A thorough understanding of American politics requires study of them. State and Local Politics, 8th ed. Brown and Benchmark. Lectures will be over about 75 percent of the material from the required texts, and all readings will cover about 75 percent of the lectures. However, lectures will not cover all material included in the readings assigned in the syllabus, nor will the readings assigned cover all material presented in the lectures.
Students are responsible for both.
Attendance There are no words yet invented in the English language that can convey the primacy of attending class. The course is designed so it is virtually impossible to make an A without regular class attendance, and grades higher than a D are unlikely if class attendance is occasional. Unsurprisingly, there is a high correlation between attendance and grades. Students who show up to class consistently tend not to do badly. Although attendance will not be taken, those students who do not appear regularly will be reported to their college as non-attenders as by university regulations.