POLI 325 United States Politics 1

Transcription

1 Political science POLI 325 United States Politics 1 Term: Fall 2018 Instructor: Simon Langlois-Bertrand Office, office hours & phone: Please see MyCourses for up-to-date information Class Time: Wednesdays and Fridays 8:35am to 9:55am (DUFF THTR 1) simon.langlois-bertrand@mcgill.ca (please put POLI325 in the subject) Conference and teaching assistant information can be found on MyCourses Prerequisite: POLI 200 or POLI 212 or written permission from the instructor. Restrictions: Not open to students who have taken POLI 325D1/D2 Course Description This course provides an introduction to U.S. politics. It discusses the founding of the American political system, with emphasis on the major documents, the Constitutional Convention, and the Federalist Papers, as well as the development of the constitutional system over time. Other fundamental characteristics, including political thought and federalism, will be examined. The main institutions, including the presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court, will receive attention. The course is built around three main objectives, ensuring that students will: 1. Learn the key historical and technical elements underpinning the U.S. political system and its institutions; 2. Understand the constraints that these elements put on the political institutions and their capacity to resolve political and public policy issues; 3. Think critically about how this capacity to resolve public problems and the perspectives it provides for the future of U.S. politics. MyCourses and communication Students will be provided with detailed instructions and guidelines for each assignment in class and via MyCourses. Students are responsible for getting this information and contacting the instructor or their teaching assistant for any precisions they feel necessary. Regular updates will be posted on MyCourses, so students are strongly encouraged to check the website on a daily basis for updates, as well as ensuring that their McGill works properly. 1

2 All assignments will be submitted through the MyCourses platform. Course format and text This course combines lectures and conferences. At the beginning of the term, lectures will be held from 8:35 to 9:55. Later in the term we will switch to one-hour lectures, with the exception of the midterm examination session on October 19 th. Announcements will be made during class and on MyCourses regarding registration for conferences and when they will begin. All assigned readings are mandatory. Many of the readings are from the following two texts: Wilson, DiIulio, and Bose, American Government: Institutions and Policies (2018), 16th Edition. William Lasser (2011), Perspectives on American Politics, 6th Edition. The two books are available in the Bookstore as a bundle. All other readings will be posted on MyCourses, with links through the library website when applicable. Evaluation Item Date Weight Mid-term examination October 19 th 20% Research paper November 27 th 40% Conference participation N/A 10% Final exam N/A 30% Total 100% Policy on late assignments. All assignments are due online through MyCourses, before 11:59pm on the night of the due date. No copy will be accepted, no paper copy will be accepted. Exceptions on these criteria must be justified with the instructor ahead of the due date, in which case alternative arrangements will be made if necessary. Late assignments will be penalized by 5% a day, up to a maximum of 10 days (50%). The midnight cut-off always applies to determine the number of days to be counted in the late penalty. Assignments submitted after 11:59pm on the night of the tenth day following the due date will automatically be given a grade of 0. Extensions/exceptions will not be granted except on medical grounds, with appropriate documentation. These rules are enforced to ensure fairness across the large number of students registered in the course. Research paper. Instructions for the research paper will be provided in class during the first week of the semester. Note that although the paper is due on November 27 th, the research question must be approved by the instructor before the end of week #4. 2

3 Conference attendance and participation. Information on conference schedule and participation grades will be provided in the first week of the semester. Mid-term and final exam. The mid-term will be held in class on October 19 th. The cumulative final exam will be held during the exam period. A description of each exam s format and content will be provided in class. Topics and schedule The following list of topics is offered as a tentative schedule only. Flexibility being essential in order to cover the course material at a pace that works for both the students and the instructor, some changes may be made at the discretion of the latter. Please refer to MyCourses throughout the semester for an up-to-date list of readings and topics. Week #1 September 5 th and 7 th Introduction and historical background Wilson et al., Chapter 1 Samuel P. Huntington (1995), Political Modernization: America vs. Europe, in T. Skocpol and J.L. Campbell (eds.), America Society and Politics, New York: McGraw-Hill, pp Familiarize yourself with the highlights of American political history, and study the declaration of independence Week #2 September 12 th and 14 th Emergence of the Constitution Wilson et al., Chapter 2 Lasser, Chapter 1 Federalist papers #37, #70, #78 Study the US Constitution carefully Week #3 September 19 th and 21 st Political thought J.A. Morone and R. Kersh (2018), By the People, 3 rd edition, Oxford University Press, Chapter 2: The ideas that shape America, pp S.M. Lipset (1996), American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword, W.W. Norton, Chapter 1: Ideology, Politics, and Deviance, pp and Chapter 2: Economy, Religion, and Welfare, pp

4 Chris McGreal (2017), The S-word : how young Americans fell in love with socialism, The Guardian (September 2 nd ), online Week #4 September 26 th and 28 th Congress Wilson et al., Chapter 13 Ross K. Baker (2008), House and Senate, W.W. Norton, Chapter 3: Raw numbers and concurrent majorities, pp Lasser, 9.1, 9.2, 9.4 and 9.5 David T. Canon, JJ. Coleman and K.R. Mayer (2017), The Enduring Debate, 8 th edition, W.W. Norton, Chapter 5: Congress, pp Week #5 October 3 rd and 5 th The Presidency Wilson et al., Chapter 14 Lasser, 10.1 to 10.5 F.I. Greenstein (2009), The Presidential Difference, Princeton University Press, Chapter 15: Lessons From the Modern Presidency, pp Week #6 October 10 th and 12 th The Judiciary Wilson et al., Chapter 16 D.M. O Brien (2011), Storm Center : The Supreme Court in American Politics, 9th edition, W.W. Norton, Chapter 4: Deciding What to Decide, pp Lasser, Chapter 12 Week #7 October 17 th and 19 th Mid-term review and mid-term examination. 4

5 Week #8 October 24 th and 26 th Federalism Wilson et al., Chapter 3 Ken Kollman, ed. (2018), Readings in American Politics, 4 th edition, W.W. Norton, Chapter 3: Federalism, pp G. Peele, C.J. Bailey, B. Cain, and B.G. Peters (2010), Developments in American Politics, Palgrave Macmillan, Chapter 10: American Federalism in the Twenty- First Century, pp Week #9 October 31 st and 2 nd Bureaucracy Wilson et al., Chapter 15 Lasser, 11.2 and 11.3 J.Q. Wilson (1989), Bureaucracy : What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do it, Basic Books, Chapter 10 : Turf, pp , and Chapter 11: Strategies, pp Ken Kollman, ed. (2018), Readings in American Politics, 4 th edition, W.W. Norton, Reading 7.5: From Learning While Governing: Expertise and Accountability in the Executive Branch by S. Gailmard and J.W. Patty, Week #10 November 7 th and 9 th Civil rights and civil liberties Wilson et al., Chapter 5 David T. Canon, JJ. Coleman and K.R. Mayer (2008), The Enduring Debate, 5 th edition, W.W. Norton, Chapter 4: The Constitutional framework and the individual (read only The perpetuation of our political institutions by Abraham Lincoln and Letter from Birmingham jail by Martin Luther King Jr.), pp David T. Canon, JJ. Coleman and K.R. Mayer (2017), The Enduring Debate, 8 th edition, W.W. Norton, Chapter 4: Civil liberties and civil rights, pp

6 Week #11 November 14 th and 16 th Foreign policy Wilson et al., Chapter 19 Patrick Porter (2018), A World Imagined: Nostalgia and Liberal Order, CATO Institute (policy analysis no. 843), online Paul R. Pillar (2018), Welcome to Generation War, in D.T. Canon, J.J. Coleman and K.R. Mayer (eds.), Faultlines, 5 th edition, W.W. Norton, pp Week #12 November 21 st and 23 rd The Constitution and its influence today D.T. Canon, J.J. Coleman and K.R. Mayer (eds.), Faultlines, 5 th edition, W.W. Norton, Chapter 2: Should the Constitution be Fundamentally Challenged?, pp Christian Caryl (2016), Let s Face It: The U.S. Constitution Needs a Makeover, Foreign Policy (November 11 th ), online Yoni Appelbaum (2018), America s Fragile Constitution, in D.T. Canon, J.J. Coleman and K.R. Mayer (eds.), Faultlines, 5 th edition, W.W. Norton, pp Week #13 November 28 th and 30 th Conclusion and perspectives Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson (2017), It s Time to Found a New Republic, Foreign Policy (August 15 th ), online 6

7 McGill University regulations Language of Submission: In accord with McGill University s Charter of Students Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded. This does not apply to courses in which acquiring proficiency in a language is one of the objectives Academic Integrity: McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see for more information). 7