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Political Science 122, Politics in America: Liberty
and Equality
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Winter 2000
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SYLLABUS
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 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. Throughout, a
prominent concern will be how incentives for individual and group
behavior are shaped by institutional arrangements and how
these rules of the game shape political outcomes .
There will be one in class midterm exam (25% total) and a final
examination (50%). Class attendance, participation, writing
assignments, and quizzes (together 25%) will also be part of the
requirements of the course. Quizzes 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)
Ginsberg and Shefter, Politics By Other Means (revised
and updated edition only!)
Readings labeled RR on the syllabus are on reserve at Gould
Library.
Students are required to regularly 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, particularly presidential primary politics, within a context of
historically-derived theory.
WED: First day of class. Welch, et al., Understanding American
Government, ch. 1 and Federalist #10.
FRI: THE CONSTITUTION: Welch, et al., ch. 2 & Hudson,
American Democracy in Peril, ch. 1 RR.
Q: What is the significance of Shays's Rebellion? What is
Charles Beard's argument? How do these two strands connect to the
ideas in Federalist #10? Define and differentiate the four
theories of democracy.
MON2: PUBLIC OPINION AND PARTICIPATION: Welch, et al., ch. 4.
Q: What is the significance of the low level of public
awareness about politics for the debate among the four theories of
democracy? How does low public awareness impact Madison's solution
in Federalist #10?
WED: ELECTIONS AND PARTICIPATION: Welch, et al., ch. 7.
Q: Who tends to participate least and why? What do some
states have higher rates of turnout than others? How do we compare
with Europe on electoral turnout?
FRI: Begin readings for Monday. We will continue our discussion
from Wednesday.
MON3: INTEREST GROUPS: Welch, et al., ch. 5; Loomis and Cigler,
Interest Group Politics, ch. 1RR. In Loomis and Cigler, pay
close attention to the ideas of Truman (derived from Madison) and
Olson.
Q: In contemporary US politics, are interest groups a
functional substitute for the Madisonian prescription of faction
checking faction for the protection of minority rights?
WED: MONEY AND POLITICS: Welch et al., ch. 9. Do moneyed interests
and big business in particular have a privileged position in American
politics?
FRI: MEDIA AND PARTIES: Welch et al., ch. 8 and 6.
Q: Are the media a countervailing force against the power
of big business interests?
MON4: POLITICAL PARTIES: 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?
WED: CONGRESS: Welch, Appendix D (Federalist #51); Sundquist,
"Needed: A Political Theory for the New Era," RR.
FRI: Smith, The Power Game, chs. 17-18, RR.
Q: What is divided government? List the possible causes
of divided government and explain the process by which each cause
(independent variable) produces this outcome (dependent variable).
MON5: EXAMINATION
WED: 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, what constitutes the incumbency advantage? Is this a
good thing or not? Can incumbency be blamed for the divided
government that characterized the 1970s and 1980s?
FRI: Review
MON6: MID TERM BREAK
WED: PRESIDENCY: Welch, chs. 3 and 11
FRI: Welch, ch. 12.
MON7: Polsby and Wildavsky, Presidential Elections, 9th
edition, ch. 4 RR. Review Welch, ch. 7, from 175 to the end.
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: Begin reading Friday's large assignment.
FRI: CONTEMPORARY PARTY SYSTEM: 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; Schneider, "The New
Shape of American Politics" RR (particularly pp. 44-52).
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?
MON8: Ginsberg & Shefter, Politics by Other Means, chs.
1-2
WED: Ginsberg & Shefter, Politics by Other Means, chs.
3-4
FRI: Ginsberg & Shefter, Politics by Other Means, chs.
5-6
MON9: Schneider, "Suburban Century Begins," RR; Hale, "The Making
of the New Democrats," RR.
Q: Who is the DLC? How do their opponents describe and
criticize them? What role did Super Tuesday have in their grand
strategy? Who does Schneider see as the beneficiary of the growth
in the suburban electorate?
WED: Ceaser & Busch, Upside Down, ch. 3 RR
Q: Does the outcome of 1992 Super Tuesday prove that this
latest reform has solved the Democrats' problems in presidential
elections
FRI: Wilson, "Race Neutral Programs and the Democratic Party," RR;
Cook, "Suburbia: Land of Varied Faces" RR.
Q: What strategy has Bill Clinton used to win suburban
voters? Has he had coattails in suburbia, why or why not?
MON10: Caldwell, "The Southern Captivity of the GOP" RR and
readings on the Christian Coalition
WED: "Future of American Politics" packet, RR
FRI: LAST CLASS