Syllabus
Poli 101 - The PresidencyFall 2009
TuTh 1:30-2:45pm
Room KOLLIG 217 / Professor Nathan Monroe
Office hours: TuTh 12:45-1:30 & by Appt.
Office: COB 356
Course Goals
This class is designed to give students an understanding of the workings of the US presidency. This will include learning about the manner by which presidents are chosen, the tremendous increase in presidential power that has occurred across US history; the president’s lawmaking role and executive roles; the relationship between the media and the president; and foreign policy. Throughout the class, we will emphasize ways in which political goals of presidents and others combine with political institutions to produce much of the presidential behavior we see.
Course Structure:
The class will include a mixture of lecture, discussion, class presentations, debates, and an occasional video. This course requires the active participation of students. Although time will usually be set aside each week for lecture, I expect that you will come to class having completed the assigned readings and prepared to discuss the readings and lecture material. My lecture style is to ask lots of questions of the class. The answers to these questions are found in class discussion between students and the professor. The answers to these questions are found both in reading material and the discussion between students in class. This in- class discussion makes up a big portion of the lecture material that I wish to cover and will be included on the midterm and final exam, so be prepared to be involved during every class session.
Although I do not require it, you are strongly encouraged to read a daily newspaper. I will sometimes begin class by discussing current events taking place in national politics more broadly). You are also welcome to bring questions and/or clippings from the news. I strongly encourage questions/comments about the daily business of national politics.
Political Science Program Learning Objectives (PLO’s)
1. An understanding of the processes, theories, and empirical regularities of political institutions and political behavior in the student’s chosen emphasis area: American politics, comparative politics, or international relations.
2. An ability to employ critical thinking and demonstrate social scientific literacy, including basic quantitative literacy.
3. A capacity to utilize contemporary social science research methods to conduct rigorous research on political phenomena.
4. Effective written communication skills, especially the ability to convey complex concepts and information in a clear and concise manner.
5. An ability to apply abstract theory and research methods to understand contemporary political events and public policies.
“The Presidency” Student Learning Objectives (SLO’s)
1. To explain the significance for US politics of key terms, concepts, and characteristics regarding presidential elections, presidential power, the relationship between presidents and media, and presidents’ role in foreign policy (Advances PLOs 1 & 4)
2. To complete research on a cabinet secretary for the new administration, and to communicate the results of this research through a fact sheet and in-class presentation (Advances PLOs 2, 3, & 5)
3. To work as part of a team to learn about both sides of a contentious issue related to the presidency by participating in preparation for a team debate (Advances PLOs 1&2)
4. To work with a team to argue in favor of a contentious issue position in a team debate (Advances PLO 5)
Assignments, grades, and assessment
There are five assignments for the class:
1. A team project on the new administration, worth 10% of your overall grade, in which each team gathers information about a cabinet secretary, and gives a short presentation on the results. (Assesses SLO 2)
2. A fact sheet, worth 10% of your overall grade, regarding the aspect of your team’s cabinet secretary presentation that you worked on. (Assesses SLO 2)
3. A midterm examination, worth 30% of your final grade. The exam will cover material from lectures and readings. (Assesses SLO 1). You will need to bring a blue book for the exam.
4. An in-class team debate worth 20% of your grade (details below). Each student is responsible contributing to the team effort. I will discuss debate rules, format, strategy, teams, topics, and expectations on the day teams are assigned. (Assesses SLOs 3&4)
5. A final exam, worth 30% of your overall grade. The exam will cover material from lectures and readings (Assesses SLO 1). You will need to bring a blue book for the exam.
Important note on team projects: As part of these projects, students will work individually and in teams. All students are expected to participate in the team work. You are responsible for making sure you get the assignments, for keeping track of the dates on which you are expected to show up for group meetings and presentations, and for contributing to the team effort.
BONUS POINTS: You can earn 3 extra points, towards your final exam grade, by signing up for “Obama Updates.” There will be more information on this during the first week of class.
Readings
There are two books for the class:
George C. Edwards III and Stephen J. Wayne. Presidential Leadership, 7th ed.
Sam Kernell. 2007. Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership, 4th ed.
Some of the readings will be discussed in class. Others will not, but students are still responsible for doing these readings, and there will be questions about them on the quizzes and final exam.
Class policies
Attendance: In general I do not take attendance. However, I will take attendance only on the days on which the Cabinet Secretary project and debate instructions are handed out, and on the days when Cabinet Secretary project presentations and debates are scheduled (shown in italics in the “Assignments” column of the class schedule below). Missing more than one of these classes will result in your overall class grade being lowered. Also, I encourage students not to miss other classes, since much of the material will be presented only in class, and it will be difficult to do well in the class if you do not attend.
Electronic devices: please turn off cell phones and mute the volume on other electronic devices. No audio, video, or photographic recording of lectures is allowed without prior consent of the instructor. IF YOU ARE USING A COMPUTER TO TAKE NOTES, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE COMPUTER FOR NON-CLASS RELATED ACTIVITY, SUCH AS INSTANT MESSAGING, EMAILING, OR SOCIAL NETWORKING.
Missing an exam: makeups are allowed only with a valid excuse, such as a doctor-excused illness or a documented conflict with another university activity. If you know you will have such a conflict, it is best to make me aware of it as early as possible.
Changes to the syllabus: The schedule in this syllabus is tentative; I reserve the right to make changes to the schedule or to other aspects of the course discussed in the syllabus. Any such changes will be announced in class; each student is responsible for being aware of such changes.
Academic Integrity: All University Academic Integrity policies apply; it is students’ responsibility to know these policies. Plagerism and cheating are not tolerated, and will result in a failing course grade.
Email: I ask students not to email me with substantive questions about class material; rather, for substantive questions, you should come to office hours, talk to me during class breaks or at the end of class, or arrange separate office hours. In other words, please do not treat email as a form of online office hours. However, please do feel free to email me about other matters, or if you need to arrange office hours at a time other than the scheduled office hours times.
Class schedule
Week / Topic / Reading / AssignmentsWeek 1
(8/25 & 8/27) / Introduction & Choosing the President / Edwards & Wayne ch 1; Kernell ch 1
Week 2
(9/1 & 9/3) / Elections: Nominations / Edwards & Wayne ch 2 / Thursday: Video “Primary Colors”
Week 3
(9/8 & 9/10) / Elections: Nominations, General Elections / Kernell pp. 48-58 /
Tuesday: Cabinet Secretary assignment handed out
Week 4(9/15 & 9/17) / Elections: General Elections / Edwards & Wayne ch 3; Kernell ch 1, pp. 60-72
Week 5
(9/22 & 9/24) / The Evolution of Presidential Power / Edwards & Wayne ch 6; Kernell ch 10-27
Week 6
(9/29 & 10/1) / Cabinet Secretary Presentations /
Tuesday & Thursday: Cabinet secretary presentations and fact sheets due
Week 7(10/6 & 10/8) / Presidents and Lawmaking / Edwards & Wayne ch 10
Week 8
(10/13 & 10/15) / Presidents and Lawmaking, cont. / Kernell ch 29-48 /
Thursday: Debate teams assigned
Week 9(10/20 & 10/22) / Midterm
Presidents and Bureaucracy / Edwards & Wayne ch 9 /
Tuesday: Midterm
Week 10(10/27 & 10/29) / Presidents and Bureaucracy, cont.
Presidents and the media / Kernell ch 5,8 /
Week 11
(11/3 & 11/5) / Presidents and the media, cont. / To be distrubuted: “Libby trial shows an insular, backbiting Washington;” “Craig Crawford’s 1600: Timing Is Key to Success” /
Week 12
(11/10 & 11/12) / Presidents and the Media, cont.
Debate 1 / Debate 1 discovery packets / Tuesday: Debate 1 discovery packets due
Thursday: Debate 2 & 3 discovery packets due
Thursday: Debate 1
Week 13(11/17 & 11/19) /
Debates 2 & 3
/ Debate 2 and 3 discovery packets /Tuesday & Thursday: Debates 2 & 3
Week 14(11/24 & 11/26) / Foreign Policy / Edwards & Wayne ch 14, pp. 503-510 / Tuesday: In Class Video “13 Days”
Thursday: Thanksgiving Holiday, No Class
Week 15
(12/1 & 12/3) / Foreign Policy, cont / Kernell ch 7
Week 16
(12/8) / Catch up, Wrap up and Final exam review
Final exam: TBA
Debate format and rules
· Each team gets a team grade—i.e., everyone on the same team will receive the same debate grade.
· Each team must compile a discovery packet comprised of documentation for any evidence or claims that will be cited in the debate and that are not common knowledge.
· Discovery packets must also include the three questions that will be asked in the second round of the debate (see debate format below).
· Each team must email copies of its discovery packet to the professor AND to the other team on the day shown in the schedule above. Evidence submitted after that time may not be used in the debate. (Note: if some evidence is difficult to email, it can be distributed instead in hard copy)
· The documentation submitted must be legible and properly cited, or it is inadmissible in the debate.
· Discovery packets cannot exceed 30 single-sided pages.
Format:
I. Opening statements (4 minutes)
Pro-team opening statement-2 minutes
Anti-team opening statement-2 minutes
II. Question and answer, part one (16 minutes)
In this round, the teams ask each other the questions supplied in the discovery packets. Pro-team asks the first question. Each team will ask two questions. Each question and answer lasts 4 minutes:
Questioning team (QT) has 30 seconds to ask question.
Answering team (AT) has 2 minutes to answer.
QT has 1 minute to respond to answer.
AT has 30 seconds to respond to response.
III. True-false questions (12 minutes)
The teams take turns asking each other three true-or-false questions. The answering team must answer true or false. Each team then has three minutes to elaborate on its answers to the true-false questions and critique the other teams. Anti-team asks the first question.
QT has 30 seconds to ask question.
AT has 30 seconds to confer and answer true or false.
After 3 questions from each team have been asked and answered:
Anti-team has 3 minutes to elaborate.
Pro-team has 3 minutes to elaborate.
IV. 5 minutes for each team to meet and plan strategy
V. Question and answer, part two (16 minutes)
In this round, the teams ask each other questions not supplied in the discovery packets. Anti-team asks the first question. Each team will ask two questions, with 4 minutes for each question and answer:
QT has 30 seconds to ask question.
AT has 2 minutes to answer.
QT has 1 minute to respond to answer.
AT has 30 seconds to respond to response.
VI. Questions from the audience
Questions should be addressed to one team
That team has 1 minute to answer, then the other team has 1 minute to respond.
VII. Closing statements (4 minutes)
Each team has 2 minutes to make its closing statement. Pro-team makes the first statement.