Syllabus for PSC 192, Role of Congressional Leadership
Robert Dove
Patton Boggs LLP
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Wednesday mornings
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is an in-depth examination of the roles and practices of the Congressional Leaders in
considering legislation. The course will cover such topics as: the qualifications of Members of
Congress; the institutional roles of the Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore; the legislative
and oversight functions of committees; rules governing floor conduct, floor debate, and legislative
action on the House and Senate floor; conference committee procedures; specialized rules governing
administrative operations of the Congress; special procedures appropriations measures and budget
process.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
The principal readings for the course will be:
Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes in the U. S. Congress, Barbara Sinclair
Congress and Its Members, Roger H. Davidson, Walter J. Oleszek, and Frances E. Lee
Politics or Principle?, Filibustering in the United States Senate, Sarah A. Binder, and Steven S. Smith
In addition I will make use of the rules manuals for the House and Senate, as well as parliamentary
precedent compendiums for the House and Senate.
Grades will be determined on the following basis:
Classroom participation 30% Papers 70%
Please note that this course will provide WID credit for qualified students. But the course
requirements apply regardless of that status. Course grades will be influenced heavily by written
work, as detailed below.
Each student will be responsible for material presented in the readings and in class. The
readings are to be completed prior to class on the day assigned since class lectures and discussion
will presuppose knowledge of those readings.
Course grades are based upon these writing (and rewriting)
assignments. Writing assignments will test your ability to think and
communicate theoretically, empirically, and conceptually. Additional
details on writing assignments and the review process will be
explained at the first meeting.
W#
1
Type of writing
Concept Explication:
Week
Due
Week
2
2
2nd draft of Assignment 1
Week
3
3
Final draft of Assignment 1
Week
4
4
Expository Essay Applying Alternative Theories
Week
8
5
Final draft of Assignment 2
Week
10
6
Policy Memo (Roll Playing)
1st Draft
7
2nd draft of Assignment 3
Week
12
Week
14
#
Pages
3
Including
References
3
Including
References
3
Including
References
6
Excluding
Notes/Refs
6
Excluding
Notes/Refs
2
Single
Space
2
Single
Space
Returned
1st draft
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
1st draft
No
Yes
No
1st draft
Yes
Yes
No
Course grades are determined on the following basis:
Conceptual Essay
Expository Essay
Policy Memo
Ten (10) percent
Twenty (20) percent
Ten (10) percent
Please Note: LATE PAPERS WILL BE PENALIZED AUTOMATICALLY.
COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
Part I:
Congress and Its Members
1.
Introduction
Davidson and Oleszek, Chapter 1.
2.
The Constitutional Congress
The U.S. Constitution
Federalist Papers, #s 10, 47-51, 53, 56-58, 62-63.
Graded
3.
Congressional Careers: Evolution I
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 2.
1st Draft Conceptual Essay
4.
Congressional Careers: Evolution II
Peer Review Returned
5.
Congressional Careers: Electoral Mechanism I
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 3
2nd Draft Conceptual Essay
6.
Congressional Careers: Electoral Mechanism II
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 4
Peer Review Returned
7.
Congressional Careers: Voter's Decisions
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 4
Final Draft Conceptual Essay
8.
Congressional Careers: Voter’s Decisions
Jacobson, Chap. 6.
9.
Congressional Careers: Home Styles
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 5.
10.
Part I Examination
Part II:
The Institutional Congress
11.
The Institutional Congress
Binder and Smith, Chap. 1
12.
Congressional Committees I
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 7.
Binder and Smith, Chaps. 2-3.
13.
Congressional Committees II
Binder and Smith, Chap 4.
14.
Leaders and Parties in Congress
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 6.
15.
Leaders and Parties in Congress
Binder and Smith, Chap. 5.
16.
Scheduling, Debate, Floor Procedure I
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 8.
1st Draft Expository Essay
17.
Scheduling, Debate, Floor Procedure II
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 9.
18.
Second Examination
Expository Essays Returned
Part III:
Congress in the Political System
19.
President and Congress I
.
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 10.
20.
President and Congress II
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 11
Final Draft Expository Essays
21.
Congressional Policy Making: Fiscal I
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 14, pp. 420-432
22.
Congressional Policy Making: Fiscal II
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 14
23.
Congressional Policy Making: Foreign and Defense I
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 15
.
24.
Interest Groups and Congress
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 13.
1st Draft Policy Memo
25.
Media and Public Opinion
Davidson and Oleszek, Chap. 16 (review Chap. 5).
Policy Memo Returned
26.
Congress's Third Century
27.
Catch-up Day
Final Draft Policy Memo
28.
Part III Examination
Student requirements--class participation
Criteria for judging the assignments will be: 1) understanding of the course material; 2) introduction
of illustrative material; 3) the introduction of new material designed to show how the student has
augmented the assigned readings and classroom discussion.
Grades will be determined on the following basis:
Classroom participation 30% Assignments 70%
Each student will be responsible for material presented in the readings and in class. The
readings are to be completed prior to class on the day assigned since class lectures and discussion
will presuppose knowledge of those readings.
Learning Objectives for this Writing in the Disciplines Course
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
Recognize and differentiate various genres of writing and types of
audience
that are common in [this discipline/field of study].
Recognize and apply some of the key rhetorical principles and
stylistic
conventions that prevail in [this discipline/field of study].
Identify, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and employ information
resources
and/or other forms of supporting evidence appropriate and relevant
to
scholarly work in [this discipline/field of study].
Construct sound, probing questions and hypotheses appropriate to
scholarly
work in [this discipline/field of study].
Apply critical analytic and evaluative thinking to their own writing,
through
drafting, revising, and/or editing processes appropriate to [this
discipline/field of study] and the specific genre(s) in which they are
writing.
Apply critical analytic and evaluative thinking to the work of their
classmates through collaborative practices such as peer review or
forms of
co-authoring that are appropriate to [this discipline/field of study].
I