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Course Title and Course Number
COMM 482 Sec 1 (#20868) Communication & Politics – Fall 2015
Course Information
Class Days: Mondays
Class Times: 7:00 p.m. – 9:40 p.m.
Class Location: COMM-206
Instructor: Dr. Luke Winslow
E-mail: lwinslow@mail.sdsu.edu
Phone: (909) 472-1313
Course Overview
Office Hours Times: MW, 3:45 pm to 5 pm, and by
Professor:
Contact Information:
appointment
Office Hours Days:
Location: COMM 202
Welcome to Communication & Politics! Our course will examine the theory and practice of political
communication in the United States. A democracy has always depended on open and direct communication
between its citizens and those who govern them. In the United States, this has been true since Colonial times. But
with the advent of mass technologies, the range, depth, and importance of communication practices have changed in
revolutionary ways. Today, the White House has its own press office, Web site, email address, and Twitter account.
Entire new specializations have developed in the world of politics—the spin experts, the investigative reporters, the
media handlers, and the lobbyists—all of these persons now crowd on top of one another in Washington D.C. and in
Sacramento, California. In this class, we will study these phenomena, these people. Our primary goal in this class is
to ask whether or not democracy is made better or worse, helped or harmed, by contemporary communication
practices and technologies.
Student learning objectives:
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2.
3.
4.
5.
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Identify communicative strategies in political deliberation in the United States. This objective aligns with
the School of Communication’s desire to graduate students with a working knowledge of the core concepts
definitions, and assumptions of the communication discipline.
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between economic, social, and cultural formations and
political deliberation in the United States. This objective aligns with the School of Communication’s desire
to graduate students who can demonstrate an awareness of the role of communication and politics in
specific contexts.
Analyze the ways in which political deliberation has influenced our understanding of the discipline of
communication studies. This objective aligns with the School of Communication’s desire to graduate
students with an awareness of the history, nature, scope, and evolution of communication and politics in
our discipline.
Analyze and evaluate the rhetorical strategies that influence the effectiveness of political messaging. This
objective aligns with the School of Communication’s desire to graduate students who can diagnose the
relevance and implications of communication and politics in hypothetical and actual contexts.
Analyze a critical political event in a way that illustrates how the communicative strategies and tactics
covered in the course can be applied in practice. This objective aligns with the School of Communication’s
desire to graduate students who can extemporaneously and proactively generate and competently present
sound arguments in communicative performance contexts.
Become a more engaged political communicator. This objective aligns with the School of
Communication’s desire to graduate more competent “citizen” communicators who can contribute to
improve public deliberation.
Blackboard and e-mail: We will be utilizing the University Blackboard system extensively throughout the semester.
If you are not already familiar with this system, I encourage you to peruse the Blackboard site. Log into the system
with your Red ID and PIN at https://blackboard.sdsu.edu/webapps/login
You will automatically be entered on the COMM 482 course. I will communicate with the class through Blackboard
announcements and e-mail sent from the Blackboard site, so make sure you have your current e-mail address on file
with the University. Also, you should be in the habit of checking your e-mail daily in order to insure that you do not
miss any class messages.
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Enrollment Information
Prerequisites: Communication 300 and 350. Admission to a major or minor in the School of Communication.
Course Materials
Political Campaign Communication: Inside and Out (2012, 2nd edition) by Larry Powell and Joseph Cowart.
Other course materials will be made available on Blackboard.
Course Structure and Conduct
Our class will proceed on a lecture/discussion model. Typically, the readings will supplement class subject matter.
I strongly encourage you to do the readings as assigned below. Doing so will insure you will not have to cram in
your reading before the exams. And because this is a discussion-intensive course, I ask you to keep up with
assigned readings and come to class prepared to talk about them. The success of this course depends upon your
active participation. I will provide lectures in order to help guide our discussions, but I hope that we can spend most
of our time actively talking together about what we will read and see in our course and in our world.
Course Assessment and Grading
Required assignments:
1.
Exams: Three written exams will be given in the course. The exams will consist of a set of short essay
questions. Please bring a Blue Book on the day of each exam. I will go over in class and post to
Blackboard sample exam questions to guide your preparation. Exams 2 and 3 are cumulative and will cover
material from the entire semester. Each of the exams will be worth 250 points. No make-up exams will be
given in this course. If an exam is missed, the only way to recoup points is by completing the optional
paper.
2.
Optional paper: You may also complete a short paper (10 double-spaced pages) and the score on this paper
can be used to make up for the lowest-grade received on one of the exams. If you complete an optional
paper, you will generate four grades in the course; we will base your semester grade on the three highest
grades you receive. More thorough information on the paper will be posted to our class Blackboard site
after the first exam. You must submit the Optional paper through turninit.com on our Blackboard page.
3.
Online argument assignment: The Online Argument assignment seeks to illuminate the challenges of
productive political conversations and encourage you to employ the best practices of your communication
major to find an alternative way to communicate. More specifically, this assignment will require you to
engage in an online argument. You will identify the discursive source of a politically controversial issue, a
particularly partisan political community, or an ideologically slanted news outlet, think tank, or Super PAC.
For example, you can access the websites of moon landing skeptics, the National Rifle Association, U.S.
Senator from Oklahoma and noted climate change skeptic Jim Inhofe’s Twitter account, or anti-vaccine
spokesperson Jenny McCarthy’s Facebook page. You will then be required to engage in a rational online
argument by either joining an existing comment thread or beginning a new one. The argument must be
sustained for a significant period of time marked by a series of dialogical and robust arguments and
counter-arguments. You will be required to display all the best communication competence practices,
including proper conflict resolution techniques, acknowledging the validity of the other person’s
perspective and arguments, marshaling evidence, avoiding fallacies, seeking common ground, and working
toward a productive resolution. You will submit an Online argument proposal in advance and you will
present your experience to the class in a oral presentation and a reflection essay after. All written
assignments must be submitted to turnitin.com through our Blackboard page. You will justify why you
chose the discursive source you did, what arguments your interlocutors offered and how they responded,
how the argument was resolved, and what they learned from the experience that can inform your
understanding of how to improve our political discourse. Presentations should be timed, professional,
rehearsed, and formally delivered with appropriate handouts and audio-visual aids. I will give you a more
detailed grading rubric in class.
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4.
Participation: Participation will be based on a number of important factors including engagement with
course material, willingness to discuss material, and in-class activities. I encourage you to consider your
views of politics and power from (possibly) new perspectives. Whether you are Republican, Democrat, or
non-partisan; liberal, conservative, or apathetic is your business. There is no partisan or party line to follow
in this course, and no student will ever be penalized for respectfully disagreeing with the course material or
class discussion. We will likely be discussing issues about which people feel strongly. Vigorous, yet
collegial, debate is encouraged. Early in the semester we will establish ground rules for discussion in hopes
that we can find ways to debate and disagree without offense. Know in advance that all ideas are equally
subject to debate, including my own. You will not be graded on your level of agreement with my opinions,
but on your ability to make an argument and defend it soundly. Participation is worth 75 points.
Extra credit: Students may obtain extra credit from participation in departmental research if research opportunities
are made available. Extra credit cannot be guaranteed, as it is dependent on the need of research participants in
departmental research. If extra credit opportunities are made available, students can receive five points for each
half-hour of research participation (max. ten points). Research opportunities are presented on the SONA Research
Recruitment System which can be accessed through the School of Communication Research Participation website,
https://sites.google.com/site/commsdsuresearch
The following assignments will comprise your grade in the class:
Exam 1
250 points
Exam 2
250 points
Exam 3
250 points
Online argument proposal
50 points
Online argument presentation
50 points
Online argument reflection essay 75 points
Participation
75 points (Week 1-6 = 25 points; Week 7-11 = 25 points; Week 12-16 = 25
points)
Total:
/1000 points
The following scale will be used to determine final course grades:
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
93% and above - 930 – 1000
90-92.9% - 900 – 929
87-89.9% - 870 - 899
83-86.9% - 830 - 869
80-82.9% - 800 - 829
77-79.9% – 770 - 799
73-76.9% - 730 - 769
70-72.9% - 700 - 729
67-69.9% - 670 - 699
63-66.9% - 630 - 669
60-62.9% - 600 - 629
59.9% and below – 599 - 0
A curve is not used in this course.
Other Course Policies
No electronic devices in class (notebooks, laptops, cell phones, iPods, etc).
If you have questions about your grade on an assignment, please see me within 5 business days of receiving the
grade (day 1 is the day the assignment is returned). After 5 days, a graded assignment is not eligible for review.
Graded assignments submitted for review may be re-graded in their entirety.
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If you have questions about a grade or any other aspect of the course, please see me after class or during office
hours. If your schedule conflicts with my office hours, I will be glad to schedule additional office time to meet with
you.
Your participation grade is not assumed. It must be earned. Participation includes your attendance, punctuality,
participation in class discussions and think-pair-share activities, and asking questions of your peers after their
presentations.
This syllabus does not bind the instructor to specific details; the instructor reserves the right to adjust the course
design.
The School of Communication website can be found at http://communication.sdsu.edu/
We will be using APA format for citation. See the Purdue Owl website for assistance:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/
Also see this APA tutorial for assistance: http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm
Syllabus statement 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 accommodations based upon disability
cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability
Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Academic dishonesty policy of the School of Communication
Plagiarism is theft of intellectual property. It is one of the highest forms of academic offense because in academe, it
is a scholar’s words, ideas, and creative products that are the primary measures of identity and achievement.
Whether by ignorance, accident, or intent, theft is still theft, and misrepresentation is still misrepresentation.
Therefore, the offense is still serious, and is treated as such.
In any case in which a Professor or Instructor identifies evidence for charging a student with violation of academic
conduct standards or plagiarism, the presumption will be with that instructor’s determination. However, the
faculty/instructor(s) will confer with the director to substantiate the evidence. Once confirmed, the evidence will be
reviewed with the student. If, following the review with the student, the faculty member and director determine that
academic dishonesty has occurred, the evidence will be submitted to the Office of Student Rights and
Responsibilities. The report “identifies the student who was found responsible, the general nature of the offense, the
action taken, and a recommendation as to whether or not additional action should be considered by the campus
judicial affairs office .” (CSSR Website[1]).
[1] http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/academics1.html
Intellectual Property: The syllabus, lectures and lecture outlines are personal copyrighted intellectual property of
the instructor, which means that any organized recording for anything other than personal use, duplication,
distribution, or profit is a violation of copyright and fair use laws.
Proper Source Attribution: Proper attribution occurs by specifying the source of content or ideas. This is done by
(a) providing quotation marks around text, when directly quoted, and (b) clearly designating the source of the text or
information relied upon in an assignment. Text that is identical with another source but without quotation marks
constitutes plagiarism, regardless of whether you included the original source.
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences:
a. Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed materials (whether represented by: (i)
multiple sentences, images, or portions of images; or (ii) by percentage of assignment length) without proper
attribution, will result in assignment of an “F” in the course, and a report to Student Rights and
Responsibilities.
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b. Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks but source citation, or subsets of visual
images without source attribution, will minimally result in an “F” on the assignment. Repeated or serious
cases will result in assignment of an “F” in the course, and a report to Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Self-plagiarism: Students often practice some form of ‘double-dipping,’ in which they write on a given topic across
more than one course assignment. In general, there is nothing wrong with double-dipping topics or sources, but
there is a problem with double-dipping exact and redundant text. It is common for scholars to write on the same
topic across many publication outlets; this is part of developing expertise and the reputation of being a scholar on a
topic. Scholars, however, are not permitted to repeat exact text across papers or publications except when noted and
attributed, as this wastes precious intellectual space with repetition and does a disservice to the particular source of
original presentation by ‘diluting’ the value of the original presentation. Any time that a writer simply ‘cuts-andpastes’ exact text from former papers into a new paper without proper attribution, it is a form of self-plagiarism.
Consequently, a given paper should never be turned in to multiple classes. Entire paragraphs, or even sentences,
should not be repeated word-for-word across course assignments. Each new writing assignment is precisely that, a
new writing assignment, requiring new composition on the student’s part.
Secondary citations: Secondary citation is not strictly a form of plagiarism, but in blatant forms, it can present
similar ethical challenges. A secondary citation is citing source A, which in turn cites source B, but it is source B’s
ideas or content that provide the basis for the claims the student intends to make in the assignment. For example,
assume that there is an article by Jones (2006) in the student’s hands, in which there is a discussion or quotation of
an article by Smith (1998). Assume further that what Smith seems to be saying is very important to the student’s
analysis. In such a situation, the student should always try to locate the original Smith source. In general, if an idea
is important enough to discuss in an assignment, it is important enough to locate and cite the original source for
that idea. There are several reasons for these policies: (a) Authors sometimes commit citation errors, which might be
replicated without knowing it; (b) Authors sometimes make interpretation errors, which might be ignorantly
reinforced (c) Therefore, reliability of scholarly activity is made more difficult to assure and enforce; (d) By relying
on only a few sources of review, the learning process is short-circuited, and the student’s own research competencies
are diminished, which are integral to any liberal education; © By masking the actual sources of ideas, readers must
second guess which sources come from which citations, making the readers’ own research more difficult; (f) By
masking the origin of the information, the actual source of ideas is misrepresented. Some suggestions that assist with
this principle:
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

When the ideas Jones discusses are clearly attributed to, or unique to, Smith, then find the Smith source and
citation.
When the ideas Jones is discussing are historically associated more with Smith than with Jones, then find
the Smith source and citation.
In contrast, Jones is sometimes merely using Smith to back up what Jones is saying and believes, and is
independently qualified to claim, whether or not Smith would have also said it; in such a case, citing Jones
is sufficient.
Never simply copy a series of citations at the end of a statement by Jones, and reproduce the reference list
without actually going to look up what those references report—the only guarantee that claims are valid is
for a student to read the original sources of those claims.
Solicitation for ghost writing: Any student who solicits any third party to write any portion of an assignment for
this class (whether for pay or not) violates the standards of academic honesty in this course. The penalty for
solicitation (regardless of whether it can be demonstrated the individual solicited wrote any sections of the
assignment) is F in the course.
TurnItIn.com
The papers in this course may be submitted electronically in Word (preferably .docx) on the due dates assigned, and
will require verification of submission to Turnitin.com.
“Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity
review to TurnItIn.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in
the TurnItIn.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. You may submit
your papers in such a way that no identifying information about you is included. Another option is that you may
request, in writing, that your papers not be submitted to TurnItIn.com. However, if you choose this option you will
be required to provide documentation to substantiate that the papers are your original work and do not include any
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plagiarized material” (source: language suggested by the CSU General Counsel and approved by the Center for
Student’s Rights and Responsibilities at SDSU)
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences:
 Course failure: Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed materials without
proper attribution, whether represented by: (a) multiple sentences, images, or portions of images; or (b) by
percentage of assignment length, or solicitation of a ghost writer, will result in assignment of an “F” in the
course in which the infraction occurred, and a report to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities
(CSRR2).
 Assignment failure: Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks, but with
source citation, or subsets of visual images without source attribution, will minimally result in an “F” on the
assignment, and may result in greater penalty, including a report to the CSRR, depending factors noted
below. In this instance, an “F” may mean anything between a zero (0) and 50%, depending on the extent of
infraction.
 Exacerbating conditions—Amount: Evidence of infraction, even if fragmentary, is increased with a
greater: (a) number of infractions; (b) distribution of infractions across an assignment; or (c) proportion of
the assignment consisting of infractions.
 Exacerbating conditions—Intent: Evidence of foreknowledge and intent to deceive magnifies the
seriousness of the offense and the grounds for official response. Plagiarism, whether ‘by accident’ or ‘by
ignorance,’ still qualifies as plagiarism—it is all students’ responsibility to make sure their assignments are
not committing the offense.
 Exceptions: Any exceptions to these policies will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and only under
exceptional circumstances.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO EXCUSES ALLOWED BASED ON IGNORANCE OF WHAT
CONSTITUTES PLAGIARISM, OR OF WHAT THIS POLICY IS
Tentative Daily Schedule
Although every effort will be made to follow the proposed schedule as closely as possible, the instructor reserves the
right to make changes in the order in which certain topics are presented. I will do my best to inform students of
schedule changes as far in advance as possible.
UNIT ONE: HOW POLITICAL LANGUAGE CONNECTS WITH AUDIENCES
Week 1 – Monday, 8/24
1. Course introduction
2. Why study political communication?
3. Why politics matters
4. Read:
a. Chapter 1 - Political communication: An introduction
Week 2 - Monday, 8/31
1. Why are we fascinated with politics?
2. Political communication and citizenship
3. Voting and democracy
4. Read:
a. Chapter 2 – Political socialization: The development of political attitudes
b. “Civics, Not Government” report
c. “Memo to self: Do not run for office” by Mark Leibovich
d. “Cashing in on voting” by George Will
Week 3 – Monday, 9/7 – Labor Day
Week 4 – Monday, February 11
1. Political communication and image management
2. Read:
a. Chapter 4 – The Image of the Political Candidate
b. “How not to seem rich while running for office” by Mark Leibovich
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Week 5 – Monday, 9/14
1. Gender and politics
2. Exam 1 prep
3. Read:
a. “The Confidence Gap” by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
b. “Hillary Clinton Focuses on the Policy, Not the Personal” by Peter Nicholas, Wall Street Journal
Week 6 – Monday, 9/21 - Exam 1
UNIT TWO: HOW MEDIATING POLITICAL LEADERSHIP CHANGES IT
Week 7 – Monday, 9/28
1. Media and politics: what happens when politics is mediated?
2. Narrative and political communication
3. Read:
a. Chapter 5 – Media Theory and Political Communication
b. “Public Narrative Workshop Guide”
Week 8 – Monday, 10/5
1. Media and politics: what happens when politics is mediated? (cont.)
2. Re-read:
a. Chapter 5 – Media Theory and Political Communication
Week 9 – Monday, 10/12
1. Campaign communication in the mass media
2. Read:
a. Chapter 7 – Campaign communication in the mass media
Week 10 – Monday, 10/19
1. Politics in a digital age
2. Exam 2 prep
3. Read:
a. Chapter 10 – Cyberspace: The Internet and political communications
b. Chapter 12 – Press coverage and media relations
c. Ries & Trout – Chapter 3 “Getting into the mind”
d. “Talking to journalists” chapter
Week 11 – Monday, 10/26 – Exam 2
UNIT THREE: HOW TO APPLY MESSAGE PRINCIPLES IN CAMPAIGN SETTINGS
Week 12 – Monday, 11/2
1. Public communication competence
2. Introduce Online Argument assignment
3. Read:
a. Chapter 9 – Political speeches
b. “Ten rules of effective language” by Frank Luntz
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Week 12 – Monday, 11/9
1. Crisis communication
2. Read:
a. Chapter 15 – Critical event analysis
b. Chapter 16 – Ethical questions in political communication
c. “Myths and Maxims of Risk and Crisis Communication” by Andersen and Spitzberg
Week 13 – Monday, 11/16
1. Politics and influence
2. Networking
3. Read:
a. Chapter 14 – The role of interpersonal influence
b. “Know how to communicate” by Carville and Begala
c. “The human brand” by Malone and Fiske
Week 14 – Monday, 11/23
1. Leadership and likeability
2. Read:
a. “Liking” by Robert Cialdini
b. “Grin when you fight” by Chris Matthews
c. “Surviving the Age of Humiliation” by Jeffrey Zaslow
Week 15 – Monday, 11/30
1. LRS room
Week 16 – Monday, 12/7
1. Online argument presentations
EXAM 3 – Monday, December 14 – 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in our regular classroom (two hours only for Exam 3)