West Hills High School

Mrs. Robin Ballarin

AP Government and Politics

2003-04

Students taking Advanced Placement Government and Politics should check here for assignments, readings, helpful links and other information that will assist them in their studies.

What is Political Science?

Politics has been defined in terms of governance, power, and as the authoritative allocation of values, and, even who gets what, when, and how. But no simple definition can capture the broad range of subject matter that is included in political science. You can get some idea of the scope of the discipline from the four main subfields that make up the undergraduate curriculum: Political Theory, Comparative Government International Relations, and American Government.

Political scientists study topics such as the exercise of power and influence; sources and resolution of conflicts; the relationship of politics to the economy, culture, and other aspects of society; the adoption and implementation of public policies; and the development of political systems. These topics are studied at all levels, from local communities to the global community.

However politics is defined, it is clear that actions in the political arena have vital effects on our lives, liberties, and well-being. From this standpoint, political science deals with how we reach the collective decisions that shape our common fate.

AP Test review site: Go here to get the latest and greatest in test review!!

Course of Study and Reading Assignments--Revised 02/20/04

How to Get Your Grades On Line

How will I be graded on projects?

eBackPack: Get important stuff like powerpoints and newsflashes from your teacher here. Go into Mrs. Ballarin's Public Folder to find the stuff. Her eBackpack is rbu802

Congress and Jurdiciary PowerPoints are in my e-backpack in my "Public" folder

Readings	Documents	Lecture Notes
Pluralism The Power Elite Political Culture Political Participation Interest Groups Political Parties Campaigns and Elections The Media Congress The Presidency Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget The Bureaucracy The Judiciary	The Federalist Papers - # 10 The Federalist Papers - # 15 The Federalist Papers - # 36 The Federalist Papers - # 37 The Federalist Papers - # 39 The Federalist Papers - # 46 The Federalist Papers - # 47 The Federalist Papers - # 51 The Federalist Papers - # 78 The Federalist Papers - # 79 Documents Library	The American Political System The Constitution Federalism Economic Policy Political Culture Public Opinion and Political Ideology Political Particpation Interest Groups Political Parties Elections and Campaigns The Media Congress The Presidency The Bureaucracy The Judiciary

News Organizations and Publications	Government Sites
CNN - Cable New Network - "All New All The Time!" C- Span - Public Affairs Coverage - "All Congress, All the Time!" .. a.p. pun! USA Today - National News, often has great charts and graphs... dubious writing. Roll Call - Plug into Congress Online! What the insiders read. The Hill - More Washington reporting The New York Times - "All the news that's fit to print." The Washington Post - The second best paper in America, though I'm sure some would argue. Newsweek - Terrific national news magazine. Political focus. Congressional Quarterly - Guess what its about yet??	THOMAS - The official website of the Congress of the United States. A massive site with information galore and tons of links to other government sites. Library of Congress Home Page Fed World - A world of information and links about the Federal Government. Key word searchable. The White House - George and Laura are bored, drop them an e-mail!! The United States Senate - See what your Senators are doing. The United States House of Representatives - See what your Representatives are doing. Supreme Court Supreme Court Cases National Archives California State homepage
Political Science Sites	Other Sites of Interest
PoliSci.com - Amazing source of information. Part pay site, also has free information in the almanac and tons of great links. This the the Home Depot of political science!! This list on PoliSci.com has all the interest groups in the US that have web sites. Click here. Political Source Net. Political Source Net is a resource to support all Houghton Mifflin Political Science textbooks. Each unit contains a document archive, several Internet activities, and a list of links for further exploration. Project Vote Smart - Much info on government! Teach Politics - Images of Political History Political Science Virtual Library - Some of the political science resources that are available on the internet. Hieros Gamos - The Comprehensive Law and Government Portal.	American Political System - Posc 105 - Dr. H.T. Reynolds, Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware Cathedral H.S. AP Government - This site has excellent class notes in outline form. Visit here to get notes that complement your studies. Political Philosophy Home Page - Marx, Hegel, Machiavelli, Rousseau, Kant, Locke.. they may be dead but their ideas live on... here! The Political Graveyard - - Perhaps this will pique your rather morbid curiosity. The College Board Online. Sample questions and essay grading suggestions. The online store is also a good source for review materials.

The Republicans	The Democrats	The "I hope I can get the Reform Party nomination" guys.
George W. Bush	www.cspan.org -- follow links to "2004 Vote"	Harry Browne - Libertarian Party Pat Buchanan - who the heck knows!

This site was guided by the talents and knowledge of David Miller, teacher extroidinaire of Lake Forest High School, Buffalo, New York. Mrs. Ballarin gratefully acknowledges his complete generosity of spirit in sharing his expertise.