Maria Rosales mrosales@guilford.edu Office: 106 Duke Hall Department of Political Science PSCI 350: Ideas, Campaigns, and Elections Fall 2012, Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00 2:15, Leak Room, Duke Hall Kyle Dell kdell@guilford.edu Office: 108 Duke Hall Phone: 316-2164 Phone: 316-2487 Office hours:, and by appointment Office hours: and by appointment Course Description: This course will seek to examine critically the links between ideology, voters, candidates and the electoral process in the United States. The course is a hybrid course in a number of ways. First, there are two faculty members teaching the course, a theorist and Americanist. Second, we will attempt to integrate our specific subfields to enrich our examination of American campaigns and elections. Finally, beyond normal discussion-driven class meetings typical of an upper-level political science course, students will also spend a large portion of the middle of the semester interning with a political campaign. This experiential component will provide additional perspectives, experiences and insights that will be critical to successfully completing the course. Learning objectives: Although specific learning objectives will be provided for each week in class, by the end of this course, you should be able to achieve the following general objectives: Describe the main ideologies in American political thought. Analyze contemporary campaign developments in light of these main ideologies. Describe the interrelationships between a variety of structures, processes and historical developments in American campaigns and elections. Analyze contemporary campaign developments in light of these historical structures and processes. Connect abstract theoretical and historical course material to direct experiences in a political campaign. Demonstrate an ability to work effectively in small groups, applying and developing skills such as delegation, coordination, compromise, and active listening. Articulate and defend arguments in class. Write a research paper that conforms to the discipline s standards for writing and research (including careful reading of primary texts, building an argument using evidence from both primary and secondary literature, and assessing modern-day implications of texts from another historical era). Academic Integrity: As stated in the Honor Code of Guilford College, all students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. This class will maintain and support these standards. As stated in the Student Handbook, as scholars pursuing knowledge and truth, informed by the Quaker testimony on integrity, we seek a community where each member acts responsibly and honorably in all activities and at all times. Appropriate acknowledgement for the purposes of this course requires giving credit where credit is due to the work of others. At minimum, when you use the work of others, you must acknowledge this by citing the original author with a footnote citation; direct quotations (most often containing four or more words) also
require quotation marks to indicate the term or phrase utilized. While learning from others represents an essential component of academic and intellectual inquiry, failure to give proper attribution to words, concepts, and evidence borrowed from others constitutes plagiarism, which is a serious academic offense. Format: Students must attend class. Half of the participation part of your grade will be based on attendance the percentage of time you are in class will be the attendance portion of your participation grade. If you miss more than six classes, you may be administratively withdrawn from the class. The other half of your participation grade is your grade on the in-class activities. This class will encourage and require active participation from all students. Studies show that most students promptly forget most of what they hear in lecture, unless they can apply the material themselves very soon after they hear it (our brains are efficient why remember something you can t use?). To make it easier to remember the material, there will be time during each class period for students to ask and respond to questions. There will also be short in-class projects, such as writing brief responses to the material, creating visual aids in small groups, etc. Some of the time we will collect these and comment on them. Usually we will ask people to present their projects to the rest of the class. Required Text: This course relies very heavily on journal articles and on-line material from various sources. However, we are requiring each student to purchase Stephen Wayne s The Road to the White House 2008 (ISBN-13: 978-0-495-09632-0). Although not available at the Guilford College Bookstore, it is widely available for purchase online. You will need Wayne s book no later than Friday, October 3 as readings from it will be discussed that day. Grading: The course requirements are listed below with the appropriate percentage of each student s final grade attached. Please note that no late work will be accepted. Assignments that are not turned in on time will receive a zero. Failure to complete one or more of the course requirements may lead to failing the course. Participation (attendance, in-class work) 60 points (15%) Midterm exam 80 points (20%) Final exam 100 points (25%) Election blog assignment 80 points (20%) Internship paper 80 points (20%) Total 400 points (100%) Grading for the course will be consistent with the College guidelines, described here: A is awarded for original insight, sound reasoning and the ability to evaluate the scope of the materials studied. B reflects interpretive skill on the part of the student and a clear understanding of the meaning and interrelatedness of the course materials. C indicates thorough familiarity with the basic facts and concepts considered in the course, even though underlying principles may not have been grasped. D is labeled a passing grade, but it reflects a lack of fundamental knowledge of the subject. F is assigned for failing work. This is a four unit course, which means that you should expect to work for an average of 12 hours a week on this course (3 hours per unit). For study tips, visit this site. Guilford complies with the
Americans with Disabilities Act by providing a process for disclosing disabilities and arranging for reasonable accommodations. The policy can be found online here. More details about exams: Each exam will have the same basic format. Each will have identification questions (define the term and explain its significance), multiple choice questions, short answer questions (a sentence or two), and at least one essay question. The midterm exam will cover the material from the beginning of the class up to that exam. The final exam will cover the material from the whole semester. More details about the internship: Beginning during the week of September 18 through Election Day, you will be required to serve as an intern for a political campaign of your choice. This campaign can be at any level (national, state or local), but should be for a candidate that will appear on the official ballot. You should devote at least ten hours per week toward this internship during these seven weeks. By serving in a political campaign as an intern, you will be able to connect abstract theoretical and historical course material to direct experiences in a political campaign. More details about the blog assignment: During the course of your internship, you will be required to continue to make connections between three distinct but interrelated areas of the course: your internship experience, the larger campaign season described in the media, and the assigned readings. To assist you in demonstrating that you are actively integrating these, each student will be required to make one comment on a blog per week. Each student may choose an appropriate blog to post a comment to, subject to approval by the professors. As you post your blog comments, please make a dated print-out of each post, along with relevant surrounding comments, to keep as a record for this assignment. Successful blogging will demonstrate active participation and observation at your internship, connection and critical analysis of the larger campaign, and comprehension of material covered in class. It will also require careful reading of the blog post to which you are responding, as well as the comments made by others. The hard copies will be turned in for a grade in class on November 6. More details about the internship paper: The paper is due on Wednesday, November 21. You have until midnight to email the paper. You can upload the paper to Moodle (or e-mail it to me if Moodle is down). This will allow each paper to receive electronic comments embedded in each Word document. In a few weeks, you will receive an assignment sheet, which will include a rubric. The rubrics are intended to show you what we are looking for in this paper, so please read the rubric before handing in the paper. Your paper must include proper citations. Please cite every idea or piece of information that did not originate with you (unless it is common knowledge, like the alphabet). Citations should be in Turabian style. For examples of Turabian style citations, see here.
Class Schedule: Below is a schedule of our meetings for the semester. We will discuss the readings listed for each class meeting during that class meeting, so please come prepared. It is also possible that this schedule will be updated throughout the semester as the class progresses. Date Topic & Reading Question Assigned Readings T 21 August Introduction (MR & KD) Craig, The Electoral Challenge, chapter 12 Two Views from the Trenches, pp. 226-238. R 23 August What values are at stake in U.S. elections? Wilentz, The Rise of American Democracy, Prologue; Rogin, Ronald Reagan: The Movie, pp. 115-121, Pomper, The Concept of Elections in Political Theory T 28 August Candidates who runs for office? (KD) Obama case study Lizza, Ryan, Making It: How Chicago Shaped Obama in New Yorker, 21 July 2008. Ehrenhalt, The United States of Ambition, chapter 1: Thinking about Politicians. R 30 August T 4 September R 6 September T 11 September No class meeting. Please spend this week securing your internship for the semester. Conservativism what are conservative principles and how do they affect elections? Liberalism what are liberal principles and how do they affect elections? Republicanism what are republican principles and how do they affect elections? R 13 September Race what role should/does race play in U.S. elections? T 18 September INTERNSHIP No reading R 20 September Race what role should/does race play in U.S. elections? T 25 September INTERNSHIP Blog #1 due R 27 September Parties are they necessary in a healthy democracy? (KD) T 2 October INTERNSHIP Blog #2 due R 4 October How do election rules change impact our democracy? (primaries, winner-take-all elections, redistricting) (KD) T 9 October INTERNSHIP Blog #3 due R 11 October Midterm Exam (interim grades due 10/11) No reading T 16 October Fall Break No reading Post practice blog by class time today. Selections from Burke, Reflections on the French Revolution, Selections from Kirk, The Conservative Mind Selection from Mill, On Liberty, Selection from Hartz, The Liberal Tradition in America, Wolfe, Nobody Here but Us Liberals, Selection from Sandel, Democracy s Discontent, Morgan, Slavery and Freedom Judis, The Big Race, Selection from Shklar, American Citizenship Zeitz, Democratic Debacle, Selection from Mendelberg, The Race Card McCain case study Arizona Republic series. Aldrich, Why Parties, chapters 1 & 8. Wayne, Road to the White House 2008, chapter 4, pp. 115-145. Reapportionment Puzzle Texas redistricting decision by SCOTUS Redistricting simulation
R 18 October Fall Break No reading T 23 October INTERNSHIP Blog #4 due R 25 October Electoral College is it undemocratic? (KD) Wayne, Road to the White House 2008, chapter 1, pp. 1-31. Shaw, Daron The Methods Behind the Madness: Presidential Electoral College Strategies, 1988-1996 Journal of Politics 61 (4): 893-913. T 30 October INTERNSHIP Blog #5 due R 1 November Electoral College is it undemocratic? (KD) Hopkins & Goux, The Consequences of Electoral College Reform presented at APSA Annual Meeting, 2005. T 6 November No class, Election Day No reading R 8 November Election de-brief (KD & MR) Blog journals due in class T 13 November R 15 November T 20 November Communicating does going negative work? (KD) Mayer, William, In Defense of Negative Campaigning in DiClerico, Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections, pp. 95-108. Lau, Sigelman & Rovner, The Effects of Negative Political Campaigns Journal of Politics (69) 4, November 2007, pp. 1176-1209. Turn-out is voter turn-out a problem? (KD)Wayne, Road to the White House 2008, chapter 3, pp. 75-114. Interest groups why can t independent Rozell & Wilcox, Interest Groups groups be regulated? (First Amendment) in American Campaigns, pp. 36-52, (KD) 80-107. R 22 November No class; Thanksgiving Break No reading T 27 November Campaign finance reform is there too much money in politics? (KD) Wayne, Road to the White House 2008, chapter 2, pp. 32-74. Craig, The Electoral Challenge, chapter 4 Money and Elections, pp. 58-78. Steen, Self-Financed Candidates in Congressional Elections. F 29 November Pathologies of debate? Selection from Herzog, Poisoning the Minds of the Lower Orders INTERNSHIP PAPER DUE T 4 December Democracy what does/would a healthy democracy look like in the U.S.? (MR & KD) Menand, Louis, The Unpolitical Animal: How Political Science Understands Voters The New Yorker, 30 August 2004, Warren, Democratic Theory and Self- Transformation, Fiorina, Culture War?, chapters 3 & 4. R 6 December No class; Special Academic Events Day No reading T 11 December Final examination: 3:00-5:30 No reading