The format will be lecture and discussion.  I will lecture on materials related to the day's topic and present issues and activities for class discussion and participation.  It is each student's responsibility to come to each class prepared to discuss the readings.  I will call on students to answer questions during every class period.  As this is a writing intensive course, there will be frequent written assignments (including in-class writings) to insure a fruitful discussion of the issues.

We will be discussing a wide range of issues in this class.  Sometimes you will have questions:  feel free to ask them.  Sometimes you will disagree with a classmate.  Sometimes you will disagree with me.  That's okay!  The political process is about deliberation and reasonable people often disagree.

 Bowman, Ann O'M., and Richard C. Kearney.  State and Local Government:  The Essentials.  (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000). 0-618-00033-x

Korey, John L.  California Government, Second Edition.  (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999). 0-395-90561-3

Stinebrickner, Bruce.  Annual Editions: State and Local Government, 2000/01, Tenth Edition.  (Guilford, CT: Dushkin/Mcgraw Hill, 2000). 0-07-235523-9
 

Event Briefs: On the four "starred" dates on the semester schedule (see below) you will come to class with a 3 page (typed, double-spaced) paper that summarizes and critiques a current event in state politics.  The audience you are writing for is Governor Gray Davis.  You will want to present the governor with the facts of the case and, more importantly, provide him with political advice--what position should he take on the issue and why?  The goal of this writing assignment is to develop your skills at writing a political argument.  Your knowledge of the event will be based on a magazine, newspaper, or internet site article, (or an unassigned Stinebrickner article) which you will staple to the back of your paper when you turn it in (unless it is from the Stinebrickner text).  The article you choose should be about a specific event or controversy in state government.  If you are not sure whether you have found an acceptable article, please consult me in advance of turning it in.  In these event papers, you should take a position (pro, con, or somewhere in between) on an issue.  Your paper should demonstrate that you  1) understand and can summarize/describe the issue thoroughly and 2) have thought critically about the issue at hand. These papers are worth 15 points each,  for a total of 60 points.

Exam #1:  On  we will take an exam with a specific focus on California government.  It will cover the Korey book thoroughly, as well as lecture topics, and consist of multiple choice and short answer/essay questions.  It is worth 60 points.

Exam #2:  On  we will take an exam on material covered since exam #1.  The format will be multiple choice and short answer/essay questions.  It is worth 60 points.

Exam #3 (final exam):  On Wednesday, May 16th, we will have a final exam.  You can expect much of the emphasis to be on, material covered since exam #2, but it will be comprehensive in nature .  The format will be multiple choice, definition/identification and short essays.   The questions will cover a range of topics discussed in class and in the readings. We will thoroughly review for this exam during the final regularly scheduled class meeting on May 11th.  It is worth 60 points.

Web Quizzes:   Web quizzes are assigned throughout the semester, as indicated in the schedule below.  You should treat these quizzes as part of your daily reading for each class.  You should read the chapter and supporting web materials before taking the quiz, then email the quiz results to me (I will demonstrate this in class).  It is the responsibility of the student to take care that the quizzes be faithfully executed and sent to the professor by class time on the date due.  The quizzes are worth 5 points each, for a total of 60 points.  You may take the quizzes more that once, but just send me the final attempt and send me a separate email explaining how many times you took the quiz and what you learned.

State Presentation:  As there are 50 American states, and we are only covering one in great detail (California), each of you will have the opportunity to explore another state in greater depth.  On January 29th, you will sign up for a presentation date/state.  Your assignment is to research this state (using a variety of both library and internet resources) and write a 5-7 page comparative analysis of this state and California.  Your paper should briefly (no more than 1 page) address the state's history, political institutions, and political culture.  The bulk of your paper should address one or two specific contemporary controversies in state government  Your analysis and assessment of how each state addresses the controversy will form the basis for your comparison.  You will also give a 5 minute oral presentation to the class on the date your paper is due.  Appropriate creativity in presentation will be rewarded.  You will need to pay attention to the reports of other students in order to complete the "state political facts sheet."

Participation: Come to class; it is hard to participate if you are not here! 10% (40 points) of your grade is based on participation because I want to reward you for taking an active role in your education.  I also want to encourage you to come to class, pay attention, answer my questions, and join in class discussions.  More than three absences over the course of the semester will result in serious damage to your participation grade.  I will call on you to answer questions.  I'm not expecting "right" answers--sometimes there isn't a right answer; I am expecting thoughtful and intelligent answers that demonstrate you have done the reading and are paying attention.  Additionally, a state "fact sheet," in-class writing assignments, a study guide for the film, and other in-class activities will become part of your participation grade.
 

Since this course requires multiple written assignments, you are encouraged to take advantage of Chico State's Writing Center (Taylor Hall, 203).  Writing well is a lifelong learning process, so don't feel like you have to be a "bad" writer to take advantage of student writing services, or that there is no need for help once you are a "good" writer.  There is always room for improvement!  Also, if you do not already own one, a writing guide/manual is an invaluable tool.  Some good examples are:

Hacker, Diana.  A Writer's Reference. Fourth Edition, St. Martin's Press. 1999.
Lunsford, Andrea, and Robert Connors.  EasyWriter: A Pocket Guide. Bedford/St.Martin's Press. 1998.
Schmidt, Diane.  Writing in Political Science:  A Practical Guide.  Second Edition, Addison, Wesley, Longman. 2000.
Scott, Gregory M., and Stephen M. Garrison.  The Political Science Student Writer's Manual. Third Edition, Prentice Hall. 2000.
Strunk, William, Jr.  Elements of Style.

You should also print out a copy of the CSU, Chico Department of Political Science Quick Reference Guide for Research Papers and Reports, by Diane E. Schmidt.

Semester Schedule

California Specific Sites

• http://www.ca.gov/ --official California home page.
• http://130.166.124.2/capage1.html --digital atlas of California.
• http://www.sacbee.com/news/projects/initiatives/initiatives.html --articles on the initiative process in California.
• http://www.chicoer.com/ --the Chico Enterprise-Record.
• http://www.latimes.com/ --the Los Angeles Times.
• http://www.ocregister.com/ --the Orange County Register.
• http://www.sacbee.com/ --the Sacramento Bee.
• http://www.uniontribune.com/ --the San Diego Union-Tribune.
• http://www.sjmercury.com/ --the San Jose Mercury.
• http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ --the San Francisco Chronicle.
• http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections.htm --California Secretary of State's elections and voter information page.
• http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_f.htm --information on California political parties.
• http://www.fec.gov/votregis/vr.htm --provides a form to register to vote by mail.
• http://www.vote-smart.org/ --find out who your elected officials are.
• http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp --the California State Assembly.
• http://www.senate.ca.gov/ --the California State Senate.
• http://www.ca.gov/search/agency.shtm --California state agencies, departments, divisions, boards, commissions, etc.
• http://www.governor.ca.gov/ --California governor's page.
• http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ --the California court system.
• http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/BUD_DOCS/Bud_link.htm --the California budget.

General Sites

• http://www.piperinfo.com/state/index.cfm --official state and local pages for all of the states.
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/50states/front.htm --Washington Post links to state news.
• http://www.governing.com/ --Governing Magazine (which focuses on state and local government).
• http://www.statesnews.org/ --Council of State Governments site.
• http://www.commoncause.org/states/states.htm --Common Cause's state politics page.
• http://www.ncsl.org/ --National Conference of State Legislatures.
• http://www.nga.org/ --National Governors' Association.
• http://www.ncsc.dni.us/ --National Center for State Courts.
• http://www.narc.org/ --National Association of Regional Councils.
• http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/nrdp/ --National Rural Development Partnership.
• http://www.nlc.org/ --National League of Cities.
• http://www.natat.org/natat/default.htm --National Association of Towns and Townships.
• http://www.nsba.org/ --National School Boards Association.
• http://www.usmayors.org/ --United States Conference of Mayors.
• http://votenet.com/blackmayors/ --National Conference of Black Mayors.
• http://www.icma.org/ --International City/County Management Association.
• http://www.taxfoundation.org/ --Tax Foundation.