PSCI 663: Canadian Politics in Practice Winter, 2016 RCH 207

Transcription

1 PSCI 663: Canadian Politics in Practice Winter, 2016 RCH 207 Instructor: Dr. Anna Esselment Address: Office Location: Hagey Hall 304 Office Hours: Tuesday 9:30-11:30, Thursdays 1-3pm Course Description: This course aims to enhance your knowledge of persuasion, political marketing, and keys aspects of modern campaigning in Canadian politics and elsewhere. We will also examine other practices of politics, such as the role of political staff and consultants, and the notion of the permanent campaign in government. Course Objectives: By the end of this course, students should: Have a better understanding of the connections among psychology, persuasion, and modern campaign techniques; Be able to identify and explain the concepts of a political consumer and the political market; Be better acquainted with how branding and negative advertising are used to persuade voters and to evaluate their actual effectiveness; Be able to discuss the role of political parties as they intersect with political consultants and professional political staff; Be in a good position to critically assess the implications of these developments for democracy and democratic government. University Regulations: Cross-listed course Please note that a cross-listed course will count in all respective averages no matter under which rubric it has been taken. For example, a PHIL/PSCI cross-list will count in a Philosophy major average, even if the course was taken under the Political Science rubric. Academic Integrity Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is Page 1 of 10

2 unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals. Other sources of information for students: Academic Integrity website (Arts) Academic Integrity Office (UWaterloo) Accommodation for Students with Disabilities Note for students with disabilities: The AccessAbility Services office, located on the first floor of the Needles Hall extension (1401), collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term. Turnitin Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin ) will be used to screen assignments in this course. This is being done to verify that use of all material and sources in assignments is documented. In the first week of the term, details will be provided about the arrangements for the use of Turnitin in this course. If you don t wish to have your assignments put through Turnitin, you need to inform me by the end of the third week of classes (Jan 21, 2016). We will discuss alternatives to Turnitin such as, among other possibilities, an annotated bibliography, a scaffolding assignment where you submit an outline, a bibliography, and a draft of your paper in advance of the deadline, or an oral presentation on the topic in addition to the paper to demonstrate personal knowledge of the subject. Texts: Readings will be available from library resources, from the internet or from our D2L webpage, or from the instructor. Page 2 of 10

3 Course Evaluation: Participation 25% Presentation 15% Critical Comment Papers 30% Group Assignment 30% Due Thursday April 14 th, 2016 by 4pm Participation (25%) Participation grades are based on participation in each week's class discussion. It is expected that students will attend seminars having completed all of the required readings. Participation grades will reflect whether a student's contribution to class discussions demonstrates a familiarity with, and understanding of, these readings. While each student should participate frequently in discussions, the quality of the contribution is more important than quantity. Students are encouraged to come to class with prepared discussion questions to pose to the class. Positively Evaluated: Responding to others remarks or questions in a serious and thoughtful manner; drawing together ideas to create new ones; showing respect and interest for other arguments and points of view; engaging others in pertinent and informed dialogue; curiosity in the origin of other points of view; wit and insight. Negatively Evaluated: The domination of class discussion by means of volume, tone, or sarcasm; 100% speaking or 100% listening with little attempt to balance both; refusal to acknowledge other points of view; not listening or appearing to listen; intemperate interruptions; uninformed or glib answers, including just general opinion; lack of weekly preparation. Presentation (15%) The course will be structured around student presentations. Each student will be responsible for leading a seminar and presenting on two or more of the assigned readings (depending on class size). The purpose of the presentation is not to simply summarize the readings but to outline and critically evaluate the main arguments and ideas addressed. The student should have prepared questions to pose to the class about the reading in order to facilitate discussion. You can integrate other information into your presentation (current data or stories, YouTube videos, podcasts, etc.) if it helps to connect an/or illustrate the arguments and points within the literature. A summary of the main arguments from the readings and potential questions should be sent to the class (via the professor who will post them on LEARN) at least three days before our meeting (i.e. the Monday morning before) to help focus discussions. You will be able to choose the topic and/or week for your presentation via self-enrollment on Learn (under My Groups). Two students Page 3 of 10

4 will be the maximum allowed in a group, and you ll be expected to divide the readings assigned for that week among yourselves. Critical Comment Papers (30%) Graduate students are expected to submit four comment papers throughout the term. Each paper will be approximately four to five pages in length ( words) and will examine two (or more) of the week's readings. These papers must be handed in before the class in which the reading(s) in question are to be discussed (i.e. 8:45am). The purpose of the comment paper is NOT to summarize the readings but instead to briefly discuss one or two major points addressed by the author(s), to identify important questions or issues raised by the author(s) and to allow students to include their own observations, questions, and critical analysis. Students may choose the seminars for which to submit their papers. However, students may not submit a comment paper for the week in which they are scheduled to present. Late penalties do not apply to these assignments, and no extensions will be granted. Comment papers must be double spaced and submitted in hard copy form. submissions will not be accepted. A how to write a comment paper guide is posted on our Learn webpage. Group Assignment (30%) In groups of two or three, students will complete a major assignment that integrates much of what we ll learn in the course. Details of the assignment will be posted on our Learn webpage. Each group will also have to fill out the Group Assignment Checklist (found at the end of the course outline and posted to our Learn webpage) to ensure Academic Integrity and equality of work. Since you are in a graduate seminar, I am expecting that each student will perform ably for his/her fellow group members. Each member of the group will receive the same grade based on the quality of the assignment. Page 4 of 10

5 Schedule: January 7: Introduction to the course January 14: The Public and Mass Beliefs BBC Documentary: Century of the Self. Episode 1 Happiness Machines can be found at the link below: Video happiness-machine-480p_tv Episode 2 The Engineering of Consent can be found at the link here: Video Bernays, Edward (2005). Propaganda. New York: Ig Publishing (pp ; ). (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Dalton, R. J. (2006). Citizen politics (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press (chapter 2 The nature of mass beliefs, pp ). (Posted online.) January 21: Emotion, Persuasion and Political Psychology Cialdini, R.B. (2007). Influence: The psychology of persuasion. New York: HarperCollins, (introduction and chapter 1). (Posted online.) Brader, Ted. (2006). Campaigning for hearts and minds: How emotional appeals in political ads work. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (chapter 3). (Posted online.) West, D. (2007). The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation. United States: Public Affairs (introduction and chapters 1 and 2). (Posted online.) **in West s reading, he refers to a couple of political commercials: one is called Journey (the Clinton Democrats in 1992) and the other is Heart (the Kerry Democrats in 2004). Both can be found here if you are interested in watching them yourselves: Video January 28: Political marketing and consumer citizens BBC Documentary: Century of the Self. Episode 4 Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering. Can be found at the link here: Video Page 5 of 10

6 Newman, B.I. (1999). The mass marketing of politics: Democracy in an age of manufactured images. California: Sage Publications (introduction and chapters 1-3). (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Marland, Giasson, and Small Political Marketing in Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press. Chapter 1. (Posted online.) Delacourt, S. (2013). Shopping for votes: How politicians choose us and we choose them. Madeira Park, B.C.: Douglas and McIntyre (introduction and chapters 1-2). (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Savigny, H. (2008). The problem of political marketing. New York: Contiuum International Publishing Group Inc. (chapter 6 Marketing and malaise ). (Available from Dr. Esselment.) February 4: Political Parties and Political Consultants Lepore, J. (2012). The lie factory: How politics became a business. The New Yorker. Link here: Report Sabato, A. (1981). The rise of political consultants. New York: Basic Books, (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Dulio, D. (2006). Party crashers? The relationship between political consultants and political parties. In Richard S. Katz and William Crotty (eds.) Handbook of Party Politics. London: Sage Publications. (Posted online.) Lees-Marshment, Jennifer and Alex Marland Canadian Political Consultants Perspectives about Political Marketing. Canadian Journal of Communication 37, Available online from the library or the link here: Article February 11: Political Parties and Consultants Part II Movie: The War Room + discussion February 18: READING WEEK, NO CLASS. February 25: Campaigns and their Fundamentals I Public opinion, focus groups, targeting, and narrow-casting Page 6 of 10

7 Braun, A. (2012). The role of opinion research in setting campaign strategy. In J. Lees- Marshment (ed.), Routledge handbook of political marketing. London&New York: Routledge, (Posted online.) Flanagan, T. (2014). Winning Power: Canadian Campaigning in the 21 st Century. Montreal&Kingston: McGill-Queen s University Press. Chapter 4. (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Patten, S. (2015). Databases, Microtargeting and the Permanent Campaign: A Threat to Democracy? Paper presented to the Annual Meetings of the Canadian Political Science Association, Ottawa Ontario (June 2-4). (Posted online). Malchow, H. (2008). The new political targeting. Washington, D.C.: Predicted Lists (chapters 1-4). (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Savigny, H. (2007). Focus groups and political marketing: Science and democracy as axiomatic? The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 9 (1), CBC Podcast: The Victory Lab: Sasha Issenberg. Podcast View The Persuaders (episode six on Narrowcasting ): Video March 3: Campaigns and their Fundamental II: Branding and Images Needham, C. (2006). Brands and political loyalty. Journal of Brand Management, 13(3), (Posted online.) Cosgrove, K. (2012). Political branding in the modern age: Effective strategies, tools and techniques. In J. Lees-Marshment (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Political Marketing, (Posted online.) Marland, A. (2013). What is a political brand? Justin Trudeau and the theory of political branding. Paper presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Victoria, British Columbia. (Posted online). March 10: Images in Politics Movie: Wag the Dog + discussion March 17: The Practice of Going Negative in Politics Page 7 of 10

8 Burton, M.J. & Shea, D.M. (2010). Campaign craft: The strategies, tactics, and art of political campaign management (4 th ed). Santa Barbara, California: Praeger (chapter 3 opposition research ). (Posted online.) Ansolabehere, S.& Iyengar, S. (1995). Going negative: How attack ads shrink and polarize the electorate. New York: The Free Press (chapter 5 The withdrawal of the voter ). (Posted online). Geer, J.G. (2006). In defense of negativity: Attack ads in presidential campaigns. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (chapter 1). (Posted online.) Lau, R.R., Sigelman, L., & Rovner, I.B. (2007). The effects of negative political campaigns: A meta-analytical reassessment. The Journal of Politics, 69(4), Journal Flanagan, T Winning Power: Canadian Campaigning in the 21 st Century. Montreal&Kingston: McGill-Queen s University Press. Chapter 8. (Posted online). CBC Podcast: Age of Persuasion Negative Advertising (streaming audio) Podcast View presidential attack ads: Video Most famous ads: Democrat 1964 Peace Little Girl (Daisy) Republican 1988 Willie Horton Most informative ads: Democrat 1964 Social Security Democrat 1976 Streetgov Republican 2004 Windsurfing Other Effective ads: Democrat 1960 Nixon s Experience Democrat Percent Democrat 2012 Understands View 60 years of presidential attack ads with The Atlantic : Video March 24: Political Participation and GOTV Wattenberg, M. (2002). Where have all the voters gone? Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press (chapters 1 and 2, 11-57). (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Gerber, A.S. & Green, D.P. (2000). The effects of canvassing, telephone calls, and direct mail on voter turnout: A field experiment. American Political Science Review, 94(3), Issenberg, S. (2012). The Victory Lab. New York: Crown Publishers (chapters 4 The two percent solution and 7 When shame pays a house call ). (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Page 8 of 10

9 Taylor-Vaisey, N. (2015, October 28). What decline? New voters flocked to Liberals. Maclean s. (Posted online.) Harrell, A. and T. Gosselin (2015). The youth vote and the 2015 election. In Alex Marland and Thierry Giasson (eds.), Canadian Election Analysis: Communication, Strategy, and Democracy. Vancouver: UBC Press. E-Book. Free to download: Video March 31: The Permanent Campaign Heclo, H. (2000). Campaigning and governing: A conspectus. In N.J. Ornstein and T.E. Mann (Eds)., The Permanent Campaign and Its Future. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute and The Brookings Institution, (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Flanagan, T. (2012). Political communication and the permanent campaign. In D. Taras & C. Waddell (Eds.), How Canadians communicate IV: Media and politics. Edmonton, Alberta: Athabasca University Press, (Posted online.) Ornstein, N.J.& Mann, T.E. (2002). Conclusion: The permanent campaign and the future of American democracy. In N.J. Ornstein and T.E. Mann (Eds)., The Permanent Campaign and Its Future. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute and The Brookings Institution, (Available from Dr. Esselment.) Delacourt, S. (2015). Was 2015 the year that killed the permanent campaign? From ipolitics.ca, (Posted online.) April 7: Reflections on the democratic impact of how politics is practiced in Canada and beyond. General discussion. Page 9 of 10

10 Group Assignment Checklist Please read the checklist below following the completion of your group assignment. Once you have verified these points, hand in this signed checklist with your group assignment. 1. All team members have referenced and footnoted all ideas, words or other intellectual property from other sources used in the completion of this assignment. 2. A proper bibliography has been included, which includes acknowledgement of all sources used to complete this assignment. 3. This is the first time that any member of the group has submitted this assignment or essay (either partially or entirely) for academic evaluation. 4. Each member of the group has read the full content of the submission and is assured that the content is free of violations of academic integrity. Group discussions regarding the importance of academic integrity have taken place. 5. Each student has identified his or her individual contribution to the work submitted such that if violations of academic integrity are suspected, then the student primarily responsible for the violations may be identified. Note that in this case the remainder of the team may also be subject to disciplinary action. Course: Assignment: Date: Name (print) Signature Section Contributed Section Edited Page 10 of 10