POL 120 Week 1

1. POL 120—American National
Government and Politics
Introductory Presentation
Fall 2014
Web course
Prof. Kimberly A. Saks McManaway
University of Michigan Flint

2. About me
 I have a complicated name, I know. You can call me
Professor McManaway or Prof. M.
 I like letters behind my name and going to school. I have my
Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and French from
Eastern Michigan University, my Juris Doctor (law degree)
from the University of Detroit Mercy and my Master’s of
Arts in Political Science from Wayne State University. I am
currently pursuing my PhD in Political Science from Wayne
State.
 I am interested in political behavior. Things like voting,
running for office, and public opinion are part of my
research along with gender.
 I enjoy good lawyer jokes. I practiced law for six years prior
to teaching full time and still hold my law license.
 I am busy, just like you. I live in Royal Oak with my husband,
twin daughters, two cats and a dog…in a tiny house. I love
internet memes, reruns of The Golden Girls, Seinfeld and
The Big Bang Theory. I do not like long walks on the
beach…sand is tricky to walk on for any length of time.
Follow me on Twitter
@profmcmanaway

3. Structure of Course—Basic
Requirements
 INTERNET. Seems obvious, but not everyone realizes it. This
is a web course and there are no in-person class meetings.
Other than your books, everything is online.
 BLACKBOARD AND EMAIL. Blackboard and your UM Flint
email will be used regularly. It is YOUR responsibility to
check your email frequently and respond to discussions on
Blackboard.
 ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION. All of your assignments will be
submitted through Blackboard. If you have problems using
the SafeAssign feature on Blackboard, you MUST contact
me ASAP and send a duplicate submission via email.

4. Course Materials
 Your knowledge will be
gained from three
sources:
 (1) the textbook readings
(Fiorina book, Penguin
style cover)
 (2)the supplemental
readings from our reader
(Hess book, green) and on
Blackboard (under
“Course Content”; and,
 (3) the PowerPoint
presentations provided
online that will include
audio, links and text.
Textbook Reader

5. Our goals
1. Create a basic understanding
of our government’s
structure, institutions and
procedures;
2. Strengthen and develop the
ability to critically evaluate
issues of local, state and
national importance; and,
3. Provide exposure to
underlying primary
documents involving
American government and
politics.

6. Participation—Weekly Discussion
Boards...let’s make this easy and fun.
What you post…
There will be a prompt each week that relates to
our reading but also requires you to think about
your own part in the political process in America.
Feel free to respectfully debate one another and
challenge ideas. Also feel free to post links,
videos, songs, memes and more. Be creative!
When you post…
Your first post MUST be up NO LATER THAN 11:59 pm
on WEDNESDAY evening each week to ensure proper
discussion and debate. Then follow up with at least
TWO of your classmates’ posts by the end of the week
(Sunday night at 11:59 pm).

7. Academic honesty
Plagiarism is the taking of
credit for someone else’s
work or ideas or submitting a
piece of work which is not
entirely the student’s own
work without fully and
accurately attributing those
same portions to their correct
source.
CITE EVERYTHING THAT YOU
DIDN’T WRITE!

8. Grading
Point based system
Highest value items:
 participation,
 Position Paper
 Exams
None of the work is extremely hard and it should all be interesting
because you will be either discussing your beliefs (or lack thereof)
or issues of your choosing.

9. Exams…yes, we must…
• Non-cumulative (but may
build on previous material)
• Timed…two hours to
complete each exam.
• Short answer, multiple
choice, fill in the blank,
true/false (all non-essay)
• You have one week to
complete the exam and the
Analytical Essay for that unit
(for Essays 1 and 2)

10. • An alternative to essays on
the timed exam.
• Graded on your ability to
understand the subject
matter and concisely
answer the question using
our course material.
• Based heavily on
supplemental readings
(the readings outside of
Fiorina).
• No outside research
necessary.
Analytical Essays

11. Civic engagement assignment
• Active community
engagement through an
activity and brief
paper…not hard at all and
very rewarding!
• Three possibilities:
• Attend an event
• Write a letter to the editor
• Watch and review a documentary
• All have an activity + written
response component

12. Position paper
• Four to six page paper that
replaces the essays for Exams 3
and 4.
• You will choose a current political
and/or social issue that interests
you and present a paper that
provides:
• (1) background on the topic;
• (2) a review of the current US policy on the
matter; and
• (3) a critique of the US policy, including a
proposed solution.
• This is the only paper that will
require the use of outside sources.
(Remember to cite!)

13. Common read—EXTRA CREDIT
• University-wide reading
project with events,
discussions and an author
visit
• Extra credit opportunities:
• Read the book and do a
short review (see syllabus)
• Attend a Common Read
program on campus and
write a one page
summary/review.

14. Other considerations
 LATE ASSIGNMENTS. Due dates are firm and remain unchanged
from the syllabus unless announced on Blackboard. Penalties for
late assignments are found in the class syllabus and will be
enforced.
 ACADEMIC HONESTY. Plagiarism will NOT BE TOLERATED. Do not
attempt it. If you have a question as to whether something
constitutes plagiarism, ASK.
 RESPECT. Respect is required and disrespect will not be tolerated.
Web-based environments tend to make people bolder in their
criticism of one another. While it is important to engage in
discussion, it is just as important to remain respectful of other
people and their ideas. Disrespect will not be tolerated and may
lead to your failing this course.

15. Final note…
I am aware that some of you live near or on campus
while others may not live in the state at all. I am
available to you in many ways, including email
(preferred), phone, in person meetings or we can even
set up an online chat if need be. My goal for you in this
course is that you get useful information out of it and
that you enjoy it. Some of you may even go on to study
government, politics or policy. I am open to discussing
your future options with you as well. If you have any
questions, please feel free to ask.

16. Presentations
 Your presentations will contain audio with a link. You
must click on it for the audio to play. All audio links
will look like this one. Click on it to test if the audio
plays. Please let me know ASAP if the audio does not
play.

17. It’s going to be a great semester!
Email: kimsaks@umflint.edu
Twitter: @profmcmanaway
Office: 220M French Hall