Legislative Politics
Political Science 3192W
Fall 2012
Instructor:Christopher J. Deering Phone: 994-6564
Office:Monroe Hall 463E-mail:
Hours:Tuesday and Thursday, 10:30 – 12:00
The United States Congress is a fascinating and complex (even Byzantine) institution. It is reviled and amusing. But it also represents the most powerful and enduring popularly elected legislative body in the world. This is a WID course and it is a seminar – which Merriam Webster defines as “a class at a college or university in which a topic is discussed by a teacher and a small group of students.” Hence, both reading and discussion are highly consequential for the success of the course. The topic for discussion is the aforementioned U.S. Congress. But the seminar also will focus on writing and research in political science.
Because Congress is complex, a decent comprehension of the institution requires mastering a good bit of detail. Some of you, perhaps even most, have worked on Capitol Hill. That is helpful; but fair warning. Experienced interns, sometimes assuming familiarity, do not necessarily do well in this course. Truly understanding Congress, assuming such a thing is possible, requires even more than that. Thus, our task is to seek patterns in what appears to be chaos and anecdote. That is the goal of political scientists who study this institution and that is the goal of this course.
COURSE GOALS: The course has several objectives:
(1) Students should know the variety of methods legislative scholars have used to examine Congress (i.e., method) and be able to categorize research accordingly.
(2) Students should be able to explicate, criticize, and synthesize the vast amount of scholarship produced about Congress (i.e., interpretation).
(3) Student should acquire a grounding, that is a knowledge, of the major subtopics which comprise the larger field of legislative affairs (i.e., substantive).
(4) Students should be able to explicate, and apply the three basic theories of congressional politics (ie, theory).
TEXTS
David R. Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection (Yale University Press, 1974).
Morris P. Fiorina, Congress—Keystone of the Washington Establishment (Yale, 1977).
These books are easily purchased used via a number of websites. They have not been ordered through the university bookstore.
In addition to the items listed here other materials assigned throughout the course will be made available for the student's use. Students who have not previously had a course on the legislative process might find a comprehensive text useful. Recommended: Roger H. Davidson, Walter J. Oleszek, Frances E. Lee, Congress and Its Members (13th edition, 2012). For a set of synthetic essays on the state of congressional institutions and elections, you might consult Paul Quirk and Sarah Binder, Eds. 2005, The Legislative Branch (Oxford).Also recommended for all students as a fairly complete and lucid presentation of the nuts and bolts of the legislative process and an excellent reference is: Walter J. Oleszek, Congressional Procedure and the Policy Process (CQ Press, 8th edition, 2010). For basics on the machinations of Hill politics (a how to type book) see Edward V. Schneier and Bertram Gross, Legislative Strategy (St. Martin's, 1993).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Please note that this course will provide WID credit for qualified students. But the course requirements apply regardless of that status. Course grades will be influenced heavily by written work, as detailed below.
Each student will be responsible for material presented in the readings and in class. The readings are to be completed prior to class on the day assigned since class discussion will presuppose knowledge of those readings. I invite your attendance and your participation in class. And I will answer any questions that you have about the course material. It is my belief that close attention during class will increase your enjoyment of the course and your prospects for earning a better grade. By contrast inattention detracts from the course and can adversely affect others.
Course grades are based upon a series of writing (and rewriting) assignments, the IQ Test, class attendance and participation, a research presentation/synopsis, and an examination. Writing assignments will test your ability to think and communicate theoretically, empirically, and conceptually. The examination will focus upon course readings and likely will be a take home. The research presentations will be made at the end of the course with a synopsis submitted at the same time. Additional details on writing assignments and the review process will be explained at the first meeting.
W# / Type of writing / WeekDue / #
Pages / Revision?
1 / Empirical Propositions / Week2 / 1-2 / No
2 / News-based Hypotheses / Week3 / 1-2 / 1st Draft
Revised News-based Hypotheses / Week 4 / 1-2 / Yes
3 / Research Proposal / Week 5 / 1-2 excluding notes/references / 1st Draft
4 / Revised Research Proposal / Week
8 / 2-3 excluding notes/references / Yes
5 / Research Presentation / Week
12/13 / 8-10 slides / Optional
6 / Research Synopsis / Week
13/14 / 12-15 pages / No
Course grades are determined on the following basis:
Legislative IQ TestFive (5) percent
Empirical PropositionsTen (10) percent
News-based HypothesesTen (10) percent
Research ProposalFifteen (15) percent
Research Presentation and SynopsisThirty (30) percent
ExaminationFifteen (15) percent
Class ParticipationFifteen (15) percent
COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 29: Introduction: The Study of Congress
Legislative IQ Test
2. September 5: Theories of Legislative Behavior
Empirical Propositions (Due Monday September 3): Submit in writing three empirical propositions derived, respectively, from Madison, Mayhew, and Dodd (1-2 pages). Quote the relevant passage (which might be one sentence) and then write a paragraph suggesting how you might investigate (ie, measure) the propositions.
The U.S. Constitution.
James Madison, The Federalist Papers, Nos. 10, 51, and (browse) 47-51, 52-61 (House), and 62-66 (Senate).
Donald Matthews, “The Folkways of the United States Senate”American Political Science Review 53 (December): 1064-89. [Matthews]
Richard F. Fenno, Jr. “The House Appropriations Committee as a Political System: The Problem of Integration.” American Political Science Review 56 (June 1962): 310-324. [Fenno]
David R. Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974), “Introduction,” and Chap. 1.
Lawrence C. Dodd, “Congress and the Quest for Power,” in Congress Reconsidered, edited by Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce I. Oppenheimer (Praeger: 1st edition, 1977).
3. September 12: Discussion of Theories and Hypotheses (“The Theory Game”)
News-based Hypothesis Exercise: Choose a news article from a major paper that focuses on congressional politics and write two or three hypotheses based on observations made within the article (1 or 2 pages). Your hypotheses should be in the “if x, then y” format. In each case, first write a paragraph that teases out the implications of what is written in the article and then conclude with the resulting hypothesis. Submit by Monday January
No assigned reading save that required by the assignment.
4. September 19: Theories of Legislative Organization
Nelson W. Polsby, “The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives,” American Political Science Review 62 (March 1968): 144-168. [Polsby]
David R. Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974), Chap. 2.
Barry R. Weingast and William J. Marshall, “The Industrial Organization of Congress; or, Why Legislatures, Like Firms, Are Not Organized as Markets,” Journal of Political Economy 96 (1988): 132-163. Keith Krehbiel, Information and Legislative Organization (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991), Chap 1.
Gary Cox and Mathew D. McCubbins, Setting the Agenda. Cambridge University Press. 2005. Chaps 1-2.
5. September 26: Research Proposals (Office consultations; no class meeting)
Research Proposals: Write a couple of paragraphs sketching out an idea for a research presentation. (1 or 2 pages) Submit by Monday February 13. Give it a title, write/present it formally. It should include a few citations to relevant literature.
6. October 3: Recruitment and Career Patterns
David R. Mayhew, “Congressional Elections: The Case of the Vanishing Marginals,” Polity 6 (Spring 1974): 295-317.
Morris P. Fiorina, Congress – Keystone to the Washington Establishment. (Yale, 1977). Or Morris P. Fiorina, "The Case of the Vanishing Marginals: The Bureaucracy Did It," American Political Science Review 71 (March 1977): 177-181.
Jacobson, The Politics of Congressional Elections. Chap. 3 and 5.
7. October 10: Committees
Krehbiel, Shepsle, and Weingast, “Why Are Congressional Committees Powerful.” American Political Science Review 81 (September 1987): 929-945. [Shepsle and Weingast]
Krehbiel, Keith, “Are Congressional Committees Composed of Preference Outliers?” American Political Science Review 84 (March 1990). [Krehbiel]
Maltzman, Forrest and Steven S. Smith “Principals, Goals, Dimensionality and Congressional Committees,”Legislative Studies Quarterly (November 1994). [Maltzman and Smith]
E. Scott Adler and John S. Lapinski, “Demand-Side Theory and Congressional Committee Composition: A Constituency Characteristics Approach,” American Journal of Political Science 41 (July 1997): 895-918. [Adler and Lapinski]
8. October 17: Research Proposals
Revised Research Proposals: Revised and polished research proposals due Monday, Feb 28. This class session will be devoted to a discussion of your research proposals.
9. October 24: Parties and Leaders I
Krehbiel, Keith, "Where's the Party?"British Journal of Political Science, vol. 23 (1993), pp. 235-266. [Krehbiel]
Gary W. Cox and Mathew D. McCubbins, “Bonding, Structure, and the Stability of Political Parties: Party Government in the House,” Legislative Studies Quarterly 19 (May 1994): 215-231. [Cox and McCubbins]
Sarah A. Binder, Eric D. Lawrence, and Forrest Maltzman, “Uncovering the Hidden Effect of Party.“ 61 Journal of Politics (August 1999): 815-31. [Binder Lawrence Maltzman]
Joseph Cooper and David W. Brady, “Institutional Context and Leadership Style: The House from Cannon to Rayburn,” American Political Science Review 75 (June 1981): 411-425.
Barbara Sinclair, “Transformational Leader or Faithful Agent? Principal-Agent Theory and House Majority Party Leadership,” Legislative Studies Quarterly 24 (August 1999): 421-450.
10. October 31: Congress, the President, and Separation of Powers
David W. Brady and Craig Volden, Revolving Gridlock: Politics and Policy from Carter to Clinton (Boulder: Westview Press, 1998), Chaps 1-2.
Sarah A. Binder, “The Dynamics of Legislative Gridlock, 1947-1996,” American Political Science Review 93 (September 1999): 519-533. [Binder]
Christopher J. Deering and Forrest Maltzman, “The Politics of Executive Orders: Legislative Constraints on Presidential Power,” American Politics Quarterly (December, 1999): 767-783. [Deering and Maltzman]
Brandice Canes-Wrone, “The President’s Legislative Influence from Public Appeals,” American Journal of Political Science 45 (April 2001): 313-329. [Canes-Wrone]
11. November 7: Congress and Interest Groups
John Bacheller, “Lobbyists and the Legislative Process: The Impact of Environmental Constraints,” American Political Science Review 71 (March 1977): 252-263. [Bacheller]
John R. Wright, “Contributions, Lobbying, and Committee Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives,” American Political Science Review (June 1990): 417-438. [Wright]
Marie Hojnacki and David C. Kimball, “Organized Interests and the Decision of Whom to Lobby in Congress.” American Political Science Review. 92 (December 1998): 775-790. [Hojnacki and Kimball]
Richard L. Hall and Frank W. Wayman, “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees,” American Political Science Review 84 (September 1990): 797-820. [Hall and Wayman]
Ken Kollman, “Inviting Friends to Lobby: Interest Groups, Ideological Bias, and Congressional Committees,” American Journal of Political Science 41 (April 1997): 519-544. [Kollman]
12. November 14: Presentations
November 21: Thanksgiving Break
13. November 28: Presentations
14. December 5: Congress Quiz/Final Exam/Concluding Discussion