THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

(POLS 21 – Section B:  No. 11168)

Spring 2008

 

Class Time:

Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays 9:05-9:55 am

Place:

Kalkin 325

Professor

Frank Bryan

Tel:

802-656-0570

Office:

Room 503 Old Mill Building

Office Hours:

Mon/Wed/Fridays 10-noon and by appointment

Web Page:

http://www.uvm.edu/~fbryan

WebCT:

http://www.uvm.edu/webct 

Email:

frank.bryan@uvm.edu

 

           

                       

 

Examinations

Date

Weight

 

 

 

First Exam

Wednesday, February 20

30%

Second Exam

Monday, March 31

30%

Final Exam

8 a.m. Friday, May 2

40%

 

 

Texts:               Susan Welch, John Comer, Susan M. Rigdon, Understanding American Government, 11th  ed. © 2008 (ISBN 0495098698)

 

George McKenna and Stanley Feingold, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Political Issues, 15th ed. © 2008 (ISBN 0073515140)

 

 

CLASSROOM PROTOCOL

 

1.

Students are expected to attend and be prepared for ALL regularly scheduled classes.

 

 

2.

Students are expected to arrive on time and stay in class until the class period ends.  If a student knows in advance that s/he will need to leave early, s/he should notify the instructor before the class period begins.

 

 

3.

Students are expected to treat faculty and fellow students with respect.  For example, students must not disrupt class by leaving and reentering during class, must not distract class by making noise, and must be attentive to comments being made by the instructors and by peers.

 

 

4.

Instructors will inform students of any special alterations to the syllabus.

 

 

5.

Students are expected to check their UVM and WebCT email for this course on a regular basis.

 

               

**************************************************************************

                                                                             

 

 

 

 

THE COURSE

 

Part I

Introduction:  In Politics is the Future of the World

 

A. “There's Still Time Brother.”  The gap between political and physical science and what it means.

 

B. The Abortion Debate:  A View from Political Science

 

C. Does the American Government Work?  18th Century Architecture, 21st Century Problems

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapter 1

 

McKenna and Feingold: No. 1 "Should Americans Believe in a Unique American 'Mission'?" and No. 12 "Should Abortion be Restricted?"

 

 

Part II

“Elephants and Roses,” Defining Politics American Style.

 

A.“The Model A Ford,” A Systems Framework for Analyzing American Politics.

 

B. The Authoritative Allocation of Values

 

C. Breaking the Definition Down

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapter 2

 

McKenna and Feingold: No. 2 "Is Democracy the Answer to Global Terrorism?"

 

 

Part III

Fleshing Out the Definitions with Examples

 

A. Inputs, Outputs, and Feedback:  Amending the Constitution.

 

B. Inputs:  Socialization, Recruitment, Articulation, Aggregation

 

C. Outputs:  Rule Making, Rule Application, Rule Adjudication

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapter 3

 

McKenna and Feingold: No. 3 "Should the Electoral College be Abolished?"

 

 

Part IV

Political Socialization

 

A. “Children Say the Damnedest Things,” The Origin of Political Value Systems.

 

B. “The Matt Dillon Syndrome,” Political Values in Adult America.

 

C. “What If You Had an Election and Nobody Came?” Putting Socialization to the Test.

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapters 4, 5

 

McKenna and Feingold:  No. 4 "Do the Media Have a Liberal Bias?"

 

 

Part V

Political Articulation and Aggregation:  Establishing the Agenda

 

A. “Who’s Minding the Store?” Interest Group Liberalism Goes Amuck.

 

B. “Ebb and Flows,” The American Party System in Historical Perspective.

 

C.  “Real Republicans Clean Their Paint Brushes,” The American Party System:  Realignment or Disalignment.

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9

 

McKenna and Feingold: No. 5 "Should America Adopt Public Financing of Political Campaigns?"

 

 

Part VI

Rule Making–Adjusting the Agenda:  Congress

 

A. “Erogenous Zones in Congress,” Following the Dance of Lawmaking.

 

B. “The Madison Square Garden Analogy--Interest Group Pluralism and the Congressional Process.”

 

C. “Democracy in Deadlock?”  A Case Analysis.

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapter 10

 

McKenna and Feingold: No. 6 "Is Congress Barred From Regulating Commerce Within a State?"

 

 

Part VII

Rule Making–Promoting the Agenda:  Presidency

 

A. “An Imperial Presidency?” The Growth of the Presidential Office.

 

B. “10,” Ranking Presidential Greatness.

 

C.  “From Kennedy to Clinton” Analyzing Presidential Character.

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapter 11

 

McKenna and Feingold: No. 8 "May the President Wiretap Without a Warrant to Protect National Security?"

 

 

Part VIII

Rule Making–Applying the Agenda:  The Bureaucracy

 

A. “An Imperial Bureaucracy?” The Growth of Bureaucratic Power in America.

 

B. “You Can’t Get There from Here,” A Structural Map of the Federal Bureaucracy.

 

C. “Plato With a Brief Case,” Models of Bureaucratic Behavior.

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapter 12

 

McKenna and Feingold: No. 10 "Does Affirmative Action Advance Racial Equality?" and No. 11 "Is 'Middle Eastern' Profiling Ever Justified?"

 

 

Part IX

Rule Making–Interpreting the Agenda:  The Courts

 

A. “There Ain’t No Miller Time,” How the Court System Operates.

 

B. “Don’t Just Sit There.  Do Something,” Activism and Restraint at the Court.

 

C. "The States or the Nation?"  The Life and Times of the 10th Amendment.

 

 

 

Readings:

 

Welch: Chapter 13

 

McKenna and Feingold: No. 7 "Should the Courts Seek the 'Original Meaning' of the Constitution?"