The American Political System PSCI: 1101 Spring 2016 DUAN G125 MWF 11:00-11:50pm

Ryan Dawkins Ketchum Hall 232 [email protected] Office Hours: TBD

Course Description To the casual observer, American politics appears confusing and plagued by unnecessary conflict. However, underlying the seeming complexity and chaos of the American political system is a simple logic that drives the entire political process. This logic begins from the assumption that the primary purpose of government is to serve as a forum for identifying collective problems in need of being solved. It’s in the service of this goal that government provides the processes and procedures that allow members of a community to overcome the problems associated with collective action and produce collective outcomes that represent preferences of the whole community. This underlying logic of American politics is enshrined in the Constitution, it shapes the structure of this country’s core political institutions, and it drives the patterns of political conflict and cooperation that shape every aspect of American political life. This course is designed to introduce students to—and undertake an examination of—major topics in American politics from a social science perspective. As a result, many of the central themes of this course draw on a set of interrelated theoretical concepts and ideas that underwrite contemporary political science. Those ideas include the following propositions: 1) political actors behave strategically, 2) effective collective action requires institutions for overcoming coordination problems, and 3) different electoral rules for delegating sovereign authority determine different styles of representation and modes of democratic practice. It’s in the service of these ideas that this course will be divided into three parts. Part I lays out the constitutional foundations of the American political system. In doing so, this course will delve into the ideas that animate this country’s founding document and the institutional structure that it created. Part II provides a more in-depth look at this country’s governing institutions and how they operate in the service of representative democracy. Lastly, Part III of the course highlights the role that the people—and the linkage institutions that connect them to government—play in American politics. Course Objectives: • To help develop an understanding of the purpose of government as a necessary solution to collective action problems. • To introduce the central concepts that inform how political scientists make sense of politics and then to use those concepts to think critically about the political world. • To elucidate various the structures and institutions that are comprise American politics • To understand how the American political system is designed to facilitate representation • To foster greater interest in current events and the day-to-day conflicts that make-up American politics.

Course Requirements Prerequisites This is the introductory class in American politics. There are no prerequisites for this course.

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Textbooks There are two required books for this course. They are available at the University of Colorado – Boulder Bookstore or can be purchased for far cheaper on Amazon.com. 1. Kernell, Samuel, Gary C. Jacobson, Thad Kousser, and Lynn Vavreck. 2013. The Logic of American Politics. 6th ed. Washington: CQ Press (Identified as Textbook on syllabus) 2. Kernell, Samuel and Steven S. Smith. Principles and Practice of American Politics: Classic and Contemporary Readings. 5th ed. Washington: CQ Press. (Identified as Reader on syllabus)

Evaluation The grade you earn in this class will be based largely on your understanding of both the reading material and lectures from the course. As a result, the writing assignments for which you are responsible are intended primarily to help you gain a deeper understanding of course material. To that end, your final grade will be calculated as follows: 1. Midterm I (15%): An in-class exam covering the material from the first part of the course 2. Midterm II (20%): An in-class exam covering the material from the second part of the course. 3. Final Exam (30%): An in-class exam covering material from the last part of the course. 4. Analytical Essay (20%): Each student will be required to write a paper on a salient political issue and discuss how that issue plays out among the various institutions of the national government. Guidelines for the assignment will be outlined later in the semester in a separate word document. 5. Class Attendance and Participation (15%): Attendance is essential to doing well in this class, and simply showing up is at least 50% of success in life more generally. As a result, its an important component of this class. This portion of the grade will reflect my evaluation of your classroom participation in class discussion and overall engagement during class—i.e. no sleeping, cell phones, computers, chatting among each other, etc. Students who miss more than 50% of lectures will receive zero credit for attendance and participation.

Grading Scale I will be using the following grading scale: 93 -100 A 73-76 C 90-92 A70-72 C87-89 B+ 67-69 D+ 83-86 B 63-66 D 80-82 B60-62 D77-79 C+ Below 60 F

Late Work Assignments, including the book review, submitted after the deadline will be penalized 10 percentage points for every day it’s late, with the first penalty occurring immediately after the in-class deadline. I do not accept emailed assignments unless previously cleared by me first, and electronic submissions without a corresponding paper copy will not be graded.

Grade Appeals If you wish to challenge a grade earned on any work for any reason besides an obvious arithmetic error, I ask that you wait at least 48 hours and then email me with a request to meet to discuss your performance. 2

Cheating/Plagiarism Any form of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Plagiarism on any work done in the class will result in you automatically failing the course. You will also be reported to the Honor Code Council. Plagiarism is defined as the use of another’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement. Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following: failing to use quotation marks when directly quoting a source; failing to document distinctive ideas from a source; fabricating or inventing sources; and copying information from computer-based sources, i.e., the Internet. Cheating is defined as using unauthorized materials or receiving unauthorized assistance during an examination or other academic exercise.

Classroom and University Policies Classroom Environment: Tardiness and early departures detract from the learning environment. Please arrive on time and stay for the duration of the class period. I will do my best to end lecture on time. Do not pack up before the end of lecture. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion, creed, politics, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression, age, disability, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternative name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code. Email: Check your university e-mail regularly. I will use email to make you aware of any changes that may occur over the course of the semester, and you are responsible for knowing these changes that are communicated via email. Having missed an important deadline or a change in the schedule because you failed to check your email is not a valid excuse Desire to Learn (D2L): D2L is your friend! The most updated syllabus and other course announcements will be on D2L. It is recommended that you regularly check this website. Subject to Revision: This syllabus may be revised throughout the semester; any change I make to this syllabus will be announced in class and the most current syllabus will always be posted on D2L. Disability: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: (303) 492-8671, Center for Community, N200, and http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices. Religious Observances: Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. See full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html. Discrimination and Harassment: The University of Colorado at Boulder Discrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedures, the University of Colorado Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures, and the University of Colorado Conflict of Interest in Cases of Amorous Relationships Policy apply to all students, staff, and faculty. Any student, staff, or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of sexual harassment or discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at (303) 492-2127, or the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) at (303) 492-5550. Information about the 3

ODH, the above reference policies, and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh. Honor Code: All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct should be reported to the Honor Code Council ([email protected]; (303) 7352273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://honorcode.colorado.edu/.

A Note on Technology… The use of electronic devices during class is strictly prohibited. This includes but is not limited to cell phones, MP3 players, laptops, tablets, etc. All devices should be turned off or switched to silent and stowed away prior to the start of class. If you require access to your cell phone because of an ongoing emergency situation, please speak to me at the start of class to let me know. Failure to adhere to this policy may result in being asked to leave class and counted as absent. The use of technology in class distracts both the user of the technology and those around the users. Technology necessary for medical purposes are exceptions. For more information on the rationale behind the no technology policy, see Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014)’s article on why the “Pen is Mightier than the Keyboard.” That article is on D2L.

Schedule Part 1: Constitutional Foundations of American Politics Week 1 (1/11-1/15): The Logic of American Politics • What are the central concepts of this course? How do problems of collective action inform the study of American politics? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 1 § Reader: 1-1 and 1-2 Week 2 (1/18-1/22): Constitutional Design of the American Republic • What is Republican government? How does the constitution provide solutions to collective action problems? How does the constitution facilitate representation? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 2 § Reader: 2-1, 2-3, 2-4 Week 3 (1/25-1/29): American Federalism • What is the relationship between the federal government and the states? How is local politics unique in American politics? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 3 § Reader: 3-1, 3-2

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Week 4 (2/1-2/5): Civil Liberties • How have civil liberties protections simultaneously constrained government power, while also consolidating it at the national level at the expense of the states? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 5 § Reader: 5-1, 5-4 Week 5 (2/8-2/12): Civil Rights • What are civil rights, and how do they differ from civil liberties? What are the legacies of the civil rights movement? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 4

***Midterm Exam I*** Part II: Institutions of American Politics Week 6 (2/15-2/19): The Legislative Branch: Congress, Part I • What is the role of Congress according to constitutional design? How is congress organized? How do bills become laws? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 6, pg. 238-247, 257-282 § Reader: 6-1, 6-3 Week 7 (2/22-2/26): The Legislative Branch: Congress, Part II • Who serves in congress? What are different styles of representation? What do you need to know about congressional redistricting? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 6, pg. 248-256, 283-298 § Reader: 6-2 Week 8 (2/29-3/4): The Executive Branch: The Presidency • What are the powers of the Presidency? How have those powers evolved over time? How does the president steer domestic and foreign policy? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 7 § Reader: 7-1, 7-2 Week 9 (3/7-3/11): The Executive Branch: Federal Bureaucracy • Why do we have an administrative state? How did it develop? Who controls the federal bureaucracy? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 8 § Reader: 8-1 Week 10 (3/14-3/18): The Judicial Branch • What is the structure of the judiciary? How do justices come to their decisions? What influence does the public have on the courts? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 9 § Reader: 9-1, 9-2 5

***Midterm Exam II*** Week 11 (3/21-3/25): Spring Break! Part III: The People in American Politics Week 12 (3/28-4/1): Public Opinion • What do people know about politics? How do people organize their political beliefs? How do you measure public opinion? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 10 § Reader: 10-1, 10-3 Week 13 (4/4-4/8): Political Parties • Why Parties? How do parties exercise influence in the electorate and operate in the service of American democracy? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 12 § Reader: 12-1, 12-2 Week 14 (4/11-4/15): Interest Groups • How do interest groups form? How much influence do interest groups have? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 13 § Reader: 11-5, 13-2, 13-3 Week 15 (4/18-4/22): Political Campaigns and Elections • Who decides to run for office? What conditions influence political campaigns? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 11, pg. 486-495, 506-530 § Reader: 11-2, 11-3, 11-5 Week 16 (4/25-4/29): Elections and Voting • How do people come to their vote choice? What factors explain who participates and who doesn’t? How do elections lead to representative government? o Reading: § Textbook: Chapter 11, pg. 496-505 § Reader: 11-1, 11-4 Final Exam • Tuesday, May 5: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m

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