Week 6 — Readings & Resources

Introduction to Political Science Free sample edition

Your primary reading is Chapter 6 (in this module). Everything below is the optional, go-deeper layer — pick what helps, skip the rest.

How to use this page

This page has 10 items (4 readings and 6 videos). Allow 62–75 minutes for everything. Each group points back to the matching chapter section and class-session segment, so use the full menu when you want more depth, or take the quick path below.

Every video here has captions: turn them on with the CC button in the player. The chapter covers the same ideas in text.

Pick-one quick path (18–20 min total)

① What is a constitution for?

Chapter 6, Section “Define a constitution: create, empower, limit” · Session 1, Segment 1, “What a constitution does” · Remember: a constitution creates offices, empowers them, and limits them, and the limit is the job that can fail.

What is a Constitution? — International IDEA — a short animated explainer from an intergovernmental research organization on what a constitution is and what it is for; as you watch, sort each job it names as creating, empowering, or limiting power. This builds on Week 5's work comparing electoral and liberal democracy. (video, 6 min) (captions: creator)

② Where do the rules live, and how hard are they to change?

Chapter 6, Section “Sort constitutions by form: written versus unwritten” · Session 1, Segment 2, “Written versus unwritten” · Remember: form asks where the rules live, and substance asks whether the rules bind.

Written vs Unwritten Constitutions — Understanding Politics — a short explainer on why the British model counts as uncodified rather than missing, which weighs flexibility against clarity and declares no winner; listen for the sources it lists, such as conventions, precedents, and acts of Parliament, and match them to the chapter's statutes, judicial decisions, and conventions. (video, 8 min) (captions: creator)
The justice system and the constitution — Courts and Tribunals Judiciary — the judiciary of England and Wales explains, in its own words, how a country without a single constitutional document separates its courts from the government and Parliament; read the opening sections on the constitution and the separation of powers, then stop. (reading, 8–11 min)
Article V for Dummies: The Amendment Procedure Explained — Hip Hughes — a classroom-style walk through how a U.S. amendment is proposed and ratified; check its thresholds against the chapter's two thirds and three fourths, and redo the count of 38 States yourself; the amendment the presenter proposes at the end is his own opinion, not a fact to learn. (video, 7 min) (captions: automatic)

③ Does the law bind the rulers too?

Chapter 6, Section “Separate the rule of law from rule by law” · Session 1, Segment 4, “Rule of law versus rule by law” · Remember: the rule of law binds rulers and ruled alike, while rule by law is a tool the rulers hold.

What is the Rule of Law — United Nations — the United Nations' short definition of the rule of law and the principles it lists; match each principle to one of the chapter's five elements, and note any it adds. (reading, 4–6 min)
What is the Rule of Law? — World Justice Project — a rule-of-law research organization's definition built on four principles, a different way of slicing the same idea; compare its list with the chapter's five elements and decide where each of its principles fits. Use it while working through the Week-6 module overview. (reading, 5–8 min)
Court Shorts: Rule of Law — United States Courts — the federal courts' own short video on why the rule of law depends on judges deciding cases independently; listen for the element the chapter calls independent enforcement. (video, 5 min) (captions: creator)

④ How does a design check itself?

Chapter 6, Section “Close-read the design: Federalist No. 10 and No. 51” · Session 2, Segment 6, “Federalist No. 10 and No. 51” · Remember: the people who govern are not angels either, so the design sets ambition against ambition.

Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances: Crash Course Government and Politics #3 — CrashCourse — a fast, illustrated tour of how the U.S. design splits power among three branches and lets each push back on the others; pause at each check it names and say which branch it lets resist which. (video, 9 min) (captions: creator)
Federalist 51, Explained — Heimler's History — a review-style walk through the essay's argument about human nature and self-checking government; afterward, check every line it quotes against the Avalon page below. Stop here before legislatures and executives; next week takes those up. (video, 5 min) (captions: automatic)

Optional one-stop reference (free online reference)

The Federalist No. 51 — Avalon Project — the online edition of the essay this course quotes; read the header line at the top, then use your browser's find command to locate the word ambition and stop once you have found the sentence quoted this week. (reading, 5–10 min)

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell your instructor and use the reference above in the meantime.

Provenance: Built with The Course Maker · samples.thecoursemaker.com