This document provides information about an American National Government course being offered over the summer. The course will meet Monday through Thursday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm in Reinbolt 004. The instructor is Timothy L. Powell and his contact information is provided. The required textbooks are listed. The course description explains that the class is a survey of the US national government and is intended to provide an understanding of its foundations, constitution, processes and major institutions. Assignments include weekly Blackboard discussion posts, chapter summaries every other week, and a final 5-7 page paper assessing the relevance of The Prince in today's political world. The grading breakdown and tentative schedule are also outlined.

1. American National Government
PO 1311
Monday – Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Summer I
Reinbolt 004
Timothy L. Powell
St. Louis Hall 319
Office Hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00 – 12:00 noon
Also by appointment
(210) 436 – 3110
tpowell1@stmarytx.edu
Textbooks
AMGOV 2009, Ralph Baker and Joseph Losco, McGraw-Hill Publishing, 2009
The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli – whatever edition is in the bookstore
PLEASE NOTE, BOTH OF THESE BOOKS ARE REQUIRED
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is a survey of the national government of the United States. It is designed to provide
the student with an understanding of the foundations, constitutions and processes of their
national government. The major institutions of the government will be examined in order to gain
a more thorough understanding of how it works, the significant role people play in the political
system, and the consequences and benefits of a democratic political system. Issues such as the
role and influence of the media will also be studied as will the current state of US foreign and
defense policy.
I hope that at the end of this brief summer session you will better understand the role of
government and how it directly affects your life, the lives around you and the world at large.
Assignments
Blackboard discussion forum – Use of the Blackboard discussion forum will be counted as part
of your participation grade. Every week I will post several questions from readings assigned on
the syllabus. I do not expect you to answer every single one of them, but I do expect students to
answer more than one or two. I encourage all students to comment on their classmates answers
and engage with one another in online discussions. Students will be able to go back and further
discuss their answers during the course of the class. I will also let students go back to earlier
chapters throughout the semester and post answers or updates if they wish.
Chapter Summaries – Every week, students are expected to complete summaries on the
previous weeks readings. I realize that this is a shortened semester and the topics can be rather
dense. I do not want or expect a word for word summarization however. Condense the chapters
and include what YOU find important. Grading will be based in part upon the thoroughness of

2. the writing and the correct use of grammar and punctuation. These summarizations should be 5
pages long, no more, no less.
Final paper – The final will consist of a short (5 to 7 pages) paper in part based upon the book
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. Students will assess if the book remains relevant in today’s
political world. Further instructions will be provided through Blackboard as the semester
progresses.
EXTRA CREDIT - There will be opportunities throughout the semester for extra credit. I will
alert you to these opportunities through blackboard and provide you with instructions.
Grading
Blackboard discussion participation – 25%
Chapter Summaries – 60%, or 15% each (4x15 = 60)
Final paper – 15%
The following grading system is to be strictly followed:
A = 100-90 B = 89-80 C = 79-70 D = 69-60 F = 59 and below
Tentative Schedule
WEEK ONE – May 26 - May 28
AMGOV Chapters 2, 3, 4
WEEK TWO – June 1 – June 5
AMGOV Chapters 5, 6, 7
Chapter summary #1 (Chapters 2, 3, 4) due in the office by 12 noon, Friday June 5
WEEK THREE – June 8 – June 12
AMGOV Chapters 8, 9, 11
Chapter summary #2 (Chapters 5, 6, 7) due in the office by 12 noon, Friday June 12
WEEK FOUR – June 15 – June 19
AMGOV Chapters 12, 13, 14
Chapter summary #3 (Chapters 8, 9, 11) due in the office by 12 noon, Friday June 19
WEEK FIVE – June 22 – June 26
AMGOV Chapters 15, 16
Chapter summary #4 (Chapters 12, 13, 14) due in the office by 12 noon, Friday June 26
WEEK SIX – June 29 – July 2
The Prince Paper due in the office by 12 noon, Thursday, July 2

3. Other class policies
Late assignments will only be permitted for a medically excused reason (a physician’s note is the
only accepted form of documentation) or other extenuating circumstances to be discussed
between the student and instructor.
All students should acquaint themselves with the University’s policy concerning plagiarism (an
online copy of the Student Handbook can be found at: http://www.stmarytx.edu/handbook/). If
an assignment is plagiarized in part or in full, the assignment will receive a failing grade and the
incident will be reported to the Dean of the School of Humanities, Dr. Janet Dizinno. We will
spend a bit of class time reviewing academic honesty.