Government and Society in America
PS 256
Prof. John W. Dietrich
Mailbox in Suite C Office Hours: M,W 1-2, F 11-12, Tu 10-1
jdietric@bryant.edu Office: Room C-210
Phone: 232-6432
Required Readings:
Benjamin Ginsberg, et al, We the People 4th edition
Bruce Stinebrickner, ed., American Government 04/05 (AG)
Grading and Evaluation:
1) There will be two midterms. The first on October 7 will cover weeks 1-5; the second on November 11 will cover weeks 6-10. Each midterm counts 15% of the course grade.
2) For the first half of the semester, many Friday classes will center around class discussion of current political issues. In preparation, students will write 2 page papers based on assignments distributed in class the previous week. There will be six assignments, but only the student’s top five grades will be averaged to determine their overall short paper grade. This overall grade will count 20% of the course grade.
3) A 5 page policy paper is due in class December 9. The paper counts 20% of the course grade.
4) Students are expected to be active and informed participants in class discussions and to demonstrate their careful reading of assignments. Formal attendance will not be taken, but participation grades will depend on both the quantity and quality of students’ comments and questions.
Additionally, students are expected to participate in online discussions of class material by going to Bryant’s Blackboard website. Online participation remains a supplement to, not a substitute for, class participation. Participation counts 10% of the course grade AND will also determine borderline grades.
5) There will be a cumulative final exam. The final counts 20% of the course grade.
Course Outline
Week 1
September 7 Introduction
September 9 Preliminary Discussion
Week 2
September 12 Ideas and History Shaping the American System
We the People, pp. 37-44.
AG #1, “The Declaration of Independence”
September 14 Constitutional Design
We the People, pp. 45-66, 83-91.
AG #3, Madison, “The Size and Variety of the Union as a Check on Faction”
AG #4, Madison, “Checks and Balances”
September 16 Assignment #1
Week 3
September 19 Early Changes to the System
We the People, pp. 66-76.
September 21 Changes to Meet Modern Demands
We the People, pp. 91-114.
AG #9, Tubbesing, “Federalism’s Ups and Downs”
AG #37, Rauch, “Government’s End”
September 23 Assignment #2
Week 4
September 26 American Ideology
We the People, pp. 6-31; 130-8; 257-9.
AG #11, Paulson “Upon Further Review”
September 28 American Nationalism
We the People, pp. 212-225.
September 30 Assignment #3
Week 5
October 3 American Exceptionalism
We the People, pp. 25, 64, 154, 182, 338, 369, 539.
AG# 35, King, “Running Scared”
October 5 Review and Discussion
October 7 MIDTERM EXAM
Week 6
October 10 COLUMBUS DAY – NO CLASS
October 12 Selecting a President
We the People, pp. 367-96.
AG #17, Purdum, “Packaging the President”
October 14 Presidential Power
We the People, pp. 509-41.
AG #14, Wolfensberger, “The Return of the Imperial Presidency?”
AG #15, Rauch, “The Accidental Radical”
Week 7
October 17- Congress
We the People, pp. 456-76.
AG #19, Cohen et al., “The State of Congress”
AG #22, Angle, “On Their Own Terms”
AG #23, Grann, “The Price of Power”
AG #24, Mullins, “John Dingell’s Staying Power”
October 19 - How a Bill Becomes a Law
We the People, pp. 476-501.
AG #20, Stolberg, “The High Costs of Rising Incivility on Capitol Hill”
AG #21, Cochran, “Legislative Season Drawn in Solid Party Lines”
October 21 Assignment #4
Week 8
October 24 The Court System
We the People, pp. 594-631.
AG #25, Ponnuru, “Sandra’s Day”
AG #26, Sarokin, “A Judge Speaks Out”
AG #27, Ponnuru, “One Branch Among Three”
October 26 Political Parties
We the People, pp. 322-60.
AG #16, Cannon, “Uncivil Liberties”
AG #32, Halstead, “The Chieftains and the Church”
AG #33, Kuttner, “America as a One-Party State”
October 28 Assignment #5
Week 9
October 31 The Citizen’s Voice in Voting and Polls
We the People, pp. 225-46; 284-314; 405-9.
AG #8, Robinson, “Party On, Dudes!”
AG #34, Toner, “Republicans, Democrats, and Race: An Uneasy History”
AG #36, Weissberg, “Leaders Should Not Follow Polls”
November 2 Interest Groups
We the People, pp. 417-49.
November 4 Assignment #6
Week 10
November 7 The Press and the System
We the People, pp. 252-79
AG #42, Moyers, “Journalism and Democracy”
AG #43, McChesney, “The Making of a Movement”
AG #44, Levin, “Politics After the Internet”
November 9 The Bureaucracy
We the People, pp. 549-588.
AG #29, Maranto, “Turkey Farm”
AG #31, Maggs, “Compete, or Else”
November 11 MIDTERM EXAM
Week 11
November 14 The Goals and Tools of Economic Policy
(On Reserve) “Why is Government Involved in the Economy?”
AG #6, Krugman, “The Death of Horatio Alger”
AG #45, Krugman, “The Tax Cut Con”
November 16 Entitlement Spending
We the People, pp. 105-7.
AG #46, Jencks, “Liberal Lessons From Welfare Reform”
November 18 Evolution of Civil Rights Policy
We the People, pp. 163-91.
Week 12
November 21 Affirmative Action
We the People, pp. 191-201.
AG#12, Cohen, “Winks, Nods, Disguises—and Racial Preference”
AG #47, Schorr, “The O’Connor Project”
November 23, 25 THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 13
November 28 Same Sex Marriage
AG #7, Ponnuru, “Coming Out Ahead: Why Gay Marriage is the Way”
(On Reserve) CQ Researcher, “Gay Marriage”
November 30 Environmental Policy
(On Reserve) CQ Researcher, “Bush and the Environment”
December 2 Gun Control
AG #13, Taylor, “Guns and Tobacco: Government By Litigation”
(On Reserve) Gary Rosen, “Yes and No to Gun Control”
Week 14
December 5 Campaign Finance Reform
We the People, pp. 398-405, 445-7.
AG #41, Taylor, “The Short, Unhappy Life of Campaign Finance Reform”
December 7 Does America Need a New Electoral System?
AG #39, Abramsky, “The Redistricting Wars”
AG #40, Morrison, “A Better Way?”
December 9 Homeland Security
AG #10, Taylor, “Rights, Liberties, and Security”
AG #28, “Washington’s Mega-Merger”
Week 15
December 12 America as a World Power
AG #5, Hoffmann, “Why Don’t They Like Us?”
AG #48, Nye, “The New Rome Meets the New Barbarians”
AG /#49, Jervis, “The Compulsive Empire”
(On Reserve) “The Players: The Makers of Foreign Policy,” pp. 745-78.
Final Exam
Monday, December 19 at 10 am