Course Syllabus

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FA26: TOPICS IN CUR POL & GOVERNANCE:

DC Internship Course: What is Happening Here?

Y300 – Contemporary Political Topics

Prof. Christine Barbour

Tuesday evenings: 6:30-8:30

Room 205, IU Capital Campus

1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC

About this Course:

Welcome to Washington, DC.  This is your semester to learn American politics, up close and personal.  In many ways this class will be an extension of your prep class from last semester.  We will continue to build our understanding of how our political system works and how to understand the current events that unfold daily in the nation’s capital and across the country.  The difference is that you will be in DC yourselves – many of you working on Capitol Hill or in think tanks or advocacy groups or other corridors where power plays out.  Your own experience will become one of the resources of the course, along with the textbook AmGov: Long Story Short, the Atlantic Monthly, and multiple other current events sources. 

Because we are in DC for this course we will be able to take advantage of the vast network of IU alums here  -- partisans from both sides of the aisle, bureaucrats in non-partisan positions, as well as other public servants and scholars who have graduated from IU.

By the end of the semester you should be able to

  • Understand how the American political system works
  • Be proficient in current events. 
  • Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of American democracy
  • Assess the challenges the system faces in the contemporary political climate and what can be done to support the constitutional order
  • Debate the value of seeking to maintain and improve the American polity versus the desirability of replacing it with something “better” (and be able to discuss intelligently what “better” looks like.

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Required Readings

We will be relying on AmGovfor understanding the basics of American politics and on current events and online sources for our critical analysis of American resiliency in the face of multiple challenges.  Many of the deep dives we will read will come from the Atlantic Monthy archives.  You are expected to do all the assigned readings and purchasing AmGov and an Atlantic subscription is the surest way to make that happen.

Note that I am the author of AmGov. Any royalties I make from the sale of books to my students are donated back to IU to support the POLS DC program.

Also, from last semester,  The Atlantic Monthly

Current Events

As a DC intern you are already expected to stay current with political events.  I don’t think there is a perfect source of current events out there but there are many very good ones to choose from.  The big, basic sources are the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.  (They are all expensive, but I believe you can get the NYT and the WSJ through IU.)  If I want to assign any article from a source that is behind a paywall, I will provide it to you. There are also a variety of “new media” sources that do a great job of getting you good, fact-based information from a variety of political points of view.  You will find a list of them on our Canvas page.

One of the things you will do this semester is to start building your regular media diet.  We will discuss ways to do that.

How You Will Be Graded

Your grade in this class will be based on class attendance and participation (40%), short weekly assignments (30%), and a take home final (30%.)

Weekly Assignments:  These will be due by midnight the night before our Tuesday class meetings and will be assigned at least one week prior to the due date.  I will post the assignments to you via email and prefer that you email your responses to me so I may read them from my preferred device which is not Canvas-friendly.

Class attendance and participation: You are required to attend this class. Because I know you are busy with your jobs, I place more weight on class participation than on work done outside class. Keep in mind the following things:

  • If you are ill and unable to come to class, contact me beforehand. We may be able to arrange for you to attend via Zoom. If illness is a repeated problem, I will assign written work to substitute for some of your class participation. 
  • Be sure your employer knows when your classes meet and that IU expects you to make attending those classes a priority. They should not require you to work between 6:30-8:30 on Tuesday or Wednesday.  If you have been invited to meet the president, let me know and I’ll consider an exception, but otherwise school comes first.
  • If a networking event comes up that you think will benefit you professionally and/or educationally, contact me beforehand and we will discuss a substitute assignment. Any absence that is not cleared with me prior to class will count against your grade and I will not under any circumstances clear you to miss more than one class. 
  • I have a strict attendance policy because I go through considerable personal effort to guarantee you a rewarding and valuable in-person classroom experience. I know DC is filled with exciting things to do and I want you to take advantage of them – but not on Tuesday nights.
  • Religious holiday observance is a special case and IU has a very specific policy regarding such absences. You can find a link to that policy below in all the syllabus legalese IU provides.

Final: Your final exam will be a take-home essay – open book, open note.  I will give you the assignment in class on December 8 and it will be due on Wednesday, December 16, if you want to receive a grade this semester.  If you will be moving back home from DC that week and are unable to do a good job on the assignment in the time allotted, contact me and we will discuss an Incomplete, with the assignment to be due no later than January 8, 2027. 

Schedule of Topics and Readings Assignments -- This will be driven by current events and speaker availability.  You will find a current list on our course page in Canvas.  Please check each week to be sure you are up to date with readings and assignments.

 

Syllabus Legalese (Suggested text from IU on IU Policies)

Academic integrity

You should take some time to review the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct (Code) because you are expected to adhere to its standards while you are a student at IU. Holding students to the standards outlined in the Code ensures the value of the degree that you are earning from IU and is important training for maintaining ethical standards in the work that you will do in the future.

Academic misconduct is “any activity that tends to undermine the academic integrity of the institution” (Code,II, B,1). Academic integrity violations include cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference, violation of course rules, facilitating academic dishonesty, and research misconduct. When you submit an assignment with your name on it, you are signifying that the work contained therein is yours, unless otherwise cited or referenced. Any ideas or materials taken from another source must be fully acknowledged. Do not share your completed work with other students. If plagiarism or cheating occurs, all students involved will be considered responsible even if you were unaware that academic misconduct would occur. Ignorance of what constitutes academic misconduct is not a valid excuse. All suspected violations of the Code will be reported to the Dean of Students (Office of Student Conduct). Sanctions for academic misconduct in this course may include a failing grade on the assignment, a reduction in your final course grade, or a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities. If you are unsure about the expectations for completing an assignment or taking a test or exam in this course, speak with me before submitting your assignment

Bias incident reporting

Bias-based incident reports can be made by students, faculty, and staff. Any act of discrimination or harassment based on race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability can be reported through any of the options: 1) fill out an online report at https://reportincident.iu.edu/ ; 2) call the Dean of Students Office at (812) 855-8187. Reports can be made anonymously at https://reportincident.iu.edu. Please note that incidents involving faculty and staff should be reported to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance.

Course Accessibility

Indiana University is dedicated to ensuring that students with disabilities (e.g., chronic health, neurodevelopmental, neurological, sensory, psychological, and emotional, including mental health, etc.) have the support services and reasonable accessibility measures (accommodations) needed to provide equal access to academic programs. You must establish your eligibility for support services through Accessible Educational Services (AES). Note that services are confidential, may take time to put into place, and are not retroactive; citations and alternate media for print materials may take three or more weeks to produce. Contact Accessible Educational Services as soon as possible to register for services. The office is located on the basement floor of Eigenmann Hall in Room 001 and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Course Content and Intellectual Diversity

The focus of this course is American Politics.  Within that focus, I have selected class materials that present a variety of topics and arguments, including partisanship, political ideology, democracy and the US Constitution.  It is inevitable that connections between our course and current and/or historical events outside the classroom will come up. The ability to draw and analyze connections among ideas and events is a core skill in a liberal arts education and will stand you in good stead in your life beyond IU.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of your education records. You may authorize a third party to access your education record by adding a release at https://ferpareleases.indiana.edu. Adding a release for a specific individual will generate a PIN that is sent to the student’s IU email and will direct the student to share the PIN with the authorized third party.

Generative AI 

Generative AI use varies by assignment

In this class, the expectations for the use/non-use of AI vary depending on the assignment. It is crucial to follow any specific guidelines for each assignment to maintain academic integrity. If you use generative AI in a manner that is not authorized for the assignment, it will constitute academic misconduct; there will be an academic sanction, and the incident will be reported.

You should be aware that all large language models (which are the basis of Generative AI) have a tendency to make up facts, create fake citations, produce inaccurate information, or generate biased or offensive content. You are responsible for any inaccurate, biased, offensive, or otherwise unethical content you submit regardless of whether it originally comes from you or a Generative AI platform. 

All Generative AI tools must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. The disclosure of use of Generative AI for spelling and grammar checkers is not necessary, but all other uses require proper acknowledgment and citation. (see example below)

APA Citation: 

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (September 1 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

The use of Generative AI tools without disclosure will be considered plagiarism and/or cheating and will be reported to the Dean of Students (Office of Student Conduct) and handled according to university policies. Sanctions for academic misconduct in this course may include a failing grade on the assignment, a reduction in your final course grade, or a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities. If you have any questions about the acceptable use of Generative AI tools, please consult with me prior to submitting your work.  

With the understanding of the limitations and necessary acknowledgments, you are encouraged to use Generative AI for brainstorming or to organize your ideas. Using Generative AI to enhance learning is an emerging skill and it is to your advantage to learn how to use it well. Generative AI can be a valuable tool for complementing human decisions, but it is not a replacement for critical thinking.

Please be aware that instructors have different policies on the appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence. The above policy applies only to this class. It is your responsibility to check with each of your other instructors if ever you are unsure about what constitutes academic honesty in their courses.

Health and wellbeing

  • The Student Care and Resource Center supports students experiencing challenges that impact their ability to be safe, healthy, and successful. You can walk in, call, email, submit a Care Referral or make an appointment through the Student Appointment Scheduler to connect with the Care Team.

Student Care and Resource Center

Indiana Memorial Union, L010

Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Phone: 812-856-CARE (2273) // Email: iucare@iu.edu 

  • Mental Health Support: If you or someone you know needs assistance, you are encouraged to contact Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 812-855-5711 or by visiting their webpage. They will help you navigate any difficult circumstances you may be facing by connecting you with the appropriate resources or services.

Counseling and Psychological Services

IU Student Health Center, Fourth Floor
Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Phone: 812-855-5711 (choose option 1 after-hours)

TimelyCare: Free 24/7 virtual mental health support is available to students who are enrolled in at least one course through the TimelyCARE platform or through your Canvas portal. You do not need insurance to access TimelyCare services.

Note selling: 

Various commercial services request that students upload course materials (e.g., instructor’s notes, study guides, assignment descriptions) for access. You are not permitted to sell the instructor’s materials or upload course materials to a third-party site – even after the course has ended. Violations of this policy will be reported to the Dean of Students (Office of Student Conduct) as academic misconduct; there will be an academic sanction, and the incident will be reported. Additionally, you should know that selling a faculty member’s course materials using IU email or other IU systems may also constitute a violation of IU information technology and IU intellectual property policies; additional consequences may result.

Online Course Materials 

The instructor teaching this course holds the exclusive right to distribute, modify, post, and reproduce course materials, including all written materials, study guides, lectures, assignments, exercises, and exams. Some of the course content may be downloadable, but you should not distribute, post, or alter the instructor’s intellectual property. While you are permitted to take notes on the online materials and lectures posted for this course for your personal use, you are not permitted to re-post in another forum, distribute, or reproduce content from this course without the express written permission of the instructor.

Religious Observances

Instructors must reasonably accommodate students who want to observe their religious holidays at times when academic requirements conflict with those observances. If you will miss class for a religious observance, you must fill out the Request for Accommodation for Religious Observances form at least two weeks before your anticipated absence.

Sexual Misconduct and Title IX

IU policy prohibits sexual misconduct in any form, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, sexual exploitation, and dating and domestic violence. If you have experienced sexual misconduct, or know someone who has, the University can help. If you are seeking help and would like to speak to someone confidentially, you can make an appointment with the IU Sexual Assault Crisis Services at (812) 855-8900 or contact a Confidential Victim Advocate at (812) 856-2469or cva@iu.edu. 

It is also important that you know that University policy requires that I share certain information brought to my attention about potential sexual misconduct with the campus Deputy Sexual Misconduct & Title IX Coordinator or the University Sexual Misconduct & Title IX Coordinator. In that event, those individuals will work to ensure that appropriate measures are taken, and resources are made available. Protecting student privacy is of the utmost concern, and information will only be shared with those that need to know to ensure the University can respond and assist. I encourage you to visit http://stopsexualviolence.iu.edu/index.html to learn more.                                                                                                                                                                        

Student Resources

Library Research Assistance: IU Libraries offers one-on-one consultations with students who need assistance with library research.

Student Advocates: Retired IU faculty and staff members assist students with resolving academic, financial, and conduct-related issues. 

Technology-related resources provided by the university include:

  • Free on-campus wireless internet (wifi) access through the “eduroam” network
  • Free software for download and for cloud-based use (access the Software Downloads app inIU)
  • Free 24/7 IU tech support (e.g., email, Canvas, wifi, printing, device setup, etc.)

Tutoring Resources: There are many free and paid tutoring resources on campus that are available to students.

Writing Tutorial Services: Offers free one-on-one writing help from a trained tutor. 

 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due