Exam #1 Review

POLS 220

BERCH

SPRING 14

 

Review for Exam #1

 

Exam #1 takes place during class time on Monday, February 3.  You simply need to bring pen and photo ID.  The exam will consist of 5 sections; 4 of these will be short essays, and the other will be 5 true-false questions.  Each section is worth 5 points, and you must do a total of 3 sections (either 3 short essays, or two short essays and all of the true-false).  DO THREE SECTIONS, BUT ONLY THREE SECTIONS.

To prepare for the exam, you should read through the blog assignments, In terms of material covered in class, you should be familiar with the first set of lecture notes.  Specifically, from class, you should be familiar with:
Why we compare states.

The three types of political culture.

The origins of the federal system.

The major events in the development of federalism over time.

The different types of fiscal federalism.

The importance of conditions of aid.

The changes to fiscal federalism under Ronald Reagan.

Why some states get more federal aid than do others.

The interaction between Dillon's Rule and Home Rule
Why some states give more power to local government than do others.

The role of regional bodies.

I will have my usual office hours on the day of the exam, in case you want to ask questions.  You can also email them to me at the email address on the syllabus, until 9 pm on February 2.  Finally, you may post questions to the blog under this topic.  I’ll answer any questions posted on the blog by 8 pm on February 2.  Good luck!--NB

First Exam Postponed Until February 3

Hi, everyone!  I messed up in two ways:
1.  I didn't realize I'd scheduled exam #1 for next Wednesday until someone pointed it out today after class.
2.  I compounded that error by consulting the syllabus and informing that student that the exam wasn't until February 12 (I was looking at the syllabus for my other class).

Together with the time missed for last week's holiday, I am postponing the exam until Monday, February 3.  I'll talk more about it in class on Monday, and there will be a review and a review sheet on Wednesday, January 29.  Sorry for any inconvenience.--NB

Blog Assignment #2 Due January 27

Hi, everyone!  Congratulations to all of you who posted to the comments section on the introductory blog post.  Each of you gets two points toward your final grade.  Some of you posted multiple times, perhaps because you went to the blog and didn't see your post. 

For this first "real" assignment, you should address a simple question:  should departments (let's say journalism, but if you're in another major, you're welcome to use that) require students to take POLS 220?  Be sure to consider the benefits of studying state and local government, but also the tradeoff between this requirement and some other course that you might not take because you have to take POLS 220. Is there another course outside your major that your major should require instead of POLS 220?  If so, why?  In answering the question, feel free to use my lecture from last week, your own considered views, and, especially, any outside sources you wish to bring in.  You get half a point simply for signing in to the comments section.  You can earn up to 3 points (pretty rare) for this week's assignment by providing more substance.  Better answers will be well-developed (though they need not be long), will consider the comments of your colleagues (it's OK to disagree with one another; just don't be disagreeable!; and it's OK to respond to comments after others make them.  Better answers may also bring up outside sources (feel free to leave a link). 

Good luck on this assignment; it's due by 2:00 pm on Monday, January 27.  If you have problems with it, please email at berchnorto@msn.com  Good luck!--Neil Berch

Welcome to the Spring 2014 POLS 220 blog!

Hi, everyone, and welcome to the POLS 220 blog for Spring, 2014.  Please test out the blog comments by sending a comment.  Make sure to sign your name.  Do this by 2:00 pm on Wednesday, January 15, and you will receive two points toward your blog participation grade.--Neil Berch
P.S.  If you post a comment and then go to the blog to see it but don't see it, please don't just post again.  Please note that after the first 50 or so comments, you need to click the button at the bottom that says "Load More" in order to see more comments.  That feature tricked me, too.  If you run into problems, email me at berchnorto@msn.com