Politics in the U.S

Politics in the U.S.

David Lublin [email protected] Government 110-004 (202) 885-2913 Monday and Thursday, 11:20am-12:35pm Ward 212

Office Hours : Monday 12:35-1:05pm, 2:30-5:00pm, Wednesday 10am-1pm. Students may also email or make arrangements to meet with me at other times.

Overview

Objective : This semester is an exciting time to study American politics. A new presidential administration has taken office and the country is in the midst of an economic crisis and fighting two wars. The Democrats now control of the presidency and both houses of Congress for the first time since 1992, and the Republicans are looking to regroup. This course will survey American political institutions, both how they are chosen and how they operate.

Class Design : This class will combine lecture and discussion. Students are expected to come to class having read the assigned material and ready to discuss it. My expectation is that you will come to class on time, well-prepared; and that you will be ready to raise intelligent questions and to offer thoughtful insights into the topics that we discuss.

Required Texts : Karen O’Connor and Larry J. Sabato, American Government: Continuity and Change , 2008 Alternate Edition.

Any readings not in the text will be available online through e-reserves on Blackboard.

Graded Work

Students will write three exams and two short research papers during the semester. Your grade will be calculated roughly as follows: 15 percent for Exam 1, 20 percent for Exam 2, 25 percent for Exam 3, 20 percent for the Opposition Research Assignment, and 20 percent for the Political Reform Analysis paper.

This course will be using Turnitin.com—an online text-matching program, as part of a university pilot- test of this application. The pilot is designed to examine how text-matching software may help to educate students about the writing process and also foster academic integrity. Students will need to turn in a hard copy of the paper to me as well as an electronic copy on turnitin.com . To sign up for Turnitin, you need to go to www.turnitin.com and click on New Users at the top of the page. The class ID is 2796011 and the password is “eagle”.

I tend to bump up the grades of students with outstanding class participation and who improve their grades during the course. Papers that are turned in late get docked 1/3 of a grade per day (i.e. a B+ paper that is one-day late receives a B). You should complete your paper enough in advance so that any last minute problems with computers or printers do not prevent you from turning in the paper on time. If a paper is late, I will not count it as handed in until a hard copy is turned into me personally or to the Department of Government during business hours.

Exams : The three exams for this course will be held on September 24 , October 26 , and December 3 . You must take the exam in class on the day of the exam. Exceptions will be granted in only the most exceptional of circumstances and if the professor is contacted in advance of the exam . Even if you are sick, I expect you to contact me in advance of the exam and to provide documentation of your illness. Remember, you can leave messages for me at either (202) 885-2913 or [email protected]. If you fail to attend an exam without being excused in advance, you will receive a zero for the exam.

Policy Briefing . Students will write a 4-page paper evaluating a potential Obama administration policy from both a policy and political perspective. It will be great to have people in class who are experts on a wide range of policies, so only a limited number of students may write on any one policy. Instructions for this assignment have already been posted to Blackboard. The paper is due on September 21 .

Political Reform Analysis . Students will write a 3-4 page paper analyzing a political reform. Detailed instructions and paper topic options for this assignment have already been posted to Blackboard. The paper is due on April 3 .

Academic Integrity Code : The University has detailed rules about cheating and plagiarism. Students may learn more about the Code by visiting http://www.american.edu/american/registrar/aic.htm . According to the Academic Integrity Code, ethical violations include:

Plagiarism . All references to the works of others must be properly credited. Direct quotations must be in quotations and sourced; paraphrased material must be cited. Inappropriate Collaboration . Work done in collaboration with others requires acknowledgement. Utilizing work done in collaboration with others for another class without permission of the instructor and proper citation violates this rule. Dishonesty in Exams. Exams should be your own work; you should not give or gain the assistance of others in the completion of exams. Recycled Papers . Papers (and portions of papers) submitted for one course may not be submitted again for credit in another course without permission from the instructors in both courses. You also may not resubmit for credit a paper (or portions of papers) written at another institution. Falsification of Data . Falsifying data or distorting supporting documentation means that others means that other cannot rely on your conclusions or honesty and is consequently prohibited. Interference with Other Students' Work . Self-explanatory and self-evidently despicable.

Student violations of academic integrity will be dealt with swiftly.

Class Rules, Professor-Student Etiquette and Notes

1. Please turn off your cell phones, beepers and all other electronic devices that you bring with you to class . Do not, at any point, take out your phone, beeper, etc. to check your messages during class. Do not put your phone, PDA, etc., on your desk or anywhere else that I can see it. Any student who fails to comply with this rule will be dismissed from class.

2. Do not come to class late . Late to class is defined as entering class after the professor has begun the class presentation or lecture.

3. You may not use a tape recorder, personal digital assistant or personal computer in class. Students with documented disabilities requiring the use of such assistance should see the instructor for an exemption to this rule.

4. Please do not read the newspaper, mark up your day-timer, read a novel or prepare for any other class while you are in my class . Any student who fails to comply with this rule will be dismissed from class.

5. Do not wander in and out of class . Once you arrive in class please stay there.

6. Students are responsible for keeping up with class assignments, including assignments missed because of absences . The professor is not responsible for informing students of their class responsibilities beyond those which are announced in class.

7. The professor retains the right to alter or abolish any term or condition of this syllabus at any time . The professor will announce any such change or changes in class, and is not required to give the student written notice. In any such case, students will be given ample notice of such changes that will not affect their ability to complete an assignment.

Syllabus

Monday, August 24: Introduction

Thursday, August 27: Political Parties

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 12 (pp. 404-13, 416-33).

Monday, August 31: The Presidency and the Nomination Process

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 13 (pp. 467-73). O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 14 (pp. 515-23). O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 8 (pp. 272-305).

Thursday, September 3: The Innovative Obama Campaign

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 14 (pp. 504-6). Ryan Lizza, “Battle Plans: How Obama won,” New Yorker , 17 November 2008. Joshua Green, “The Amazing Money Machine,” Atlantic, June 2008. Brian Stelter, “The Facebooker Who Friended Obama,” New York Times , 7 July 2008. Adam Nagourney, “The ’08 Campaign: Sea Change for Politics as We Know It,” New York Times , 4 November 2008. Claire Cain Miller, “How Obama’s Internet Campaign Changed Politics,” New York Times , 7 November 2008. David Talbot, “How Obama Really Did It: The social-networking strategy that took an obscure senator to the doors of the White House,” Technology Review , September/October 2008. David Talbot, ”The Democrats’ New Weapon: The Obama campaign helped make the DNC’s voter database 10 times larger,” Technology Review , 18 December 2008.

Monday, September 7: Labor Day, No Class

Thursday, September 10: Polling, Party Identification, and Voting Behavior

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 12 (pp. 433-41). O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 13 (pp. 460-63).

Monday, September 14: Campaign Finance

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 14 (pp. 508-15).

Thursday, September 17: Congress

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, Chapter 7 (pp. 234-71).

Monday, September 21: DC and Maryland Politics

Reading: Start reading for the next class. ***Policy Briefing Due

Thursday, September 24: Exam I

Monday, September 28: The Constitution

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, Chapter 2 (pp. 30-62). O’Connor and Sabato, The U.S. Constitution (pp. 64-93). O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 3 (pp. 94-102).

Guest Speaker: ????

Thursday, October 1: Incumbency Advantage and Congressional Elections

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 13 (pp. 464-7, 478-86). O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 7 (pp. 249-51).

Monday, October 5: Electoral College

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 13 (pp. 473-8, 486-9). O’Connor and Sabato, reread part of Chapter 14 (pp. 523-4). Start reading for the next class.

Thursday, October 8: Civil Liberties

Note: Class will consist primarily of a discussion of the extent of First Amendment rights on campus as well as civil liberties more generally, so be especially well-prepared to participate. Links to readings are also in E-Reserves or Links on Blackboard.

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, Chapter 5 (pp. 152-90). AU Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policy http://www.american.edu/handbook/Discrimination_Policy.html AU Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Policy http://www.american.edu/handbook/discrimination.html AU Freedom of Expression Guidelines http://www.american.edu/handbook/other.html#expression

Browse through a couple of the following articles and web links to get a greater sense of the issue in advance of our class discussion:

Nat Hentoff, “Speech Codes: On the Campus and Problems of Free Speech, Dissent (Fall 1991), 546-9. Nat Hentoff is a major opponent of speech codes and doesn’t shy away from the issue of the use of very hateful speech. Don’t read if you can’t take reading some hateful words and epithets in print. http://www.michaelbryson.net/teaching/csun/hentoff.pdf Eugene Volokh, “Coding Campus: The problem of speech codes,” National Review , 21 November 2002. Eugene Volokh is a UCLA Law Professor and prominent conservative blogger. http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-volokh112102.asp Ellen Paltiel, “Review of Speaking of Race, Speak of Sex by Henry Louis Gates Jr.,” Journal of Blacks in Higher Education , No. 8 (Summer 1995), 98-100. Access through E-Reserves on Blackboard or JSTOR. Alice K. Ma, “Campus Hate Speech Codes: Affirmative Action in the Allocation of Speech Rights, California Law Review 83: 2(March 1995), 693-732. Access through E-Reserves on Blackboard or JSTOR. “Speech Code Issues” at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/5675.html “ACA Model Campus Speech Code.” http://cavern.uark.edu/depts/comminfo/www/campus.speech.html “University of Alabama Faculty Senate ‘Hate Speech’ Resolution.” http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/5043.html

Monday, October 12: Redistricting I

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, reread part of Chapter 13 (pp. 479-81). David Lublin, “Race, Representation, and Redistricting,” Chapter 5 in Paul E. Peterson, Classifying by Race (pp. 111-28).

Thursday, October 15: Redistricting II

Reading: Same as previous class.

Monday, October 19: Civil Rights I

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, Chapter 6 (pp. 192-232).

Thursday, October 22: Civil Rights II

Reading: David Remnick, “The Joshua Generation: Race and the campaign of Barack Obama,” New Yorker , 17 November 2008. Andrew Sullivan, ed., Same –Sex Marriage: Pro and Con, A Reader (Vintage 1997), pp. 213-38.

Monday, October 26: Exam II

Thursday, October 29: Judiciary and Interest Groups

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, Chapter 10 (pp. 334-74). O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 3 (pp. 103-8, 115-19). O’Connor and Sabato, Chapter 16 (pp. 566-95).

Monday, November 2: Interest Groups and Shadow Governments

Reading: Joel Garreau, Edge City , Chapter 6 on “Phoenix: Shadow Government”, pp. 179-208.

Thursday, November 5: Media and Politics

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, Chapter 15 (pp. 530-64). ***Political Reform Analysis Due

Monday, November 9: Participation

Reading: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 13 (pp. 447-60). Jill Lepore, “Rock, Paper, Scissors: How we used to vote,” New Yorker , 13 October 2008.

Thursday, November 12: Running for Local Office

Reading: Begin reading for next few classes.

Monday, November 16: Realignment I

Readings: O’Connor and Sabato, part of Chapter 12 (pp. 427-9). V.O. Key, Jr., “A Theory of Critical Elections”, Journal of Politics 17: 1 (February 1995): 3-18. V.O. Key, Jr., “Secular Realignment and the Party System”, Journal of Politics 21: 2(May 1959): 198-210.

Note: These readings are old but are real classics in the field. I’d like you to think about both the idea of realignment and if we have had one recently, or are in the process of having one, as we explore realignment.

Thursday, November 19: Realignment II

Readings: Charles S. Bullock, III, Donna R. Hoffman, and Ronald Keith Gaddie, “The Consolidation of the White Southern Congressional Vote,” Political Research Quarterly 58: 2(June 2005): 231-43. Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Mark Brewer, R. Eric Petersen, Mary P. McGuire, and Lori Beth Way, “Class and Party: Secular Realignment and the Survival of Democrats outside the South”, Political Research Quarterly 53: 4(December 2000): 731-52.