| EUROPEAN UNION RELATIONS | |||||
| Bachelor | TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 | QF-EHEA: First Cycle | EQF-LLL: Level 6 | ||
| Course Code | Course Name | Semester | Theoretical | Practical | Credit | ECTS |
| POL4009 | Advanced Reading on American Government and the Presidential System | Fall | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester. |
| Language of instruction: | English |
| Type of course: | Departmental Elective |
| Course Level: | Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle) |
| Mode of Delivery: | Hybrid |
| Course Coordinator : | Assoc. Prof. ESRA ALBAYRAKOĞLU |
| Recommended Optional Program Components: | None |
| Course Objectives: | This course seeks to exam the theory, history, and politics of the United States of America, as they impact the governance of the country. Students will gain a greater understanding of the forces that shaped how the framework of government was established and has functioned over the past two centuries. Student will acquire a better perspective of the problems, challenges, and future potential of the US. |
|
The students who have succeeded in this course; The students who have succeeded in this course; 1. Identify important historic and contemporary moments impacting the development of the US; 2. Understand the internal forces which have influenced continuity and change in the country; 3. Evaluate the successes and shortcomings of US governments; 4. Assess the future development of the US; 5. Develop competencies with respect to active inquiry and critical thinking. |
| The American Experiment: Exploration of what America means in terms of governance, social beliefs and constructs, behaviors, and traditions; Why Revolution?; The First Attempt: the Articles of Confederation; The Second Attempt: the Constitution; Practical Implementation of the Constitution in the life of America; The Party System and Elections; The Presidency; The Congress; The Courts; Governance in the 19th & 20th Centuries; Obama and Trump Presidencies; 2020 and Beyond. |
| Week | Subject | Related Preparation |
| 1) | The American Experiment - Exploration of what America means in terms of governance, social beliefs and constructs, behaviors, and traditions. | Reading: Singh, Chapter 1 |
| 2) | Why Revolution? - Study of the political, social, economic, and cultural reasons leading to revolution. Examination of the justifications for revolution and independence from England. | Reading: Boyer, Chapter 2 |
| 3) | The First Attempt: The Articles of Confederation - Examination of the first effort to establish a government in the United States after the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. Exploration of the successes and failures of the Articles of Confederation and the issues which led to the search for a new form of government. | Reading: The Articles of Confederation; Federalist 1, 6, 10, & 14 |
| 4) | The Second Attempt: The Constitution - Study of the document which acts as the foundation for currently the longest continuous democratic government in the world. Examination of its features and characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, and positive and negative aspects, as well as the system of governance it established. | Reading: Singh, Chapter 2; Fruchtman, Chapter 1; The Constitution |
| 5) | Practical Implementation - A look at the application of the Constitution in the life of America. | Reading: Fruchtman, Chapter 2; TBD |
| 6) | The Party System and Elections - Examination of the often misconstrued, misunderstood, and misrepresentative of US party system. Study of how political parties function during election cycles. | Stonecash, all chapters; Singh, Chapters 3 & 4 |
| 7) | Midterm | |
| 8) | The Presidency - Study of what has often been called the most powerful job in the world, the Presidency of the United States has undergone many functional changes since the office was established in 1789 | Singh, Chapters 5 & 6; Leuchtenburg, Prologue |
| 9) | The Congress - Exploration of the second of three branches of US government and arguably the most powerful (on paper). Understanding the scope of duties, responsibilities, and obligations, and how these have evolved over 200 years. | Reading: Singh, Chapter 7; Connelly, all chapters |
| 10) | The Courts - Examination of the third branch of government, with the Supreme Court at its top. Study of the development of the courts system at both the state and federal level. | Reading: Singh, Chapter 8; TBD |
| 11) | Governance in the 19th Century - Consideration of how the US was governed during the first 100 years of its existence, the challenges faced as the country developed and expanded, and the solutions (or lack thereof) to problems which manifested. | Reading: Boyer, Chapter 3; Fruchtman, Part 2; Campbell, Chapters 1, 2 & 3 |
| 12) | Governance in the 20th Century - Examination of how the governing of the US differed in the second 100 years of its existence, the challenges of contemporary times, and changes in society, political ideals, and prespectives. | Reading: Boyer, Chapters 6 & 7; Fruchtman, Part 4; Campbell, Chapters 5 & 7 |
| 13) | Barak H. Obama and Donald J. Trump: two unprecedented Presidents - Comparison of the two most recent US presidents, and how they came to occupy the office, and how they governed. | Reading: Campbell, Chapter 11; Hollar, Chapters 3 & 4; Carser, Chapters 7, 8, & 9 |
| 14) | 2020 and Beyond: which direction will American government go - Discussion of where, politically speaking, the US is headed in the near and medium term, and what this means both domestically and internationally. | Reading: TBD |
| Course Notes / Textbooks: | American Constitutional History: A Brief Introduction, Jack Fruchtman (Wiley Blackwell, 2016) American Government and Politics: A Concise Introduction, Robert Singh (Sage Publications: 2003) The Growth of American Government: Governance from the Cleveland Era to the Present, Ballard C. Campbell (Indiana University Press: 2015) American History: A Very Short Introduction, Paul S: Boyer (Oxford University Press, 2012) The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, William E. Leuchtenburg (Oxford University Press: 2015) Understanding American Political Parties: Democratic Ideals, Political Uncertainty, and Strategic Positioning, Jeffrey M. Stonecash (Routledge, 2013) Is Congress Broken?: The Virtues and Defects of Partisanship and Gridlock, William F. Connelly, Jr., John Pitney, Jr., and Gary Schmitt (Brookings Institution Press: 2017) Barak Obama, Sherman Hollar, ed. (Britannica Educational Publishing, 2013) Donald Trump: 45th US President, A.R. Carser (ABDO Publishing, 2016) |
| References: | The United States Declaration of Independence (https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript) The United States Constitution (https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript) The United States Bill of Rights (https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript) The United States Articles of Confederation (https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=3&page=transcript9 The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison; Michael A. Genovese, ed. (Palgrave MacMillan, 2009) Dictionary of American Government and Politics, Duncan Watts (Edinburgh University Press: 2010) Supplemental readings and other media will be assigned on a weekly basis, and can be found via ItsLearning. |
| Semester Requirements | Number of Activities | Level of Contribution |
| Project | 2 | % 30 |
| Midterms | 1 | % 30 |
| Final | 1 | % 40 |
| Total | % 100 | |
| PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK | % 30 | |
| PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK | % 70 | |
| Total | % 100 | |
| Activities | Number of Activities | Workload |
| Course Hours | 13 | 39 |
| Study Hours Out of Class | 13 | 75 |
| Project | 5 | 30 |
| Midterms | 1 | 1.5 |
| Final | 1 | 1.5 |
| Total Workload | 147 | |
| No Effect | 1 Lowest | 2 Low | 3 Average | 4 High | 5 Highest |
| Program Outcomes | Level of Contribution | |
| 1) | To be able to examine, interpret data and assess ideas with the scientific methods in the area of EU studies. | |
| 2) | To be able to inform authorities and institutions in the area of EU studies, to be able to transfer ideas and proposals supported by quantitative and qualitative data about the problems. | |
| 3) | To be introduced to and to get involved in other disciplines that EU studies are strongly related with (political science, international relations, law, economics, sociology, etc.) and to be able to conduct multi-disciplinary research and analysis on European politics. | |
| 4) | To be able to evaluate current news on European Union and Turkey-EU relations and identify, analyze current issues relating to the EU’s politics and policies. | |
| 5) | To be able to use English in written and oral communication in general and in the field of EU studies in particular. | |
| 6) | To have ethical, social and scientific values throughout the processes of collecting, interpreting, disseminating and implementing data related to EU studies. | |
| 7) | To be able to assess the historical development, functioning of the institutions and decision-making system and common policies of the European Union throughout its economic and political integration in a supranational framework. | |
| 8) | To be able to evaluate the current legal, financial and institutional changes that the EU is going through. | |
| 9) | To explain the dynamics of enlargement processes of the EU by identifying the main actors and institutions involved and compare previous enlargement processes and accession process of Turkey. | |
| 10) | To be able to analyze the influence of the EU on political, social and economic system of Turkey. | |
| 11) | To acquire insight in EU project culture and to build up project preparation skills in line with EU format and develop the ability to work in groups and cooperate with peers. | |
| 12) | To be able to recognize theories and concepts used by the discipline of international relations and relate them to the historical development of the EU as a unique post-War political project. |