PLS 111 - American Government

3 credit hours - Three hours weekly; one term.
This course meets the Social and Behavioral Sciences General Education Requirement.

An introduction to American politics. Focuses upon such topics as ideology, public opinion, political behavior and voting dynamics, political parties, the presidency, Congress, Supreme Court, foreign policy and national defense.

Prerequisite(s): Eligibility for ENG 101 /ENG 101A .

Note: Typically offered at MC and OL; all terms.

Course Outcomes:

Describe factual elements of the U.S. political system
- Describe the basic features of the American political system
- Discuss constitutional government and democratic government
- Distinguish different parts of the Constitution
- Explain cooperative federalism
- Describe the basic tenets of political parties in America
Effectively analyze the U.S. political system
- Describe American political institutions
- Explain the Executive, Judicial and Legislative roles in the United States political system
- Discuss the committee organization of Congress
Interpret political information
- Identify electronic and print sources to gather political information
- Analyze political information from a variety of sources
- Present analysis of political information in either written or electronic format
Discuss political issues, role of social stratification and cultural diversity on American politics and the role of individual citizens in the U.S. political system
- Discuss the effectiveness of the diversity of opinion in the United States
- Explain polls and surveys and their part in political issues
- Describe interest groups and the role they play in political issues
- Discuss why people might participate in politics
Describe linkages between various domains such as arts, science and technology as these relate to public policy
- Describe how public policy might be shaped in the United States
- Discuss the inter-relationship of arts, science and technology and public policy
- Describe the role of political lobbying in relation to public policy
- Describe the role of American citizen in shaping of public policy
Compare the British political system with the U.S. political system
- Describe the major differences between the two political system
- Analyze the effectiveness of each system
- Analyze the impact of each system on world politics
- Analyze the impact of world politics on each system
Analyze American foreign policy
- Describe Foreign policy
- Explain how foreign policy affects United States citizens
- Discuss the role of the State Department
- Discuss the United States and its interaction with International organizations
- Explain how foreign policy affects international politics