Download - Syllabus - Spring 2016-1
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Harvard University
Department of Government
GOV 1359:
THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Spring 2016
Professor: Carlos E. Daz Rosillo
Meeting Time: Mondays, 7 9 p.m.
+ a weekly section to be arranged
Location: Northwest B103
Office: Dunster House E303
Office Hours: Wednesdays 3 5 p.m. and by appointment
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Course Description
This course examines the role of presidential campaigns and elections in American politics. Itstudies the origins and evolution of the presidential selection process and explores how modern
campaigns inform, influence, and mobilize voters. Topics to be studied include the role of
political parties and candidates, campaign strategies and tactics, political advertising and mediacoverage, campaign finance and voter mobilization, and the transition from campaigning togoverning. The 2016 campaign will be used as a laboratory in which to explore political science
research on presidential campaigns and elections.
The main discipline that we will use to explore these and other topics will be political science.However, we will also take advantage of interdisciplinary approaches to understand the ways in
which presidential campaigns influence American political behavior and politics for instance,we will incorporate the insights of historians, economists, journalists, and campaign insiders, and
compare and contrast them to those of political scientists. To make sense of the complexities ofpresidential campaigns and elections in the United States, we will use a variety of pedagogical
tools (including guest lectures, discussions, debates, videos, and on-line sources, among others)that will allow us to link more effectively the theoretical insights we will learn in this class with
the current race for the White House.
Course Objectives
The course will equip you with the analytic tools to understand the role of presidential
campaigns and elections in American politics; to think critically and constructively about thechoices afforded to citizens in our democracy; and to value the importance of active and
responsible participation in public life.
The 2016 presidential race is in full swing and you will have a front-row seat as developments inthe campaign unfold. After taking this class, you will be able to analyze and evaluate the
conduct of presidential campaigns and elections in the United States; exhibit a thoroughunderstanding of our electoral system; and critically engage the literature on presidential
campaigns and elections and how it relates to the current electoral process.
Course Requirements
Course requirements include: attendance and participation in lecture and section discussions (20%);
a midterm examination (15%); a campaign advertising group project (20%); a campaign memoassignment (15%); and a final examination (30%). You may elect to write a research paper on a
topic approved by the professor in lieu of the final examination. Details about all theserequirements will be provided in class.
In addition to lectures, we will have a few other evening class meetings to watch and discuss the
presidential primary debates and the group projects. There will be no make-ups exams. Lateassignments will be penalized at the rate of 1/3 of a letter grade per day late. Failure to complete
any one of the course requirements will result in a failing grade in the course.
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You will be expected to keep up-to-date with the assigned weekly readings and to participate inclass actively and thoughtfully. To understand how the theories we will be studying in class
apply to the current presidential campaign, you will need to monitor campaign developments byreading a national newspaper of record on a daily basis.
Students should be aware that in this course collaboration of any sort on any work submitted forformal evaluation is notpermitted, except for the campaign advertising group project (detailsabout the type of student collaboration permitted in this project will be provided in class). That
means that you may not discuss your paper assignments, exams, or any other assignments withanyone else outside the teaching staff for the course. All work should be entirely your own and
must use appropriate citation practices to acknowledge the use of books, articles, websites,videos, lectures, discussions, etc., that you have consulted to complete your assignments.
All students are expected to hand in work on time and in a professional manner. Any student that
presents work that is not of his/her own authorship will automatically fail thecourse and will besubject to the Colleges rules regarding academic dishonesty, as stated in TheHarvard College
Handbook for Students:
It is expected that all homework assignments, projects papers and any other work submittedfor academic credit will be the students own. Students should always take great care to distinguish
their own ideas and knowledge from information derived from sources. The term sources includesnot only primary and secondary material published in print or online, but also information and
opinions gained directly from other people. Quotations must be placed properly within quotationmarks and must be cited fully. In addition, all paraphrased material must be acknowledged
completely. Whenever ideas or facts are derived from a students reading and research or from a
students own writings, the sources must be indicated. Students are also expected to be familiar
with theHarvard Guide to Using Sources, which is available at usingsources.fas.harvard.edu.
Course Materials
Stephen C. Craig and David B. Hill, eds. The Electoral Challenge: Theory Meets Practice, 2nd
ed.
Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2011.
Stephen J. Wayne. The Road to the White House 2016, 10thed. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016.
John Sides and Lynn Vavreck. The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential Election.Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.
Elizabeth McKenna and Hahrie Han. Groundbreakers: How Obama's 2.2 Million Volunteers
Transformed Campaigning in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
+ additional readings available online or on reserve.
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The Lineup
Getting Started
Mon., Jan. 25
Introduction and Overview: Understanding Presidential Campaigns and Elections
in the U.S.
Stephen Wayne, The Road to the White House 2016, pp. 244-274.
US Presidential Election Forecasting,PS: Political Science & Politics, vol. 47, no. 2,
April 2014, pp. 284-347.
Mon., Feb. 1
The Origins and Evolution of the American Presidential Selection Process
Stephen Wayne, The Road to the White House 2016, pp. 2-24.
William Mayer and Jonathan Bernstein, eds., The Making of the Presidential Candidates2012, pp. 159-194.
Neil Irwin, Why a Presidential Campaign is the Ultimate Start-Up, The New York
Times, June 4, 2015.
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The Nomination
Mon., Feb. 8
Seeking the Nomination: The Primaries and Caucuses
Stephen Wayne, The Road to the White House 2016, pp. 96-137.
John Sides and Lynn Vavreck, The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential
Election, pp. 32-96.
Additional readings TBA.
Mon., Feb. 15 - Presidents Day! (No Class)
Mon., Feb. 22
Winning the Nomination: The Choice of a Running Mate and the National
Convention
Stephen Wayne, The Road to the White House 2016, pp. 142-168.
Mark Hiller and Douglas Kriner, Institutional Change and the Dynamics of VicePresidential Selection,Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 38, no. 3, September 2008,
pp. 401-419.
Stacy Ulbig, The Appeal of Second Bananas: The Impact of Vice PresidentialCandidates on Presidential Vote Choice, Yesterday and Today,American Politics
Research, March 2010, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 330-350.
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The General Election
Mon., Feb. 29
I Approve this Message:Advertising and Modern Presidential Campaigns
Stephen Wayne, The Road to the White House 2016, pp. 225-236.
Stephen Craig and David Hill, eds., The Electoral Challenge: Theory Meets Practice, pp.
117-141.
John Geer, The News Media and the Rise of Negativity in Presidential Campaigns,PS:Political Science and Politics, vol. 45, no. 3, July 2012, pp. 422-427.
Emmet Buell, Jr. and Lee Sigelman, Attack Politics: Negativity in Presidential Campaigns
Since 1960, pp. 1-27, 245-265.
Mon., Mar. 7
MIDTERM EXAM
Mon. Mar. 14
SPRING BREAK
Mon., Mar. 21
Dealing with the Media and Facing the Opponent: The Role of the Media and the
Impact of Presidential Debates
Stephen Wayne, The Road to the White House 20116, pp. 208-225, 233-236.
Stephen Craig and David Hill, eds., The Electoral Challenge: Theory Meets Practice,pp. 144-192.
How the Presidential Candidates Use the Web and Social Media, Pew Research
Centers Project for Excellence in Journalism, August 15, 2012.
Alan Schroeder, Presidential Debates: Fifty Years of High-Risk TV, 2nd
ed., pp. 1-131.
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Mon., Mar. 28
The War Room: Campaign Organization, Strategy, and Finance
Stephen Wayne, The Road to the White House 2016, pp. 28-52, 174-203.
Stephen Craig and David Hill, eds., The Electoral Challenge: Theory Meets Practice, pp. 26-
114, 243-292.
D. Sunshine Hillygus and Todd Shields, The Persuadable Voter: Wedge Issues inPresidential Campaigns, pp. 107-182.
Dennis Johnson, No Place For Amateurs: How Political Consultants are Reshaping
American Democracy, 2nd
ed., pp. 1-32.
Watch: The War Room.
Mon., Apr. 4
Campaigning by the Numbers: Polling and Modern Presidential Campaigns
Herbert Asher, Polling and the Public: What Every Citizen Should Know, 7th
ed., pp.
141-176.
Todd Rogers and Adan Acevedo, Voters vote, non-voters dont. Why is this so hard forpollsters?, The Washington Post, January 22, 2016.
Additional readings TBA
GROUP PROJECT DUE (at the beginning of lecture)
Mon., Apr. 11
The Ground Game: Voter Mobilization
Stephen Craig and David Hill, eds., The Electoral Challenge: Theory Meets Practice, pp.
215-241.
Elizabeth McKenna and Hahrie Han, Groundbreakers: How Obama's 2.2 MillionVolunteers Transformed Campaigning in America, pp. 3-201.
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The Election is Over, Now What?
Mon., Apr. 18
The Determinants of the Vote and the American Voter:
Who Votes in Presidential Elections in the U.S.? (and How Did They Vote in 2012?)
Stephen Wayne, The Road to the White House 2016, pp. 57-88.
John Sides and Lynn Vavreck, The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 PresidentialElection, pp. 97-242.
Wed., Apr. 20
Student Presentations of Group Projects
Mon., Apr. 25
Summary and Conclusions: How Much Do Campaigns Matter?
Stephen Craig and David Hill, eds., The Electoral Challenge: Theory Meets Practice,pp. 1-23, 295-305.
James Campbell, The American Campaign: U.S. Presidential Campaigns and the National
Vote, 2nd
ed., pp. 3-78, 189-203.
MEMO ASSIGNMENT DUE (at the beginning of lecture)
Thu., May 5
FINAL EXAM