I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

Tuesday, August 26: Fixing Democracy

• Editorial, “A Broken Election System,” The New York Times (November 20, 2012).

II. POLITICAL PARTIES IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Thursday, August 28: The Responsible Party Model

• Brian F. Schaffner, Politics, Parties and Elections in America (2011): Preface and Chapter 1.
• APSA, “Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System” (1950): Part 1.

Tuesday, September 2: The American Two-Party System

• Brian F. Schaffner, Politics, Parties and Elections in America (2011): Chapters 3-5.

Thursday, September 4: Electoral Realignments and Party Systems

• Brian F. Schaffner, Politics, Parties and Elections in America (2011): Chapter 2.
• David R. Mayhew, Electoral Realignments: A Critique of an American Genre (2004): Chapters 2-3.
• David Von Drehle, “Origin of the Species: Up from the Ooze, into the Mud—A Brief History of American Political Evolution,” The Washington Post (July 25, 2004): W12.

Tuesday, September 9: Understanding Ideology

• Robert B. Smith, "Ideology, Partisanship, and the New Political Continuum," Society (March-April 1997): 13-18.
• Reihan Salam “The Missing Middle in American Politics: How Moderate Republicans Became Extinct,” Foreign Affairs (March/April 2012).

Thursday, September 11: Party Polarization

• Michael Barone, "The 49 Percent Nation," National Journal (June 9, 2001): 1710.
• Morris P. Fiorina, Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope, Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America (2004): Chapters 1-2.

Tuesday, September 16: Third Party Insurgents

• Steven J. Rosenstone, Roy L. Behr, and Edward H. Lazarus, Third Parties in America: Citizen Response to Major Party Failure (1996): Chapters 2 & 5.
• Vanessa Williamson, Theda Skocpol, and John Coggin, “The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism," Perspectives on Politics (March 2011): 25-43.

III. THE CITIZEN AS VOTER

Thursday, September 18: The Vanishing (or Resurgent) Voter?

• Brian F. Schaffner, Politics, Parties and Elections in America (2011): Chapter 7.
• Thomas Patterson, "The Vanishing Voter: Why Are the Voting Booths So Empty?" National Civic Review (Winter 2002): 367-378.

Tuesday, September 23: Motorize or Mobilize?

Marshall Ganz, "Motor Voter or Motivated Voter?" The American Prospect, 28 (1996): 41-48.
• Alexis C. Madrigal, “When the Nerds Go Marching In,” The Atlantic (November 16, 2012).

Thursday, September 25: The Politics of Voter Turnout: Fraud and Suppression

• Spencer Overton, Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression (2006): Chapter 6.

 EXAM #1: Tuesday, September 30

Thursday, October 2: How We Vote, Part 1: Identity Politics

• Brian F. Schaffner, Politics, Parties and Elections in America (2011): Chapter 7.
• Ann Friedman, “All Politics is Identity Politics,” The American Prospect (July 29, 2010).
• Martin P. Wattenberg, Is Voting for Young People? (2007): Introduction and Chapters 6-7.

Tuesday, October 7: How We Vote, Part II: The Culture War

• Thomas Frank, What’s the Matter with Kansas? (2004): Introduction, Chapters 1-2.
• Jon A. Shields, "In Praise of the Values Voter," The Wilson Quarterly (Autumn 2007): 32-38.

Thursday, October 9: How We Vote, Part III: Reason and Emotion

• Donald Green, Bradley Palmquist, and Eric Schickler, Partisan Hearts and Minds: Political Parties and the Social Identities of Voters (2004): Chapters 1-2.
• Drew Westen, The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation (2007): Chapters 1-2.

IV. CANDIDATES AND CAMPAIGNS

Tuesday, October 14: The Incumbency Factor in Congressional Elections

• Paul S. Herrnson, Congressional Elections (2011): Preface, Introduction, and Chapters 1-4.

Thursday, October 16: Drawing District Lines

• Paul S. Herrnson, Congressional Elections (2011): Chapters 5-9.
• Steven Hill, “Behind Closed Doors: The Recurring Plague of Redistricting and the Politics of Geography,” National Civic Review (Winter 2002): 317-330.

Tuesday, October 21: The Electoral College

• Stephen J. Wayne, The Road to the White House 2012 (2011): Chapter 1.
• Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., "Not the People’s Choice: How to Democratize American Democracy," The American Prospect (March 25, 2002): 23-27.

Thursday, October 23: The Presidential Nomination Process

• Stephen J. Wayne, The Road to the White House 2012 (2011): Chapters 4-6.

Tuesday, October 28: A History of Presidential Campaigns

• Stephen J. Wayne, The Road to the White House 2012 (2011): Chapter 7.

Thursday, October 30: From Broadsides to Broadcasts: The Changing Role of the Media

• Stephen J. Wayne, The Road to the White House 2012 (2011): Chapter 8.
• Mary E. Stuckey, "Here We Go Again: Presidential Elections and the National Media," Perspectives on Political Science (Spring 2000): 99.
• Evgenia Pertez, "Going After Gore," Vanity Fair (October 2007).

Tuesday, November 4: Pundits vs. Pollsters: The Art and Science of Forecasting Elections

• Stephen J. Wayne, The Road to the White House 2012 (2011): Chapter 9.
• Zeynep Tufekci, “In Defense of Nate Silver, Election Pollsters, and Statistical Predictions,” Wired (November 2, 2012).
• Sam Wang, “Will the 2014 Election be a Wave or a Ripple?” The New Yorker (August 19, 2014).

Thursday, November 6: Show Me the Money: The Politics of Campaign Finance

• Stephen J. Wayne, The Road to the White House 2012 (2011): Chapter 2.

Tuesday, November 11: When Pigs Fly: In Search of Real Campaign Finance Reform

• Bradley A. Smith, "Campaign Finance Regulation:  Faulty Assumptions and Undemocratic Consequences," Cato Policy Analysis (1995).
• Jeffrey Toobin, “Money Unlimited: How Chief Justice John Roberts Orchestrated the Citizens United Decision,” The New Yorker (May 21, 2014).

  EXAM #2: Thursday, November 13

V. PARTIES IN GOVERNMENT

Tuesday, November 18: Partisanship and Polarization

• Brian F. Schaffner, Politics, Parties and Elections in America (2011): Chapter 9.
• David R. Mayhew, "Divided Party Control: Does It Make a Difference?" PS: Political Science and Politics (December 1991): 637-640.
• Ronald Brownstein, The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America (2007): Chapter 1.
• Jonathan Chait, “What’s So Great About Bipartisanship? The New Republic (January 15, 2001): 17.

Thursday, November 20: Fixing Elections

• Paul S. Herrnson, Congressional Elections (2011): Chapters 10-11.
• Stephen J. Wayne, The Road to the White House 2012 (2011): Chapter 10.
• The American Voting Experience: Report and Recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration (January 2014): All.

  THANKSGIVING RECESS: November 24-28

Tuesday, December 2: Concluding Thoughts

• Brian F. Schaffner, Politics, Parties and Elections in America (2011): Chapter 10.
• Morris P. Fiorina, "The Decline of Collective Responsibility in American Politics," Daedalus, 109 (1980): 25-45.

   FINAL PAPER DUE: Friday, December 5 by 10:30 AM