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Political Science 122 |
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Fall 1999 |
Political Science 122 offers an introduction to how political scientists study American politics. This is not a course in current events; rather, it is a course in which historical and contemporary political issues and problems of governance (empirical data) are discussed to illustrate hypotheses about how politics works (theory) and to further refine these hypotheses.
At the founding of this nation there existed tensions between liberty and equality that we will trace to modern debates about small government vs. big government and debates between conservatives and liberals. We will examine the role of individual citizens in democracy as the components of public opinion, as voters and non-voters, and as members of the interest groups and social movements that influence public policy. We will then examine the role of political parties in creating electoral accountability through the nomination and election of presidents and members of Congress. We will examine in depth the impact that popular social movements have on parties and the politics of compromise and coalition. We will also look at the constitutionally designed sharing of powers between the Congress and the Presidency and discuss the deadlock of divided government and its numerous implications for American politics. Finally, we will examine the impact that electoral laws (institutional arrangements) have on a variety of aspects of American politics.
There will be one in class midterm exam (20% total), two formal writing assignments (30%), and a final examination (40%). Class attendance and participation will be monitored; quizzes (10%) will be unannounced but will only ask the question(s) that the syllabus poses for each set of readings (i.e., the "Q:" questions). Missing a quiz earns an "F" except for excused absences. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
If you have questions about the readings, lecture material, or the writing assignments, please come to my office. My office is 417 Willis, office hours will be announced in the first week of class, no appointments are necessary during office hours. This is your time, just drop in. For meetings at other times, I am glad to make an appointment. My office phone is 646-4122, home phone until 9 p.m. only is 645-5666, and my e-mail is rkeiser@carleton.edu. I would like to receive an e-mail from every student in the first two weeks so that I can compile all of your addresses and send information to the entire class. Tell me something interesting about yourself, your family background, and your interests, political or otherwise.
The books for the course are:
Welch, et al., Understanding American Government (5th edition)Dionne, They Only Look Dead
Hudson, American Democracy in Peril
Amy, Real Choices, New Voices
There are also quite a number of readings on reserve at Gould library, labeled RR on the syllabus.
Students should try to read the national news section of the New York Times, (available at the bookstore, deeply discounted for this course) so that we can discuss today's political news within a context of historically-derived theory.
MON1: Welch et al., chs. 1-2 and Appendix C (Federalist #10).
Q: What lessons were drawn from Shays rebellion? How are they reflected in Federalist #10?
WED: Hudson, ch. 4 and ch. 9, Step 3; Welch, ch. 4; "Busting the Conventional Wisdom" RR
Q: What is the paradox of collective action (a.k.a. the logic of collective action)?How would you describe the people who are most and least likely to vote?
What do these readings tell us about the level of knowledge that most Americans have about politics? This undermines Madison's cure for the mischiefs of faction. Explain how.
FRI: Hudson, ch. 1
Q: Come prepared to summarize all 4 models of democracy.
MON2: No Class for Jewish Holy Day. Hudson, ch. 3 and ch. 9, Step 2; Welch, ch. 14.
Q: Define "prisoner's dilemma" and the "Tragedy of the commons."
WED: Hudson, ch. 6 and ch. 9, Step 5; Welch, chs. 5 and 8-9.
Q: How do these chapters comport with the arguments of pluralists?
FRI: Continue previous discussion
MON3: Hudson, ch. 7 and ch. 9, Step 6; Welch, ch. 15
WED: Hudson, ch. 5 and ch. 9, Step 4; Welch, chs. 6-7
Q: Why have elections become trivialized?
FRI: Downs, "The Statics and Dynamics of Party Ideologies," RR; Big Tent Readings, RR
Q: How does Downs' portrait of the electorate fit with our previous readings on the state of public opinion and level of public knowledge about issues? Think about four or five issues including both high and low profile ones. Do you think Downs' portrait is accurate?Does the political party system, through the structure of competing big tents, make democracy representative, responsive and accountable? Think about Hudson's theories of democracy.
MON4: Review
WED: ****Examination, in class, identifying terms and writing a short essay(s).
FRI: Sundquist, "Needed: A Political Theory for the New Era," RR and Smith, The Power Game, chs. 17-18, RR; and Welch, Appendix D (Federalist #51).
Q: What is divided government? How does it damage the big tent theory of democracy?
MON5: Welch, ch. 10 and "Interest Groups, Congress and the Policy Process" packet, RR
Q: On average, how frequently do incumbent representatives and senators win reelection? Why are they so successful? Is this a good thing or not? Can incumbency be blamed for the divided government that characterized the 1970s and 1980s?
WED:Welch, chs. 11-12.
FRI: Review
MON6: MIDTERM BREAK
****Assignment Due Wednesday in class: Read Hudson, ch. 2 and ch. 9, Step 1 and write an essay of 2-4 pages (double spaced) that begins with the equivalent of, "With all due respect, I think there is a fundamental problem with William Hudson's argument in chapter 2. Below, I will briefly summarize what I believe to be his argument and then explain (using sources from this course) why I think he is mistaken."We will have class on Wednesday.
WED: TBA
FRI: Rae, Southern Democrats, chs. 1 and 3 (Any student with a deep interest in current American political history is urged to read the entire book during the course of the term.); and Edsall and Edsall, "Race" RR.
Q: What are the 4 factions of the Democratic party and their defining features? What does the author mean when he distinguishes between economic issues and social/cultural issues? Did the Democrats win the presidency when they lost only the Southern states from the New Deal coalition? What is the most simple way to delineate the difference between Rae's focus and the focus of the Edsalls?
Mon7: Polsby and Wildavsky, Presidential Elections (8th edition), ch. 3 RR; Schneider, "The New Shape of American Politics" RR (particularly pp. 44-52); Mayer, "The New Hampshire Primary," RR
Q: Explain why after the McGovern-Fraser reforms it is only necessary to capture a wing of the tent (mobilize a plurality) rather than build a big tent coalition (mobilize a majority)? Why are Iowa and New Hampshire not wise places for the Democrats to hold their first 2 primaries? Can you make the argument that these reforms and their consequences are a cause of divided government and gridlock?
WED: Ginsberg & Shefter, Politics by Other Means, ch. 4; Schneider, "Suburban Century Begins," RR; and Dionne, They Only Look Dead, ch. 1.
FRI: Dionne, chs. 2-3; Ceaser & Busch,Upside Down, ch. 3 RR.
Q: What is the politics of moral annihilation? Why is this a phenomenon that typifies the post-1968 period of divided government? Does it hurt both parties? Does it hurt one party more than the other? Who is the DLC? How do their opponents describe and criticize them? What role did Super Tuesday have in their grand strategy?Q: Does the outcome of 1992 Super Tuesday prove that this latest reform has solved the Democrats' problems in presidential elections?
MON8: Dionne,They Only Look Dead, chs. 4-7; "The Politics of Layoffs: In Search of a Message," RR
Q: How did Clinton overcome the suburban problem that Schneider spells out for Democrats? Pay attention to Dionne's discussions of Clinton's performance in the suburban electorate in these and the following chapters!
WED: Cook, "Suburbia: Land of Varied Faces" RR; Caldwell, "The Southern Captivity of the GOP" RR; Wilson, "Race Neutral Programs and the Democratic Party," RR.
FRI: Dionne, ch. 9 and Afterword; "Future of American Politics" packet, RR.
MON9: D. Amy, Real Choices, New Voices, chs. 1-3
WED: Amy, chs. 4-7.
FRI: Amy, chs. 8-10.
MON10:****Assignment: Write a 2-3 page policy memo OR editorial OR spirited essay on proportional representation (pro or con). Think of yourself as writing an advocacy memo to your boss who is a public official, like Governor Jesse Ventura; or use the writings of Publius as your model; or use as your model the editorial page of a newspaper or magazine.
WED: Understanding the future by looking at the past.