The course, US Government, provides a solid base for the types of service that students at Bloomsburg University find available to them. It is also a substantively sound format for reflection upon what government does and does not do for its citizens. Readings are structured to reinforce learning within the service opportunities. The range of service opportunities is selected so that students can make strong connections between the substance of the course and their experiences in the field. By working closely with the Director of the SOLVE program which serves as a clearinghouse between students and the organizations they might potentially serve, we can maximize the experience for the student and for the population they are serving.

Bloomsburg is a small community in a rural area of northeastern Pennsylvania. When students come here as freshmen, they almost invariably feel some sense of isolation and loneliness. The course's service component provides a medium for students to group together and do cooperative work or to connect with the community individually. However they choose to arrange their work, this experience offers them the opportunity to form lasting bonds and navigate the first couple of semesters at Bloomsburg more easily. Because the students in US Government are usually freshmen, the course and its service component provide a positive beginning to their academic experience. Because they are usually political science majors, they are more likely to follow their service experience with some aspect of political inquiry to which they will bring a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the far-reaching functions, but also the particular limitations, of government policies and programs.

I find that students respond positively to the idea that their service enhances in them an ethic of service that will be an invaluable asset to them and their future communities given the increasing emphasis on less, rather than more, government involvement in domestic social and welfare services.

Dr. Diana G. Zoelle
Professor of Political Science
Bloomsburg University of PA


Department of Political Science
Fall 1999
United States Government
Pol Sci 120-04

Scope of the Course
The academic substantive focus of this course is integrated with student's service experiences in local and state agencies. The service opportunity provides insight into the practical application of particular national policy areas. Of course, in some cases, the responsibility and oversight of the implementation of programs has been shifted to state or local government. This is also salient to our investigation. This type of experiential learning enhances students' awareness of issues which may affect their lives or the lives of those close to them and empowers them if they choose to advocate political change or reinforce efforts to maintain certain programs. It prepares them to be better citizens.

Students complete two (2) hours of volunteer work each week for ten (10) weeks of the semester. They also review and reflect upon their service through keeping a journal of their experience. Their experience is integrated with academic readings and discussions in class in which we attempt to analyze the basis for, and the practical functioning of, the organization and its providers.

Individual and group informal, in-class presentations are encouraged.

Students enrolled in US Government 120-04 may consider making longer commitments to their service organization. However, there is no mechanism in place with which to encourage their continued efforts. Also, we have no fourth credit option as yet, but the possibility is in the planning stages. Should the fourth credit option become a reality, the in-class presentation of an analytical essay could become a formal requirement.

The service experiences offered to the students are chosen for their relationship, however distant, to the political agenda or practical policies of national government. Part of the mandate of the student is to identify and critique the operative politics and policies. Future development of the program may take the form of a second semester course in American Public Policy in which students may further explore the specific policy issues they have investigated in this preliminary course. Each student may either continue working in the substantive area chosen in the first semester or move to one that presents itself as more critical or interesting to them. Whichever option they choose, the students' first requirement in the second course will be to outline the proposed investigation.

Class meetings
Class discussions serve three main purposes:

1. The first few sessions serve as an orientation to the service learning experience and dissemination of service information;

2. Subsequent class meetings will, in general, be discussions of general material, accented by students own reflections on their experiences as they relate to the material (at the instructors urging and possibly with the instructor's collaboration, at first;

3. Classes are, thus, a vehicle for dissemination of general knowledge about government, but also a venue for students to make observations about the relationship between theoretical constructions and practical realities.

Directions in Research
Guiding questions related to students' service experience and the reflexive nature of their endeavor are:

1. What do you consider to be the most pressing need of the population you are serving?

2. How can the needs you have identified be more effectively met by government agencies or non-governmental organizations with the support of government?

3. How could more direct services be provided to the population you are serving?

4. Can the clients, themselves, affect the level of service they are being provided (i.e., could they organize to lobby government)?

Required Readings
American Government and Politics in the New Millennium, Stewart et al.

The Washing ton Post
These readings describe the current social contexts within which government programs and policies are carried out and discuss the relative effectiveness of advocacy groups and the service organizations that focus on particular issues.

Schedule of Readings
We will receive the weekly edition of The Washington Post, for which reading students are responsible on an on-going basis. I try to arrange discussions so they will have the weekend to relax and enjoy reading the paper.

AUG. 31 Intro: How Do Political Scientists Know What They Know?
SEPT. 7,9 Chapter One: The Language of Political Science
SEPT. 14,16 Chapter Two: Constitutional Beginnings
SEPT. 21, 23 Chapter Three: Federalism: Theories of Governing
SEPT. 28, 30 Chapter Four: Public Opinion, Political Culture and Political Socialization
OCT. 5,7 Chapter Five: Political Parties
OCT. 12,14 Chapter Six: Campaigns and Elections
OCT. 19,21 Chapter Seven: The Media
OCT. 26,28 Chapter Eight: Interest Groups
NOV. 2,4 Chapter Nine: The Congress
NOV. 9 Chapter Ten: The Bureaucracy
NOV. 11 NO CLASS. PROFESSOR ATTENDING CONFERENCE.
NOV. 16,18 Chapter Eleven: The Presidency and Leadership
NOV. 23 Chapter Twelve: The Judiciary
NOV. 25 NO CLASS. THANKSGIVING DAY.
NOV.30, DEC.2 Chapter Thirteen: Civil Liberties

Written Assignments
Chapter Fourteen: Civil Rights

Students keep analytical journals throughout the semester and will discuss their observations at designated times throughout the semester. Each will also compose a one-page abstract of his/her entries (type-written) for in-class presentation and discussion.

Course Grade
30% of the course grade relies on student's satisfactory conclusion of the service work, a journal, on-going, spontaneous discussion of experience as it connects with the general course material and a short presentation of journal reflections and/or analyses.

50% of the course grade relies on satisfactory completion of 10 unannounced quizzes on the course reading material, lectures and videos.

20% of the course grade relies upon participation in class which will be partially determined by reading questions that students bring with them to class and which may be collected at any time by the instructor.

Journals are due no later than the last day of class: Thursday, December 9, 1999.

Service Options
The value of the service experience is in finding an appropriate service organization. Each student works in an organization concerned with a specific policy area, such as:

Human Rights Policy
Women's Center
Migrant Community Project
Health Policy
Adopt-a-Grandparent
Columbia-Montour Area Agency on Aging
American Cancer Society
COMPEER – to be a fiend to someone with a mental illness

Education Policy
Bethesda Day Treatment Center
Head Start — Millville
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
Juvenile Probation