Seminar in Politics of Public Policy
Political Science 635
Spring 2014
Professor Ronnee Schreiber
Nasatir Hall 106
Office Hours: MW 12:30-1:30
rschreib@mail.sdsu.edu (best way to reach me)
Course Overview and Learning Outcomes: This course is designed to broadly explore factors that
shape the design and implementation of public policies. We will focus on role of institutions,
identity and discourse to examine which political actors get power, what strategies they use to
influence the policy process and how institutions both shape these processes and respond to them.
In addition, the course highlights how cultural values and norms are constructed and in turn
influence policy debates and outcomes. To this end, the role of racism, sexism, ableism,
homophobia and classism, and the degree to which groups are included/excluded, are central to the
readings. We start by exploring these ideas to ground our discussion of the subsequent case
studies. We then examine specific movements and policy issues moving from political activism
that aims to shape public policy to the implementation of policies themselves. Cases include a
study of the New Right in Orange County, to an examination of male reproductive health policies
to an analysis of how HIV/AIDS became a policy problem Aworthy@ of attention. Studies under
consideration also include a range of ideologically motivated actors from religious conservatives
to gay rights advocates.
This is a graduate level seminar class and expectations for participation are high. You must come
to class regularly, be prepared to interact, express your analysis of the readings and engage with
me and your fellow students. You are expected to have read the weekly assignments before
coming to class. Participation is 20% of your grade and will not be taken lightly. Merely
attending class is not in and of itself participation (although, of course, is a prerequisite).
REQUIRED READINGS
All books are available at Aztec Bookstore (and typically KB Books or through online sources)
Burns, Gene The Moral Veto
Daniels, Cynthia Exposing Men
Edelman, Murray Constructing the Political Spectacle
Gilens, Martin Affluence & Influence
Goss, Kristin The Paradox of Gender Equality
McGirr, Lisa Suburban Warriors
Pardo, Mary Mexican American Women Activists
Roth, Benita Separate Roads to Feminism
Shilts, Randy And the Band Played On
Various reading on Blackboard (BB)
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GRADING
Discussion papers 40% (10% each)
Midterm 20%
Participation 20% (includes reading responses, leading discussion and research presentations)
Final paper (research proposal) 20%
Letter grade equations:
A = 93 or above
A- = 90-92
B+ = 87-89
B = 83-86
B- = 80-82
C+ = 77-79
C = 73-76
C- = 70-72
D+ = 67-69
D = 63-66
F = 62 or below
ASSIGNMENTS
Discussion Papers
You will be asked to prepare four analytical assessments of the readings during the semester. I
will assign paper topics during the first class meeting. At least one of these papers must be on the
readings from 4/16, 23 or 30. These papers must be turned in at the start of class on the day in
which we are doing the readings. Papers should be about 3-5 double spaced pages and provide: a
thorough summary of the readings for that topic, your own critique or analysis of the readings and
one question that the readings raise for you. These analyses should be your own and not based on
someone else=s review of the books (e.g. an online book review). Grammar, spelling and
coherence are important. Poor writing and failure to proofread these papers will result in a
reduction of your grade. Papers will be graded on a numeric scale. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE
ACCEPTED WITHOUT PROPER DOCUMENTATION OF AN EMERGENCY!
PLEASE LABEL THESE PAPERS AS “DISCUSSION PAPERS”
Reading Responses
On the days when you are not turning in a discussion paper you must submit a one page typed
response to the readings. These should not be summaries of the texts, but should reflect your
analysis of the readings and your overall reaction to them. They will be used to shape and
promote class discussion. What did you like/dislike/learn from the text(s)? What questions did
the reading(s) raise for you? Why? It must be clear from the responses that you have read the
material. These will not be graded but will be factored into your participation grade. You are
allowed one missed response paper without penalty. After that 10 points will be deducted from
your participation grade for each missed paper.
PLEASE LABEL THESE PAPERS AS “READING RESPONSES”
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Discussion Leaders
Each student will be required to lead one class discussion for a section of a class. To do so, you
must summarize and present an analysis of the readings to the class, ask relevant questions, and
connect the readings to other topics in the class. In addition, you must guide students through a
conversation about the topic. You should be prepared to spend at least 30 minutes leading the class
and you must incorporate ways to get the class involved. This can include asking questions, having
a debate or doing an audio/visual presentation. I will assign dates for your presentations during the
first class meetings. Your efforts will be factored into your participation grade.
Take-home Midterm Exam
On March 26 I will give you a take-home midterm assignment that is due to me at the beginning of
class on April 9. It will be an 8-10 page written assignment based on the readings up until that point
in class.
Final Paper: Research Proposal
For your final paper you will write a 12-15 page research proposal for a topic relevant to the class
You must have your topic chosen and approved by 3/26; we will discuss your plan of progress on
4/9 in class. In addition to building on ideas and theories from this course, this exercise is meant to
help you prepare for writing your thesis or generating a reading list for your exams (although the
topic may not be the same). The proposal should include the following components:
o Introduction: Generate interest in the topic and present an overview
o Research Question/Significance: What are you asking? Why? What is the significance and
implications of your research?
o Literature Review/Theory: What research has already been conducted on the topic? What
themes have been generated from this previous body of work? What arguments are made about the
topic? Do these fit with other scholars or do they present different ideas? What is missing from
the literature? How and where does your research fit within this literature?
This will be the most substantive part of your paper. You should include at least 10
peer-reviewed scholarly articles/books in this section.
Although we will spend time in class discussing how to find these articles be mindful of these
guidelines:
Databases for scholarly journals, such as Social Science Citation Index (now called Web of
Science), ProQuest, Academic Search Elite (EBSCOhost), Ingenta, Sociofile, jstor.org, and PAIS
International can help you find relevant materials. Each database includes a different set of
journals. It is recommended that you conduct searches in multiple databases using multiple
search terms in order to maximize your possibility of finding interesting, relevant articles. Again,
this search process should be a matter of charting out the broad landscape of the literature on a
topic, such that you are prepared to write an effective literature review in addition to locating an
article you would like to review.
Please limit your search to scholarly (aka peer-reviewed or refereed) journals (and do not use book
reviews). Articles from newspapers, popular periodicals (such as Time or The Atlantic Monthly),
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or journals that do not have a peer-review process will not be acceptable. You may also look for
articles that appear in anthologies or edited volumes on the topic. These are books edited by a
person but that include a number of articles by different scholars on the topic.
o Data/Methods: How will you go about answering your question? Why are your methods the best
choice for this project? What are their limitations? How will gather the data? Is your study
generalizable? What are the limitations of your data?
o Outline of your proposed project by section/chapter
o References
Please also see Blackboard for links to online documents that offer guidance in writing proposals.
A NOTE ABOUT PLAGIARISM
All sources of reference from which students take quotations, theories or concepts or papers must
be cited. Plagiarism (or other forms of cheating) will not be tolerated. Such action will result in
your failing the class and referral to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities for possible
suspension or expulsion. To be clear, if you use any outside sources for ideas, themes, text,
analyses etc, you must cite them. In addition, using another student’s work upon which to base
yours is not allowed. For more on the University’s policy on academic dishonest please see:
http://csrr.sdsu.edu/. See also http://csrr.sdsu.edu/conduct1.html for standards for student conduct.
FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is
your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay
in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as
possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that I cannot
provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an accommodation letter
from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
READINGS AND TOPICS
1/22 Introduction and paper/presentation assignments
Where Power Lies: Institutions, Inclusion, Identity and the Construction and Promotion of
Ideas
1/29 Edelman, Constructing the Political Spectacle; Schneider and Ingram, “Social Construction
of Target Populations” on BB.
2/5 Saward,”The Representative Claim;” Mettler and Soss, “The Consequences of Public Policy
for Democratic Citizenship: Bridging Policy Studies and Mass Politics;” McClain et al; “Group
Membership, Group Identity, and Group Consciousness: Measures of Racial Identity in American
Politics?”; Strach and Sullivan, “The State’s Relations: What the Institution of Family Tells Us
about Governance”; all on BB
Grassroots Activism: The role of geography, ideology and identity in shaping ideas and
policies
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2/12 McGirr, Suburban Warriors
2/19 – CLASS CANCELLED; START READING Goss for next week
2/26 Goss, The Paradox of Gender Equality
3/5 Roth, Separate Roads to Feminism
The Political Spectacle: The role of framing, discourse and cultural values in policies
3/12 Schreiber, “Injecting a Woman’s Voice”; Blee, “Women in the 1920s' Ku Klux Klan Movement”;
Williamson, Skocpol and Coggin, “The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican
Conservatism”; Mucciaroni, “Are Debates about "Morality Policy"' Really about Morality?
Framing Opposition to Gay and Lesbian Rights”; all on BB
3/19 Burns, The Moral Veto
3/26 Daniels, Exposing Men; RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC DUE
4/2 SPRING BREAK
4/9 MIDTERM due and research workshop; one page description of final project; start reading
SHILTS!
“Outsiders” and Influence: The role of power, money and status in shaping policy
4/16 Shilts, And the Band Played On
4/23 Gilens, Affluence & Influence
4/30 Pardo, Mexican American Women Activists
5/7 Research presentations due. Each person should be prepared to do a 5-10 minute presentation
of her/his research proposal
5/14 Final proposals due
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