Assignment for Monday, 11/3

Please note that there is no class on Wednesday, 10/29 (Advisement Day). For next Monday, read -- and, if you'd like, summarize -- Chapter 10 in Shively, "Elections."

Assignment for Monday, 10/27

A reminder: you'll watch the rest of the film in class on Wednesday, 10/22. For the following Monday, please read Chapter 9 in Shively, "Constitutions and the Design of Government." Feel free to summarize.

No Assignment for Monday, 10/20

There is no assignment for next week (enjoy a respite after the mid-term). Instead, we'll be watching Michael Moore's new film, "Slacker Uprising." We'll watch the bulk of the film on Monday, and then finish it off and discuss it on Wednesday.

Mid-Term Exam - Wednesday, 10/15

Please remember that your mid-term exam is scheduled for next Wednesday. (There is no class Monday due to the holiday.) For your mid-term, you will be randomly assigned two of the following four questions:

1. How did Aristotle arrive at what he considers to be the best kind of regime? Do you agree with his choice? Why or why not?
2. Why is authority such an important source of power? How do governments establish authority?
3. What makes being a citizen in a democracy more difficult than in other forms of government? What consequences does this have for democratic government?
4. In what ways are conservatism and socialism reactions to, and criticisms of, liberalism?

Remember also that you can bring ONE 3x5" INDEX CARD with you into the exam. (Do NOT try to take advantage of this; use the card for essay outlines.) Happy studying.

Assignment for Monday, 10/6

For next week, read Umberto Eco's short essay, "Eternal Fascism:Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt," available here. (FYI, Italian fascist groups were often known as "blackshirts.")

Not only should you feel free to summarize this reading, but please remember that this is your LAST CHANCE for a SECOND SUMMARY (you need to have completed two by the midterm).