GOVT 250- American Political Institutions

Professor Witko- Fall 2003

 

Tahoe Hall 3115

Phone:  278-3572

e-mail:  witkoc@csus.edu

Office Hours:  W:  11-1 p.m., TH: 10:30-12 p.m., and by appointment

 

Course Description:

 

This course should serve as an advanced examination of the major institutions of American politics.  It will also serve as an introduction to the academic study of politics for those who may be interested. 

 

The course is broken into three sections.  The first section discusses the ideas behind the institutional structure of the government embodied in the U.S. Constitution.  In the second part of the course we examine linking institutions- that is, institutions that link the public to the formal governmental policy-making institutions.   Finally, we examine the major formal policy-making institutions of the U.S. government.  

                                                                                                                  

The reading load for this course will be moderately heavy, and all students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings for that week.  Every student should be prepared to summarize and offer commentary on the reading assignments if called upon to do so. 

 

Required Texts:

Dahl, Robert A.  1956.  A Preface to Democratic Theory.  Chicago:  The University of

Chicago Press.      

Dodd, Lawrence C. and Bruce I. Oppenheimer.  2001.  Congress Reconsidered (7th. Ed.)

            Washington, D.C.:  Congressional Quarterly Press.

Epstein, Lee and Jack Knight.  1997.  The Choices Justices Make.  Washington, D.C.:

            Congressional Quarterly Press.

Mayhew, David R.  1974.  Congress:  The Electoral Connection.  New Haven:  Yale

University Press.

Nelson, Michael R.  2003.  The Presidency and the Political System, 7th. ed. 

            Washington, D.C.:  Congressional Quarterly Press. 

Neustadt, Richard E.  1990.  Presidential Power and The Modern Presidents.  New York:

The Free Press.

Wilson, James Q.  1991.  Bureaucracy:  What Government Agencies Do and Why They

            Do It.  New York:  Basic Books.

 

Recommended:

Baumgartner, Frank R. and Bryan D. Jones.  1993.  Agendas and Instability in American

            Politics.  Chicago:  The University of Chicago Press.

Kingdon, John W.  2003.  Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policy.  3rd. ed.  Harper

Collins.

Rossiter, Clinton, ed.  1999.  The Federalist Papers.  Penguin.

 

There will also be required journal articles for some weeks that are available through the library’s website from JSTOR. 

 

Assignments:

 

Weekly Papers (25%):

Each week you will be required to turn in a one page single spaced paper that discusses a substantive tension, problem or question raised in the readings assigned for that week.  These will be graded as either good, acceptable or unacceptable.  There are no weekly papers due on December 2nd  and 9th . 

 

Semester Paper (35%)

You will work on this assignment throughout the semester and turn it in on the next to last class period (12/2).  This paper can take a variety of forms depending on your interests and talents.  Examples include, but are not necessarily limited to original scholarly research papers, critical reviews of an area of literature, advocacy papers, etc.  The paper should be approximately 20 pages in length.  You will present the results of your work in class in either week 14 or 15 of the course. 

 

Take Home Final Exam (20%)

You will be given a few broad essay questions that will require you to write on the major topics and ideas that we cover throughout the semester.  This final will be distributed at the last class period and due on Tuesday, December 16th at 7:30 p.m. (The time of our scheduled final exam).   

 

Participation (20%)

Seminars rely on student participation and input.  All students should come to class ready and willing to discuss the readings and to participate in discussions that develop.  You will be evaluated on both the frequency and the quality of participation.  Attendance is mandatory, and since we only meet once a week absences should be avoided. 

 

Course Outline

PART I:  The American “System” of Government

 

Week 1 (9/2):  Introduction to the course and terminology

 

Week 2 (9/9):  Foundations 

Readings:

Publius. 1787 Federalist Papers (can be found at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/fed/fedpapers.html)

Representation/Prevention of Tyranny: Numbers 10-11.

Checks and Balances: Numbers 47-51.

Brutus.  1787 or 1788.  Number 1 (http://www.constitution.org/afp/brutus01.htm)

Centinel.  1878.  Number 1 (http://www.constitution.org/afp/centin01.htm)

Kenyon, Cecelia M.  1955.  “Men of Little Faith:  The Anti-Federalists on the Nature of

            Representative Government.”  The William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series,

12(1):3-43. (JSTOR)

Morgan, Robert J.  1974.  “Madison’s Theory of Representation in the Tenth Federalist.” 

            The Journal of Politics 35(4):  852-885.(JSTOR) 

 

Week 3 (9/16):  American Democracy and Political Power

Readings:

Dahl, Robert A. 1956.  A Preface to Democratic Theory.

Walker, Jack L.  1966.  “A Critique of the Elitist Theory of Democracy.”  American

Political Science Review 60 (June):  285-295. (JSTOR)

Dahl, Robert A.  “Further Reflections on the Elitist Theory of Democracy.”  American

            Political Science Review 60(June): 296-305. (JSTOR)

 

PART II-Linking Institutions

 

Week 4 (9/23):  Political Parties

Readings:

Key, V.O.  1955.  “A Theory of Critical Elections.”  Journal of Politics 17(February):

            3-18. (JSTOR)

Schlesinger, Joseph M.  1984.  “On The Theory of Party Organization.”  The Journal of

Politics 46(2):  369-400. (JSTOR)

 “The Need for Greater Party Responsibility” in Toward a More Responsible Two Party

            System:  A Report of the Committee on Political Parties.  1950.  American

Political Science Review 44(3): 15-36. (JSTOR)

Steven S. Smith and Gerald Gamm.  2001.  “The Dynamics of Party Government in

            Congress.”  In Dodd and Oppenheimer. 

Aldrich, John H. and David W. Rohde.  2001.  “The Logic of Conditional Party

            Government:  Revisiting the Electoral Connection.”  In Dodd and Oppenheimer.

 

Week 5 (9/30):  Organized Interests:  Interest Group Formation and Representation

Readings:

Walker, Jack L.  1983.  “The Origins and Maintenance of Interest Groups in America.”

            American Political Science Review 77(June): 390-406. (JSTOR)

Salisbury, Robert.  1984.  “Interest Representation:  The Dominance of Institutions.”

            American Political Science Review 81:64-67.  (JSTOR)

Gray, Virginia and David Lowery.  1996.  “A Niche Theory of Interest Representation.”

            Journal of Politics 58(March):91-111. (JSTOR)

 Schlozman, Kay Lehman.  1984.  “What Accent the Heavenly Chorus?  Political

            Equality and the American Pressure System.”  Journal of Politics 46:  1006-32.

            (JSTOR)

Denzau, Arthur T. and Michael C. Munger.  1986.  “Legislators and Interest Groups:

            How Unorganized Interests Get Represented.”  American Political Science

Review 80:  89-106. (JSTOR)

 

Week 6 (10/7):  Organized Interests:  Tactics and Influence in the Interest Group System

Readings:

Danielson, Lucig and Benjamin I. Page.  “The Heavanly Chorus:  Interest Group Voices

on TV News.”  American Journal of Political Science 38:1056-1078. (JSTOR)

Rozell, Mark and Clyde Wilcox.  1996.  “Second Coming:  The Strategies of the New

            Christian Right.”  Political Science Quarterly (2): 271-294.(JSTOR)

Hojnacki, Marie and David Kimball.  1998.  “Organized Interests and the Decision of

            Whom to Lobby in Congress.”  American Political Science Review 92:775-90.

(JSTOR)

Hall, Richard D. and Frank W. Wayman.  1990.  “Buying Time:  Moneyed Interests and

            The Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees.  American

            Political Science Review 84:  797-820. (JSTOR)

Jacobson, Gary C.  1999.  “The Effect of the AFL-CIO’s ‘Voter Education’ Campaigns

            On the 1996 House Election.”  Journal of Politics 61:185-194. (JSTOR) 

 

PART III.  Policy-making Institutions

 

Week 7 (10/14):  Representation in Congress

Readings:

Mayhew, David R.  1974.  Congress:  The Electoral Connection.  New Haven:  Yale

University Press.

Dodd and Oppenheimer.  2001.  Parts I and II.

 

Week 8 (10/21):  Congress as a Policy-making Institution

Readings: 

Dodd and Oppenheimer.  2002.  Parts III, IV, V and VI.

 

Week 9 (10/28):  The Presidency

Readings:

Neustadt, Richard E.  1990.  Presidential Power and The Modern Presidents.  New York:

The Free Press.

Nelson, Michael.  2003.  Parts I and II

 

Week 10 (11/4):  The Presidency and Policy-making

Readings:

Nelson, Michael.  2003.  Parts III, IV and V.

 

Week 11 (11/11):  The Supreme Court

Readings:

Epstein, Lee and Jack Knight.  1997.  The Choices Justices Make.  Washington, D.C.:

            Congressional Quarterly Press.

Casper, Jonathan D.  1976.  “The Supreme Court and National Policy-making. 

            American Political Science Review 70:50-63. (JSTOR)

 

Week 12 (11/18):  The Bureaucracy

Readings:

Wilson, James Q.  1991.  Bureaucracy:  What Government Agencies Do and Why They

            Do It.  New York:  Basic Books.

 

Week 13 (11/25):  Views of the policy process. 

Readings: 

Baumgartner, Frank R. and Bryan D. Jones.  1993.  Agendas and Instability in American

            Politics.  Chicago:  The University of Chicago Press.

Or

Kingdon, John W.  1993.  Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policy.  Etc., etc.

And

Bacharach, Peter and Morton Baratz.  1962.  “The Two Faces of Power.”  American

            Political Science Review 56(December) 947-952. (JSTOR)

 

Weeks 14 and 15 (12/2 and 12/4): Paper Presentations

 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of distinctive ideas or works belonging to another person without providing adequate acknowledgement of that person's contribution. Regardless of the means of appropriation, incorporating another's work into one's own requires adequate identification and acknowledgement. Plagiarism is doubly unethical because it deprives the author of rightful credit and gives credit to someone who has not earned it. Acknowledgement is not necessary when the material used is common knowledge. When the course is not noted, the following would constitute plagiarism:

1. Word-for-word copying.

2. The mosaic (to intersperse a few words of one's own here and there while, in essence, copying another's work).

3. The paraphrase (the rewriting of another's work, yet still using the fundamental idea or theory).

4. Fabrication (inventing or counterfeiting sources).

5. Ghost-written material (submitting another's effort as one's own).

It is also plagiarism to neglect quotation marks on material that is otherwise acknowledged. Plagiarism and acts associated with it are cause for disciplinary and/or legal action.

DISCIPLINE

California Code of Regulations, Sections 41301 through 41304 of Title 5, Article 1.1 states, "Following procedures consonant with due process established pursuant to Section 41304, any student of a campus may be expelled, suspended, placed on probation or given a lesser sanction for one or more of the following causes which must be campus related:

(a) Cheating or plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a campus."

 

Students with Disabilities

 

If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation to SSWD, Lassen Hall 1008, (916) 278-6955.  Please discuss your accommodation needs with me after class or during my office hours early in the semester.