Department of Political Science

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE PO 513 PUBLIC OPINION AND GROUPS Spring Semester 2014 Professor Wilson

This course focuses on ways in which interests in American society seek to advance their beliefs and interests. We explore the role that groups play in our politics and the distribution of power between them.

The course has an unusual structure. In the first part of the course – from the start of the semester until Spring Break – the course has a conventional lecture/discussion structure. This part of the course ends with a mid term exam held in class.

After Spring Break, however, you will all be asked to form teams that will conduct research on a particular interest group which could be an organization such as Greenpeace, a union such as the National Education Association or a corporation such as Goldman Sachs. I work with each team form Spring Break until mid April on developing the reports; each team then presents its report to the class as a whole.

I have asked Barnes and Noble to stock three books for the course which we will discuss: all are cheap particularly in their Kindle version and illustrate themes we shall discuss. They are:

McCarty, Nolan, Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal 2013 Political Bubbles: Financial Crises and the Failure of American Democracy Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Schlozman, Kay Lehman, Sidney Verba and Henry Brady 2012 Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Access and the Broken Promise of American Democracy Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Kaiser, Robert G 2013 Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works and How it Doesn’t New York: Knopf.

There are further readings on the learn.bu.edu web site for the course.

Course Requirements.

By the time of the midterm you need to have given me critical reviews of TWO of the books listed above. This counts for 30% of your final grade.

You are required to take a midterm exam which follows a conventional format – essays and short answer. It is assumed that by the time of the mid term you have read the three books listed above and have taken good notes in class. This counts for 30% of your final grade. The unusual part of the course is that the rest of your grade is based on the contributions you make to producing a quality research report. I have my ways (which I’ll outline in class) to check on what your contribution has been; attempts to free ride on the efforts your colleagues are doomed to disaster! This assignment counts for 30% of your final grade.

Class attendance and participation counts for 10 % of your final grade.

January 27 The Fundamental Issues: Pluralism, Power and Conflict

February 3 Techniques of Influence: Elections and Campaign Finance

February 10 Techniques of Influence: Lobbying

February 17 Techniques of Influence: Executive Branch politics

February 24 Techniques of Influence; Regulation and Courts

March 3 Only in America? The US system in comparative perspective.

March 10 Midterm Break

March 17 Midterm Exam

March 24 Team time: we chose topics and partners

April 21 Team Reports

April 28 1 Team Reports