Office Hours: Tuesday
11am-Noon, Wednesday 3-4:30pm Thursday 2-3:30pm & by Appt
COURSE OBJECTIVE:
This course is designed to provide a focused
review on the activities of American political and governmental institutions;
in other words, looking at the people who are “political” in America, in what
ways they are political, and how politics is conducted in America. Among the
areas reviewed by this course are:
public opinion, interest groups, political parties, US Congressional
politics, and of course, the American Presidency.
Three themes will form the
“lens” through which the politics in America will be analyzed. They are: 1) Media in Politics 2) Elections
and Governing and 3) Politics’ human side.
In fewer than 70 days, the biennial congressional elections in America
will occur. In the days leading up to
Election Day on Tuesday November 5th, every American institution and
process – governmental or otherwise – will be focusing on the outcome of these
elections. This class will explore the
nuances of how elections are conducted in America in the early 21st
century; what forces and processes dominate elections, or are considered
obsolete; and how the Congress and the presidency is influenced by such
elections. Particular attention will be paid to the emerging role of
information technology and the World Wide Web (WWW) in elections and American
political processes. The Internet,
coupled with the current power of the media to influence politics, must be
evaluated more critically in order to best realize the potential boon – or
boondoggle – such technology will bring to US politics. Finally, exploring the people involved in
politics can help with analysis of the human dimension in the political process
Through written and oral analyses and presentations, current political
readings, and projects combining politics with technology, each student will
gain a better understanding of the new landscape of American politics. In doing so, each student will become a
serious evaluator of how the United States selects and maintains government.
Folks, it can never be more fun than to study politics during an
election year. Get ready, and enjoy!
COURSE MATERIALS: All are
required, and available in the MC Bookstore.
See
next pages for course requirements and schedule
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Three Exams, Three Projects
and/or Papers, The Preparation and Participation (P&P) Grade (Which
includes Quizzes, One Oral Presentation, Homework and Attendance), and optional
political volunteering.
Exam #2 on October 23: =10%
Final Exam on December 10- 9am: =20%
Voting/Polling Paper & Presentation on October 7: =15%
Campaign Analysis Project and
Paper on November 1: =15%
Preparation & Participation
(P&P) throughout semester: =15%
TOTAL 100%
Exams:
The Three Exams (two during the semester and the
final exam) will be a mix of objective short answer, application and essay
questions. Exams are cumulative, with
emphasis on the portion of the course not yet examined. O’Gorman exams are “fair but long,”
according to former students. Plan
accordingly to budget your time.
The Preparation and Participation (P&P) Grade:
This grade is based a total score from the completion of four
activities.
The first activity is completion of one oral presentation in which you
and a partner will present a five to 10 minute summary of a recent political
process issue. Proper preparation and
information use of public policy terms and concepts, good analysis of the
issue, and responses to questions and answers will determine the final score
for each presentation. Be prepared to use the technology in our wireless
“smart” classroom. Your participation
grade will also be based upon your portion of your group ‘s Voting Project
presentation.
The second activity consists of
grades obtained from occasional unannounced quizzes on reading and class
material given throughout the semester.
Completing the assigned reading(s) prior to class will insure success.
The third activity consists of
grades obtained from completing homework assignments during the semester.
The fourth and final activity
for the P & P grade comes from participation in classroom discussion and
consistent attendance. Attendance is
required. This class subscribes to
Maryville College policies on excused and unexcused absences. However, the O’Gorman “RULE OF THREE” is the
standard in this classroom. Regardless
of the reason, I will start to keep careful attention to any student who has
three or more absences. Unless the student takes the initiative to explain and
document a reason for such absences, their P & P grade will be lowered.
O’Gorman – PLS 321 – Fall 2002 – Page 3
Voting/Polling
Project and Paper – Due October 7
One of the three projects you
will be asked to complete will be a voting analysis group project for a major
activity planned for this course:
constructing and completing a Maryville College on-line survey and poll
about the 2002 elections in Tennessee and America.
In groups we will assign
together, you will be asked to construct a political consultant report and
presentation describing what questions should be on an Internet-based political
survey that hopes to determine the attitudes of Maryville College students
towards the 2002 Election. The “smart”
classroom will assist us with this process.
Each group will review materials
dealing with, among other topics: 1)
Political polling and public opinion research; 2) Election-year and candidate
polling history; 3) Current uses of new technologies to divine public opinion
(such as focus groups and the Internet); 4) Examples of good (or poor) survey
questions, and why (order, wording, “double barreled, clarity).
Each group will produce a professional-looking
five to 10 page document for the project.
The body of the text must not be more that five pages, with the total
content of the document (appendices, table of contents) no more than 12 pages
in length.
Since this is one of the College’s few “smart-er/wireless” classrooms,
each group will also be asked to prepare a 10-15 minute presentation to
the class that reveals the text of, and analysis behind, the four questions
they think are most appropriate to include in the first-ever Maryville College
online poll. Use the technology in the
classroom!
The document & presentations are due in class on Monday, October 7,
2002.
One of the three projects you will be asked to complete will be a
campaign analysis report detailing the issues, candidates and activities
surrounding a specific election campaign.
Each person will choose a congressional race or slate of races in one
state. You will then become the
“expert” for that race, state or region.
Please keep track of the contest(s) you have chosen, because frequently
during the weeks leading up to Election Day, I will ask you what is “new and
groovy” in the campaign(s) you selected.
In addition, each person will prepare a campaign analysis paper on the
campaign(s) they chose. Each person
will prepare paper whose body is seven (7) to eight (8) pages (a 1,200-1,600
word paper) that discusses the following issues: 1) The campaign you chose and the candidates involved; 2) Any
historical background relevant to the analysis of the campaign you selected
(region, traditional voting patterns); 3) A breakdown of the issues that the
candidates are focusing on in their campaign; 4) An analysis of the campaign
resources (money, staff, advertising, media relations, the Internet, travel)
being used and their effectiveness; and 5) Your evaluation of the
campaign. Emphasis is not just on the
horserace, but whether the campaign you are evaluating models (for better or
worse) any of the themes or concepts review in the course. For example, attempt to determine if any
candidate in the campaign was better organized, more fully “on message,” “spun”
better, or used “coattails” or not. You
may also make a prediction as to the outcome of the race you are reviewing.
This paper is due on Friday,
November 1, 2002 in class.
O’Gorman – PLS 321 – Fall 2002 – Page 4
A major component of this course
will be to determine the role and impact that new technology will have on the
American Political Process. Therefore,
each student will have the opportunity to review and analyze a particular
political World Wide Web (WWW) site on the Internet.
Each student will select a site
related to the American Political Process (that is approved by Dr. O’Gorman)
and write a five to seven page (5-7 page, or 1,075-1,500 words for the body)
paper that: 1) reviews the web site’ origin; 2) The site’s content; 4) The goal
or vision of the site and/or webmaster to impact the American Political
Process, and 3) How this site has (both positively and negatively) impacted the
process currently; and 5) Your prediction of how it the site you reviewed will
impact politics in the future.
This paper is due on Monday
November 25, 2002.
The MLA Citation format is
recommended for all projects. All
papers must have a works cited page, proper citation and no grammatical
errors. All other MC rules apply.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Readings listed for each date below should be read
BEFORE that class. Any assignments
listed are due ON the date listed.
|
DATE |
TOPIC |
READINGS |
Assignments/Questions |
WEEK ONE
|
WELCOME
|
|
|
|
Wednesday 28 August
|
Inside 70 – Into
the Crucible |
Crotty Chapter One,
Begin Reading“Oh Waiter!” |
Course
Introduction, Attendance, Syllabus. Question: What
is the most important aspect of the US Polit. Process?? |
|
Friday September 30 |
Understanding life
inside the Beltway |
Res Rdg – All Too Human “Background Check” and “Oh Waiter!” Chapter 1 |
Question: What are your impressions of Election
Night 2000? |
|
WEEK TWO |
UNDERSTANDING THE
POLITICAL PROCESS |
|
CONTEXTS “CHAOS
THEORY” and “GET IN and THEN STAY IN…” |
|
Monday September 2 |
LABOR DAY HOLIDAY-
No Class |
Crotty, Chapters
1-2, Res Rdg Herrnson, C 1-2 |
Question: What is precisely needed to win the
US Presidency? A seat on Capitol Hill
or in the State House in Nashville? |
|
Wednesday September
4 |
Selecting the
President and Congress |
Res Rdg
Herrnson, Ch. 1-2 and Crotty Chapters 1-2 |
Question: What is a critical ingredient in
the current election process? |
|
Friday September 6 |
Chaos Theory in
Real Life… |
“Oh Waiter!” Chapters 2 and 3 |
Question: Why did Election Night 2000 happen? |
|
WEEK THREE |
THE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION CYCLE |
|
THEPERPETUAL
CAMPAIGN |
|
Monday September 9 |
Getting Nominated |
Crotty, Chapters
3-4 |
Question: What are the “unofficial” and “official”
nomination calendars and processes? |
|
|
|
PLS 321 – Fall 2002
– Page 5 |
|
|
Wednesday September
11 |
Current
Nominations & Conventions of
Yesteryear |
Crotty, Chapter 4-5 |
Question: Are
national presidential convention obsolete? |
|
Friday September 13 |
NO CLASS – At Meeting |
Keep Reading “Oh Waiter!” |
Question: Why was Election Night 2000 like a
“Darkling Plain” according to Greenfield? |
|
WEEK FOUR |
THE GENERAL, AND
CONGRESS |
|
THE CAMPAIGN FOR RESOURCES |
|
Monday September 16 |
The General
Election – The Sprint from Labor Day |
Crotty, Chapter 6 |
Question: What are the big issues facing a POTUS
candidate in the general election, vis-à-vis the primary campaign? |
|
Wednesday September
18 |
Congressional
Elections |
Baker, House and
Senate Chapter Four |
Question: How does a House and/or a Senate Campaign
differ from the POTUS election process |
|
Friday September 20 |
Test Driving Online
Polling – A Tutorial |
http://faculty.maryvillecollege.edu/ogorman/ |
Question: What are the advantages and obstacles to
online polling? |
|
WEEK FIVE |
THE MONEY TRAIL |
|
JUST $500,000 MORE
AND I’LL WIN |
|
Monday September 23 |
“Mother’s
Milk” and Presidential Politics |
Crotty Chapter Ten |
Question: Who controls how money is raised in
elections? |
|
Wednesday September
25 |
Congressional
Campaign Finance - |
Res Rdg Hernnson Chapter Six “Campaign Finance” |
Question: Should resource acquisition during
elections be controlled? What is
FECA? How do non-incumbents fare in
campaign spending and fund-raising? |
|
Friday September 27 |
FIRST
EXAM |
FIRST EXAM – Check
Exam Template for suggestions and/or ideas… |
FIRST EXAM – All
Material from beginning of course to today… |
|
WEEK SIX |
THE CAMPAIGN FOR
VOTES |
|
WHAT IS THE BEST –
VOTE-GETTING STRATEGY? |
|
Monday September 30 |
Voting In America |
Crotty, Chapter
Seven |
Question: How is voter tracking done? |
|
Wednesday October 2 |
GOTV & Voter
Indifference |
Crotty, Chapter
Eight |
Question: Should universal suffrage mean
universal voting? |
|
Friday October 4 |
Public opinion the
MC online survey & your queries |
Test Driving Online
Polling |
Question: Which poll questions best help
campaign strategists, and why? |
|
WEEK SEVEN |
VOTING AND STRATEGY |
|
HOW DOES A
CANDIDATE “DO THE ELECTORAL MATH?” |
|
Monday October 7 |
Student Survey Presentations |
VOTING/POLLING
ANALYSIS PRESENTATIONS
TODAY |
Question: Do you have your presentation and
questions ready? |
|
Wednesday October 9 |
Strategy and Media |
Viewing “The War
Room” |
Question: What does The War Room suggest on media
& elections? |
|
|
|
PLS 321 – Fall 2002
– Page 6 |
|
|
Friday October 11 |
LONG WEEKEND – No
Classes |
Keep Reading “Oh Waiter!” |
Have you completed
your Campaign Analysis Paper? |
|
WEEK EIGHT |
THE MEDIA – I |
|
BEING “ON MESSAGE
and STRATEGY? |
|
Monday October 14 |
Campaign Communication |
Res Rdg Herrnson Chapter Eight, Crotty Chapter 11 |
Question: What is the role of the media in
electoral politics? |
|
Wednesday October
16 |
Media in Politics |
Crotty Chapter 11
and Davis Chapter Four |
Question: Which elements go into a candidate’s successful
media strategy? |
|
Friday October 18 |
Strategy and Media
– II |
“Oh Waiter!”
Chapter Four |
Question: How has the media changed modern elections? In 2000? |
|
WEEK NINE |
THE MEDIA – II |
|
|
|
Monday October 21 |
Political History
in 2000 & The Media |
“Oh Waiter!” Chapter
Five |
Question: What was the media’s role in “Overtime?” Who are
Joe McGinness or Theodore H. White? |
|
Wednesday October
23 |
EXAM TWO |
EXAM TWO–Check Exam Template for suggestions and/or
ideas… |
EXAM TWO –
Cumulative Exam with emphasis on 2nd third of course |
|
Friday October 25 |
Building the Online
Survey |
Online Voting
Creation for Pre-Election Poll |
Question: What
issues should the 2002 survey capture? |
|
WEEK TEN |
|
|
|
|
Monday October 28 |
Congressional
Election Prediction |
Crotty Chapter Nine |
Question: Can any trends in 2000 be used to
predict the outcome? |
|
Wednesday October
30 |
Florida in 2000 |
“Oh Waiter!” Epilogue |
Questions: Which congressional elections are the
most contentious? And how can the
system change to prevent scenarios like Florida in 2000? |
|
Friday November 1 |
Online Voting
Update and Results |
http://faculty.maryvillecollege.edu/ogorman/ CAMPAIGN
ANALYSIS PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY |
Question: What should we look out for during our
online survey? CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY |
|
WEEK ELEVEN |
ELECTION DAY |
|
|
|
Monday November 4 |
NO CLASS – CONFERENCE |
Plan to attend a
victory party of a local candidate… |
Question: Who do You think will win? |
|
Wednesday November
6 |
The Day After and
the War Room |
Begin House and
Senate View “The War Room” |
Question: So, Who Won? What does The War Room teach us about campaign politics? |
|
Friday November 8 |
Election Day
Wrap-Up |
Current newspapers
and periodicals |
Question: Who won on Election Day 2002? Was your
analysis correct? |
|
WEEK TWELVE |
GOVERNING |
|
GUCCI GULCH |
|
Monday November 11 |
So you won, now
what?! |
House and Senate, Chapters One and Two |
Question: How does one govern? How much does “Home Style” count? |
|
Wednesday November
13 |
Governing and Its
Realities |
House and Senate, Chapter Three |
Question: How are coalitions built in Congress? Can they be built easily in 2002? |
|
Friday Novembr 15 |
Understanding the
Internet |
Davis,
Introduction, Chapters One and Two |
Question: |
|
WEEK THIRTEEN |
GOVERNING and
LOBBYING |
PLS 321-Fall 2002-
Page 7 |
GUCCI GULCH and
FACE TIME… |
|
Monday November 18 |
Dealing with
Constituents of All Types |
House and Senate Chapter
Five, |
Question: Should a Congressperson vote for party, or
constituents or for constituents with access? |
|
Wednesday November
20 |
Internet and
Lobbying – Agenda Setting |
Davis – Chapters
Three |
Question: What role do PACs have in running the US
government? Which is more relevant,
an email or a telegram? |
|
Friday November 22 |
Internet - Part III |
Davis – Chapters
Five - Six |
Question: How does the WWW impact politics? ? |
|
WEEK FOURTEEN |
|
|
|
|
Monday November 25 |
The Internet’s Role
in the Political Process |
INTERNET/MEDIA ANALYSIS PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY And Davis Chapter
Seven |
Question: How will technology impact future
elections…and American democracy and government? Do you agree w Davis? |
|
Wednesday November
27 |
THANKSGIVING
HOLIDAY |
NO CLASSES – Enjoy your holiday |
Question: How much turkey will you eat? |
|
Friday November 29 |
THANKSGIVING
HOLIDAY |
NO CLASSES – Enjoy your holiday |
Question: How much turkey DID you eat? |
|
WEEK FIFTEEN |
|
|
|
|
Monday December 2 |
Reform
Elections. |
House and Senate
Chapter Six |
Question: Should we? Can we?! How? |
|
Wednesday December
4 |
The Dark
Days…Impeachment |
House and Senate
Chapter Seven |
Question: How was the political process affected by
the impeachment? |
|
Friday December 6 |
Last Class – Reflections on the
campaign(s) |
Reading/Viewing: The Best Ideas, Words…and Images from Campaign 2002
FINAL EXAM TEMPLATE and EVALUATIONS |
Question: What is on tap for 2004? |
MONDAY, DECEMBER 10,
2002 @ 9AM – FINAL EXAM IN FAYERWEATHER 205