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Class details Presidents, Congress, and the Transition to Power (UPADM-GP 9221) M-F 9:30-12:00 Location to be confirmed. Instructor Paul C. Light Details Robert F. Wagner School of Government New York University [email protected] Prerequisites Introduction to American Government preferred but not required Class This course will explore the transition into office during January 2013. It will focus specifically Description on the presidential transition, but will also examine changes in Congress as new members arrive and are defeated or retiring members leave. The course will focus on the transition process from beginning to end. Although the process will begin immediately after election day, it will reach a crescendo in early January as the president makes appointments to key posts, sets the agenda, builds his Inaugural Address, and lays claim to a mandate for his first 100 days. The course will feature extensive readings on the transition process, including its political context, the role of the president elect, the impact of his leadership on his place in history, and the effort to shape the course of history over the coming term. The course will also include visits from Washington insiders, including members of Congress, top presidential appointees, lobbyists, journalists, scholars, and other opinion-leaders. The course will cover all aspects of the transition, including discussions of specific issues facing the nation, and the brief honeymoon that the new president will enjoy. It will also include visits to Capitol Hill, the Executive Office of the President, K Street firms, trade associations, and think tanks, including the following tentative individuals and destinations: The White House, Office of Management and Budget, transition office, and Executive Office of the president with possible speakers such as White House Chief of Staff and former senior NYU administrator Jack Lew, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients, and White House advisor Valerie Jarrett. Several key departments of government, including the departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, and Department of Energy, and high-level officials in the secretary’s offices and policy units such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Page 1 of 10 Top congressional advisory offices, including the Government Accountability Office and its Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the Congressional Research Service, and the Congressional Budget Office. Top Senate and House committees and current and former members such as the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the House and Senate Budget Committees, and key members such as Sens. Mark Warner and Claire McCaskill, and Reps. Henry Waxman and Darrell Issa, as well as key staff members. Lobbying firms such as Duberstein and Associates and top executives and former Washington insiders such as Ken Duberstein and Mike Berman. Polling firms such as Princeton Survey Research Associates and the Pew Research Center, and their top scholars such as Scott Keeter and Mary McIntosh, as well as Democratic and Republican pollsters such as Celinda Lake. Think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, Center for American Progress, and Heritage Foundation, and top scholars at each such as Tom Mann, Norman Ornstein, and former White House chief of staff John Podesta. Public Interest Groups such as the Project on Government Oversight and its president Danielle Bryan. Past transition planners such as former White House chief of staff Mac McClarty (Clinton), Brent Scowcroft (Reagan), and Clay Johnson (George W. Bush). Students will also visit a number of key institutions involved in transitions and American presidential history, including the House and Senate, the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Natural History, Newseum, and the National Archives. For example, students will spend time at the Newseum’s special exhibit “Every Four Years” (visit http://www.newseum.org/exhibits-and-theaters/temporary-exhibits/every-four- years/index.html for an introduction), the National Portrait Gallery’s special exhibit “A Nation Emerges” (http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/1812/), and the Museum of American History’s exhibit on “The American Presidency: A glorious burden (http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=87). Students are expected to attend all class meetings, complete readings on time for discussion, and complete a 20-page (5,000 words) research paper on a specific aspect of the transition. Students will be given a list of possible topics, but may propose others. The research project will examine the history of the topic, explore the 2013 reality, and form recommendations for improving transitions in the future. These recommendations will be presented to key policymakers at the end of the course. Desired There are five learning objectives for this course: (1) understand the basic framework of Outcomes presidential transitions into office, be it into a first or second term, (2) analyze the role that presidential and congressional relations affect a president’s agenda, (3) analyze the role of presidential characteristics on governing, (4) examine recent changes in the political process that affect presidential and congressional relations today, and (5) use critical thinking skills to analyze a specific challenge facing the next president. Page 2 of 10 Assessment Participation (10%) Components Mid-term Exam (20%) Twenty-page Research Paper (50%) Final Exam (30%) Failure to submit or fulfill any required course component results in failure of the class. Assessment Grade A: The student makes excellent use of empirical and theoretical material and offers Expectations well-structured arguments in his/her work. The student writes comprehensive essays / exam questions and his/her work shows strong evidence of critical thought and extensive reading. Grade B: The candidate shows a good understanding of the problem and has demonstrated the ability to formulate and execute a coherent research strategy. Grade C: The work is acceptable and shows a basic grasp of the research problem. However, the work fails to organize findings coherently and is in need of improvement. Grade D: The work passes because some relevant points are made. However, there may be a problem of poor definition, lack of critical awareness, poor research. Grade F: The work shows that the research problem is not understood; there is little or no critical awareness and the research is clearly negligible. Grade NYU Washington, DC uses the following scale of numerical equivalents to letter grades: conversion 100-94 A 76-74 C 93-90 A- 73-70 C- 89-87 B+ 69-67 D+ 86-84 B 65-66 D 83-80 B- below 65 F 79-77 C+ Attendance NYU Washington, DC has a strict policy about course attendance. No unexcused absences are Policy permitted. All medical-based absence requests MUST be presented by the student to the Program Manager for Student Life (Candice Clawson) before or during the class that is missed. Candice can help arrange doctor's appointments. In case of a longer-lasting illness, medical documentation must be provided. All non-medical absence requests must be presented by the student to the Program Manager for Academic Affairs (Lauren Sinclair). Non-medical requests should be made in advance of the intended absence. Each unexcused absence from class or external events, meetings, and tours will be penalized by deducting 1% from the student’s final course mark. Unexcused absences from exams are Page 3 of 10 not permitted and will result in failure of the exam. If you are granted an excused absence from examination (with authorization, as above), your instructor will decide how you will make up the assessment component, if at all (by make-up examination, extra coursework, or an increased weighting on an alternate assessment component, etc.). NYU Washington, DC expects students to arrive to class promptly (both at the beginning and after any breaks), to be attentive, and to remain for the duration of the class. If full class attendance becomes a problem, it is the prerogative of each instructor to deduct from the final grade for late arrival and early departure. Being more than 10 minutes late counts as an unexcused absence. Please note that for classes involving a field trip or other external visit, transportation difficulties are never grounds for an excused absence. It is the student’s responsibility to arrive at the announced meeting point in a punctual and timely fashion. Staff members may always be reached by cell phone for advice regarding public transportation. Late (1) Written work due in class must be submitted during the class time to the professor. Submission of Work (2) Late work should be submitted in person to the instructor or to the Program Manager for Academic Affairs (Lauren Sinclair), who will write on the essay or other work the date and time of submission, in the presence of the student. Work cannot be left for Lauren under the door or on her desk, in her absence. If Lauren is not in her office, another member of the administrative staff can accept the work and write the date and time of submission on the work, again only in the physical presence of the student. (3) Work submitted within 5 weekdays after the submission time without an agreed extension receives a penalty of 10 points on the 100 point scale (4) Without an approved extension, written work submitted more than 5 weekdays following the session date fails and is given a zero. (5) Please note: end of semester essays must be submitted on time. (6) If for whatever reason you feel you cannot submit any written work in time, you should discuss this with Lauren. (7) Students who are late for a written exam have no automatic right to take extra time or to write the exam on another day. Students with Accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities.