1. Agenda  Quick-write  Syllabus review  Public Opinion  Political Ideology ◦ Framework ◦ Trends  Who are Conservatives and Liberals? Take out:  Pen/Pencil  Paper Homework:  Pages 200-210 in textbook  Continue study guide questions  Parent signature on syllabus

2.  Which would you consider yourself to be? ◦ Radical Liberal ◦ Liberal ◦ Moderate Liberal ◦ Moderate Conservative ◦ Conservative ◦ Radical Conservative  How did you get that way? What brought you to that point? What has influenced you to think in such a way?  Write a brief explanation

3.  Teaching Approach: A College Experience  More than ever before, this means that you must strive to meet the principles of good scholarship:  Responsibility  Initiative  Leadership

4.  TAKING RESPONSIBILITY  ◦ keeping current with all readings and assignments. (we move fast, you get behind— hard to catch up. Not everything covered in class.) ◦ Just as in college, your instructor will not remind you, nag you or plead with you to get things done. That’s your job.

5.  TAKING INITIATIVE  ◦ to go beyond ideas and information presented in the class or text ◦ to share with class ◦ to ask the questions that need to be asked ◦ to work with me to help clarify confusing ideas (and Comparative Politics is full of them)

6.  Finally, students in a college class are expected to exert a certain degree of LEADERSHIP  ◦ you are responsible for your education, and you can help others learn ◦ USE EACH OTHER!

7.  2 hours and 25 minutes long  45 minute multiple choice section (60 questions)  100 minute free-response section (4 questions)  You will be taking at least three practice exams this semester

8. 1. Political Beliefs and Behaviors (Chapters 6, 7 and 10)  Political Socialization, Citizen Attitudes, Public Opinion, Voting Patterns, Mass Politics and Protest 2. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Media (Chapters 8, 9, 11)  Political Parties (functions, history, organization), Elections and the Electoral Process, Interest Groups, and Political Action Committees (PACs) 3. Constitutional Foundations (Chapters 1-3) 4. The Institutions of the American National Government (Chapters 12-14, 16)  Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy, Courts 5. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (Chapters 4-5)  Bill of Rights, Role of the Judiciary in the Development of the Meaning of Rights, Minority and Special Group Rights

9.  The reading is the major expectation of the course. ◦ To be successful, students must complete assigned readings on time. This gives us all a common starting place to launch into deeper, more meaningful discussions.  learn more ◦ I will not cover basic ideas that you’ve read; Some things will ONLY come from the text. ◦ If you’re not reading, I can’t clarify what you have questions on ◦ And the class as a whole will be held back.

10.  Read through the ENTIRE syllabus  Have a parent do the same  Read and sign the statement  The slip on the last page is due FRIDAY

11.  When we study what Americans believe, why we believe what we do, and how we formed our beliefs, we study PUBLIC OPINION  According to the reading, what makes studying public opinion difficult to do/understand?

12.  Complexity of public opinion comes from: ◦ Diversity ◦ Various issues ◦ Different “publics” ◦ Un-informed public ◦ Interest groups ◦ Individual opinion and experience

13.  Return to your quick-write  Based on your response, what sort of things influence public opinion?  School  Family  Media

14.  The Family, Media and School are aspects of Political Socialization ◦ The process by which people acquire their political beliefs  Political beliefs may also be influenced by a “formative political event” – something specific that draws an individual to politics ◦ For example: the death of Princess Di, the war in Iraq, the occupy Wall Street movement  What is your earliest political memory?

15.  Political socialization and political opinion shape an individual’s view of government, or their political ideology  Political Ideology: A set of political beliefs and values about the goals of government or what government should be doing.  Political Ideology is a spectrum…

17.  Public Opinion analysts can often guess your political ideology just by finding out where you are from and what your parents think about politics  If that is combined with a profile of your social group characteristics (such as gender, age, religion, race, social class, and educational level), your political attitudes can often be predicted.  Traditionally in America, we really have just two ideological positions about what government should be doing: ◦ Liberals/ Conservatives

18.  By looking at WHO votes Conservative and WHO votes Liberal, we will fit them into the spectrum of American Political Ideologies by seeing what they want government to be doing.  One form of expressing public opinion is through voting so a way to find out what different groups of Americans want from government is to study demographic trends to see how people vote  This activity will introduce you to demographic data regarding ideologies