This course will be offered during the Spring 2010 semester. The course is open to all majors. Prerequisites: POLS 114 - American Government and Politics. Please email Professor Comparato if you have any questions.
This purpose of this course is to introduce you to civil liberties in the United States, and to investigate how social and political forces play a role in the development of legal doctrine. We will focus primarily on the First, Second, Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments, though we will also discuss the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments as they apply to the right to privacy. Special emphasis will be placed on evaluating how the United States Supreme Court defines, establishes, and protects these liberties through its interpretation of the Constitution. By the end of the course, you will have a greater understanding of the role of the Bill of Rights in American political and social consciousness, and you will emerge with a clearer picture of how Supreme Court interpretations of key provisions of the Constitution affect our political structure and social relationships.
Another primary purpose of this course is to improve your critical reading, writing, and organizational skills. Toward that end, the written assignments and exams will focus on improving proficiency in those areas. You will learn to brief Supreme Court cases, and exams will evaluate your ability to extrapolate from the cases themselves and construct arguments that demonstrate a knowledge of the concepts behind the cases. By completing a research paper, you will cultivate your ability to conduct independent research, construct and support an argument with various types of evidence, and improve your ability to convey complex ideas and information clearly. In addition, emphasis is placed on classroom participation and critical discussion of the readings.
The Spring 2010 syllabus for this course is currently available.
This course will be maintained using Blackboard. The syllabus, course calendar, assignments, message and discussion boards, mail system, grades, and student homepages are available on the course page. For students enrolled in this course, detailed instructions to assist you in creating a Blackboard account can be found here. I am willing to provide information on course content to those outside of Southern Illinois University that express interest. Please email me for more information.
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URL: http://www.siu.edu/scompara/pols433b.html
Last Updated: January 14th, 2010