This course provides an introduction to U.S. political behaviour and institutions. We will discuss the design and rationale for the U.S. political system and the implications it has for both citizen involvement and governing. We will also examine how reforms to governmental institutions and processes influence the way citizens interact with government. Throughout the course we will make comparisons between the U.S. system and other democracies around the world.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. understand and explain the American political system and its institutions, public opinion and elections; 
2. integrate evidence from different sources in order to generalise about American politics and behaviour; 
3. analyse and critique the consequences of America’s unique design; and 
4. evaluate how political attitudes and behaviour are affected by institutional arrangements.

Required Resources

Cal Jillson. 2025. American Government: Constitutional Democracy Under Pressure. 3rd Edition. Routledge.

Note, an acceptable alternative (and the required text in previous versions of this class) is

Cal Jillson. 2025. American Government: Political Development and Institutional Change. 13th Edition. Routledge.

Constitutional Democracy Under Pressure is shorter version of Political Development and Institutional Change , with a slightly different thematic focus. Printed copies for both editions are produced in Australia as Print-on-demand, so must be individually ordered, with electronic versions available on VitalSource. The primary issue with Constitutional Democracy Under Pressure is that its release date is 5 days before lecture 1, which may delay physical copies of the book. Electronic copies should be available to rent or buy by the beginning of the semester.

A few other readings (for example, from The Federalist Papers or from key Anti-Federalists) are listed in the schedule on Wattle. There will be other required readings each week, which will be available on Wattle and announced the previous week (or earlier).

Recommended Resources

We will also watch segments of the PBS documentary Vote for Me: Politics in America (1996), including the entirety of Part 4. The following links will be available through Wattle, but here are the transcripts for purposes of post-viewing study:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (The Political Education of Maggie Lauterer)

The textbooks required in previous years will both be held on reserve at Chifley Library:

Ken Kollman.  2017.  The American Political System. Core 3rd Edition.  W.W. Norton & Company. Also on reserve: 2nd edition 2014 election update.

Samuel Kernell, Gary C. Jacobson, Thad Kousser and Lynn Vavreck.  2018. The Logic of American Politics, 8^thedition. CQ Press. Also on reserve: 7th edition (2016) and 6th edition (2014).

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

•  written comments, with occasional feedback to the whole class
• verbal feedback is available through individual meeting.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

The information published in this Class Summary may be subject to change, any changes in assessments or other course details will be communicated via Wattle and during the first week of the Semester. Any questions or concerns should be raised with the course convenor/lecturer as soon as possible.

Appeals Procedures

http://cass.anu.edu.au/current-students/rules-and-policies/appeals

If you genuinely believe you have received an inappropriate or incorrect result, there are steps you can take to have that result reviewed. This must be done within 30 working days of the formal notification of results. Your first point of contact should always be your tutor or the course convenor.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction
2	Constitution and Bill of Rights
3	Federalism
4	NO LECTURE
5	Judiciary	Essay with notes due
6	Congress
7	Presidency and Bureaucracy
8	NO LECTURE
9	Public Opinion
10	Presidential and Congressional Elections
11	Civil Rights	Group Project due (Group and Individual assessment, group documents)
12	Political Parties and Interest Groups; Conclusions on the State of American Democracy

Tutorial Registration

Register for tutorial on MyTimetable.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Essay	25 %	21/03/2025	14/04/2025	1, 2, 3, 4
Group Project	30 %	16/05/2025	06/06/2025	1, 2, 3, 4
Final Exam	35 %	*	*	1, 2, 3, 4
Tutorial Participation	10 %	*	*	1, 2, 3, 4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Essay

The student must write an essay (1000-1500 words). Guidelines for the essay will be issued at the beginning of the course. The essay is due Friday 21 March at 4pm. The student will also be required to keep and submit notes in preparation for the essay. Guidelines and suggestions for notes will be included with the essay guidelines.

Assessment Task 2

Group Project

Students will complete a group project resulting in an essay (1750-2500 words) explaining the failure or passage of an important policy recently in American politics. This project will include an assessment of the overall group essay (20%) as well as an assessment of individual contribution (10%), for a total of 30%. Each member of the group will receive the same mark on the overall assessment of the group essay. Along with the essay, the group must also submit of a set of group documents (such as group meeting minutes) that will be specified in the guidelines of the project. For the individual assessment, each individual student group member will be nominated to be in charge of a specific section of the group essay. Other group members may contribute to that section, but the nominated student will be responsible for the section and will receive the mark for that section as an individually assessed mark. Guidelines for the project will be issued early in the course, as will the list of the approved topics. Groups will be based within tutorials, and have dedicated meeting times during tutorial sessions. The group project is due Friday 16 May at 4pm. 

Assessment Task 3

Final Exam

The final exam will consist of short answer and short essay questions and will be held during the examination period, scheduled by timetabling. The exam will be in person.

Assessment Task 4

Tutorial Participation

Participation is based on your involvement in group exercises and discussions during tutorial, based on the lectures of the week and/or assigned readings.  Your worst two scores will be dropped. Some of these sessions will be devoted entirely or in part to the group project. The preliminary schedule anticipates 10 tutorial sessions, with no meeting in weeks 1 and 12, and group project meetings during these sessions in weeks 4, 6, 8 and 10, but a final schedule for tutorials will be confirmed during week 1 lecture and on Wattle.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations. Where late submission is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Returning Assignments

Assignments will be handed back in class (hard copy submission) or reported, with comments, on Wattle (online submission).

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Assignments may not be resubmitted. 

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students