Please note: At your instructor's discretion,
there may be minor alterations to the reading
assignments listed below. One of the major advantages to
providing you with an on-line readings archive is that
timely articles can be added or substituted when
appropriate. Opening documents downloaded from this
website will require that your computer have
Acrobat Reader . You will also need the
class-specific password to open individual files.
Unit 1
Topic 1-The study of
politics
WEEK 1
January 6 (M)-Course introduction:
What can you expect to learn in this class?
-
After class, please read through the
full The course syllabus. carefully.
Let 's talk this week if you have any questions or
concerns your ability to meet the basic requirements
of the course.
-
Sometime this week, consider one
analyst's perspective--ideas mostly shared by your
professor--on the goals behind universal K-12
education and why students are asked to take liberal
arts classes like this one at most universities:
George Packer, "The Grown-Ups Are
Losing It" (The Atlantic 2022, 4.5 pp)
Start paying close attention on page 2, with the
paragraph that starts with, "What is school for?" Stop
and reflect when you arrive at this paragraph (which I
have edited a bit to better reflect what I hope you
will take away from this course over length of the the
term):
"[College]
can’t just be an economic sorting system. One reason
we have a stake in the education of other people’s
children is that they will grow up to be citizens.
Education is a public interest, which explains
why parents [or students] shouldn’t get to veto any
book they think might upset [themselves or] their
child, whether it’s To
Kill a Mockingbird or Beloved. Public
education is meant not to mirror the unexamined values
of a particular family or community, but to expose
[students] to ways that other people, some of them
long dead, think. In an authoritarian or rigidly
meritocratic system, schools select the elites who
grow up to make the decisions. A functioning democracy
needs citizens who know how to make decisions
together."
-
Handout to review early in the term: How will you earn a high
professionalism and participation grade?
-
Handout to review early in the term: How will your papers will be graded?
-
Handout to review early in the term: When do you need to use citations
for work submitted in this class?
-
The syllabus and last three documents
listed above are required reading, and the latter two
should be completed before you submit any papers in
this class.
-
Some time early in the term, you also
should take a quick look to see what other resources
also are available under the "Student Resources" tab
at the top of this webpage. I have put these resources
together to help you to succeed in PSC 1010 from the
first day of our class.
-
One last thing, I want you to think about this week.
Come up with a plan on when and how you are doing to
do the day-to-day homework for the course. As we start
the semester, determine when you are going to study
for this class on an ongoing basis. You will make
things a lot
easier on yourself if you use three strategies:
(1) Keep up with the homework readings as they are
assigned. Each class meeting's reading load is
manageable; trying to complete more than a week of
homework reading at a time is going to be a big
challenge that I would like you to avoid.
(2) Know what you are looking for in each reading by
frequently reviewing the unit study guide.
(3) Summarize readings as you complete them and either
take reading notes or use a highlighting system so
that you don't need to re-read entire documents ahead
of exams and paper assignments. You will save yourself
much time and energy if you do nothing more than
highlight a small portion of what you are reading,
including each article's main arguments and examples
of supporting evidence.
Topic 2 -What is political science, and how
is this approach to understanding politics different?
January 8, 10 (W,
F)-How do we study complex human behavior
"scientifically"?
-
Andrew Gelman and Julia Azari, "19
Things We Learned from the 2016 Election"
(Statistics and Public Policy, 2016, 10pp). Don't
memorize the 19 things. Instead, read this article
quickly, focusing on the tone and approach the
political science authors use. This article is dated
and was selected because you probably will be familiar
with the historical events cited but not emotionally
invested in them the way you might be if I assigned a
similar article from the most recent election. What
are a few of the lessons they see from the 2016
election? What kinds of lessons do they take away? How
are they using instances where political scientist
predictions were wrong about 2016 election to get
better at prediction going forward (i.e., most of the
ideas they examine are ones that at least some
political scientists were supporting going into the
election)? How well did these political scientists'
ideas about lessons from the 2016 election work out
for accurately predicting how the the 2020 election
unfolded?
WEEK 2
Topic 3-Should we
be worried about how angry Americans are?
January 13 (M)-
How angry are Americans and why?
-
Focus questions and writing topic
for this week. Remember, you need
write an 1500-word essay on one discussion-week topic
essay before the end of the first course unit. Is this
the topic you want to write on? If so, start it after our first
discussion section, which will be the last day in this
bloc of material.
-
Read This very brief summary (3pp)
of the core assumptions of two classic, western
visions of government (3pp)
, which see unchecked authoritarianism (in the case of
Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan) and very
limited citizen participation (John Locke) as the only
alternative to perpetual social violence
-
Craig Helmstetter and Eric Plutzer,
“Mood of the Nation: Angry” (APM Research, 2024),
3pp.
-
PBS Newshour, "Why are Fear and Anger so Effective
in Politics?" (2024). 8-min video.
-
Steven W. Webster, an outtake from
American Rage: How Anger Shapes Our Politics
(Cambridge Press, 2020, 27pp). Make sure to use the
focus questions (i.e., the study guide in the PPTs
& Assignments folder) to identify what parts of
this chapter you should carefully read.
January 15 and 22
(Wednesdays before and after MLK Day)-Is anger in
American politics a new problem?
-
Read This very brief summary (3pp)
of the core assumptions of two classic, western
visions of government (3pp)
, which see unchecked authoritarianism (in the case of
Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan) and very
limited citizen participation (John Locke) as the only
alternative to perpetual social violence
-
Federalist 10
(5 pp). This is a difficult reading so please read it
closely, outlining the main ideas as they related ).
Why did our Founders see democracy as inherently prone
to violence? What "two methods" did they see as
potential "cures"? Is there anything surprising about
what our founders thought about everyday citizens? Why
did Madison think moving power further away from the
people and local government was a good idea? Why did
he favor putting power in the hands of a small
rather than large national legislature? What founding
assumptions about the character of citizens and
leaders have proven to be wrong?
-
Daniel M. Shea and Alex Sproveri,
"The Rise and Fall of Nasty Politics in America"
(PS 2012, 7pp). Rather than reading this article very
closely, outline the main ideas and the methodology
being used.
-
Phillip Bump, "The Ominous Rise of
Congressional Anger" (Washington Post 2024, 4pp).
Bump is an analyst for the WP's, "The Fix" unit. His
writing consistently leans left. This short piece is
assigned because it updates other readings' charts on
support for violence in politics and patterns of
"Nasty Politics" over time.
WEEK 3
January 20 (M)-
No class -- MLK Day
-
Martin Luther King, "Letter from a
Birmingham Jail" (10 pp). Make sure
to read through the focus questions, so you have a
sense about what you are supposed to get out of this
reading. Why does King argue that anger is necessary
in American politics? What forms of anger-based
actions does he see as acceptable?
January 22 (F)-Discussion
seminar 1: Would America really be
better off with less political and ideological
conflict?
Recall that you must write an essay on one
(and only one) of the discussion session topics
from the first course unit (You will have three
choices; the other two will focusing on political ideology
and ideas about constitutional change).
If you choose to
write a paper on the week's topic, it will be due at the
start of class the Wednesday after
our discussion seminar meeting, Read the paper instructions and prompt
very closely before you start. In addition to reading the
handout on this week's topic, below are several articles
that should be carefully read ahead of this class so that
we can break out into groups and talk about the day's
topic. Keep in mind that both our discussion and the unit
1 exam later on will cover the entire week's material
whether or not you choose to write on this week's topic:
-
Paul Starobin, "The Angry American"
(Atlantic Monthly, 2004, 9pp)
-
Excerpts from Steven W. Webster,
Elizabeth C. Connors Betsy Sinclair, “The Social
Consequences of Political Anger” (2022). Read
just these three sections:“Why Should Political Anger
Influence Social Polarization?,” “Experimental
design,” and “Conclusions and Implications”
-
Pew Research Center, "How
partisans view each other" (2019, 8pp).
-
L. Sandy Maisel, "The Negative
Consequences of Uncivil Political Discourse"
(PS, 2012, 8pp)
-
Meryl Kornfield and Mariana Alfaro.
2022. "1 in 3 Americans say violence against
government can be justified, citing fears of
political schism, pandemic" (Washingon Post,
3pp). What would Dr. King think about the data and
analysis in this article? If that link won't work for
you, use this one.
Topic 4- How different are
America's partisans from one another in the big
picture? Modern political ideologies and America's
political divisions
January 29 (M,
W)-Liberalism and its critics
-
Focus questions and writing topic for
this week. Remember, you need
write a 1500-word essay on your
choice among the three discussion week topics we
will cover in unit 1. Whether you write a paper
on this week's topic or not, remember that discussion
materials are covered on exams. The week's topic
and its due date are listed below on the day we'll
have peer-to-peer discussion.
-
Do the brains of conservatives and liberals work
differently?
A Ted talk by Johnathan Haidt (20 minutes or
so). Think about Haidt defines conservative and
liberal biological dispositions/orientations)
-
Quickly review last week's very short reading on
Hobbes and Locke as well as your notes (or highlights)
from Federalist 10.
- Neal Riemer, et. al., "Liberal
Democracy" (23 pp). Focus on what makes almost
all Americans classical liberals rather than classical
conservatives (pp. 148-53) and where those shared ideals
came from (to 158). Contrast the classical versions of
liberalism and conservatism with the contemporary
meanings of these terms in American politics (160-62).
Skim the rest of the chapter, concentrating on why the
some of ideals of classical liberalism are now being
questioned by American liberals and American
conservatives.
January 31 (F)-Ideological
challengers to liberalism
Note: Your political preferences are
your
business unless you choose to express them. The Pew
Foundation does not collect individual-level data on
its site, and--unlike most pop-up polls of your
political views--it doesn't resell this information
so that you can be targeted by micro-ads specific to
your politics (and they are not necessarily honest
ads). Because of security issues, Pew may require
users to register if they haven't done so before
when accessing data or using resources.
February 3 (M)-Discussion seminar 2:
America's liberals and conservatives: Just two
sides of the same coin (i.e., classical
liberalism) or fundamentally different and growing ever
further apart?
Topic 5 - What kind of democracy do we have in
America? Could we make it better? What are the main
trade-offs between different elements of democracy?
Feburary 5 (W) -
What core institutional choices make a system a
democracy? What makes American democracy unique?
-
Heads up: Your first
exam is coming up! Make sure to
review the focus questions (i.e., study guide that is
in the PPT/Assignments folder linked to the course
homepage). You should also review the online handout
on my Student Resources page that
explains how test items are graded.
If you have OARS accomodations that involve use of the
testing center, you need to make an appointment
immediately.
-
Focus questions and writing topic
for this week. Remember, you need write an
1500-word essay on one discussion week topic essay
before the mid-term break. Discussion materials are
also covered on exams, regardless of whether you write
the paper. Important: If you have not written a
paper on a previous topic, you will need to write on
this one. This week's topic essay is due at the
start of class, after the discussion section (see due
date below).
-
Read Federalist 51 (Also authored
by James Madison). Consider how
Madison's logic in Federalist 10 is extended
to two other key features of American democracy
discussed in other Federalist papers and elsewhere:
(3) separations of power and (4) checks and balances.
Features (5) enumerated powers, (6) liberties, and (7)
civil rights are the other key elements of American
democracy. You can explore them in Sodaro's article
below.
WEEK 5
Feb. 7 (W) -
What specifically may be wrong with American democracy?
-
H.W.
Brands, "Founder's Chic" (Atlantic 2003,
16pp). This first reading explains where the idea that
the Founders were unified in their thinking about the
Constitution came from. Brand's key argument is that,
"These men were no smarter than the best their country
can offer now; they weren't wiser or more altruistic.
They may have been more learned in the classical
sense, but they knew much less about the natural
world, including the natural basis of human behavior."
Feb. 10 (M)
- Discussion seminar
3: Would big changes to our political or electoral
institutions might make America's democracy work
better/worse? Should changes be pursued?
-
Important: If you have not written a paper on a
previous topic, you will need to write on this one.
This week's topic essay is due at the start of
class, one week after today's discussion section
(i.e., on Feb. 14).
-
Jeffrey Rosen, What if We Wrote the
Constitution Today? (The Atlantic, 2020, 5pp).
This article summarizes a project involving three
groups of legal scholars--conservatives, libertarians,
and progressives--where each group proposed how they
would change the Constitution if they were writing it
today.
And two quick reads/listens on ways that the American
electoral system might be changed so more voters are
represented by the candidates they most prefer:
Your first exam is scheduled for Wednesday,
February 12. If you have OARS accommodations
that involve extended testing time or testing in a quiet
environment, please make sure to complete the paperwork to
take your test in the OARS testing site. Your exam start
must be on the same day and time as the rest of the class;
see me in advance if you have a documented class conflict
that will prevent you from using accommodations as noted
above.
If you are writing your unit 1 discussion paper on the
last topic (Fixing the US Constitution?), that paper is
due at the start of class and electronically on Monday,
February 17.
|