Course Syllabus

The Constitution

Faculty

Not Yet Assigned
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement

General Education Requirements

Social Science

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

From historical and contemporary perspectives, this course surveys the framing, revision, and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. This course examines how the original document and subsequent amendments have helped to shape our laws and way of life. Explores contemporary Constitutional issues such as abortion rights, hate speech, gun control, and affirmative action. Includes study of the Vermont Constitution.

Essential Objectives

1. Describe the development of the U.S. and Vermont Constitutions and examine their roles in establishing and alleviating systemic social inequities. 
2. Explain the historical functions, powers, and limitations of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
3. Identify and discuss basic tenets outlined in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and subsequently ratified amendments.
4. Identify which governmental functions are solely federal, which are solely state, and which may be shared functions.
5. Analyze the rights of the individual as protected by the U.S. and Vermont Constitutions as well as the limitations and responsibilities associated with those rights.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Fall 2025 textbook details will be available on 2025-05-19. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

Methods:

• Whole-class Discussion Group

• Weekly Diary assignments

• Mid-term and Final paper assignments

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria:

I will be grading your work based on a point system. This will take into account your responses to my weekly Discussion Group questions and the discussions with your classmates, your Diary entries, and your mid-term and final papers. The total point breakdown looks like this:

Responses to Discussion Group questions and responses to your classmates: 30 points

Diary Entries: 30 points

Mid-term paper: 20 points

Final paper: 20 points

Grading Criteria:

A+ through A-: For any work to receive an "A," it must clearly be exceptional or outstanding work. It must demonstrate keen insight and original thinking. It must not

only demonstrate full understanding of the topic or issues addressed, but it must also provide a critical analysis of these. In addition, an "A" grade reflects a student's ability to clearly and thoughtfully articulate his or her learning.

B+ through B-: For any work to receive a "B," it must be good to excellent work. It must demonstrate strong originality, comprehension, critical thinking, and attention to detail. In addition, a "B" grade reflects a student's ability to clearly articulate his or her learning.

C+ through C-: For any work to receive a "C," it must meet the expectations of the assignment. It must demonstrate solid comprehension, critical thinking, and attention to detail. In addition, a "C" grade reflects a student's ability to adequately articulate his or her learning.

D+ through D-: For any work to receive a "D," it must marginally meet the expectations of the assignment. It demonstrates minimal comprehension, critical thinking, and attention to detail. In addition, a "D" grade may reflect a student's difficulty in articulating his or her learning.

F: Work that receives an "F" grade does not meet the expectations or objectives of the assignment. It demonstrates consistent problems with comprehension, organization, critical thinking, and supporting details. In addition, an "F" grade reflects a student's inability to articulate his or her learning. Students are strongly urged to discuss this grade with their instructor and advisor.

P: indicates satisfactory completion of course objectives (C- or better).

NP: indicates failure to meet course objectives and/or failure to meet grading criteria for successful completion as described in the instructor's course description.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Structure

For this class, our week will start on Tuesday and run through the following Monday. Each week you will have reading in your text book, The Words We Live By, by Linda Monk, and two discussion board postings. Typically, you’ll begin by posting a response to a question I pose. You’ll read the responses posted by your classmates in the next phase and respond to one or more of their posts. Your final post of the week is a "Diary" entry, which lets you present your learning in a less formal, more creative format.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Attendance Policy:

Regular participation in the discussions & diary components of this class and timely submission of your mid-term and final papers are completion requirements for courses at CCV. Please be aware that missing more than three (3) discussion & diary assignments will result in a non-satisfactory grade. If you anticipate that life circumstances may cause you to miss an upcoming assignment, please communicate with me immediately so we may consider alternative means for you to complete the necessary assignments.

Faculty Contact Information: Email Address: david.white@ccv.edu

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

Apply Now for this semester.