POLI 305
ARKANSAS POLITICS: SEMINAR
SPRING SEMESTER 2009
Jay Barth Mills 226
o) 501.450.1319 h) 501.375.1298 m)501.944.9453
Office Hours: MW 2:15-4:00 p.m. and Th 1:15-2:30 p.m.
COURSE OVERVIEW
While this upper-level course serves as an introduction to the politics and government of Arkansas, it also seeks to help develop sophisticated analytical skills for studying the politics of this state, the South, and state and local government more broadly. Therefore, we will clearly give the colorful personalities and often outrageous events that have served as memorable markers of this state’s past and recent politics their due, but will be more fundamentally focused on placing them into a broader framework. What patterns do we see? What have been the prevailing historical, cultural, and economic circumstances that have caused those patterns? How do these patterns compare to the general patterns of state and local government in the United States? Based on these past patterns, what can we predict that the future of this state’s government and politics will look like?
Thus, course goals are:
· to achieve a higher degree of “political literacy” about the workings of the Arkansas political system through readings, lecture, discussion, and independent research;
· to rely upon the key concepts, theories, and methods of political science in our effort to understand Arkansas politics and government;
· to improve our abilities to make informed political judgments;
· to feel more confident in our efforts to discuss Arkansas politics and policies with others.
To achieve these goals, a seminar format will be used. As such, students take responsibility for coming to class meetings prepared to tackle the topics at hand and the readings required for that meeting in an engaged manner. On several occasions, practitioners of the state’s politics and within the institutions of state government will become a part of our seminar meeting to offer their insights into the topic. Finally, students are expected to bring their own knowledge of state’s politics gained from observations in the POLI 306 practicum this semester to the attention of other class members.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Blair, Diane D and Jay Barth. 2005. Arkansas Politics and Government: Do the People Rule?, Second Edition. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Janine A. Parry and Richard Wang. Forthcoming. Readings in Arkansas Government and Politics
Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press.
Other required readings listed on the following pages are either on reserve in Bailey Library or available on-line.
Also, close daily reading of theArkansas Democrat-Gazette as well as the daily reporting of the Arkansas News Bureau (www.arkansasnews.com) is required. Other relevant publications include the weekly Arkansas Business and the weekly Arkansas Times (the Times also has an informative blog at http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/). A number of additional, informative blogs from across the political spectrum are also active. These include: Roby Brock’s Political Buzz (http://www.talkbusiness.net/Weblogs/PoliticalBuzz.aspx), John Brummett’s Brummett’s Blog (http://arkansasnews.com/?cat=116), and David Kinkade’s The Arkansas Project (http://www.thearkansasproject.com/). Viewing “Arkansas Week” on AETN on Friday nights or Sunday mornings also is likely to prove beneficial.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS and GRADING
Four elements—each composing one-quarter of your final grade—will be used to evaluate your performance in the seminar:
1) Class Presence (25% of final grade): Most obviously, you need to attend class ready to discuss that day's assigned reading. I would advise you to make written notes before the class meeting. I will evaluate your participation not on the sheer number of words that you speak, but on the degree to which you consistently contribute to the learning experience.
2) Midterm and Final Examinations (25% of final grade each): Each of these in-class examinations will consist of both identification and essay questions. Possible essay questions will be distributed approximately one week before each exam.
3) Research Paper (25% of final grade): This 15-20 page paper, due on May 2, is described on the last pages of the syllabus.
NOTE: All work during this term will be guided by the Hendrix College Statement of Academic Integrity as presented in the Student Handbook. On all written work submitted throughout the term, please include a signed version of the following pledge: “I have not received inappropriate assistance on this assignment.”
CLASS MEETING SCHEDULE
*Denotes Reading is Included in Parry and Wang
#Denotes Reading on Reserve in Bailey Library
+Denotes Reading is Available On-Line
SETTING THE STAGE
Tuesday, January 13: Overview of the Course and Preview of the 87th Session of the
Arkansas General Assembly
Thursday, January 15: Geography, Economics, and Political Culture Explainers of
Arkansas’s Politics and Policies
Blair and Barth, Preface, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, pp. 18-30
#Rodney Hero and Caroline J. Tolbert, "A Racial/Ethnic Diversity Interpretation of Politics
and Policy in the States of the U.S."
Tuesday, January 20: Populism’s Failure as an Explainer of Arkansas’s Politics and
Policies
Blair and Barth, remainder of Chapter 2
#Kenneth C. Barnes, “Who Killed John M. Clayton? Political Violence in Conway County,
Arkansas, in the 1880s"
#Roy Reed, “Clinton Country”
PARTISAN POLITICS, VOTING BEHAVIOR, AND INTEREST GROUPS IN
ARKANSAS
Thursday, January 22: The Traditional Era
Blair and Barth, Chapter 3, pp. 35-45
#V.O. Key, Southern Politics in State and Nation, pp. 183-204
*Cal Ledbetter, Jr., “The Antievolution Law: Church and State in Arkansas”
*Patsy Hawthorn Ramsey, “A Place at the Table: Hot Springs and the GI Revolt”
Tuesday, January 27 and Thursday, January 29: Challenges to the Racial Order:
Arkansas in the Civil Rights Era
FILM: Hoxie
*Roy Reed, “Orval E. Faubus: Out of Socialism into Realism”
#Henry M. Alexander, "The Little Rock Recall Election"
Tuesday, February 3: Winthrop Rockefeller and the Modernization of Arkansas
Politics
Blair and Barth, remainder of Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, pp. 60-72
*Kathy Kunzinger Urwin, “Noblesse Oblige and Practical Politics: Winthrop Rockefeller and the Civil Rights Movement”
#Jack Bass and Walter DeVries, The Transformation of Southern Politics, pp. 87-106
*Jim Ranchino, “The Arkansas Electorate”
Thursday, February 5: The “Big Three” Era and the Election of a President
#Randy Sanders, Mighty Peculiar Elections: The New South Gubernatorial Campaigns of
1970 and the Changing Politics of Race, pp. 37-76
*Diane D. Blair, “The Big Three of Late Twentieth-Century Arkansas Politics: Dale
Bumpers, Bill Clinton, and David Pryor”
#Diane D. Blair, “Arkansas: Ground Zero in the Presidential Race”
Tuesday, February 10: The Partisan Landscape After the “Big Three”
Blair and Barth, remainder of Chapter 4, Chapter 5, pp. 95-106, and Chapter 14
#Jay Barth, Janine Parry, and Todd G. Shields, “Arkansas: He Not One of (Most of) Us”
*Janine A. Parry and William D. Schreckhise, “Political Culture, Political Attitudes, and Aggregated Demographic Effects: Regionalism and Political Ideology in Arkansas”
Thursday, February 12-Tuesday, February 17: Political Parties as Institutions in the
Contemporary Era
Blair and Barth, remainder of Chapter 5
*Jay Barth, “Arkansas: More Signs of Momentum for Republicanism in Post-”Big Three”
Arkansas”
Thursday, February 19-Tuesday, February 24: Interest Group Politics in Modern Arkansas
Blair and Barth, Chapter 6
*Art English and John J. Carroll, “Outsiders in the Amateur Legislature: A Case Study of
the Legislative Process”
Thursday, February 26; Arkansas’s Constitution: A Reflection of the Past
Blair and Barth, Chapter 7
Tuesday, March 3: Constitutional Reform Through Direct Democracy
#Rod Farmer, “Direct Democracy in Arkansas, 1910-1918”
*Robert W. Meriwether, “The Proposed Arkansas Constitution of 1970”
*Steve Sheppard, “Intelligible, Honest, and Impartial Democracy: Making Laws at the
Arkansas Ballot Box; or, Why Jim Hannah and Ray Thornton Were Right about May v. Daniels”
Thursday, March 5: Midterm Examination
March 10-12: NO CLASS (Spring Break)
Tuesday, March 17-Thursday, March 19: The Arkansas Governor
Blair and Barth, Chapter 8
*Cal Ledbetter, Jr., and C. Fred Williams, “Arkansas Governors in the Twentieth Century:
A Ranking and Analysis”
Tuesday, March 24: Who Are Arkansas’s Legislators and Why Does It Matter?
Blair and Barth, Chapter 9, pp. 186-202
*Janine A. Parry and William Miller, “`The Great Negro State of the Country’?:
Black Legislators in Arkansas, 1973–2000”
#Jay Barth, “Legislative Retrospective”
Thursday, March 26: The General Assembly in a Term Limits Era
Blair and Barth, remainder of Chapter 9
+Art English and Brian Weberg, “Term Limits in the Arkansas General Assembly: A Citizen
Legislature Responds” [http://ncsl.org/jptl/casestudies/Arkansasv2.pdf]
Tuesday, March 31-Thursday, April 2: The Judicial System after Amendment 80
Blair and Barth, Chapter 10
*Larry Brady and J. D. Gingerich, “A Practitioner’s Guide to Arkansas’s New Judicial
Article”
POLICY-MAKING IN CONTEMPORARY ARKANSAS
Tuesday, April 7: Arkansas in the Federal System
*Morton Grodzins, “Arkansas Small Town in the Year of Little Rock”
Blair and Barth, Chapter 11
Thursday, April 9-Tuesday, April 14: Tax and Spending Politics in Arkansas
Blair and Barth, Chapter 13, pp. 293-308
Thursday, April 16-Tuesday, April 21: Education Policy as a Case Study of Public Policy-Making in Arkansas
Blair and Barth, remainder of Chapter 13
*Gary R. Ritter, “Education Reform in Arkansas: Hitting a Moving Target”
+Lake View School District v. Huckabee (2002)
[http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/2002b/20021121/01-836.html]
+Lake View School District v. Huckabee (2005)
[http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/2005a/20050609/01-836.html]
+Jay Barth and Keith A. Nitta, Education in the Post-Lake View Era: What Is Arkansas
Doing to Close the Achievement Gap? [http://aradvocates.org/_images/pdfs/2008Education_AchievementGap.pdf]
Thursday, April 23: Social Policy in Arkansas: The Case of Gay/Lesbian-Related
Policies
*W. Brock Thompson, “A Crime Unfit to Be Named: Arkansas and Sodomy”
#Jay Barth and Janine Parry, “Political Culture, Public Opinion, and Policy (Non)Diffusion:
The Case of Gay- and Lesbian-Related Issues in Arkansas,”
RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENT
General Instructions: Arkansas politics is a rich and fascinating subject. It is also a political science topic about which many research questions remain unasked or underanalyzed. For this reason, the topic of the research paper required for this class is up to each student. It is required that your paper be a thoroughly-researched, well-organized, scholarly treatment of some specific aspect of Arkansas politics and government, past or present. Because of the independence you have in developing this research project, you must meet with me at least once early in the semester to discuss your topic and research strategy, and should BEGIN YOUR RESEARCH EFFORTS IMMEDIATELY. It also would be wise to consult Chapter 15 in your Blair and Barth text for some research suggestions.
Requirements and Expectations: All papers must be typed, double-spaced and approximately 15-20 pages in length (11 or 12-point font with one-inch margins, please). All papers must draw upon a minimum of 10 sources. These sources may include your texts, but should rely mainly upon other materials including articles in academic journals, books, government publications, interviews, and features from news magazines or newspapers. Internet sources may be used, but must be cited properly. All sources for the paper should be used in an appropriate manner in advancing the examination of the topic at hand.
A works cited page (bibliography) is required. You should employ the Style Manual of the American Political Science Association in your paper. The elements of that style manual can be found at: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocAPSA.html
Tips: I am interested in your ability to show me that you are a diligent researcher and a reasoned, well-informed thinker. This means your paper should include both description (of events, people, laws, etc.), and analysis (an effort to understand those events, people, laws, etc. and to place them in the broader context of what you have learned about Arkansas politics specifically, and state and local politics generally). As you are conducting your research and writing your paper, it may help to consider some of these questions: What is the historical context of my subject? Who were the major actors involved in my subject and why were they involved? What are the historical, economic, cultural, governmental, or other factors that “caused” the event/phenomenon I am studying? Who gains and who loses due to the action/event I am studying? What does my subject reveal about Arkansas politics and government? Do I think my findings are unique to Arkansas or are rather part of a broader political phenomenon? You need not answer all, or any, of these questions; they are just ideas to set you on the path of analysis and thesis development.
Key Dates: A meeting with me about your topic ideas should occur on or before Friday,
February 6th.
A 1 paragraph (typed) description of your topic is due on or before Friday, February
13th.
The final paper is due on or before Friday, April 24th, at 5:00 p.m.
POSSIBLE PAPER TOPICS (and Evaluation Criteria)
Bill or Issue Analysis: examine a recent proposal (successful, unsuccessful, or still pending) to the Arkansas Legislature; a recent court case; a recent executive order or appointment; a recent proposal to a county Quorum Court or city council; a recent Referred Amendment or initiative measure; what factors helped or hindered the bill/issue; what was/will be the outcome; who does the measure help or hurt; what actors and factors worked for and against it?
Comparison of Campaigns: two or more candidates for same office in same year, or for same office in different years, or from different congressional districts, etc. Consider issues, “styles,” sources of funds, group support, use of media, etc.
Issue Voting or Direct Democracy in Arkansas: How and why proposed constitutional amendments pass or fail – choose one proposal and analyze, or compare two proposals in one year, or similar proposals over several years; who gets involved, what kind of advertising is used, what explains success or failure?
Some aspect of the Republican Party in Arkansas: its nature, strength, future, relationship with blacks, women, labor, business, or some other constituency, etc. OR some aspect of the Democratic Party in Arkansas OR a comparison of Republican and Democratic State parties – platforms, strategies, membership, etc.
Citizen Participation in Arkansas: who votes and who doesn’t and what difference does it make; varying voter turnout in different counties, in different kinds/levels of races; effects of redistricting; split-ticket voting.
Gubernatorial Politics: compare how two different governors (or same governor in serving two different terms) dealt with the legislature, or with the matter of appointments to various offices, or with the budget, etc.
Legislative Politics: getting elected or re-elected; the impact of term limits; causes of the defeat of an incumbent; etc.