SemesterFall Semester, 2018
DepartmentMA Program of Diplomacy, First Year PhD Program of Diplomacy, First Year MA Program of Diplomacy, Second Year PhD Program of Diplomacy, Second Year
Course NameSeminar in American Government and Politics
Instructor
Credit3.0
Course TypeElective
Prerequisite
Course Objective
Course Description
Course Schedule

Course Schedule:



Week 1 (September 19): Colonial Background and the Founding



Declaration of Independence, found at http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0017_0316_ZO.html



Alex Tuckness, “Discourses of Resistance in the American Revolution,” Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Oct., 2003), pp. 547-563.



Joyce Appleby, “Liberalism and the American Revolution,” The New England Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Mar., 1976), pp. 3-26



Week 2 (September 26): American Political Culture



Lawrence B. Glickman, “The Strike in the Temple of Consumption: Consumer Activism and Twentieth-Century American Political Culture,” The Journal of American History, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Jun., 2001), pp. 99-128



Rogers M. Smith, “Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz: The Multiple Traditions in America,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 87, No. 3 (Sep., 1993), pp. 549-566



Rhys H. Williams, “Visions of the Good Society and the Religious Roots of American Political Culture,” Sociology of Religion, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Spring, 1999), pp. 1-34



Week 3 (October 3): Views of the Constitutional Convention



John P. Roche, “The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Dec., 1961), pp. 799-816



Calvin C. Jillson, “Constitutional-Making: Alignment and Realignment in the Federal Convention of 1787,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 75, No. 3 (Sep., 1981), pp. 598-612



James H. Hutson, “Riddles of the Federal Constitutional Convention,” The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 44, No. 3, The Constitution of the United States (Jul., 1987), pp. 411-423.



Week 4 (October 10): Holiday. No class.



Week 5 (October 17):Debates over the Constitution: The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers



The Federalist Papers can be found at http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fedindex.htm



The Anti-Federalist Papers can be found at http://www.wepin.com/articles/afp/index.htm



Madison: Federalist Papers Nos. 10, 39, 47, 48



Hamilton: Federalist Papers Nos. 16, 17



Anti-Federalist Papers Nos. 3, 9, 64, 68



Cecelia M. Kenyon, “Men of Little Faith: The Anti-Federalists on the Nature of Representative Government.” The William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, Vol.12, No. 1(1955), pp. 3-43.



Robert J Morgan, “Madison’s Theory of Representation in the Tenth Federalist,” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 35, No. 4 (1974), pp. 852-885.



Week 6 (October 24): Political Parties



Jo Freeman, “The Political Culture of the Democratic and Republican Parties,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 101, No. 3 (1986), pp. 327-356



Marjorie Randon Hershey, “Citizens' Groups and Political Parties in the United States,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 528, Citizens, Protest, and Democracy (Jul., 1993), pp. 142-156



Christopher Bruzios, “Democratic & Republican Party Activists & Followers: Inter- & Intra-Party Differences,” Polity, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Summer, 1990), pp. 581-601.



Joseph M Schlesinger, “On The Theory of Party Organization.” The Journal of Politics Vol. 46, No. 2 (1984), pp. 369-400.



Week 7 (October 31): Interest Groups



Jack L Walker, “The Origins and Maintenance of Interest Groups in America,” American Political Science Review No. 77 (June1983), pp. 390-406.



Robert Salisbury, “Interest Representation: The Dominance of Institutions,” American Political Science Review, Vol. 81 (1984), pp. 64-67.



Virginia Gray and David Lowery, “A Niche Theory of Interest Representation,” Journal of Politics, Vol. 58 (March1996), pp. 91-111.



Kay Lehman Schlozman, “What Accent the Heavenly Chorus? Political Equality and the American Pressure System,” Journal of Politics Vol. 46 (1984), pp. 1006-32.



Week 8 (November 7): Midterm: small paper due



Week 9 (November 14): Elections



D. Sunshine Hillygus and Todd G. Shields, “Moral Issues and Voter Decision Making in the 2004 Presidential Election,” PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr. 2005), pp. 201-209



Cary R. Covington, Kent Kroeger, Glenn Richardson, J. David Woodard, “Shaping a Candidate's Image in the Press: Ronald Reagan and the 1980 Presidential Election,” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Dec., 1993), pp. 783-798



V.O Key, “A Theory of Critical Elections,” Journal of Politics Vol. 17 (Feb 1955), pp. 3-18.



Thomas M Carsey and Geoffrey C. Layman, “Changing Sides or Changing Minds?: Party Identification and Policy Preferences in the American Electorate,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 50 (April 2006): 464-477.



Faris, Robert, Hal Roberts, Bruce Etling, Nikki Bourassa, Ethan Zuckerman, and Yochai Benkler. "Partisanship, propaganda, and disinformation: Online media and the 2016 US presidential election." (2017). https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/33759251/2017-08_electionReport_0.pdf



Abramowitz, Alan I., and Steven Webster. "The rise of negative partisanship and the nationalization of US elections in the 21st century." Electoral Studies 41 (2016): 12-22. http://www.stevenwwebster.com/research/all_politics_is_national.pdf



Week 10 (November 21): Congress and Its Members



David Brady, Kara Buckley, Douglas Rivers, “The Roots of Careerism in the U. S. House of Representatives,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Nov., 1999), pp. 489-510



Richard Fleisher and John R. Bond, “The Shrinking Middle in the US Congress,” British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jul., 2004), pp. 429-451



William R. Lowry and Charles R. Shipan, “Party Differentiation in Congress,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Feb., 2002), pp. 33-60



Glen R. Parker and Roger H. Davidson, “Why Do Americans Love Their Congressmen So Much More Than Their Congress?” Legislative Studies Quarterly Vol. 4, No. 1 (Feb. 1979), pp. 53-62.



 



David Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974)



Week 11 (November 28): Legislative Process



Glen S. Krutz, “Issues and Institutions: ‘Winnowing’ in the U.S. Congress,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Apr., 2005), pp. 313-326



Robert A. Katzmann, “The American Legislative Process as a Signal,” Journal of Public Policy, Vol. 9, No. 3, Signals for Steering Government (Jul. - Sep.,1989), pp. 287-306



William D. Anderson, Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, Valeria Sinclair-Chapman, “The Keys to Legislative Success in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Aug., 2003), pp. 357-386



Susan Webb Yackee, “Punctuating the Congressional Agenda: Strategic Scheduling by House and Senate Leaders,” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 2 (Jun., 2003), pp. 139-149



Week 12 (December 5): Power in Congress



John E. Owens, “The Return of Party Government in the US House of Representatives: Central Leadership -Committee Relations in the 104th Congress,” British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Apr., 1997), pp. 247-272



Barbara Sinclair, “Transformational Leader or Faithful Agent? Principal-Agent Theory and House Majority Party Leadership,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Aug., 1999), pp. 421-449



Diana Evans, “Policy and Pork: The Use of Pork Barrel Projects to Build Policy Coalitions in the House of Representatives,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Nov., 1994), pp. 894-917.



Marie Hojnacki and David Kimball, “Organized Interests and the Decision of Whom to Lobby in Congress,” American Political Science Review, Vol. 92 (1998), pp. 775-90.



Week 13 (December 12): Committees



Fiona M. Wright, “The Caucus Reelection Requirement and the Transformation of House Committee Chairs, 1959-94,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Aug., 2000), pp. 469-480



David C. King, “The Nature of Congressional Committee Jurisdictions,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Mar., 1994), pp. 48-62



Christine DeGregorio, “Leadership Approaches in Congressional Committee Hearings,” The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 45, No. 4 (Dec., 1992), pp. 971-983



Garry Young and Valerie Heitshusen, “Party and the Dynamics of Congressional Committee Composition in the US House, 1947-96,” British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Oct., 2003), pp. 659-679



Richard D. Hall and Frank W. Wayman, “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and The Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees. American Political Science Review, Vol. 84 (1990), pp. 797-820



Week 14 (December 19): The Presidency: Structure and Staff



Richard E. Neustad, “Approaches to Staffing the Presidency: Notes on FDR and JFK,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 57, No. 4 (Dec., 1963), pp. 855-864




  1. Ragsdale and John J. Theis, “The Institutionalization of the American Presidency, 1924-92,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Oct., 1997), pp. 1280-1318.



B. Dan Wood and Richard W. Waterman, “The Dynamics of Political Control of the Bureaucracy.” American Political Science Review 85(1991): 801-828.



 



Michael Nelson, “A Short, Ironic History of American National Bureaucracy,” Journal of Politics, Vol. 44, (1982), pp. 747-778.



 



William G. Howell and David E. Lewis, “Agencies by Presidential Design,” Journal of



Politics, Vol. 64 (November 2002), pp. 1095-1114.



 



Margaret G. Hermann and Thomas Preston, “Presidents, Advisers, and Foreign Policy: The Effect of Leadership Style on Executive Arrangements,” Political Psychology, Vol. 15, No. 1, Special Issue: Political Psychology and the Work of Alexander L. George (Mar., 1994), pp. 75-96



 



Week 15 (December 26): The President, Foreign Policy and National Security



 



Paul Kengor, “The Vice President, Secretary of State, and Foreign Policy,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 115, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 175-199



Paul E. Peterson, “The President's Dominance in Foreign Policy Making,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 109, No. 2 (Summer, 1994), pp. 215-234



Jeffrey S. Peake, “Presidential Agenda Setting in Foreign Policy,” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 1 (Mar., 2001), pp. 69-86



Norman A. Graebner, “The President as Commander in Chief: A Study in Power,” The Journal of Military History, Vol. 57, No. 1 (Jan., 1993), pp. 111-132



Week 16 (January 2): Assessing Presidents and Presidential Power



Michael Lyons, “Presidential Character Revisited,” Political Psychology, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Dec., 1997), pp. 791-811



George C. Edwards III and B. Dan Wood, “Who Influences Whom? The President, Congress, and the Media,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 93, No. 2 (Jun., 1999), pp. 327-344



Matthew N. Beckmann and Joseph Godfrey, “The Policy Opportunities in Presidential Honeymoons,” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 2 (Jun., 2007), pp. 250-262



Brandice Canes-Wrone and Scott de Marchi, “Presidential Approval and Legislative Success,” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 64, No. 2 (May, 2002), pp. 491-509



Richard S. Conley and Amie Kreppel, “Toward a New Typology of Vetoes and Overrides,” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Dec., 2001), pp. 831-852



Week 17 (January 9): The Court



Lee Epstein, René Lindstädt , Jeffrey A. Segal, Chad Westerland, “The Changing Dynamics of Senate Voting on Supreme Court Nominees,” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 68, No. 2 (May, 2006), pp. 296-307



P. S. Ruckman, Jr, “The Supreme Court, Critical Nominations, and the Senate Confirmation Process,” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 55, No. 3 (Aug., 1993), pp. 793-805



Timothy R. Johnson and Jason M. Roberts, “Presidential Capital and the Supreme Court Confirmation Process,” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Aug., 2004), pp. 663-683



John P. Roche, “Judicial Self-Restraint,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Sep., 1955), pp. 762-772



Sue Davis, “Justice Rehnquist's Judicial Philosophy: Democracy v. Equality,” Polity, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Autumn, 1984), pp. 88-117



Robert M. Howard and Jeffrey A. Segal, “A Preference for Deference? The Supreme Court and Judicial Review,” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 1 (Mar., 2004), pp. 131-143



Charles H. Franklin and Lian C. Kosaki, “Republican Schoolmaster: The Supreme Court, Public Opinion, and Abortion,” American Political Science Review 83(1989): 751-772.



 



Jeffrey A. Segal and Albert D. Cover, “Ideological Values And The Votes Of U.S. Supreme Court Justices,” American Political Science Review Vol. 83, (1989), pp. 557-566.



Week 18 (January 16): Final report


Teaching Methods
Teaching Assistant
Requirement/Grading

Assignments:



Students will be responsible for the following:



1. One six page assessments and critiques of articles



2. Submission of a preliminary literature review for their paper



3. A final, 15-page paper



 



Papers



Participants will submit the following:



A six page paper analyzing and assessing the arguments of two related articles we have read. These papers should: clearly identify the articles; shortly summarize the argument of each; assess and critique the argument of each in terms of logical consistency, use of evidence and data, and theoretical power: then discuss the relevance and importance of each. This is to be submitted by November 17



A three-page review of the literature on the subject of your final paper. This review shall identify relevant articles and books, discuss their relationship with the question posed by the paper, and assess the state of the scholarship at present bearing on the question posed. To be submitted by January 6.



Final Paper



This paper will, building upon the literature review, data, and theoretical position you identify, explore a question implicated in the study of American politics. Your paper must clearly:




  1. Identify the question you pose

  2. Discuss that question in light of the literature review you create

  3. Identify the methodology and evidence you will utilize

  4. Analyze the data and evidence

  5. Answer the question

  6. Discuss the importance and relevance of your answer both generally and in light of your literature review.



To be submitted 2 weeks after final week of class.



 



Grades:



Participation: 20%



Short Papers: 20% each



Final Paper: 40%



 



Grading Scale:



A: 100-80: Excellent work—generates several interesting insights and displays a sure grasp of the material



B: 79-70: Good, above average work—sometimes generates interesting insights and displays a solid grasp of the material



C: 69-60: Average work—displays a competent grasp of the material



D: 59-50: Below average work—displays a grasp of the material that is sometimes deficient



F: 49- : Unacceptable work: displays a poor grasp of the material


Textbook & Reference

Materials:



All materials will be available either online through JSTOR, or through copies that I will provide. For those who want or need a textbook outlining the basics of American government, there are many available in the library or through bookstores.



 



Additional Sources:



Aldrich, John. 1995. Why Parties? University of Chicago Press.



Alvarez, R. Michael. 1998. Information & Elections. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan



Press. Second edition.



Arnold, R. Douglas. 1992. The Logic of Congressional Action. Yale University Press.



Bartels, Larry M. 2000. “Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952-1996”. American Journal of



Political Science 44:35-50.



Bond, Jon R., and Richard Fleisher. 1990. The President in the Legislative Arena. Chicago:



University of Chicago Press.



Carmines, Edward G. and James A. Stimson. 1980. “The Two Faces of Issue Voting”. American



Political Science Review. 74: 78-91.



Dahl, Robert. 1961. Who Governs? Yale University Press.



Dahl, Robert. 1955. A Preface to Democratic Theory. Yale University Press.



Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. Harper and Row.



Edwards, George C. III. 2006. On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit. New



Haven: Yale University Press.



Fiorina, Morris P. “Explorations of a Political Theory of Party Identification”. Chapter in



Retrospective Voting in American National Elections. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press



Franklin, Charles E. and John E. Jackson. 1983. “The Dynamics of Party Identification.”



American Political Science Review 77: 957-973



Green, Donald, Bradley Palmquist, and Eric Shickler. 2004. Partisan Hearts and Minds. New



Haven, CT: Yale University Press.



Hetherington, Marc J. 2001. “Resurgent Mass Partisanship: The Role of Elite Polarization”.



American Political Science Review 95: 619-632.



Johnston, Richard. 2006. “Party Identification: Unmoved Mover or Sum of Preferences?”



Annual Review of Political Science. 9:329-51.



Kahn, Kim and Patrick Kenney. 1999. The Spectacle of US Senate Campaigns. Princeton



University Press.



Key, V.O. 1966. The Responsible Electorate. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.



Chapters 1&2



Lau, Richard R. & David Redlawsk. 2006. How Voters Decide: Information Processing in



Election Campaigns. Cambridge.



Mayhew, David R. 1991. Divided We Govern. New Haven: Yale University Press.



Neustadt, Richard E. 1991. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents (Rev. Ed.) Free Press.



Niemi, Richard & Herbert Weisberg. (eds.) 2001. Controversies in Voting Behavior.



Congressional QuarterlyPress.



Oleszek, Walter J. 2007. Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, 7th ed.



Washington, Congressional Quarterly.



Ornstein, Norman & Thomas Mann. (eds.) 2000. The Permanent Campaign and its Future. The



AEI Press



Page, Benjamin I. and Richard A. Brody. 1972. “Policy Voting and the Electoral Process: The



Vietnam War issue”. American Political Science Review 66: 979-95.



Jackson, John. 1975. “Issues, Party Choices, and Presidential Votes.” American Political Science



Review 161-185.



Perry, H.W., Jr. 1991. Deciding to Decide: Agenda Setting in the United States Supreme Court.



Cambridge: Harvard University Press.



Petrocik, John R. 1996. "Issue Ownership in Presidential Elections, with a 1980 Case Study."



American Journal of Political Science. 40(3):825–50.



Rahn Wendy M, John H. Aldrich, Eugene Borgida, and John L. Sullivan. 1990. A Social-



Cognitive Model of Candidate Appraisal. In Information and Democratic Processes,



John A. Ferejohn and James H. Kuklinski eds. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.



Rosenberg, Gerald. 1993. The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change?



University of Chicago Press.



Schattschneider, E. E. 1997. The Semisovereign People (Revised Ed.) Harcourt Brace.



Wilson, James Q. 2000. Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It.



Basic Books.



Zaller, John. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge University Press.



 


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