. Shanto Iyengar, Stanford University, (undergraduate) Campaigns, Voting, Media, and Elections (Winter Quarter, )

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1 . Shanto Iyengar, Stanford University, (undergraduate) Campaigns, Voting, Media, and Elections (Winter Quarter, ) POLISCI 120B Campaigns, Voting, Media and Elections Winter Quarter, Political Science 120B Communication 162/262 Econ140 MW 9-10:50am Instructor Shanto Iyengar 435 Encina Hall 440 McClatchy Hall MW (and by appt.) TAs Colin McCubbins Solomon Messing TEXTS Iyengar and McGrady, Media Politics: A Citizen's Guide (Second Edition). W. W. Norton, ISBN All other required readings will be made available online. Access to the readings will be restricted to those enrolled or auditing the course. SUMMARY This course examines the theory and practice of American political campaigns. First, we will attempt to explain the behavior of the key players -- candidates, journalists, and voters -- in terms of the institutional arrangements and political incentives that confront them. Second, we will use the 2008 and ongoing 2012 election campaigns as "laboratories" for testing generalizations about campaign strategy and voter behavior. Third, we examine selections from the academic literature dealing with the immediate effects of campaigns on public opinion and voter behavior as well as more long-term consequences for governance and the political process. REQUIREMENTS Your grade will be based on a midterm, final exam (non-cumulative) and a research paper. The exams will each count for 25 percent of the grade, the paper for 40 percent and the remaining 10 percent is based on participation in the discussion section. The research paper will address some issue or aspect of political campaigns, summarize what is known about the issue, and then

2 present relevant evidence (quantitative "data") derived from the 2008, 2010 or 2012 campaigns. The deadline for selecting a paper topic is Feb 29. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). Professional staff will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is being made. Students should contact the OAE as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations. The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone: , URL: SCHEDULE/READINGS Jan 9 (m) Introduction Media Politics, Ch 1: Introduction - Image is Everything, Jan 11 (w), 18 (w) From Party to Media-Based Campaigns Media Politics, Ch.2: The Press and the Democratic Process Consequences of Party Reform - Ch.1: The Party Reforms and How They Grew, Polsby Polls or pols? The real driving force behind presidential nominations, Cohen et al. Party polarization in American politics: Characteristics, Causes and Consequences, Layman et al. Jan 23 (m), Jan 25 (w) Changing Role of the Press Media Politics, Ch.3: The Media Marketplace Media Politics, Ch.4: Reporters, Official Sources, and the Decline of Adversarial Journalism Sound Bite Democracy, Hallin New media and the polarization of political discourse, Baum and Groeling The rule of product substitution in presidential campaign news, Zaller Government's little helper, Zaller and Chiu

3 Jan 30 (m) Guest Lecture by David Hill (Hill Research Group) on the state of the Republican nomination campaign Feb 1 (w) New Media, New Rules Media Politics Ch.5: The Rise of New Media Out of print; The death and life of the American newspaper, Alterman The Political Blogosphere and the 2004 Election: Divided They Blog, Adamanic & Glance Self-segregation or deliberation? Blog readership, participation, and polarization in American Politics, Lawrence et al. "Googlearchy;" How a Few Heavily-Linked Sites Dominate Politics on the Web, Hindman et al. Feb 6 (m) Candidates as Rational Actors Media Politics, Ch.6: Campaigning Through the Media, pp Candidate positioning in House elections, Ansolabehere et al. Religion and party activists: A "Perfect Storm" of polarization or a recipe for pragmatism?, Layman Rhetorical convergence and issue knowledge in the 2000 presidential election, Waldman and Jamieson Feb 8 (w) Candidate Strategy (Free Media) Media Politics, Ch.6: Campaigning Through the Media, pp , Issue ownership in presidential elections, Petrocik Riding the wave and claiming ownership over issues, Ansolabehere and Iyengar Feb 13 (m), Feb 15 (w) Advertising Strategy Media Politics, Ch.6: Campaigning Through the Media, pp

4 Duck or Punch: Dialogue in a California Gubernatorial Election, Simon Fanning the Flames, Geer Feb 22 (w) Midterm Exam The exam format includes multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. Feb 27 (m), Feb 29 (w deadline for paper topic) Understanding Public Opinion Media Politics, Ch.8: News and Public Opinion The Reasoning Voter, Chapter 3, Popkin Cross-National versus Individual-Level Differences in Political Information: A Media Systems Perspective, Iyengar, et al. Misperceptions, the Media and the Iraq war, Kull Who would believe that Obama is Muslim?, Markman Mar 5 (m) A Polarized Electorate? A Divider, Not a Uniter: Did it Have to Be?, Fiorina The 2008 Election: Polarization Continues, Abramowitz Red Media, Blue Media: Evidence of Ideological Selectivity in Media Use, Iyengar and Hahn Do Fox viewers also watch CNN?, Prior Mar 7 (w), Mar 12 (m) Campaign Effects Media Politics, Ch.9: Campaigns That Matter Forecasting the 2008 Presidential Election with the Time-for-Change Model, Abramowitz Executing Hortons: Racial Crime in the 1988 Presidential Campaign Bias in the flesh: Attack ads and the effects of visual cues in the 2008 presidential campaign

5 Basic Rule Voting, Iyengar and Petrocik The duration of advertising effects in the 2000 presidential election, Hill et al. Sample Papers: Political Ambiguity Clinton and Obama Go Negative Faith and the Media Issue Ownership and Internet Search Traffic Sarah Palin and Gender Predicting Presidential Elections Mar 14 (w) The Permanent Campaign Media Politics, Ch.7: Going Public, Ch.10: The Consequences of Going Public Consequences of Party Reform - Ch.3: Consequences for Governing, Polsby Media Politics, Ch.11: Evaluating Media Politics