Part 1 (Steps 1 and 2) – Due at the Mid-Term Deadline
Step 1 – The Skeleton (Background Research)
Conduct light background research using high-quality websites to learn the basic concepts related to
Civic Society (G. Almond and S. Verba), Democratic Peace Theory (E. Kant and T. Paine), and a
Harmony of Interests (A. Smith and K. Marx) in the United States. At this stage, read with “metacognition”
and reflect, grasping this basic information will allow you to understand the material before delving
deeper. Prework: informal research and background reading only. Example of a high-quality or reliable
source for this step (this is not Wikipedia): Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Peer-Reviewed)
Step 2 – The Muscles (Online Tutorial)
1. Go to this link and register for the leadership tutorial: The Citizens Campaign Online Leadership
Training Certificate Program
2. Required Reading (provided in the tutorial): Citizen Power Manual
3. Complete a short pre-course survey, it must be submitted to gain access to the training.
4. Watch each video and complete the follow-up activity/quiz. There are 10 tutorials, including all
videos, quizzes, and surveys.
5. Upon completion, you will receive a leadership training certificate via e-mail. Upload the certificate
in PDF format using the submission link in the Unit 1 folder anytime ahead of the Unit 1 deadline.
Part 2 (Steps 3, 4 and 5) – Due at the Final Deadline
Step 3 – The Evolution (Academic Knowledge)
1. Next, you are to engage each of the three concepts from step 1 at the academic level by
examining how each has evolved over time. Studying a concept as it changes will allow you to
truly understand a political topic, which is a stated goal of this course.
2. You will need to access the Research Center tab inside the course and then click on the first link
“Academic Search Complete.” Reminder: there is a highly detailed course announcement
explaining how to use this tool and the directions are in the folder too.
3. Locate and properly cite a minimum of one scholarly source obtained via the research center tool
to meet the bare minimum research requirements. Look down the list, the search tool uses A.I.
and is quite good at gathering relevant articles.
