 Welcome / Introduction  Discuss Summer Assignment and expectations  Discuss Textbooks / Supplemental(s)  Briefly discuss the course 

 No, I am not a monster, promise.  I like to talk about the my family (Wife= Stephanie, Daughter = Scarlett, Baby Z =on his way late fall)  I like to talk about the University of Pittsburgh  I like to talk about politics

 3 parts  If it has a due date, it is to be completed by the due date.!  Expectations: Try your best and expect to revise your work.  Grades should matter to you, they do not matter to me.  I am not Santa Clause, I do not give grades, you will earn your grade.  Questions????

 You will have 2 textbooks  One text per semester (semester = August to December; December to beginning of May).

 Consider by College Board to be one of the most difficult APs that they offer, so expect to work hard.  You could earn 6 college credits  Two separate AP exams 45 minutes 60 multiple choice Qs 100 minutes 4 free response questions

 U.S. Government and Politics  History, Structure, Political Culture, Public Policy, etc.  We will learn to write in a concise manner.  We will learn to interpret data.  We will learn to become critical thinkers.  Issues: Political polarization domestically and globally. Economic instability.

 How do we objectively compare different countries?  Why should we compare other countries?  6 Case Studies  Mexico, Nigeria, Great Britain, Iran, Russia, and China

 President: Felipe Calderon Hinojosa  Major issue: Drug Cartels and the flow of weapons into the country from the United States of America

 President: Goodluck Jonathan  Issues: Religious Divide (50% Muslim, 40% Christian, and 10% Indigenous beliefs)  Top 12 Oil producer in the world.  Liberation groups want international influences removed from the country.

 Head of Government: Prime Minister David Cameron  Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II  Issues: Former colonial / global power that was decimated by two World Wars. Growing number of immigrates from Africa (mainly Muslims that seek religious / political freedom within the boundaries of the United Kingdom)

 Head of State: Ali Khamenei  Head of Government: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  World’s only theocracy  Issues: Youth in country born after 1979 want democratic reforms. Proxy war with the United States.

 Head of State: President Dmitrii Medvedev  Head of Government: Vladimir Putin  Issues: Ethnic division, Struggle to reform after the fall of communism.  Pseudo Democracy, seeks to undermine the United States in global politics.

 Head of Party and State: Hu Jintao  Head of Government: Wen Jiabao  Issues: Political legitimacy in the world. Introducing reformed capitalism. Seeking to become global super-power.