Course Syllabus
Week 1. September, 2
Introduction to the course.
Week 2. September, 9
The Сultural, Political and Geographical Regions of the USA.
Reading:
• The World Factbook - United States
Week 3. September, 16
The American System of Government. The Basic Constitutional Principles. The Constitutional Framework: Federalism and the Separation of Powers. The System of Checks and Balances.
1. Submit the lecture outline + vocabulary list to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Preparing for the case study
Reading:
• Outline of U.S. Government. Chapter 1 An Enduring document Chapter 2. Explaining the Constitution: the Federalist Papers ch. 3 The Executive branch of government
• The U.S. Constitution: America's Most Important Export (A.P. Blaustein)
• The Constitution of the USA
• The Declaration of Independence
Week 4. September, 23
The Legislative branch. The U.S. Congress
1. Submit the lecture outline + vocabulary list to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Preparing for the case study
Reading:
• Outline of the U.S. Government. Chapter 4. The legislative branch of government
Week 5. September, 30
The President and the Executive Branch. The Judicial Process. Local and State governments. The Structure and Function of the Branches of Local Governments. Using E-government: Effect of Digital Revolution.
1. Submit the lecture outline + vocabulary list to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Preparing for the case study
Reading:
• Outline of U.S. Government. Ch.3. The Executive Branch: Powers of the Presidency
• ch. 5 The Judicial Branch of Government
• ch. 7 A country of many governments
Week 6. October, 7
Political Parties. Election System: Main Principles and Mechanisms. Steps Of The Presidential Election. Congress Election
1. Submit the lecture outline + vocabulary list to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Preparing for the case study
Reading:
• What is the Electoral College?
• Decide who to vote for
References:
• Voting and Election
• Historical Election Results
Week 7. October, 14
Midterm test.
Week 8. October, 21
Group Presentation of your midterm projects (case study)
Week 9. October, 28
The American Identity: Europeans, American Indians, Black Americans, Hispanics, Asians.
1. Lecture outline + vocabulary list submit to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Brainstorming on your presentation problem
Reading:
• Indigenous People in the 21st Century (W. Mankiller)
• U.S. Population: facts and figures
Week 10. November, 11
External Immigration: the Century of Massive Immigration; Main Immigration Acts; Requirements for Naturalization. New Immigration from Asia and Latin America: Multicultural Identity. Internal Migration: Population Distribution and Density; Changing composition of the population; Suburbanization.1. Lecture outline + vocabulary list https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Wording your presentation problem (see the doc inside)
Reading:
• Immigration tim Ieline
• How has U.S. immigration changed
• How the U.S. immigration system works
• The DREAM act and other policies
Week 11. November, 18
Education in the U.S.: Structure, Principles, Standards, Reforms and Progress. American Universities. The Impact of New Technologies on American Education. The Role of Community Colleges in the U.S. Higher Education
1. Lecture outline + vocabulary list https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Gathering info on your problem and preparing the presentation
Reading:
• Higher Education in the USA
• Study in the USA
• The historical timeline of the public education in the USA
• USA school system
Week 12. November, 25
Mass Media: Principles Of Journalism, Newspapers And Magazines, Commercial And Non-Commercial TV Stations, The FCC Regulations. From Citizen Journalism To User-Generated Content
1. Lecture outline + vocabulary list https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Gathering info on your problem and preparing the presentation
• The Mass Media in the USA
Week 13. December, 2
American English: History, Major Dialects, Variations, Influences, National Standards, Race And Language
1. Lecture outline + vocabulary list https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Gathering info on your problem and preparing the presentation
Reading:
• How American Democracy has Modified the English Language (A. de Tocqueville)
• A National Map of the Regional Dialects of American English (W. Labov, S. Ash, C. Boberg)
• Spanglish: Speaking la Lengua Loca (I. Stavans)
Week 14. December, 9
GROUP PRESENTATION of Your Final Project+ Colloquium
1. Lecture outline + vocabulary list https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dipH67WValizqFmMNLxPrT9CMQdvo7ul?usp=sharing
2. Getting ready for your presentation and colloquium
Week 15. December, 16
Final Test.
Week 16. December, 23
Course reflection.
