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| Campaigns, Elections and Political Parties |
Elections are absolutely essential to representative democracy. They are the means by which citizens empower elected officials to speak on their behalf and hold them accountable for their actions in public office. The goal of this class is to help students be more informed consumers of campaign information, and more sophisticated analysts of electoral politics. The first half of this class is theoretical, examining how the rules that govern the electoral process affect the roles that political parties, organized interests, voters, the media, and political elites play in the processes and outcomes of elections. Its main emphasis is on American federal elections, but also considers elections in a comparative context and sub-national elections in the United States. The second half of the class emphasizes the practical manifestations of electoral theory by focusing on contemporary political campaigns. Through campaigns, voters and political elites communicate with each other about policy and culture. By examining campaign strategy, staffing, polling, advertising, turnout, and symbolic communication, the course will help students see campaigns through a more critical eye. The major projects in the class ask students to apply this theoretical and practical knowledge by working together to design a campaign for a competitive 2006 Senate contest. |
| Syllabus |
For each class, I will post the powerpoints that accompany my lectures on the "powerpoints" website. Do not assume that the powerpoints themselves are a substitute for attending lecture or taking notes. They are intended as an outline only.
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| Assignments |
The requirements for the course include: successful completion of one midterm exam, one final exam, one 5-7 page paper, one 8-10 page group paper, a class presentation, and daily attendance and participation. Click here to get a copy of the project and paper assignments. Due Dates: SHORT PAPER: MARCH 14 WRITTEN GROUP PROJECT: various dates
For some links to helpful websites, click here
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| Grading |
Your final grade will be composed as follows: Final Exam 25% In this class we will discuss contemporary campaigns in great detail. In order to fully participate in these discussions, I ask that you keep up with campaign and general political news on a regular basis. Your midterm and final will be composed of short answer questions, some based solely on the readings, some based on class discussions. Even though I may not explicitly discuss every reading assigned, you are responsible for doing, and understanding, all of them. I welcome questions about readings in class. I reserve the right to conduct reading or current events quizzes and include them as a substantive component of your participation grade. The presentation grade will be a group grade. |