PS 102 E State and Local Government Spring 2005 Class Times: 12:00 PM to 12:50 PM MWF in Horrigan 103 Instructor David Prince Office Pasteur Hall 208-B Phone 452-8170 Email dprince@bellarmine.edu Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM and By Appointment Course Description: A study of the forms and functions and some of the contemporary problems facing state and local governments in the United States. Course Objectives and Goals Office Hours: 1. Course Objectives A. Students will gain an understanding of the role of political institutions and political actors in policy outcomes in state and local governments. B. Students will gain an understanding of the interaction and relationship between the federal government and state and local governments. C. Students will be introduced to some of the important literature in political science and state politics in order to provide a foundation for future study within the discipline. 2. General Education Objectives: (This course addresses the following General Education Expectations from the University Catalog) A. Students should be able to demonstrate historical political and social consciousness by drawing upon the social sciences as a framework for understanding individual and group behavior. B. Students should be able to develop thinking skills by employing analytic, logical, evaluative, and integrative thinking in processing information and drawing conclusions. C. Students should be able to demonstrate communication skills by writing and speaking with clarity, grace and thoughtfulness. My office is located in 208B in Pasteur Hall. My office hours are 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and by appointment. I am happy to talk to students any time I am on campus therefore feel free to stop by at any other time to see if I am in. Additionally, please do not hesitate to set up an appointment at a mutually convenient
time. Also feel free to e-mail me with any questions or concerns you may have. E-mail is probably the most efficient means of communication as I check my e-mail compulsively. Course Web Site: I have created a course web site at http://blackboard.bellarmine.edu/. All students that have officially enrolled for the course are already registered for the course at Blackboard. Please refer to the above site for information on gaining access to Blackboard. You need to make sure you can access the web site as soon as possible. This will be my means of communication with you. Any announcements for the course will be posted at the web site. Additionally, you will be able to access your grades online at the web site and I will place links to required online readings as well as any handouts and notes for the course. If you have any problems accessing Blackboard please e-mail me. Required Texts: Dye, Thomas R. and Susan A. MacManus 2003. Politics in States and Local Communities, Eleventh Edition: Prentice Hall. Additional readings for the course are available online at JSTOR, through links at Blackboard, as well as on reserve in the library. Please see the course schedule for the location of the required readings for the course. Additionally, keep in mind that these readings are an important part of the course with many of the class lectures centered on these readings therefore they will be an important part of the exams for the course. Evaluation: Your grade for the course will be based on two midterm exams, a final exam, and two papers. Grades will be weighed as indicated below and based on the following grade scale. Grade Weights: Exam 1 25% Exam 2 25% Final Exam 30% State House Member Profile 10% State Senate Member Profile 10% Grade Scale: A+ = 100 to 97.5 A = 97.4 to 93.5 A- = 93.4 to 89.5 B+ = 89.4 to 86.5 B = 86.4 to 83.5 B- = 83.4 to 79.5
C+ = 79.4 to 74.5 C = 74.4 to 69.5 D = 69.4 to 59.5 F = 59.4 to 0 Exams There will be two midterms and a final exam. The midterms are scheduled for February 16 and April 1 with the final scheduled for May 4 at 12:00 PM. We may find it necessary to move the exams back a day if we are behind, however, they will not be moved up. You are responsible for knowing when the exam will be given. Any changes will be announced in class as well as placed on Blackboard. Failure to attend class or go onto the web site is not a valid reason for not knowing when an exam is to be given or for missing an exam. The two midterms will be worth 25% each toward the final grade and the final will be worth 30% of the course grade. The exams may consist of a variety of multiple choice, short answer and essay questions. Additionally, the final exam will be partly comprehensive (20%). However, the majority of the exam will consist of the new material (80%). Legislator Profiles Each student is required to write two legislator profiles. Each paper will be worth 10% of your final grade for the course. The first profile is of your state representative and the second is of your state senator. You should identify the state representative and state senator that representative you in order to write the profiles. In other words, your profile should be written on the individuals that representative you where you are registered to vote or who would representative you if you were registered to vote. The first profile is due on March 4 with the second profile due on April 6. Late papers will be accepted with a 10 point deduction per day late. A paper which is turned in after they are collected at the beginning of class will be considered late. E-mailed papers will not be accepted without prior consent of the instructor. Additionally, papers should be presented in a professional manner therefore grammar and neatness will be considered in the grading of the papers. You should refrain from placing papers in folders. A single staple in the top left corner is sufficient. Each profile should be at least five pages in length, be fully referenced and should include at the following information listed below. We will discuss the papers more fully later in the course 1. What district does the individual representative and where is it located? 2. What are the distinguishing characteristics of the district? (Demographic characteristics, urban/rural, important industries and so forth) 3. How long has the member served in the legislature? 4. What is the background of the individual? (Party affiliation, education, previous positions held and so forth) 5. What committees does the member serve on and why? 6. What are the primary issues the member is concerned with and why? 7. What legislation has the member introduced or sponsored?
8. Any additional information you may find interesting about the member. Makeup Exams: No makeup exams will be given without a documented excuse such as for a universitysponsored event, a doctor s excuse for an illness, a death in the family or a major religious holiday. Makeup exams for illness will only be given with a doctor s excuse stating that the absence from class was due to the illness of the student. A doctor s appointment does not constitute a valid excuse for missing class as class is your top priority and therefore appointments should be scheduled at times other than class. Additionally, makeup exams will be given in the case of the death of an immediate family member (spouse, sibling, child, parent or grandparent) if a copy of the obituary is provided. Excuses should be provided in advance when possible. The excuses stated above are the only situations in which a makeup exam will be given therefore please do not ask for other exceptions to be made. Class Conduct and Courtesy In order to achieve the greatest benefit from the course please practice courtesy toward other students and me. Please arrive on time for class and avoid leaving early and packing up books prior to the time when I end class as this is extremely rude and inconsiderate. Additionally, please turn off cell phones, beepers and so forth prior to entering class. Finally, during our frequent in class debates always show courtesy toward other students by listening to their opinions and not talking over them. Differences of opinions are expected and encouraged; however, personal attacks and disrespect of other students will not be tolerated. Cheating and Plagiarism: Bellarmine students are expected to demonstrate a high standard of academic honesty in all aspects of their academic work and university life. Without intellectual integrity there can be no genuine learning. Academic dishonesty represents a direct attack on this integrity. In taking tests and examinations, completing assignments and laboratory work, writing papers, and using information technology, students are expected to perform honestly. (For explanation of actions taken in the event of academic dishonesty, see Catalog pp 55-56.) Disability Services Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Disability Services Coordinator. Please do not request accommodations directly from the professor. The Disability Services Coordinator is located in room 225 Horrigan; phone 452-8150. Attendance Policy:
Attendance is expected as part of the course. Attendance is critical to perform at the highest level in the class, as the lectures will cover material not included in the readings that will be included on the exams. Students who do not attend class on a regular basis should not expect to do very well in the course. Attendance will also be used as a factor in determining borderline grades for the course. Additionally, I reserve the right to give unannounced quizzes during the course therefore it is in your best interest to be in class. Escape Clause: I reserve the right to make any changes to the syllabus as necessary. In some cases we may find it necessary to spend more time on a certain section depending on class interest. Additionally keep in mind that the dates in the syllabus are tentative for the examinations and may be moved back in necessary. Any changes in the syllabus will be reflected in the online version of the syllabus and therefore you should check frequently with the course web site.
Course Schedule January 10 - Introduction to Course January 12 - Overview of State Politics Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 1 January 14 - Approaches to the Study of State Politics Readings: Jewell, Malcolm 1982. The Neglected World of State Politics. Journal of Politics 44(August) 446-54. (Available at JSTOR.org and link provided at Blackboard) Brace, Paul and Aubrey Jewett 1995. The State of State Politics Research. Political Research Quarterly 48(3): 643-681. (Available at JSTOR.org and link provided at Blackboard) January 17 MLK Day (No Class) January 19 Approaches to the Study of State Politics Continued January 21 - Democracy and Constitutionalism in the States Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 2 January 24 and 26 - Federalism in the American States Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 3 January 28 - Political Culture in the States Readings: Elazar, Daniel J. 1966. American Federalism A View From The States. 3 rd Edition Thomas Y. Crowell Company: Binghamton. (Chapter 4: The States and the Political Setting Pages 79-116). (Available on Reserve in the Library) January 31 and February 2 - Participation in State Politics Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 4 February 4 and 7 - Candidacy as Political Participation Readings: Moncrief, Gary F.; Peverill Squire and Malcolm E. Jewell 2001. Who Runs For The Legislature? Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River. (Chapter 1: Candidacy as Participation pp 1-18, Chapter 2: The Context of Recruitment and Candidacy pp 19-50. (Available on Reserve in the Library) February 9 and 11 - Party Competition in the States
Readings: Jewell, Malcolm and Sarah M. Morehouse 2001. Political Parties and Elections in The American States Fourth Edition. CQ Press:Washington. (Chapter 2: The Growth in Two-Party Competition pp 21-46.) (Available on Reserve in the Library) February 14 - Campaign Finance in the States Readings: Ramsden, Graham P. 2002. State Legislative Campaign Finance Research: A Review Essay. State Politics and Policy Quarterly 2 (2): 176-198. (Link provided at Blackboard) February 16 - Exam 1 February 18 and 21 - Legislators in State Politics Readings: Chapter 6 in Dye and MacManus Moncrief, Gary, Joel A. Thompson, and William Cassie 1996. Revisiting the State of U.S. State Legislative Research. Legislative Studies Quarterly 21(3) 301-335. (Available at JSTOR.org and link provided at Blackboard) February 23 - State Legislative Professionalism Readings: King, James D. 2000. Changes in Professionalism in U.S. State Legislatures. Legislative Studies Quarterly 25(2) 327-343. (Provided on reserve at the library) Squire, Peverill 1992. Legislative Professionalism and Membership Diversity in State Legislatures. Legislative Studies Quarterly 17 (1) : 69-79. (Available at JSTOR.org and link provided at Blackboard) February 25 and 28 - Governor s Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 7 Sabato, Larry. 1983. Goodbye to Good-time Charlie. CQ Press:Washington (Chapter 1: The Governor in American History: An Office Transformed pp 1-12) (Available on reserve in the library) Fording, Richard, Neal Woods, and David Prince. 2002. Explaining Gubernatorial Success in State Legislatures. Paper Prepared for presentation at the second annual conference of the State Politics and Policy Association, Milwaukee Wisconsin.
(Link provided at the Blackboard) March 2 - Divided Government in the States Readings: Fiorina, Morris 1996. Divided Government Second Edition. Allyn & Bacon: Needham Heights. (Chapter 3: The States). (Available on reserve in the library) March 4 - Legislative and Governor Relations Readings: Rosenthal, Alan 1990. Governors and Legislatures Contending Powers CQ Press: Washington: (Chapter 4: Executive- Legislative Relations pp 67-94. (Available on reserve in the library) March 4 - Profile on State Representative Due March 7, 9, and 11 Spring Break (No Class) March 14 and 16 - State Bureaucracies Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 8 March 18 and 21 - State Court Systems Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 9 Brace, Paul and Melinda Gann Hall 1995. Studying Courts Comparatively: The View from the States. Political Research Quarterly 48(1): 5-29. (Available at JSTOR.org and link provided at Blackboard) March 23, 25, and 28 - Easter Break (No Class) March 30 - Review and Catch Up Day for Exam 2 April 1 - Exam 2 April 4 and 6 - Local Governments (Community Political Systems) Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 10 April 6 Profile on State Senator Due April 8 Midwest Political Science Meeting (No Class) April 11 - Participation in Local Politics Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 11 April 13 - Urban Politics Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 12
April 15 - Land Use Policies Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 13 April 18 and 20 - Education Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 15 April 22 and 25 - Welfare and Health Policy Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 16 Peterson, Paul, and Mark C. Rom 1990 Welfare Magnets: A New Case for a National Standard. The Brookings Institution:Washington. (Chapter 2: Welfare Politics A Case Study pp 24-49. Chapter 3: State Welfare Policies and Residential Choices pp 50-83. (Available on reserve in the library) April 27 - Taxation Readings: Dye and MacManus Chapter 17 April 29 - Catch up and Review Day for Final Exam Last Day of Classes May 4 - Final Exam (12:00 PM)