Welcome To The Law of Politics: The Legal Structure of American Democracy
FALL 2022 Wagner 101 Course website: http://sites.la.utexas.edu/lawofpolitics/.
Overview
This course is for students with a variety of interests including students who are interested in some of the core issues of “retail” politics, students who want to become political practitioners or are political junkies, government majors, students who want a little taste of what law school might be like, future government teachers, and students interested in some of the most difficult current theoretical and philosophical issues at the intersection of law and politics.
There are many ways to conceptualize the structure of this course. One way is to see it as being about the way institutional structures affect or cause results in our political system, e.g. how requiring a voter i.d. law may affect the outcome of elections. From another viewpoint, it is a course in constitutional and statutory interpretation with the subject matter being elections and electoral law. From still another point of view it is about what structures and processes are necessary or sufficient to create the American form of republican government. Of course, that also requires constantly defining what is “republican government.”
As you go through the course, you might develop your own conceptual framework for organizing the course material. Keep in mind underlying this course will be some basic questions about liberty, equality, political processes, representation, civic virtue and many other issues of political theory. Often these concepts are deeply embedded in a judge or justice’s view of the more mundane case issues without being articulated. As you go through the readings, films and other course material, try to bring these issues to light and always work on seeing the complex interrelationships and interstices between and among the various course materials.
This course is a discussion course, not a lecture course. Students are expected to prepare for each day’s assignments so they can discuss the assigned material in class. There is no way to be highly successful in this course without such preparation.
Course Goals
There are five major goals for this course:
- To identify and understand the major themes and controversies relating to legal aspects of elections.
- To better understand those parts of our Constitution relating to voting and elections
- To better understand the development of the the VRA, The Voting Rights Act, and related legislation
- To have students develop a high level of skill in reading, briefing and understanding Supreme Court opinions, with special attention on what questions to ask when reading an opinion.
- To raise participants’ “cultural literacy” about the legal structure of our democracy and our Republican form of government.
Course Requirements
- 3 hours exams approximately 65%(40% objective,60% essay)
- 2 papers 3-4 pages approximately 20%
- Class attendance and participation approximately 15%This course will be graded with “+” and “-” grades.
Who Should Not Take This Course?
Anyone prone to putting everything off until the exam and not being willing to keep up with daily assignment– that is unrepentant and unchangeable PROCRASTINATORS.
How Can Students Make This Course Easier?
Spend all the time necessary in the first few weeks to do good to excellent briefs and put together a study group. Students have found that study groups of 4 to 8 classmates are extremely helpful in mastering this course. Forming one is strongly encouraged and could viewed as a necessity. These groups will help your daily preparation and preparation for exams.
Prizes
It is Dr. Sager’s custom to award prizes for various achievements in this course. In the past these achievement have included the best paper for each assignment, the best score on each exam, the most improvement from one exam to the next, and the highest average for the semester. For the highest individual exam scores the prizes are things like A Supreme Court coffee mug, Supreme Court beer mug, or other Supreme Court memorabilia. For the highest average, the prize is an engraved plaque with a gavel and the Supreme Court seal and a signed copy of Clarence Thomas’s autobiography, My Grandfather’s Son, acknowledging this winner.
Office Hours and Locations
Office Hours:
Monday and Wednesday, 1:15-2:15 in Texas Union. Weather permitting on the Patio. Otherwise in the dining area.
Wednesday after class at the Cactus Cafe in the Union starting around 4 p.m. till ??
Occasionally Cactus Cafe closes early because of setup for musician later that night. Location for that day will be
discussed in class.
T.A.
Dr. Sager will have Ben Schwabe as the TA for the course this semester. His office hours will be posted during the 1st class.
Communicating With Dr. Sager Outside of Class
Email: amsag@utexas.edu or if a problem with U.T. email address use: class@alansager.com
Phone: Best not to leave a phone message in his Mezes office. Also send emails
directly to Dr. Sager’s email address. Using Canvas slows down the response process.
If absolutely necessary he can be reached at 5127517020
Website Will Be Updated Throughout Semester
Through out semester assignments may be updated or tweaked. Articles will be added to the Current News and
Opinion Section on the home page
Important Noted And Addendums
- Note: Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259, http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/ Please let me know what accommodations are needed as early in the semester as possible
- Class Recordings: Class recordings are reserved only for students in this class for educational purposes and
- Sharing of Course Materials is Prohibited: No materials used in this class, including, but not limited to, lecture hand-outs, videos, assessments (quizzes, exams, papers, projects, homework assignments), in-class materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets, may be shared online or with anyone outside of the class unless you have my explicit, written permission. Unauthorized sharing of materials promotes cheating. It is a violation of the University’s Student Honor Code and an act of academic dishonesty. I am well aware of the sites used for sharing materials, and any materials found online that are associated with you, or any suspected unauthorized sharing of materials, will be reported to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students. These reports can result in sanctions, including failure in the course
- Information regarding safety protocols with and without symptoms can be found her
- Students are encouraged to participate in documented daily symptom screening. This means that each class day in which on-campus activities occur, students must upload certification from the symptom tracking app and confirm that they completed their symptom screening for that day to Canvas. Students should not upload the results of that screening, just the certificate that they completed it. If the symptom tracking app recommends that the student isolate rather than coming to class, then students must not return to class until cleared by a medical professional