harvard government 30 syllabus

Government 30: American Government—A New Perspective (Spring 2007)-

Course Description This course examines the increasingly significant role that electoral pressures and the permanent campaign play in the workings of American government. Although the course serves as an introduction to American government, it also shows how well established institutions have been altered by modern politics. Meeting Time/Location The class meets for lectures twice weekly, Mondays and Wednesdays, at 11:00 am in CGIS S010 (the Tsai Auditorium). Mandatory discussion sections will meet once a week (times and rooms to be announced). Sectioning Sectioning will be conducted online, starting on Friday, February 2nd and ending at 1pm on Wednesday, February 7thth. Sections will start meeting on Wednesday, February 7th. Section assignments will be emailed to you and posted on the course web site. To section, follow the directions posted at: http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/section/instructions_student.html Readings All readings on the syllabus are required. Students are expected to keep up to date with current political events by reading a national newspaper (e.g. the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post) each day. Assigned books are on reserve at Hilles and Lamont Libraries; assigned articles and chapters have been compiled in a sourcebook that is available for purchase at Gnomon Copy (1304 Mass. Ave.) and on reserve. The following books are available online or at the Harvard Coop: Fiorina, Morris and Paul Peterson, The New American Democracy, 5th Edition (Longman,

2006). [be sure to purchase the FIFTH EDITION because other editions do not include material that we will be covering in this course…]

Hamilton, Madison, Jay, The Federalist Papers. [also available online at several websites, including:

memory.loc.gov/const/fed/fedpapers.html.]

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (2004). [available online at: www.9-11commission.gov]

Website There is a course website: www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~gov 30. Materials posted on the site include the course syllabus, section lists, links to course readings in the public domain, and essay assignments.

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Government 30 Introduction to American Government

Spring 2007 Course Requirements Two papers (5-7 pages each) on topics to be assigned; due in class March 14 and April 30 (Each counts for 20% of your final grade.)

Final Exam (40%)

Section attendance and participation (20%) Instructors Professor D. Sunshine Hillygus

Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM or by appointment Office: CGIS North 306, 1737 Cambridge Street Telephone: 617-496-4220

Professor Paul E. Peterson

Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Monday 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM or by appointment* Office: CGIS North 433, 1737 Cambridge Street Telephone: (617) 495-8312 direct *Note that Professor Peterson also holds an office at the John F. Kennedy School of Government (Taubman 306) and appointments arranged outside the normal office hours listed above could be made to meet at either office, schedule permitting. For appointments outside normal office hours please contact Antonio Wendland by phone at (617) 495-7976 or by emailing (preferred) [email protected]

Teaching Fellows Brian Feinstein [Head TF]

Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Monday 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM or by appointment Location: CGIS North 426, 1737 Cambridge Street

Phil Jones

Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesday, 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM Location: CGIS Café

Yanev Suissa

Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesday, 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM Location: CGIS Café

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Spring 2007 Course Outline January 31 (W): Introduction: Elections and American Democracy Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 1 February 5 (M): Creating a Constitutional Democracy The Declaration of Independence

Roche, John, “The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action,” American Political Science

Review (December, 1961)

Beard, Charles, “The Spirit of the Constitution,” in The Supreme Court and the Constitution (1912)

The Constitution of the United States of America The Federalist Papers, #10, #47, #48, #51

Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 2 February 7 (W): The Courts The Federalist Papers, #78 (#79-#81 are recommended) Brennan, William, Jr., “Reading the Constitution as 20th-Century Americans” Marbury v. Madison (1803) Rosenberg, Gerald, The Hollow Hope, Ch. 1-2 Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 15 February 12 (M): The American Political Tradition Huntington, Samuel, American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony (1981), Ch. 2

Steinmo, Sven, “American Exceptionalism Reconsidered: Culture or Institutions?” in Dodd and

Jillson (eds.), The Dynamics of American Politics (1994)

Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 4

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Spring 2007 February 14 (W): Federalism The Federalist Papers #39, #45, #46 McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Derthick, Martha, “Up-to-Date in Kansas City: Reflections on American Federalism,”

PS: Political Science and Politics (December, 1992) Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 3 February 19 (M): President’s Day [NO LECTURE] February 21 (W): Civil Liberties Lochner v. New York (1905)

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA v. Casey (1992)

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 16 February 26 (M): Civil Rights Milliken v. Bradley (1974)

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 17 (pp. 518-541) February 28 (W): Public Opinion Popkin, Samuel, The Reasoning Voter, pp. 1-17

Page, Benjamin and Robert Shapiro, “The Rational Public and Democracy,” in Marcus and

Hanson (eds.), Reconsidering the Democratic Public (1993)

Fiorina, Culture War?, Ch. 1-3 Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 5

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Spring 2007 March 5 (M): Political Participation Rosenstone and Hansen, Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993, Ch 5 Democracy at Risk (2005) Brookings Institution Press 2005, “Electoral Processes” chapter Adam Berinsky, The Perverse Consequences of Electoral Reform, American Politics Research, 2004. Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States, 1998.

Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 6 March 7 (W): Interest Groups Re-read The Federalist Papers, #10 Skocpol, Theda, “Associations without Members” The American Prospect July-August 1999,

pp. 66-73. Malbin, Wilcox, Rozell and Skinner, “New Interest Group Strategies: A Preview of Post McCain-Feingold Politics?” Campaign Finance Institute report, 2002. Brett M. Clifton. 2004. “Romancing the GOP: Assessing the Strategies Used the Christian Coalition to Influence the Republican Party.” Party Politics, Vol. 10, No. 5 (September): 475-98) Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 7 March 12 (M): Political Parties I Sundquist, James, Dynamics of the Party System (1983), Ch. 2, 16

Adams, Greg, “Abortion: Evidence of an Issue Evolution,” American Journal of Political

Science (July, 1997)

Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 8 March 14 (W): Political Parties [FIRST PAPER DUE] Green, Palmquist, Schickler, Partisan Hearts and Minds, Chap. 1, 2 Rosenstone, Behr, and Lazarus. Third Parties in America, chapter 2 Abramowitz, Alan I. and Kyle L. Saunders. 1998. “Ideological Realignment in the U.S. Electorate.” Journal of Politics 60(3):634-652.

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Spring 2007 March 19 (M): The Media Davis, Press and American Politics, Chapter 14 Patterson, Out of Order, Chapter 1 Cook, Timothy, and Lyn Ragsdale, “The President and the Press: Negotiating Newsworthiness at

the White House” in Michael Nelson, (ed.), The Presidency and the Political System, 5th Edition (1998)

Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 9 March 21 (W): Campaigns and Voter Decisions Holbrook, Do Campaigns Matter? Chapters 1-2 Hillygus, D.S. and S. Jackman. 2003. “Voter Decision Making in Election 2000: Campaign Effects, Partisan Activation, and the Clinton Legacy,” American Journal of Political Science, 47(4): 583-596. Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 10 from “Voting Behavior in Presidential Elections” to end March 24-April 1: Spring Break April 2 (M): Congressional, State and Local Elections Jacobson, The Politics of Congressional Elections, Ch 2-3, 5 Dubois, Philip L. 1984. "Voting Cues in Nonpartisan Trial Court Elections: A Multivariate Assessment." Law & Society Review 18(3):395-436. William F. Connelly Jr. (2006) "Wall vs. Wave?," The Forum: Vol. 4 : Iss. 3, Article 3 April 4 (W): Congressional Decision-making Fenno, Richard, “If As Ralph Nader Says, Congress Is ‘The Broken Branch,’ How Come We

Love Our Congressmen So Much?” in Norman Ornstein (ed.), Congress in Change: Evolution and Reform (1975)


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Spring 2007 April 9 (M): Presidential Elections Bartels, Larry, Presidential Primaries (1988), Ch. 1-2

The Federalist Papers, #68 Kimberling, William C., “The Electoral College”, Federal Election Commission Report Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 10 up to “Voting Behavior in Presidential Elections” April 11 (W): The President in Office Neustadt, Richard, Presidential Power (1990), Ch. 1, 3

Howell, William, Power Without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action (2003),

Ch. 1, Conclusion


April 16 (M): Patriot’s Day No Meeting April 18 (W): The Executive Branch and Domestic Policymaking Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 14

9/11 Commission Report, Ch. 1-6 Kaplan, Fred, “You Call That a Reform Bill?”, Slate (Posted December 7th, 2004) April 23 (M): The Executive Branch and Foreign Policymaking The Federalist Papers, #70

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Wildavsky, Aaron, “The Two Presidencies,” in Wildavsky (ed.), The Presidency (1969) Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 20

9/11 Commission Report, Ch. 8, 11, 13

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Spring 2007 April 25 (W): Social Policy Gilens, Martin, Why Americans Hate Welfare (1999), Ch. 1 Campbell, Andrea Louise, “The Political Consequences of Program Design: The Case of Medicare”


April 30 (M): Economic Policy [SECOND PAPER DUE] Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 19 Laurence H. Meyer, “The Politics of Monetary Policy: Balancing Independence and Accountability,” University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse (Remarks Made on October 24, 2000) Jonathan Rauch, “Is the Deficit Really So Bad?,” Atlantic Monthly (February, 1989) May 2 (W): Conclusion The Permanent Campaign, Ch. 1 (Heclo)

Re-read Fiorina and Peterson, Ch. 1

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harvard government 30 syllabus

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