THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM
(POLS 21 – Section F: No. 91973)
Fall 2006
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Time: |
Tuesdays/Thursdays 9:30-10:45 am |
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Place: |
Lafayette 207 |
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Professor |
Frank Bryan |
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Tel: |
802-656-0570 |
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Office: |
Room 503 Old Mill Building |
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Office Hours: |
Tuesdays and Thursdays 8-9:30 a.m. and by appointment |
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Web Page: |
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WebCT: |
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Email: |
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Examinations |
Date |
Weight |
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First Exam |
Tuesday, Sept. 26 |
30% |
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Second Exam |
Thursday, Oct. 26 |
30% |
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Final Exam |
Friday, Dec. 8, 8:00 am |
40% |
Texts: Susan Welch, et. al. Understanding American Government, 8th ed.
George McKenna and Stanley Feingold, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Political Issues, 14th
ed.
CLASSROOM PROTOCOL
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1. |
Students
are expected to attend and be prepared for ALL regularly scheduled classes. |
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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. |
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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. |
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4. |
Instructors
will inform students of any special alterations to the syllabus. |
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5. |
Students are expected to
check their UVM and WebCT email for this course on a regular basis. |
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THE COURSE
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Part
I |
Introduction: In Politics is the Future of the World |
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A.
“There's Still Time Brother.” The gap
between political and physical science and what it means. |
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B.
The Abortion Debate: A View from
Political Science |
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C.
Does the American Government Work? 18th
Century Architecture, 21st Century Problems |
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Readings: |
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Welch:
Chapter 1 |
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McKenna
and Feingold: No. 1 "Is There Too Much Democracy in the World?";
and No. 14 "Should Abortion be Restricted?" |
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Part
II |
“Elephants
and Roses,” Defining Politics American Style. |
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A.“The Model A Ford,” A
Systems Framework for Analyzing American Politics. |
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B. The Authoritative
Allocation of Values |
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C. Breaking the Definition
Down |
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Readings: |
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Welch: Chapter 2 |
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McKenna and Feingold: No.
10 "Should the President be Allowed to Detain Citizens Indefinitely in War
Time?" |
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Part
III |
Fleshing Out the
Definitions with Examples |
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A. Inputs, Outputs, and
Feedback: Amending the Constitution. |
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B. Inputs: Socialization, Recruitment, Articulation,
Aggregation |
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C. Outputs: Rule Making, Rule Application, Rule
Adjudication |
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Readings: |
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Welch: Chapter 3 |
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McKenna and Feingold: No.
13 "Should There be a Constitutional Amendment Banning Gay
Marriage?" |
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Part
IV |
Political Socialization |
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A. “Children Say the
Damnedest Things,” The Origin of Political Value Systems. |
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B. “The Matt Dillon
Syndrome,” Political Values in Adult America. |
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C. “What If You Had an
Election and Nobody Came?” Putting Socialization to the Test. |
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Readings: |
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Welch: Chapters 4, 5 |
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McKenna and Feingold: No.
2, "Do Political Campaigns Promote Good Government?" and No. 4
"Do the Media Have a Liberal Bias?" |
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Part
V |
Political Articulation and
Aggregation: Establishing the Agenda |
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A. “Who’s Minding the
Store?” Interest Group Liberalism Goes Amuck. |
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B. “Ebb and Flows,” The
American Party System in Historical Perspective. |
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C. “Real Republicans Clean Their Paint
Brushes,” The American Party System:
Realignment or Disalignment. |
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Readings: |
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Welch: Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9 |
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McKenna and Feingold: No.
3 "Is There an Emerging Democratic Majority?" and No. 8 "Do We
Need Tougher Gun Control Laws?" |
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Part
VI |
Rule Making–Adjusting the
Agenda: Congress |
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A. “Erogenous Zones in
Congress,” Following the Dance of Lawmaking. |
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B. “The Madison Square
Garden Analogy--Interest Group Pluralism and the Congressional Process.” |
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C. “Democracy in
Deadlock?” A Case Analysis. |
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Readings: |
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Welch: Chapter 10 |
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McKenna and Feingold: No.
5 "Is Congress Barred From Regulating Commerce Within a State?" |
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Part
VII |
Rule Making–Promoting the
Agenda: Presidency |
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A. “An Imperial
Presidency?” The Growth of the Presidential Office. |
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B. “10,” Ranking
Presidential Greatness. |
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C. “From Kennedy to Clinton” Analyzing
Presidential Character. |
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Readings: |
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Welch: Chapter 11 |
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McKenna and Feingold: No.
20 "Was the Invasion of Iraq Justified?" |
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Part
VIII |
Rule Making–Applying the Agenda: The Bureaucracy |
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A. “An Imperial Bureaucracy?” The Growth of Bureaucratic Power in
America. |
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B. “You Can’t Get There from Here,” A Structural Map of the
Federal Bureaucracy. |
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C. “Plato With a Brief Case,” Models of Bureaucratic Behavior. |
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Readings: |
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Welch: Chapter 12 |
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McKenna and Feingold: No.
9 "Does Affirmative Action Advance Racial Equality?" and No. 11
"Is 'Middle Eastern' Profiling Ever Justified?" |
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Part
IX |
Rule Making–Interpreting
the Agenda: The Courts |
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A. “There Ain’t No Miller
Time,” How the Court System Operates. |
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B. “Don’t Just Sit
There. Do Something,” Activism and
Restraint at the Court. |
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C. "The States or the
Nation?" The Life and Times
of the 10th Amendment. |
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Readings: |
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Welch: Chapter 13 |
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McKenna and Feingold: No.
6 "Is the Filibuster of Judicial Nominees Justifiable?" |