fellow human beings worthy
of esteem.
7 Jan 2008
Course introduction and preliminaries
You should start reading 'Getting There: The Epic Struggle between Road and Rail in the
American Century'
28 Jan 2008 finish ‘The American Experience: Alexander Hamilton’ DVD conclusion
Class Discussion of video
If you experience any problems with your UTD account you may send an email to: assist@utdallas.edu or call
the UTD Computer Helpdesk at 972-883-2911.
Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and University policies
and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations
may be found at the website address http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm.
Additional information is available from the office of the school dean. Below is a description of any travel and/or
risk-related activity associated with this course.