Expectations for "Party Politics in America"

As with most classes we political junkies take throughout our college careers, “Party Politics in America” appears poised to present us with some unique and interesting challenges. Surely, any class that starts its first week with the Federalist Papers and a (quite lengthy) George Washington address can only be setting us up for an inevitable death-blow. However, courses such as these (ones with rigorous reading schedules and high expectations) are invariably the ones from which we take the most. As this is the case, we often approach these classes with a specific set of expectations or goals for ourselves, as well as the class.
In regards to “Party Politics,” I have developed a few expectations/goals of my own. The first is that the course material be at least comprehensible to me. This should not be a problem, as this isn’t my first political rodeo. However, this is my first party politics class, so some terms are sure to be new. My second goal is to gain a fair amount of knowledge in regards to political party development and party dynamics. We Americans live our entire lives aware of the party system, but very few ever truly come to understand how or why we got here. My third and final goal is to become more familiar with the modern learning techniques practiced in this class. I have used D2L in the past, but never to this extent. Also, blogging is essentially foreign to me, and learning it seems a very valuable skill in today’s interconnected world. I trust that the professor and TA will help immensely in realizing these goals, and I look forward to giving it all a try.