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Political Sociology
Sociology 118
Winter 2007 (CRN: 43477)
Contact Information: Professor Drew Halfmann
dhalfmann@ucdavis.edu (please contact me by e-mail rather than by phone)
Office Hours: R 2:00-3:00 or by appointment
Office: 2273 Social Science and Humanities
(The Sociology Department is on the corner of 3rd St. and A St.)
Class mailing list: soc118@smartsite.ucdavis.edu
Lecture Time and Place: TR 3:10-4:30, Art 217
Prerequisite: Upper division standing. Previous courses in the social sciences are
recommended.
Course Description: The course offers theoretical tools for understanding and analyzing
politics. The course will examine questions such as: How are campaigns managed and elections
won? What is the role of the media in politics? What is power? What is the state? How is the
state related to other social structures and actors? Is the state autonomous? What accounts for
crossnational differences in the adoption and form of public policies? What accounts for the
emergence, development, form and success of social movements? What are the main policy and
political achievements of the Bush presidency? What accounts for them? What causes
terrorism?
Welcome to the course. I hope you find it challenging and enjoyable.
Required Texts:
Popkin, Samuel L. The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Presidential
Campaigns. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press, 1994.
Kingdon, John W. 1999. America the Unusual. New York: Worth Publishers.
Marx, Karl & Friedrich Engels. 1983. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Washington
Square Press.
Eliasoph, Nina. 1998. Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life:
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Polletta, F. 2006. It Was Like a Fever. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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Course Packet I and II -- available by the fourth week of classes at Navin’s Copy Shop, 231
Third St. (at University). Note: Be sure to get both course packets!
The books but not the course packet are on two-hour reserve at Shields Library.
SCHEDULE
Session
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Day
T
R
T
R
T
R
T
R
T
R
T
Date
Jan 8
10
15
17
22
24
29
31
Feb 5
7
12
12
13
R
T
14
19
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
R
T
R
T
R
T
R
T
21
26
28
4
6
11
13
18
Due Dates
See Election 2008 handout
Discussion goals 1 due (see
discussion goals assignment
handout)
First response paper due (see
response paper guidelines)
Final exam distributed
Discussion goals 2 due
Last day for response papers
Final exam due in my mailbox by
11 am
RULES AND REQUIREMENTS
Requirements:
1. Election 2008--Team Grade (20%), Individual Grade (20%)—based mainly on written
memos.
2. Participation (15%). This course is run seminar-style. As a result, class participation is a
central component of the learning experience. Participation is meant to contribute not only to
your own learning but to that of your classmates.
3. Two response Papers (10% each--20%)
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4. Final take-home exam (25%)
Lecture and Discussion: You should come to class prepared to discuss the day’s assigned
readings and participate fully. You must attend class, and make thoughtful, on-topic comments
based on readings, lectures, or media coverage, rather than solely on personal experiences. You
will be graded on both the quality and the quantity of your discussion. I may announce changes
to the syllabus or course requirements during the quarter. You are responsible for keeping up to
date with these changes even if you didn’t attend class. Please turn off cell phones during class
and keep late arrivals and departures to a minimum.
Wiki and Question Forum: You may also earn participation credit for defining terms in the
class wiki or posing or answering questions in the class forum (both located on Smartsite).
However, this type of participation will not be worth as much as in-class participation.
Individual Meetings: If you have questions, please attend my office hours. You may also ask
questions after class or e-mail me to make an appointment at another time. Please refrain from
asking questions immediately before class or during break (I am usually preparing for class at
these times).
Course Web Site: The syllabus, announcements, and other information will be posted on the
course website through http://smartsite.ucdavis.edu.
Mailing List: I will sometimes make announcements on the course mailing list. You are
responsible for being aware of these.
Assignment submissions: For all written assignments (this includes response papers, the midterm paper, and the final exam), you are required to hand in both your final hard copy and an
earlier, marked-up draft. If you fail to turn in a marked-up draft, there will be a 1/3 letter grade
deduction (i.e. from B to B-).
E-mail policy: In recent years, I have noticed a marked increase in student e-mail messages. As
a result, I am requesting that you send me e-mail messages only in the following circumstances:
1) to make an appointment to meet with me or 2) to obtain an extension on an assignment (before
the assignment is due and with a legitimate excuse). Please do not send me any other e-mail
messages, including those that ask for clarification of class materials or class procedures (this
should be handled during class, office hours, or after class), that notify me of your absence from
class, or that ask what you missed during an absence (please check with another student). I will
only answer e-mails that conform to this policy.
Reading Assignments: You should complete readings prior to the class period for which they
are assigned. There may be some changes to the syllabus as the quarter progresses. Students are
responsible for all assigned readings whether they are discussed in class or not. Many of the
materials that you will encounter in this course are mainly aimed at an audience of professional
social scientists. As a result, you may find some of them difficult. When reading these
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materials, you should focus on identifying the author’s main theoretical points without getting
lost in historical, statistical or other empirical details. If you have difficulty completing a
reading, I advise skimming the whole reading rather than closely reading just a part of it.
Response papers: Over the course of the quarter, you are required to turn in three 2-page
response papers. You may choose the classes for which you turn in response papers, but the first
one must be submitted by the date on the course schedule. You may also complete one or two
extra response papers which will replace the one or two lowest of your response paper grades.
Response papers are due at the beginning of the class period for which the readings were
assigned. You should be prepared to discuss the contents of your response paper during that
day’s class. For all written assignments, you are required to hand in both your final version and
an earlier, marked-up draft. If you fail to turn in a marked-up draft, you will be docked 1/3 letter
grade (i.e. from B to B-). Please see the longer description of the response papers at the end of
the syllabus.
Response paper critiques: During the course of the quarter, we will occasionally discuss and
critique one student’s response paper in class. If you are willing to have your paper critiqued,
please submit a draft of your paper by e-mail 24 hours before the class for which it is due. In
return, you will have the opportunity to re-submit the paper one class meeting after the in-class
critique and you will receive one letter grade of extra credit on the paper (unless you receive an
A). The extra credit points and the opportunity to re-submit will only apply to papers that are
chosen for critique.
Final Exam: There will be a take-home final. Students are welcome to turn in the final early.
The final will consist of several essays and will be cumulative. The exam should be exactly six
pages, typed, and double-spaced (12-pt. Times Roman font, 1-inch margins). Please number
your pages. Do not exceed the page limit--longer is not better! The final is to be completed
individually without collaboration. You are required to hand in both your final version and an
earlier marked-up draft. If you fail to turn in a marked-up draft, you will be docked 1/3 letter
grade (i.e. from B to B-).
Extra Credit: There will be no extra credit papers, assignments, or discussion options.
Late or Lost Assignments, Incompletes: Late memos and response papers will be docked 1/3
letter grade (i.e. from B to B-) for each day (including weekends and holidays) that they are late.
Late final take-home exams will be docked one full letter grade per day. Exceptions to the above
will only be made with advanced permission in the event of a documented emergency (send me
an e-mail before the assignment is due!), or with a written excuse from a doctor, therapist or the
UCD Counseling Center (752-0871). If you turn in a late paper, please e-mail it to me (so I
know when it arrived) and put your draft in my mailbox. Please do not ask the department staff
for a time stamp. Students are responsible for keeping an extra copy of all response papers and
papers that they hand in. Students are also responsible for keeping their graded response papers
and papers until the end of the quarter in case of a grading dispute. I am unlikely to give
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incompletes and will only do so if a student has a serious medical crisis, can document its
severity, and has already earned passing grades on two-thirds of the work required for the course.
Classroom Conduct: It is common for discussion and debate to become spirited in this class,
but you have the responsibility to keep your comments professional and courteous. Please
exercise diplomacy, tact, thoughtfulness, self-restraint and respect for others’ point of view.
Students with Disabilities: I encourage students with disabilities, including “invisible”
disabilities like chronic diseases, learning disabilities and psychiatric disabilities, to notify me so
that we can discuss accommodations that might be helpful to you.
Academic Integrity: Students are expected to comply with the rules of conduct and behavior of
the University of California at Davis. All students are expected to complete their final exam
independently without collaboration (except as mentioned above). Any cheating or plagiarism
will result in a failing grade on the assignment and a report of the misconduct to the appropriate
campus committee. For information about the student code of conduct, plagiarism and sanctions
for violations of academic integrity, see the Student Judicial Affairs web site
(http://sja.ucdavis.edu).
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I. CAMPAIGN 2008: IDEOLOGIES, STRATEGIES AND ISSUES
Sessions 1-10. Presidential Primary Campaign Simulation (see attached handout)
Readings
Popkin, Samuel L. The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Presidential
Campaigns. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press, 1994, Chs. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10.
New York Times Election Guide 2008
http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/index.html
Sign up for New York Times election e-mail newsletter at http://politics.nytimes.com/electionguide/2008/index.html.
Factions in the Democratic Party (United States), Wikipedia
Factions in the Republican Party (United States), Wikipedia
Bill Marsh, “A Guide to the Republican Herd”, New York Times
Bill Marsh, “A Guide to the Democratic Herd”, New York Times
Recommended
Kaid, L. L. and C. A. Jones. 2004. "‘Media and Elections: United States of America." in The
Media and Elections: a handbook and comparative study, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp.
25-57.
Kaid, L. L. 2004. "Political Advertising." in Handbook of Political Communication Research.
II. THE STATE
11. Class, Power and the State
Marx, Karl & Friedrich Engels. 1983. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Washington
Square Press, 55-95.
Block, Fred. 1977. The Ruling Class Does Not Rule: Notes Toward a Marxist Theory of the
State. Socialist Revolution, vol. 33, pp. 6-28.
Recommended
Mann, Michael. 1986. “The Autonomous Power of the State: Its Origins, Mechanisms, and
Results.” Pp. 109-136 in States in History, ed. John A. Hall. New York: Basil Blackwell.
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Meyer, John W., John Boli, George Thomas, and Francisco O. Ramirez. 1997a. "World Society
and the Nation State". American Journal of Sociology, 103: 144-181.
12. Gender, Race and the State
Klinkner, Philip A. and Robert M. Smith. 1999. The Unsteady March: The Rise and Decline of
Racial Equality in America: University Of Chicago Press.
Fraser, Nancy. 1995. "From Redistribution to Recognition? Dilemmas of Justice in a ‘PostSocialist’Age." New Left Review 1:212.
Recommended
Brown, Michael K. 1999. Race, Money, and the American Welfare State. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell
University Press. pp. 1-28.
Redding, Kent, David R. James and Joshua Klugman. 2005. “The Politics of Racial Policy” Pp.
546-565 in Thomas Janoski, Robert R. Alford, Alexander M. Hicks, and Mildred A. Schwartz
(Eds). Handbook of Political Sociology: States, Civil Societies and Globalization. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Sapiro, Virginia. 1990. "The Gender Basis of American Social Policy." Pp. 36-54 in Women, the
State, and Welfare, edited by L. Gordon. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
13. The Welfare State, American Exceptionalism, Culture and Institutions
Kingdon, John W. 1999. America the Unusual. New York: Worth Publishers.
Recommended
Steinmo, Sven H. 1994. "American Exceptionalism Reconsidered: Culture or Institutions." Pp.
106-131 in The Dynamics of American politics: approaches and interpretations, edited by L. C.
Dodd and C. C. Jillson. Boulder: Westview Press.
Hicks, Alex and Gosta Esping-Andersen. 2006. Comparative and Historical Studies of Public
Policy and the Welfare State. Pp. 509-525 (skip 509-512) in Thomas Janoski, Robert R. Alford,
Alexander M. Hicks, and Mildred A. Schwartz (Eds). Handbook of Political Sociology: States,
Civil Societies and Globalization. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Olsen, Greg M. 2002. The Politics of the Welfare State: Canada, Sweden and the United States.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 117-141.
III. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
14. Civic Life and Political Participation
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Eliasoph, Nina. 1998. Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life:
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1-130.
Recommended
Putnam, Robert. 1995. "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social
Capital." Journal of Democracy, 6.1 (1995) 65-78
Lehman, Nicholas. 1996. “Kicking in Groups”. Atlantic Monthly, April.
Theda Skocpol, "Associations Without Members" The American Prospect 10 (July 1 - August 1,
1999).
15. Civic Life and Political Participation (continued)
Eliasoph, Nina. 1998. Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life:
New York: Cambridge University Press, 131-263.
16. Social Movements and Culture
Polletta, F. 2006. It Was Like a Fever. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, chs. 1-2.
Film: Ain’t Afraid of Your Jails
Recommended
Tarrow, Sidney. 1994. Power in Movement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Pp. 1025.
Kitschelt, Herbert. 1986. Political Opportunity Structures and Political Protest: Anti-Nuclear
Movements in Four Democracies. British Journal of Political Science 16:57-85.
Benford, Robert D. and David A. Snow. 2000. "Framing Processes and Social Movements: An
Overview and Assessment." Annual Review of Sociology 26:611-639.
Swidler, Ann. 1995. "Cultural Power and Social Movements" in Social Movements and
Culture. Hank Johnston and Bert Klandermans, eds. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press.
McAdam, Doug, John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald. 1996. Introduction: Opportunities,
mobilizing structures, and framing processes -- toward a synthetic, comparative perspective on
social movements in Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements. eds. Doug McAdam,
John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Jasper, James M. 1997. The Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Biography and Creativity in Social
Movements. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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17. Social Movements and Culture (continued)
Polletta, F. 2006. It Was Like a Fever. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, chs. 4, 6 and 7.
18. Terrorism as Movement Strategy
Goodwin, Jeff. 2006. "A Theory of Categorical Terrorism." Social Forces 84:2027-2046.
IV. GOVERNING
19. The Clinton and Bush Presidencies
Peter Beinart. 2006. “Good Old Boy and Good Old Boy II.” The New Republic. June 19 and
June 26.
Paul Krugman. 2003. “The Tax-Cut Con”. The New York Times. September 14.
Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson. 2005. Abandoning the Middle: The Bush Tax Cuts and the
Limits of Democratic Control. Politics and Political Science: 3 (1): 33-53.
20. Political Possibilities
Gar Alperovitz and Thad Williamson. 2006. “A ‘Top Ten’ List of Bold Ideas.” The Nation.
Pp. 16-18. January 23.
Howard Zinn, “The Optimism of Uncertainty”, The Nation, September 2, 2004.
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