Dr. Michael Coulter
POLS 306: Parties and Pressure Groups
Fall 2008 / TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm
Office: HAL 300E, Social Science Suite
Office Phone: x3796 Campus Box #3073
Home Phone: 724-458-4448 E-mail: mlcoulter@gcc.edu
Office Hours
MWF 8-9 am, 10 – 11:30 am; 1-2 pm; TR 10:30 am - noon, 1:30-2:30 pm; Also by appointment
Course Description: An overview of the functions of the American political parties, with special attention to
the role of interest groups in the policy process.
Course Goals:
1) Students will understand the role of parties and organized interests in American politics
2) Students will be introduced to professional literature
3) Students will write essay assignments that will prepare students for graduate programs
Course Objectives:
Students will be able:
1) To Explain the Development of Political Parties in the United States (Dept. Objective 1, 2, 3
2) To Explain Theories of Voting Behavior (1, 2)
3) To Explain the Process by which Candidates seek party nominations and victories in General Elections
(1, 3)
4) To Compare and Contrast Strategies used by Parties and Candidates (1, 3)
5) To Explain Origins and Development of Interest Groups (1, 2)
6) To Compare and Contrast the Strategies used by Interest Groups (1, 2)
7) To be able to competently use professional literature on parties and interest groups (5, 6, 7)
8) To Write Papers that will prepare one for graduate study (6, 7)
General Objectives for Students Majoring in Political Science
1. Have acquired knowledge of the four major subject areas (American Politics, Political Theory,
International Relations, and Comparative Politics) of political science
2. Be Competitive for graduate and professional school opportunities. Political science majors with
strong academic records will be competitive for both master’s and Ph.D. programs in political
science and other professional programs and will be competitive for financial stipends.
3. Be familiar with entry level jobs suitable for political science majors.
4. Be competitive for entry level jobs suitable for political science majors.
5. Have the ability to read, comprehend, and evaluate content in professional political science
journals, scholarly books, and websites..
6. Show familiarity with, and the ability to critically evaluate, information sources in the Social
Sciences.
7. Demonstrate a mastery of research and writing skills in the field of political science.
8. Develop and capacity to apply a Christian moral principles to issues and topics within political
science, including using a Christian perspective to evaluate critically political ideas, public
policies, and political figures. Simply stated, our aim is that students will seek to understand the
field of politics as individuals who are committed to historic Christian thought.
Texts:
Lowery, David and Holly Brasher, Organized Interests and American Government (ISBN 0-07-246786-X)
Maisel, L. Sandy and Mark Brewer., Parties and Elections in America, 5th ed (ISBN 0-7425-4764-7)
Wilson, James Q., Political Organizations (ISBN 0-691-04385-X)
Additional Readings:
Some additional readings may be distributed via email, placed on Network Neighborhood or distributed in
class.
Course Requirements:
1. Read all assignments before they are discussed in class so that you can actively and intelligently participate
in classroom discussion. This will be conducted as a seminar; thus it is expected that you will participate.
Participation will count as 10% of your final grade.
2. Mid Term and Final Exam. These exams will be primarily essay. (55% total)
3. There are two papers due for the course:
1) One paper will regard political parties. In this paper you could examine a current strategy or
development within party politics (e.g., the use of issue ads, candidate training programs, the
development of legislative campaign committees) or some historical issue (the development of the antiMasonic party in the 1830’s, the transformation of state political parties). This paper should be 8-10
pages. Due November 6 (20% total)
2) The second paper will be 4-5 page profile of an interest group. Due: On Day of Presentation (10%
total). You will present this (5 minutes) on the last two or three days of semester
4. Journal Article Analysis. During the course of the semester, each student will present a summary of a journal
article cited in a chapter on the day we are discussing that chapter. No more than three journal article analyses
can be presented on a particular day. For example, in chapter 1 of Political Organizations, Wilson cites Amitai
Eztioni’s “Two Approaches to Organizational Analysis: A Critique and a Suggestion,” in Administrative
Science Quarterly. A student could find this article and present a summary of the essay and comment on the
way in which it is used by Wilson. Students should give a copy of the article – and a summary and
comment on the use the article that is at least one half page (single-spaced) and no more than one full
page - they are commenting upon to the professor at least one day before it is discussed in class. Students
can pick days to present an article on a first come, first serve basis. (5% total)
In summary:
Participation 10%
Mid Term
25%
Final
30%
Party Paper 20%
IG Paper
10%
Journal Article 5%
Total
100%
Class Policies:
1. Attendance: Standard college policy allows three hours of unexcused absences for a three-credit course.
N.B.: Each unexcused absence over three reduces your final grade by 2%.
2. Late assignments: Papers are due at the beginning of class on the assigned due date. Papers not in when class
are already one day late. Each additional day lowers the grade by 3%.
3. Students who must miss an exam for an excused absence must arrange with me an alternative date.
4. Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: You must acknowledge your sources in endnotes or footnotes. This
includes not only direct quotations but also any reference to or paraphrases of an idea that you did not come up
with on your own. Anyone caught giving or receiving assistance on any class assignment shall be penalized
and shall be reported to the Student Affairs Office for referral to the Discipline Committee of the College.
Please read the "Honesty in Learning" statement in the GCC catalog.
GCC Statement on Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious violation of moral and academic principles. It involves claiming as one’s own original
work the ideas, phrasing, or creative work of another person. As such, plagiarism is a direct violation of the
biblical commandments against stealing, bearing false witness, and covetousness; thus, the Grove City College
policy. We encourage our students to think seriously about the demands of their Christian faith in regards to this
issue.
We remind students that plagiarism includes the following:
1) any direct quotation of another’s words, from simple phrasing to longer passages, without using
quotation marks and properly citing the source of those words;
2) any summary or paraphrase of another’s ideas without properly citing the source of those ideas;
3) any information that is not common knowledge —including facts, statistics, graphics, drawings—
without proper citation of sources;
4) any cutting and pasting of verbal or graphic materials from another source—including books, databases,
web sites, journals, newspapers, etc.—without the proper citation for each of the sources of those
materials; this includes any copyrighted artwork, graphics, or photography downloaded from the Internet
without proper citation;
5) any wholesale “borrowing,” theft, or purchasing of another’s work and presenting it as one’s own,
whether from the Internet or from another source;
6) any presentation of “ghost-written” papers—whether paid for or not—as one’s own original work;
7) making one’s work available for copying by others, as well as copying work posted on the Internet or
otherwise made available by another.
N.B.: This syllabus, including the schedule that follows, may be changed during the semester at the discretion
of the instructor to better meet the needs of this course.
Grading Scale:
A= 93 - 100% 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%
D- = 60 - 62% F= 60 and below
Part I: Theoretical Perspective
Date:
Topic:
Readings:
8/26:
Intro to the course
None
8/28:
No class – Professor attending conf.
9/2:
Why Do People Join
Political Organizations?
Wilson 1 and 2
9/4:
Organizational Maintenance and
Incentives; Social Structure
Wilson 3 and 4
9/9:
Political Structures and Organizations
Wilson 5
9/11:
Types of Organizations: Political Parties
and Labor Unions
Wilson 6 and 7
9/16:
Business Associations and Civil
Rights Organizations
Wilson 8 and 9
9/18:
Organizational Creation and Change
Wilson 10 and 11
9/23:
Organizational Democracy
Wilson 12
Part II: Parties
9/25:
Parties in America: An Overview
Maisel 1
9/30:
The Development of American
Political Parties
Maisel 2
10/2:
Voting Behavior in America
Maisel 3
10/7:
Campaign Finance
Maisel 5
10/9:
MID-TERM EXAM
10/14:
State and Local Nominations
Maisel 6
10/16:
State and Local Elections
Maisel 7
10/21:
Presidential Nominations
Maisel 8
10/28:
Presidential Elections
Maisel 9
10/30:
Party in Government
Maisel 11
Part III: Organized Interests
11/4:
Organized Interests
Lowery 1
11/6:
Organization Mobilization and
Maintenance
Lowery 2 and 3
11/11:
Interest Organization Communities
Lowery 4
11/13:
Organized Interests and the Public
Lowery 5
11/18:
Organized Interests and the Legislature
Lowery 6
11/20:
Organized Interests and the Executive
Organized Interests and the Judiciary
Lowery 7
Lowery 8
12/2,4,9:
Interest Group Presentations
Study Day – Thursday, December 11 Final Exam – Wednesday, December 17 9am.