GOVT 103: INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN POLITICS
Professor: Jillian Jaeger
Class meeting:
Sec 1 - M/W 8:50-10:20am: Hepburn Hall, Rm 20
Sec 3 - M/W 12:50-2:20pm: Hepburn Hall, Rm 19
Email:
Office hours: Hepburn Hall, Rm 215B
M/W: 10:30am-12pm
T/R: 12-1pm
The objective of this course is to introduce you to the institutions, actors, and processes of the American political system. In doing this, we will engage in empirical and critical thinking about what exactly constitutes American democracy and whether or not this is a “quality” system of government for all of Americans. In doing this, we pay special attention to groups of individuals that often report feeling like outsiders in the American system. This course is divided into three parts. The first explores the foundation of American government, namely the Constitution, and how this document has defined the roles to be played by federal and state-level governments as well as members of the nation. In the second part of the course, we use the “toolkit” of the Framers to assess the institutions of government. Finally, we will begin to consider how citizens of the United States engage and impact the process of governing. Because this is an introductory course, we are interested in thinking about a number of broad themes and questions. For example, in what way does the Constitution limit as well as expand our potential for institutional and social change? Is the system of checks and balances effective at limiting the control of a single branch of government or does one branch illustrate more authority than others? Does it matter that almost half of Americans do not turn out to vote? Are elected officials accountable to all of their constituents or just those who finance their campaigns? What do we anticipate the American system of government will look like when our children take this class?
Required Text:
Kernell, Jacobson. KousserVavreck, The Logic of American Politics 8th edition (Washington DC: CQ Press, 2012). KJKV in syllabus readings.
Other readings will be available on Sakai or via email.
All students are required to stay informed of current events by reading an online or hardcopy of a newspaper. I recommend that you look at more than one source. For a list of possible sources and links to their webpages, you can check out: and I also linked some news streams and relevant podcasts via Sakai. If you prefer listening to the news, we are very lucky to have access to great public radio:
Grading*:
Class participation/Attendance/News Summaries: 10%
Reflection Papers (2): 15% each
Group puzzle: 20%
Midterm: 20%
Final: 20%
*Note, there will be no makeup exams or late work accepted unless approvedat least ONE WEEKin advance by me. Grades are not curved.
Class participation, attendance, and news summaries: Because the exchange of ideas is an important part of learning, you are encouraged to frequently ask questions and share your informed opinions. At the beginning of each class we will briefly discuss current events. In this time, students are expected to discuss what is going on in American politics and how this relates to what we are learning about in class. I understand that not everyone feels comfortable sharing their opinions/thoughts in class (although I hope this changes by the end of the semester), so you may also participate by joining our Sakai forums, which facilitate anonymous posting.
Reflection papers: These short assignments may involve the analysis of course readings and/or current events. Papers should be 3-4 pages in length, typed, and double-spaced with 1-inch margins and a 12-point font. You will be assigned these papers (and their topics) on Monday, Sept. 25th and Monday, Oct. 30th. The will be due on the Wednesdays of the weeks following their assignment (Oct. 4th and Nov. 8th, respectively). Your paper should reflect an original argument supported with evidence from course readings or other relevant documented sources. We will discuss these assignments in more detail in class.
Group puzzle:In groups of 5 (or so) you will be asked to draft and defend a mock bill that attempts to “solve” one of the issues we discuss in the course. Each member of the group will be responsible for understanding a different aspect of the issue and, thus, your grade will be based on both your individual work and your group’s overall bill proposal and presentation. We will discuss this assignment in greater detail on Monday, Oct. 23rd and your work will be due the final week of class.
Midterm & Final: The midterm will be Wednesday, October 25th. It will cover all material up to this point (from readings AND lecture). You will be given the entire period to complete the exam, which will consist of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. Your final, taking the same format, will be administered during the allotted final exam period and will cover material from the entirety of the course (however, the majority will focus on what we have learnt since the midterm).
Cell Phone/Technology Policy:
Use it = lose it. I will take your cell phone away if you use it during class. No exceptions.
You are permitted to use laptops for taking notes, but ONLY for taking notes. If you are using the laptop for something other than note taking (checking email, reading the news, watching the game, shopping, etc.), you will learn how to use a pen/pencil and paper for the rest of the semester.
Academic Conduct:
Plagiarism or cheating of any kind is strictly prohibited. Please be aware of the following St. Lawrence University policy found at: If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, please ask for clarification.
Topics and Readings:
Wednesday Aug. 30th: Introduction to the class
Readings:
-KJKV Ch 1 (encouraged)
Monday Sept. 4th: The Constitution
Readings:
-KJKV Ch 2
-The Articles of Confederation
-U.S. Constitution
-Frederick Douglass, “The Meaning of July Fourth to the Negro?”
-Jan Ellen Lewis, “Women and the Constitution,” Common-Place 2:4 (2002).
-“Iroquois Constitution: A Forerunner to Colonists’ Democratic Principles,” The New York Times, June 28, 1987.
Wednesday Sept. 6th: Federalism
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 3
- Andres Martinez, “This is What Gay Marriage and Obamacare Have in Common.” Time. June 11, 2015.
-Varsanyi, Lewis, Provine, and Decker. “Immigration Federalism: which policy prevails?” Migration Policy Institute. Oct. 9th, 2012.
- Jaeger, Jillian. “Money, not ideology, incentivizes local authorities to help the federal government detain immigrants.” LSE Blog.
Monday Sept. 11th: Civil Rights
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 4
-Nina Simone, “Four Women,” music video
-Aldridge, Derrick. 2006. “The Limits of Master Narratives in History Textbooks: An Analysis of Representations of Martin Luther King, Jr.”
-Peniel Joseph (2009) “Our National Postracial Hangover.” Chronicle of Higher Education.
-Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Fear of a Black President,” The Atlantic Monthly (2012)
Wednesday Sept. 13th: Civil Rights
Reading:
-Robert Reich, “Income Inequality is the Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time.” Salon. June 3, 2014.
-“Let’s leave Stephen Curry out of talk about income inequality.” The Charlotte Observer. July 19, 2017.
Monday Sept. 18th: Civil Liberties
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 5
-The Bill of Rights
Wednesday Sept. 20th: Civil Liberties
Reading:
-Jamal, Amaney. “Civil Liberties and the Otherization of Arab and Muslim Americans.” In Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2008.
Monday Sept. 25th: Congress
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 6
- Hughes and Carlson. “How party polarization makes the legislative process even slower when government is divided.” LSE Blog.
*Reflection paper 1 assigned
Wednesday Sept. 27th: Congress
Reading:
- Andris, Clio et al. “The Rise of Partisanship and Super Cooperators in the U.S. House of Representatives.” PLOS One. April 21, 2015.
-Berman, Russell. “What’s the Answer to Political Polarization in the U.S.?” The Atlantic. March 8, 2016.
Monday Oct. 2nd: The Presidency
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 7
Wednesday Oct. 4th: The Presidency
Reading:
-Murphy, Nancy. “Presidency has emerged as strongest of the branches of U.S. government, Stanford historian says.” Sept. 1 2016.
- Carey, John. “Strong Presidencies May Threaten Democracy. Luckily, We Don’t Have One.” Washington Post. Jan 14, 2016.
*Reflection paper 1 due
Monday Oct. 9th: Bureaucracy
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 8
Wednesday Oct. 11th: Bureaucracy
Reading:
-Howard, Philip K. “To Fix America's Education Bureaucracy, We Need to Destroy It.” The Atlantic. April 2, 2012.
-Brehm, John and Scott Gates. “Donut Shops and Speed Traps: Evaluating Models of Supervision on Police Behavior.” American Journal of Political Science. 37:2 (May 1993).
Monday Oct. 16th: The Judiciary
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 9
- CH 1: Rosenberg, Gerald. The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring about Social Change? Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2nd Edition, 2008.
Wednesday Oct. 18th: The Judiciary
Reading:
-“Supreme Court Ruling Makes Same-Sex Marriage a Right Nationwide.” June 26, 2015.
-“LGBT Employees Protected By Federal Civil Rights Act, Appeals Court Rules.” NPR. April 5, 2017.
-Sorkin, Amy Davidson. “The Court Rejects the Voting Rights Act – and History.” The New Yorker. June 25, 2013.
Monday Oct. 23rd:
Review
Discuss group puzzle assignment
Wednesday Oct. 25th: MIDTERM
Monday Oct. 30th: Public Opinion
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 10
-Dionne, EJ, Mann, Thomas E. “Polling and Public Opinion: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Brookings. June 1, 2003.
*Reflection paper 2 assigned
Wednesday Nov. 1st: Public Opinion
Reading:
-Mullinix, Kevin J. “Political Parties Shape Public Opinion, but their Influence is Limited.” LSE Blog.
-Ura, Joseph. “In the long run, the Supreme Court leads public opinion on controversial issues.” LSE blog.
Monday Nov. 6th: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 11
-Gelman, Andrew and Gary King. 1993. “Why Are American Presidential Election Campaign
Polls So Variable When Votes Are So Predictable?” British Journal of Political Science 23: 409-451.
-Cassino, Dan. “How media coverage shapes presidential polling more than we think.” LSE Blog.
Wednesday Nov. 8th: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections (day 2)
Reading:
-Classes, Ryan L., Ensley, Michael J. “‘Mine is a likable rogue, yours is a degenerate criminal.’ When it comes to ‘dirty campaign tricks’ partisans tend to ignore bad news about their own.” LSE Blog.
-Issenberg, Sasha. “How Obama’s Team Used Big Data to Rally Voters.” Intelligent Machines. Dec. 19, 2012.
-Albright, Jonathan. “How Trump’s Campaign Used the New Data-Industrial Complex to Win the Election.” LSE Blog.
*Reflection paper 2 due
Monday Nov. 13th: Political Parties
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 12
-Summary of JohnAldrich:Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Wednesday Nov. 15th:Political Parties
Reading:
-Ch 4, 6: Hajnal and Lee. Why Americans don't join the Party.
Monday Nov. 20th: Fall Break
Wednesday Nov. 22nd: Fall Break
Monday Nov. 27th: Interest Groups
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 13
Wednesday Nov. 29th:Interest Groups
Reading:
-Hall, Richard and Frank Wayman, 1990. “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees,” American Political Science Review 84:3.
Monday Dec. 4th: Media and Politics
Reading:
-KJKV Ch 14
Wednesday Dec. 6th: Media and Politics
Reading:
-Iyengar, Shinto. 2005. “Speaking of Values: The Framing of American Politics.” The Forum 3:3, Article 7.
-Middaugh, Ellen. “Social media and online communities expose youth to political conversation, but also to incivility and conflict.” LSE Blog.
-Lau et al. “How negative ads from diverse right-wing media makes conservative voters dislike Democratic candidates even more.” LSE Blog.
Monday Dec. 11th:
Group presentations
Wednesday Dec. 13th:
Group presentations
Review
FINAL EXAM:
Tues. Dec. 19th: 8:30-11:30am (Sec. 1: M/W 8:50-10:20)
Wed. Dec. 20th: 1:30-4:30pm (Sec 3: M/W 12:50-2:20)