Introduction to
American Politics
Political
Science 111
Fall
2003
Instructor: Dan Hofrenning (Holland Hall 103C,
646-3128, Internet: dhofrenn)
Office Hours: MWF
10:35-1135, Friday 2-3
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this course is to introduce you to our national
government; how it is structured, how it works, who has power (and who
doesn't), what they do with it. Because
this is a general education course, a second purpose is to introduce you to the
academic discipline of political science.
We will focus on the ways in which political scientists think about
government and politics. In particular
we will look at the ways in which theories are developed and tested using
empirical data.
TEXTS:
McKay, David.
2000. Essentials of American Government.
Mendelberg, Tali.
2001. The Race Card: Campaign Strategy, Implicity Messages, and the Norm of
Equality.
Miroff, Bruce and Raymond Seidelman, and Todd Swanstrom. 2001. Debating Democracy: A Reader in American
Politics, 4th ed..
You are required to read The New York Times. It is
available for purchase in the bookstore or on-line at no cost
(www.nytimes.com) Periodically, I will
send you e-mail messages to direct your attention to certain articles. These articles may be included in test
material and can be used in papers. You
are also required to write a 2-3 page New
York Times journal in which you show how several articles in the Times illustrate and refer to class
themes.
Class Sessions and Requirements: The course will utilize a variety teaching
methods including lecture, discussion, films, and guest speakers. I expect you to come to class prepared,
having done the assigned reading and ready to respond with questions and
criticisms. In addition, I occasionally
will ask you to respond to parts of the reading via email before class
More formally, you will be graded upon:
1. Exam 1
(short-answer) 10%
2. Paper
1 (Response paper)
15%
3. Mid-term
Exam (short-answer and take-home
essay) 30%
4. Paper
2 (Book Review)
15%
5. Final
Exam (short-answer and take-home
essay) 30%
6.
Participation, misc. exercises, p/f assignments count on the
margin.
7. New
York Times review – p/f
assignment
8. Lecture
Responses – p/f assignment
COURSE OUTLINE
Friday, September 5 - Introduction
PART
ONE – AMERICAN POLITICS: liberal, democratic, capitalist
Week
of September 8
1. Thinking Normatively: McKay, chs. 1 & 2
2. Thinking Theoretically and Empirically: Mendelberg ch. 1
3. The Constitutional Structure: McKay, ch. 3
Week
of September 15
1. Competing Constitutional Visions: Miroff,
Seidelman & Swanstrom, ch. 1
2. Can we have too much democracy?: Miroff, Seidelman & Swanstrom, ch. 2
3. Federalism:
McKay, ch. 4
Week
of September 22
1. The New Federalism: Miroff, Seidelman &
Swanstrom, chs. 3 & 12
2. Civil Rights, Civil Liberties: McKay, ch.
13
Community
Time: Attend the Mitch Pearlstein talk.
3. Freedom of Religion, How much is
enough?: Miroff, Seidelman &
Swanstrom, ch. 6
Week
of September 29
1. EXAM 1
2. Civil Rights: Miroff, Seidelman &
Swanstrom, ch. 7
3. Communicating Racial Messages: Mendelberg,
ch. 2
Week
of October 6
1.
Communicating Racial Messages: Mendelberg, ch. 3
2. Economic Policy: McKay, ch. 15
3. Political Economy: Miroff, Seidelman &
Swanstrom, ch. 15
Week
of October 13
1. Inequality and American Democracy: Miroff,
Seidelman & Swanstrom, ch. 16
October
14,
2
. Global Economics: Miroff, Seidelman
& Swanstrom, ch. 17
3. Mid-term Exam
FALL
BREAK
Week
of October 20
1. Political Parties: McKay, ch. 5
2. Political Parties: Miroff, Seidelman & Swanstrom, ch. 10
Week
of October 27
1. Electoral Behavior: McKay, ch. 6Organized
Interests: McKay, ch. 11
2. Race and Campaigns: Mendelberg, ch. 4
3. Implicit communication beyond race: Mendelberg, ch. 9
Week
of November 3
1.
Media Coverage: Mendelberg, ch. 5
2.
The Welfare Experiment: Mendelberg, ch. 7
3. The Norms Experiment: Mendelberg, ch. 8
Week
of November 10
1. The Media: Miroff, Seidelman & Swanstrom,
ch. 9
2. Congress:
McKay, ch. 7
3. Congress: Miroff, Seidelman & Swanstrom,
ch. 13
Week
of November 17
1.
The Presidency: McKay, ch. 9
November
18,
2. The Presidency: Miroff, Seidelman &
Swanstrom, ch. 14
3. The Supreme Court:McKay, ch. 12
Week
of November 24
1.
Catch-up
THANKSGIVING
BREAK
Week
of December 1
1.
Social Policy: McKay, ch. 14
2. Foreign Policy: McKay, ch. 16
3.Foreign
Policy: Miroff, Seidelman & Swanstrom, ch. 18
Week
of December 8
1. Conclusions: Mendelberg, ch. 10
2. Conclusions:
McKay, ch. 17
FINAL EXAM:
See scheduled time. Emergencies
are the only exception
Honor Policy
The
Honor System has been in effect at St. Olaf since 1911. When examinations are
given, teachers leave the room and the students complete the test on their
honor. At the end of the exam, the students sign the following pledge: " I
pledge my honor that during this examination I have neither given nor received
assistance, and that I have seen no dishonest work." If a student has
observed a violation of the honor
policy, then the student should leave the pledge unsigned and check the
box indicating that he/she has intentionally not signed the pledge. More
information about the honor system can be found in the print or the web version
of "The Book."