California Politics

Instructor information

Jose Marichal, Ph.D.
California Lutheran University
Department of Political Science
E-mail: marichal@callutheran.edu
Office: Swenson 228

COURSE GOALS

States and localities in the United States are often referred to as “laboratories of democracy.” This is because of the great latitude that the U.S. Constitution gives to the American states to develop solutions to their problems (education, health care, crime, the environment, growth and sprawl, etc.). This freedom brings both opportunities and challenges (after all, laboratory experiments often fail!) For citizens, it provides real opportunities to affect change through citizen activism and social advocacy. The American federalist structure gives citizens the opportunity to have an impact on important policy issues.

No state provides more opportunities for citizen change than California. With its diverse population, unique history, and unusually populist governing process, California is a land of both promise and challenges. The promise of California is its incredible dynamism and energy. The state often sets the trends in policy innovation and structural reforms. The challenge is in getting the members of this multi-ethnic, multi-cultural state to work together to solve collective problems.

This course will look at the politics of states and localities using California as a reference point. The course has two main objectives. First is to understand the basics of California state and local government with particular emphasis on how political culture and institutions impact policy outcomes. The second is to study different approaches to citizen activism and social advocacy through formulating and conducting an activist campaign around a social issue.

This course will address the following CLU General Education Goals:

• Written and Oral Communication Skills
• Understanding of Cultural and Global Diversity
• Critical Thinking
• Service to the Community

This course will address the following Political Science Department Goals:

• Critical Thinking
• Civic Engagement

In this course, students are expected to:

• employ different theoretical approaches towards understanding California Politics.
• exhibit critical thinking and effective writing skills by incorporating course readings into reflective essay assignments
• demonstrate the ability to work with other students in groups to present information.
• show an ability to find, evaluate, use and communicate information in both oral and written formats.

CLASS REQUIREMENTS

Any aspect of this syllabus can be changed by the instructor at his discretion.

Readings for the day need to be completed prior to class times, as class activities, discussions, and quizzes will primarily draw upon assigned readings.

Classroom Environment: Talking, working, and thinking with others are large parts of this class. We will get into discussions about some controversial subjects. I encourage expressions of opinions (myself included), but there are some classroom boundaries. Our class will be a safe place. That is to say, we will all treat each other in a respectful manner. Translation: rude interruptions, hurtful insults (including racial, gender, sexuality, etc. slurs), and personal attacks will not be tolerated. You may not always be comfortable with the topics, and by no means are you expected to approve of everything we discuss.

Accommodations: California Lutheran University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with various documented disabilities (physical, learning, or psychological). If you are a student requesting accommodations for this course, please contact your professor at the beginning of the semester and register with the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities (Pearson Library, Center for Academic Resources, Ext. 3260) for the facilitation and verification of need. Faculty will work closely together with you and your coordinator to provide necessary accommodations.

Technology: There is no ban on technology in the classroom, but I as the instruction reserve the right to alter the policy if I feel the classroom dynamic is being negatively impacted by the inappropriate use of technology. Technology in the classroom should be used to supplement your learning, not to detract from it. If you are found repeatedly using technology in ways that harm the class dynamic, your devices will be banned from the course.

Academic Honesty: Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class. According to the CLU student handbook, plagiarism occurs “whenever a source of any kind has not been acknowledged.” With respect to my policy, let me be clear – you will receive and F in the course if you take material from the Internet and insert it into any written work as your own without giving credit to the person who wrote it. Those found violating the CLU code on academic dishonesty in any way will receive an F in the class.

Assignments: All quizzes, exams, activities, and papers must be turned in on time: no make-ups will be given, and no re-writes will be offered. If an assignment is of the take-home variety, it must be typed, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins all around, spell-checked, grammar-checked, and demonstrate correct citation and bibliographic format. Late take-home assignments will not be graded unless you have documentation of an emergency. Missed quizzes will be marked down as zeroes

Attendance: There is no mandatory attendance policy in this course. However, your presence in the classroom is particularly essential for creating a productive learning culture. This is especially true on days where your fellow students are leading discussions or giving presentations. As such, I will factor attendance on “debate fridays” in consideration of extra credit. Regular attendance (no more than three friday absences) will enable you to earn up to three extra credit points. If a student has more than three friday absences, they will not be eligible for extra credit.

Extra Credit: Students in this course are eligible to earn up to three points of extra credit by attending campus events that are relevant to the subject we are studying and writing a one page reflection paper.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

Your grade will come from the following assignments:

Oxford Debates (15 points)

Teams of two or three students will debate another team on a topic relevant to the course. One group will offer a proposition and the second group will oppose the proposition. Each member will be assigned a role (opening speaker, second speaker, summator). The proposing team will use supported arguments to make their case and the opposing team will endeavor to refute these arguments with evidence. At the conclusion of the debate, the audience will ask questions to clarify the proposition and opposition points. Teams will hand in types double spaced notes detailing the arguments they will present at the end of the class.

Service/Experiential Portfolio (15 points)

Students will be required to complete a service learning portfolio that will include a mix of options that will be more clearly delineated as the semester progresses. These will include attending a public meeting, arranging a service learning/activism experience for the class, or arranging for a guest speaker to meet with the class via skype or in person.

Community Participation (20 points)

Part of your grade will come from your level of engagement with the readings. I will ask you to post a one paragraph critical responses to the readings/films on Monday and Wednesday during the semester. (Google+ Participation)

Take Home Exam (20 points)

We will complete our consideration of California Political dynamics with one take home exam in which you will be asked to apply the theories and concepts learned to current issues related to California Politics. The essay exam will be worth 20 points.

Regional Activism Project (30 points)

The final project will require you to pick a region of California and conduct a detailed political/policy analysis of an issue that affects the region you selected. This will involve soliciting input from and gathering information on local/state/national decision makers, interest groups businesses, affected citizens and community organizations. The report should include: a statement of the problem you are examining and the goal for your paper, a discussion of the the current conditions in your area, an examination of why things are the way they are, and a presentation of a solution to this problem. In addition, you will develop a plan early in the semester for engaging in some form of social activism around the issue. You will be required to engage in some form of activism, whether that means attending a public meeting, being part of a protest, organizing a campus event around the issue, etc.

You will present the results of this activism in a 5-10 minute presentation during the end of the semester. This final paper and the presentation will be worth a combined 30 points (20 points from the paper and 10 points from the presentation). At the end of the semester, we will invite representatives of the community group to the class to hear you give a presentation on the results of the project. The project report must be at least 15 typed, double-spaced, pages long. It must be clearly organized and written so as to be useful to the affected community. You should ask members of the community partners for feedback on different stages of the report. Ideally, the final product will be sent to a relevant community agency.

Assignments Summary

• Oxford Debate = 15 points
• Service/Experiential Learning Assignment = 15 points
• Google/Community = 20 points
• Take Home Exams = 20 points
• Final Project = 30 points

REQUIRED TEXTS

All Readings On-Line

LIST OF READINGS

Section 4: Policy Issues