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Seminar on Race and American Politics

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Seminar on Race and American Politics PLSC 597-004: Seminar on Race and American Politics Ray Block Jr. Fall Semester, 2020 E-mail: [email protected] Web: https://polisci.la.psu.edu/people/ray-block Office Hours: T/Th 10:00AM -11:45AM Class Hours: M 9:00AM - 12:00PM Office: 308 Pond Laboratory Class Room: Not applicable (we meet via Zoom) Course Description Politics is about “who gets what, when, [where], and how” (Lasswell 1951). In this course, we will consider the role of race in who gets what, when, where, and how. We will begin by surveying the historical contexts of racial politics in the United States. In so doing, we will acknowledge that race can be (and often is) political. From this foundation, we will examine the various controversies that surround the role of race in American society and politics. These controversies, or “issues,” affect public opinion, political institutions, political behavior, and salient public policy debates. Although focusing principally on matters relating to African Americans, where possible and appropriate, we will also make comparisons with other racial/ethnic groups. Learning Objectives Overall, I want students to appreciate that American politics fundamentally doesn’t make sense without explicitly considering race. As students will see below, there are several broad themes guiding this course. Mainly, we will explore what race is, why it matters, and how it shapes attitudes, behaviors, policies, and institutions. My goals for the course include, but are not limited to, helping students cultivate: 1. a strong substantive understanding of how race influences (and is shaped by) the American political system; 2. critical thinking skills about historical and contemporary political issues; 3. an appreciation for the construction and execution of effective research design; and 4. written and oral communication skills (these are good things in general to cultivate, and such skills are especially important when discussing the sensitive topics covered in class). Course Requirements Expectations Overall, I expect students to read the material, contribute meaningfully to conversations in class, complete a variety of formal and informal writing assignments, and be helpful colleagues when it comes to learning about and offering feedback on each other’s ideas. Here are the specific requirements for this seminar: 1 Race and American Politics 1. This is a graduate-level seminar, so attendance and participation are essential to the success of the class. Please contact me in advance of the class session if you are not able to attend. I will allow students one absence before I start penalizing grades. Any additional absences will be addressed on an individual basis. Participation is graded based on the student’s ability to demonstrate that he/she has grasped the reading and is conversant in the theory and methods presented by each author. 2. Two 5-page reaction papers that analyze in detail selected readings from the five parts of the course as set forth in the syllabus. Reaction papers should 1/ include concise summaries of the arguments and evidence from the readings, 2/ assess the strengths and weaknesses of that argument, and 3/ discuss the effectiveness of the research design and methods used. Consider questions such as: What causal mechanisms are at work? What is the structure of the authors’ arguments? Does the work principally generate ideas, test hypotheses/address research questions, or develop theory, or some combination of these? What evidence do the authors present to back up their arguments? Can you suggest a alternative way to evaluate the authors’ claims? How does this reading advance our understanding of race and American politics more broadly? It is particularly useful to use the reaction papers to reflect upon previous readings and future themes of the course. 3. Rotating leadership of class discussions (i.e. presenting overviews of the readings as well as discus- sion questions). Each student will get the opportunity to lead at least one of class discussion. The discussant will be responsible for leading the discussion on those readings, as well as preparing a brief outline of the research design for each reading. This outline should include 1/ the research question, 2/ the main argument (e.g. the answer to the research question), 3/ variables of interest, and 4/ methodology for each reading. Where possible, the “moving parts” of the argument (con- cepts, variables, research questions or hypotheses, causal mechanisms, etc.) should be diagrammed. The total outline should be 1-page or less in length. Students are responsible for preparing copies of this outline for all members of the course, and they should distribute copies of the outline at the beginning of class. While leading the class, the discussant should examine key themes and ques- tions on the topic and work to link the week’s readings with previous topics addressed in the class. The discussant should arrive in class with at least 3 discussion questions per reading. If you have questions about your readings, make an appointment to meet with me at least 24 hours in advance of class (not day of). 4. Students will complete a research proposal, 10-15 pages in length (excluding front matter and back matter), outlining a potential research agenda on some topic(s) related to the course. I expect these proposals to include a brief literature review and some set of research questions or hypotheses to be explored. In other words, it would include all the elements of a published article—except for the empirical section (although I would encourage students to engage in some preliminary or exploratory analyses if possible). Students should meet with me early in the semester to discuss their research proposal ideas. And, to encourage people to work early, I am asking students to submit an initial draft of their proposals early on in the semester that only I will review, and revised draft midway through the semester that students will peer review (more on that below). For the initial draft, I expect a one-page summary including: research question/puzzle, hypotheses, and a minimum of 5 sources (independent of the course readings) that will be in the literature review. I designed this assignment to evaluate students’ ability to develop an independent piece of research and to critically engage existing scholarship. The assignment will be graded on creativity, mastery of the existing literature, and overall research merit. The final drafts of the research proposals will be due no later than the last day of Final Exams. 5. We will learn to embrace peer review in this class, and we will work together to help each other write better papers. I will arrange things on our Canvas course page so that students can review each other’s drafts and write up short review memos. Here is how the process will work: Students will turn in their initial drafts, and I will provide the first set of comments. Then, each student would submit the revised drafts of their proposals, and I will shuffle those proposals and circulate them for 2/29 Race and American Politics peer review. Students will give feedback on the papers they were assigned by writing short memos (no longer than 2 pages). Each student will review two papers, which means that every proposal will have two peer-reviews. I will grade those memos based on a rubric that I will make available to everyone. Basically, this rubric will check to see if the feedback is helpful and clearly written, and that the memos begin with the reviewer explaining what they think the paper is about. By the time the end of the semester hits, everyone in the class will have gotten multiple sets of feedback on their revised drafts, and I expect students to weave the some (but not all) of that feedback into their final drafts. Grading Attendance/participation is worth 10% of your final grade. Each reaction paper is worth 15% (30% of your final grade for both). Leadership of class discussion is worth 10%. While the “initial” draft of is not graded, the “revised” and “final” drafts of your research proposal are worth 15% and 25% respectively. Peer-review memos are 5% apiece (for a combined total 10% of your final grade). Here are the due dates: • Declaration of Research Topic: The earlier the better, but I expect students to share their research ideas with me by September 13. • Class Discussion Leader: I will finalize the dates of these later, since students will need to complete a sign-in sheet to schedule when these will happen. Regardless of scheduling, every student will have the opportunity to lead at least one class discussion by December 7 (which is our last week of class). • Reaction Papers: Students should submit the first one to me by September 25. The second one is due by November 13. • Research Proposal Drafts: The initial draft is due on October 2, the revised draft (the one that gets peer-reviewed) will be due on November 6, and the final draft is due no later than December 18. • Peer Review Memos: Students will have peer-reviewed each other’s work by November 20. To evaluate the degree to which students meet these requirements, I use the standard Penn State Univer- sity grading scale. A 93 – 100 C+ 77 – 79 A– 90 – 92 C 73 – 76 B+ 87 – 89 D 70 – 72 B 83 – 86 D/F 60 – 69 B– 80 – 82 F 0 – 59 Tentative Course Schedule This schedule is tentative and subject to change. I will teach 15 lessons this semester, and those lessons are spread out over five distinct parts. Each of these lessons should take roughly one week to complete, but we might spend more time on a lesson if need be.
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