PLSC 113-0 Winter 2015
MW 12:30-1:45
Pray-Harrold 220
[CRN 25768/credit hours=3]
American Government-Honors
Dr. Henschen
601Q Pray Harrold
Hours: MW 8:30-9:00, 11:00-11:45;
2:00-3:00, and by appointment
E-mail: bhenschen@emich.edu
Phone: 734.487.3113; 734.487.1398
In this course we will examine American political institutions and processes at the
national level. We will discuss the context of American politics and look at how
individuals and groups participate in the political system. We will also examine the
behavior of political actors in government institutions and explore the making of
public policy.
Throughout the semester, we’ll emphasize the complexity that characterizes
American politics. I want you to understand political decision making and policy
choices as more nuanced than a sound bite on cable television can convey. You will
come to recognize that things political are rarely “black and white,” and I’ll try to
make that lesson memorable by frequently reminding you that my favorite color is
gray.
We will also be mindful of how serendipity and chance play a role in charting the
course of political history and we will consider how some important changes came
about in American politics as the result of unexpected events.
If you take away from the course a more sophisticated view of the context in which
American politics takes place and how contemporary issues in American politics are
complicated issues about which reasonable people can disagree—and if you have
some fun along the way—our time together will have been well spent.
Books: (Required)
Canon, David T., John J. Coleman and Kenneth R. Mayer. 2014. Faultlines:
Debating the Issues in American Politics. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Gillon, Steven M. 2006. 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America. New York:
Three Rivers Press/Random House.
On Reserve:
Sidlow, Edward and Beth Henschen. 2015/2012. GOVT 6. Boston: Cengage
Learning.
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Reading, Assignments, and Exam Schedule
January 5
Politics and the Art of Governing
January 7
Ideology, Governmental Arrangements, and Political Culture
Faultlines: Chapter 1. Political Culture: What Does It Mean to Be an American?
1. Eric Liu, “Sworn-Again Americans”
2. Steven M Warshawsky, “What Does It Mean to Be an American?”
3. Daniel J. Elazar, “The Three Political Cultures”
10 Days: Chapter 1. “Massacre at Mystic”
January 12
Changes in American Culture
10 Days: Chapter 9. “When America Was Rocked”
January 14
Creating the Constitution
Faultlines: Chapter 2. The Founding and the Constitution: How Democratic Is the
Constitution?
4. Sanford Levinson, “The Ratification Referendum: Sending the Constitution to a New
Convention for Repair”
5. Eric Lane and Michael Oreskes, “We”
10 Days: Chapter 2. “Shays’ Rebellion: The First American Civil War”
January 21
Federal-State Relationships
Faultines: Chapter 3. Federalism: Immigration Reform and State Power
6. Jay Sekulow, “State Sovereignty Is the Issue”
7. Richard Peltz-Steele, “Dismantling Federalism Is a Shortcut with a Very Steep Price”
8. Kevin Johnson, “The Debate over Immigration Reform Is Not Over Until It’s Over”
January 26
The Civil Rights Movement
10 Days: Chapter 4. “Antietam”
10 Days: Chapter 10. “Freedom Summer”
January 28
Rights and Liberties
Faultines: Chapter 4. The Constitutional Framework and the Individual—Civil Liberties and
Civil Rights: Same Sex Marriage
9. Ross Douthat, “The Marriage Ideal”
10. Justin Raimondo, “The Libertarian Case Against Gay Marriage”
11. Jonathan Rauch, “Objections to These Unions”
February 2
Civil Liberties: First Amendment; Privacy
10 Days: Chapter 7. “Scopes: The Battle Over America’s Soul”
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February 4
Interest Groups in the American Political System
Faultlines: Chapter 12. Groups and Interests: Corporate and Labor Spending in Campaigns
30. Ronald Dworkin, “The Decision That Threatens Democracy”
31. Bradley A. Smith, “Citizens United We Stand”
32. Matt Bai, “How Much Has Citizens United Changed the Political Game?”
February 9
Student-Led Discussion: Lobbying and Money
February 11
Political Socialization, Public Opinion, and the Media
Faultlines: Chapter 9. Public Opinion and the Media: The Future of Political Journalism
22. Paul Starr, “Goodbye to the Age of Newspapers (Hello to a New Era of Corruption)”
23. James Fallows, “How to Save the News”
February 16
Television in Campaigns and Elections
February 18
Political Parties
Faultlines: Chapter 11. Political Parties: Red America versus Blue America—Are We
Polarized?
27. Morris P. Fiorina, “What Culture Wars? Debunking the Myth of a Polarized America”
28. James Q. Wilson and Morris P. Fiorina’s Response, “How Divided Are We?”
29. John B. Judis, “Tea Minus Zero”
February 23-February 25
March 2
Campaigns and Elections
March 4
Voting
Winter Recess
Faultlines: Chapter 10. Elections and Voting: Voter Identification
24. Chandler Davidson, “The Historical Context of Voter Photo-ID Laws”
25. Hans Von Spakovsky, “Requiring Identification by Voters”
26. Edward B. Foley, “Is There a Middle Ground in the Voter ID Debate?”
March 9
Student-Led Discussion: Voting Behavior and Electoral Outcomes
March 11
The Context of American Politics and Political Participation
March 16
March 18
Exam I
125 points
The Congressional Process
Faultlines: Chapter 5. Congress: Pork-Barrel Politics
12. Cato Handbook for Policymakers, “Corporate Welfare and Earmarks”
13. Brian Friel, “Inhofe: Earmarks Are Good For Us”
14. Jonathan Rauch, “Earmarks Are a Model, Not a Menace”
March 23
Congress and the Courts
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March 25
Judicial Decision Making
Faultlines: Chapter 8. The Judiciary: Interpreting the Constitution—Originalism or a Living
Constitution?
20. Antonin Scalia, “Constitutional Interpretation the Old-Fashioned Way”
21. Stephen Breyer, “Our Democratic Constitution”
March 30
The Presidency: Politics and Performance
Faultlines: Chapter 6. The Presidency: Prospects, Possibilities, and Perils in Obama’s
Second Term
15. Adam Clymer, “Triumphant Obama Faces New Foe in ‘Second-Term Curse’”
16. Tim Cavanaugh, “Beware Obama’s Big Ideas”
17. Akhil Reed Amar, “Second Chances”
10 Days: Chapter 6. “Murder at the Fair: The Assassination of President McKinley”
April 1
The Federal Bureaucracy
Faultlines: Chapter 7. Bureaucracy: Privatization of Government Activity
18. Jenine R. Wedel, “Federalist No. 70: Where Does the Public Service Begin and End?”
19. Cato Handbook for Policy Makers, “Privatization”
Compilation of Directed Writing Assignments Due
April 6
The Complex Environment of the Presidency
April 8
Domestic Policymaking
120 points
Faultlines: Chapter 13. Government and the Economy: Is Income Inequality a Problem?
33. Timothy Noah, “Why We Can’t Ignore Growing Income Inequality”
34. Richard A. Epstein, “Three Cheers for Income Inequality”
Faultlines: Chapter 14. Government and Society: Health Care Reform
35. Marilyn Werber Serafini, “Grading Health Reform: Experts Assess Whether the Bill
Delivers on Its Promises”
36. Yuval Levin, “Repeal: Why and How Obamacare Must Be Undone”
37. George E. Condon, Jr., “Even After Big Victory, Health Care Future Uncertain”
April 13
Foreign Policy
Faultlines: Chapter 15. Foreign Policy and World Politics: Is the World Still a Dangerous
Place?
38. Micah Zenko and Michael A. Cohen, “Clear and Present Safety: The United States Is
More Secure Than Washington Thinks”
39. Paul D. Miller, “National Insecurity: Just How Safe Is the United States?”
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April 15
Global Politics in a Nuclear Age
10 Days: Chapter 8. “Einstein’s Letter”
April 20
The Complexity—and Serendipity—of American Politics
April 22
12:30-2:00
Exam II
140 points
Summary of Graded Exercises:
February 9
March 9
March 16
April 1
April 22
Student-led Discussion (10 students)
Student-led Discussion (10 students)
Exam I
Compilation of Directed Writing Assignments
(4@30 points each)
Exam II [12:30-2:00]
15 points
15 points
125 points
120 points
140 points
Details regarding the student-led discussions and the directed writing assignments
will be distributed separately.
Grading scale
375-400
359-374
347-358
331-346
319-330
307-318
291-306
279-290
267-278
251-266
239-250
< 239
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
[94-100%]
[90-93]
[87-89]
[83-86]
[80-82]
[77-79]
[73-76]
[70-72]
[67-69]
[63-66]
[60-62]
[<60%]
Class attendance, good note taking, and careful reading are essential to doing well in
this course. BE AWARE OF THE UNIVERSITY’S POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY—GO
TO WWW.EMICH.EDU/STUDENTCONDUCT/INDEX.PHP
Additional information regarding classroom matters will be discussed in class.
Check your university e-mail frequently for announcements related to class.
If you need help with your writing, use the services of the writing center.
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UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER
115 Halle Library
734-487-0694
http://www.emich.edu/uwc
WINTER 2015 SYLLABUS TEXT
The University Writing Center (115 Halle Library; 487-0694) offers one-to-one
writing consulting for both undergraduate and graduate students. Students can make
appointments or drop in between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Mondays through
Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays. The UWC opens for the Winter
2015 semester on Monday, January 12 and will close on Monday, April 20.
The UWC also has several satellite locations across campus (in Owen, Marshall,
Pray-Harrold, Sill, and Mark Jefferson). These satellites provide writing support to
students in various colleges and programs across campus. The Pray-Harrold
satellite (rm. 211) is open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to
4 p.m. Other satellite locations and hours can be found on the UWC web site:
http://www.emich.edu/uwc
The Academic Projects Center (116 Halle Library) also offers one-to-one writing
consulting for students, in addition to consulting on research and technology-related
issues. The APC is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays for drop-in
consultations. Additional information about the APC can be found at
http://www.emich.edu/apc.
Students seeking writing support at any location of the University Writing Center
should bring with them a draft of what they are working on and their assignment
sheet.
Important Dates Related to Course Registration
Part of Term 1: 1/5/15 - 4/27/15 (15 weeks)
1/9/15
Last date to add courses via the web (a)
3/5/15
Last date to add courses with departmental authorization
1/14/15
Last date for 100% tuition refund (individual or total withdraw from term)
3/23/15
Last date for individual class withdrawal (with W grades) - No Refund
1/30/15 (b) Last date for 50% tuition refund (total withdrawal only) with W grades
3/5/15 (b) Last date for 25% tuition refund (total withdrawal only) with W grades
4/20/15 (b) Last date for total withdrawal from term (with W grades) -No Refund
1/14/15
Last date to declare pass/fail grading option or select to audit a course
4/20/15
Last date to remove pass/fail grading option and receive letter grade
Codes
(a) Initial registration occurring on or after the Part of Term start date will incur a
one-time $140 late registration fee
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(b) Date applicable only if student's classes are ALL within the same Part of Term
and/or a later starting Part of Term
(**) A written request must be faxed to the Office of Records and Registration at
734.487.6808 before midnight
This course (PLSC 113) provides students with critical exposure to the methods used by social
scientists in creating knowledge. Political Science 112 provides a thorough grounding in American
government. It also provides a strong introduction to the discipline of political science. In this course,
students gain exposure to how knowledge is generated in the social sciences through the lens of one
content area, that of American government. Through material covered in the course, students gain
practice in asking important questions about the political world and answering them using the methods
practiced in this social science discipline.
Completion of this course fulfills a requirement in the Knowledge of the Disciplines/Social Sciences:
In Knowledge of the Disciplines courses, students will
Acquire introductory knowledge about the discipline.
Develop questions for inquiry that reflect an understanding of the discipline(s) in which they are
asked.
Learn how knowledge is developed and disseminated in particular disciplines.
In Social Science courses, students will
Acquire an understanding of social science methods and of how they are used to engage in the
systematic study of society and culture.
Understand and compare formal and informal social and political structures, organizations, and
institutions.
Explore and understand power relationships and the impact of social change on different groups
and on society in general.
Develop an appreciation of different interpretations of contemporary issues, institutions, or
structures.
Use social science methods and content to interpret and analyze data and reports in the media and
to make informed decisions regarding local, national, and international issues.
Use basic social scientific research techniques to examine and present information in a clear and
concise manner.
Understand the relation between qualitative and quantitative research.
These objectives will be addressed through our examination of the historical and constitutional context
of American government, the evolving nature of civil liberties and civil rights, the mobilization of
political participation by interest groups and political parties, the behavior of individuals in the
political arena, the measurement of public opinion, the role of the media, the power and procedures of
national governmental institutions and agencies, and an assessment of the processes by which domestic
and foreign policy is made.
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