POLS 2102: American State and Local Politics
Anderson Hall Rm. 25 (T/R 2:00-3:30 pm)
Department of Political Science
Fall 2017
Professor: Anthony J. Del Signore ()
Office: 431Gladfelter Hall/8th floor Behavioral Foundations Lab
Office Hours: Tuesday 12pm-2pm (email beforehand just so I can let you know which office I will be at)
Course Description and Objectives
This course is an investigation of major problems and issues in American State Politics. Theemphasis is on political institutions and organizations, political behavior in state politics and the impact of state politics on policymaking at the national, state,and local levels. Federalism in America allows the states to act as “Laboratories of Democracy” to tailor policy for their state’s unique needs. As a result, state and local government create a patchwork of public policy that serve as a testing ground for some of our most important policy innovations. This course seeks to understand how state politics operates and influences the development of public policy. It focuses on political institutions, and political behavior to explain politics and policy outcomes. State politics is an exciting field of study. While most states look and function similar to federal government, there are differences across the states that can dramatically alter the power dynamics of political actors, such as powers given to the governor, the strength of political parties within states, and whether or not judges are elected. This course takes advantage of the variation across the states to understand how political institutions influence politics and public policy.
No prerequisites necessary for this course.
Primary Learning Objectives:
- Understand the ways in which political institutions can vary across the states, and howthis influences state politics.
- Develop strong and defendable arguments with solid evidence in both verbal and written forms.
- Use the comparative method to think critically about how public opinion, media, party politics, and elections influence public policy across theUnited States.
Method of Instruction:
To ensure a classroom environment in which each student can access the material based upon individual learning styles, classroom instruction will have multiple forms:
1)Lectures: I will use classroom lectures to convey some of the basic knowledge necessary including definitions, concepts, and important issues in the realm of state and local politics.
2)Group Activities: Each class will have two to three brief moments where students will get into groups and reflect upon the material discussed in class. Oftentimes, I will bring up an alternative argument and ask for students’ opinions on it. Also, I may ask students to apply concepts to issues that matter most to them.
- This will also include formalized debates (more information below).
3)Read and React Sessions: Several times throughout the semester I will bring in supplemental articles, videos, or quotes and ask students to individually reflect upon and react to the material in a constructive manner.
Required Text:
I do not require students to go out and purchase textbooks as they put unnecessary financial burdens upon the students. You are more than welcome to purchase these books, but all necessary reading selections will be on Blackboard in the folder for the corresponding week.
Donovan, Smith, Osborn and Mooney. State and Local Politics: Institutions and Reform, 2nd ed.(Boston: Cengage, 2011).
McGovern, S.Urban Politics: A Reader. (CQ Reader, 2016).
Rosenberg, G. The Hollow Hope (1991)
Feldman and Benjamin. Tales from the Sausage Factory: Making Laws in New York State (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2010).
Class Participation/Attendance
Students are expected to do the readings, attend class and participate in class discussions. My lectures will be organized around the topics and readings found in the schedule outlined below. Lectures will include interactive discussion of the core themes of the readings. Students should read the assigned literature before class in order to participate. You are encouraged to raise your hand, ask questions, and clarify content at any point in class.I reserve the right to hand out reading quizzes if I feel in-class discussions are not substantive.
Mock Debates
This course will have a series of debates throughout the semester (4 debates total with between 5 to 7 participants in each debate) where students will assume the roles of policy experts, legislators, or social movement leaders and debate the pros and cons of a particular policy position. Participants are placed into teams and expected to arrive on debate day with detailed notes which they will hand in at the end of class. Those not participating are expected to arrive with at least TWO thought outdebate questions.
Each student is expected to contribute in some fashion to each debate. Meaningful contributions to each debate and your debate prep notes/debate questions are worth 5% of your total grade for each debate (for a grand total of 20%).
Short Response Essays
Each student is required to produce TWO short response essays (3 to 4 pages) BEFORE MIDTERM WEEK. For each essay, I ask that you pick a week’s worth of reading (from Weeks 2 through 8), and assess the points made in the various literature that I assigned. An ‘A’ response makes a clear argument why a point or a particular set of points helps us understand the topic at large. Or, make a clear why a particular point or set of points are worthy of criticism. (You must cite at least one reading from the corresponding week’s literature).
Final Paper
Each student is expected to submit an 8 to 10 page final research project on a topic, issue, or election that has ramifications for local and/or state politics. This is an open-ended project so it is vital that you start thinking about it early and coming to me sooner rather than later if you need help. As you will notice below, I break up the due dates for each section of the final paper so that you can easily finish at least 10 pages and not have to rush to finish.
Examples of topics:
Research a state judicial ruling
Research a 2016 local or state election outcome
Research an organization in Philadelphia/NYC trying to enact policy reform
Among many others
Summary of Grading
Attendance and Discussion 20%
Short Essays 30% (15% for each)
Debates 20%
Final Paper 30%
Course Grades
Final grades will be assigned based on the scale below:
92% -100% A 70% - 75.9% C
88% - 91.9% A- 68% - 69.9% C-
86% - 87.9% B+ 66% - 67.9% D+
80% - 85.9% B 60% - 65.9% D
78% - 79.9% B- 59.9% or less F
76% - 77.9% C+
Unless a computational error has been made, grades will not be changed after the end of the semester. Only in the rarest of circumstances will I grant an Incomplete (‘I’).
Academic Dishonesty
For Temple University’s honesty policy regarding cheating and use of copyrighted materials,
see:
Academic misconduct will result in a failing grade for the course.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Temple University is committed to providing students with access to its facilities and the technology and information they need to succeed in and out of the classroom, and that these resources are accessible in accordance with applicable law. Students who need accommodations for coursework should contact Disability Resources and Services (
Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibility
Freedoms to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable aspects of academic freedom. The University has a policy on Student and Faculty and Academic Rights and Responsibilities (#03.70.02) which can be accessed through the following link
Counseling and Student Health
Students may occasionally have personal issues that arise in the course of pursuing higher education or that may interfere with their academic performance. If you find yourself facing problems affecting your coursework, you are encouraged to talk with an instructor and to seek confidential assistance at Temple University’s Tuttleman Counseling Services, (215) 204-7276,or Psychological Services Center, (215) 204-7100. Visit their web sites for more information: or
Crisis intervention is always available 24/7 from:
Einstein Crisis Response Center (CRC): (215) 951-8300.
Course Schedule
Week 1: Introduction to State Politics (Tuesday 08/29 & Thursday 08/31)
Readings:
“Yogurt Gaba Gaba”
Week 2: Why Federalism? (Tuesday, 09/05 & Thursday 09/07)
Readings: Donovan, et. al. Chapter 2
Federalist No. 39
Doonan, M. 2016. “Obamacare Wars Federalism: State Politics and the Affordable Care Act, series studies in governmental policy.” Publius 46(4), 1-3.
Blackman, J. 2015. “Federalism will Sink, not Save, Obamacare.” National Review.
Week 3: Machine Politics/Progressive Reforms: Then (Tuesday, 09/12 & Thursday, 09/14)
Readings: McGovern Ed. Urban Politics
- Chapter 3 Intro: p. 61-62
- Merton, “The Latent Functions of the Machine,” p. 66-72
- Conclusion: p. 80-81
Lincoln Steffen. 1904.The Shame of the Cities.(New York: McClure, Philips & Co.), p. 1–18.
Plunkett, G. W. Plunkett of Tammany Hall.
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 7
McGovern Ed. Urban Politics
- Chapter 4 Introduction: p. 83 – 85
- White, “The Government of American Cities,” p. 86 – 89
- Hays, “Politics of Reform in Municipal Government in the Progressive Era,” p. 103 – 115.
Week 4: Progressive Reforms: Now/First Debate (Tuesday, 09/19 & Thursday, 09/21)
Readings:
Franze. 2015. “The Open Our Democracy Act: A Proposal for Effective Election Reform,” Connecticut Law Review, 48:263, p. 265 – 280.
McGhee, E. et al. 2014. A Primary Cause of Partisanship? Nomination Systems and Legislator Ideology. American Journal of Political Science, 58:2, 337 – 351.
Third Circuit's Decision in Balsam v. Guadagno, p. 1 – 13.
Debate #1 (Thursday 09/21): Are national and state governments in need of a new era of Progressive Reforms? What, if any, reforms should we consider to ensure our elected officials represent everyone?
Week 5: Political Parties (Tuesday, 09/26 & Thursday, 09/28)
Readings: Donovan et al. Chapter 5 (Skip the section on open and closed primaries)
Colburn, D. R. 2015. One-party Politics Not What Founding Fathers had in Mind. Tampa Bay Times.
Rapoport. 2014. Guide to US Political Parties, CQ Press, p. 1 – 6.
DUE: Have an idea for your final paper topic and be prepared to share it in class. It must be approved by me before the end of the day.
Week 6: Interest Groups/Social Movements (Tuesday, 10/03 & Thursday, 10/05)
Readings: Donovan et al. Chapter 6
McGovern Ed. Urban Politics
- Chapter 10 – Intro p. 339 – 341
- Alinsky, S. “Excerpts from Reveille for Radicals,” p. 342 – 348
Goldwater, B. 1960. “Freedom for the Farmer” in The Conscience of a Conservative, p. 33 – 39.
Debate #2 Thursday 10/05: Each participant is placed into one of two groups – social movement leaders or elected officials. Come to some sort of agreement concerning a particular social policy issue that satisfies all participants.
Week 7: Campaigning: Mobilization and Media (Tuesday, 10/10 & Thursday, 10/12)
Readings: Donovan, et al. Chapter 3.
Fox, Richard L. and Jennifer L. Lawless. 2005. "To Run or Not to Run for Office: Explaining Nascent Political Ambition." American Journal of Political Science Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 642-659.
Sides, J. 2014. Review: The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns, Public Opinion Quarterly, 363 – 364.
Brichacek, A. Six Ways Media Influences Elections.
Week 8: State Legislature (Tuesday, 10/17 & Thursday, 10/19)
Readings: Donovan, et al. Chapter 7
King. Gary. 2000. "Changes in Professionalism in US StateLegislatures.” Legislative
Studies Quarterly 25(2): 327-343.
State Legislatures and ALEC: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
DUE: Please hand in an annotated bibliography of between 6 and 8 sources.
DUE: By this point, both of your Midterm Policy Papers should be handed in. Otherwise, they are zeros.
Week 9: How Legislators Decide (Tuesday, 10/24 & Thursday, 10/26)
Readings: Feldman, Tales from the Sausage Factory, Chapters 1 and 2
Debate #3 (Thursday, 10/26): Each participant will play the role of either a majority or minority member of our hypothetical legislature. Our goal, by the end of the session, is to pass a bill on gun safety that satisfies all members of the legislature.
Week 10: The Courts (Tuesday, 10/31 & Thursday, 11/02)
Readings: Donovan et al. Chapter 9
Feldman, Tales from the Sausage Factory, Chapter 8, p. 203 – 239.
DUE: 3 to 4 page Literature Review
Week 11: Public Policy I: Criminal Justice (Tuesday, 11/05 & Thursday, 11/07)
Readings: Feldman, Tales from the Sausage Factory, Chapter 7, p. 173 – 201
ACLU – War on Marijuana: In Black and White, p. 7 – 23 and 36 – 67.
Mauer, Marc. 2001. "The Causes and Consequences of PrisonGrowth in the United States." Punishment & Society 3(1), 9-20.
Week 12: Public Policy II: Morality Policy (Tuesday, 11/14 & Thursday, 11/16)
Readings: Donovan, et al. Chapter 13.
Mucciaroni, G. 2011. Are Debates about Morality Policy Really about Morality? The Policy Studies Journal, 39(2), 187 – 216.
Widening Regional Divide over Abortion Laws. Pew Research Center.
Morality and politics: The story of Utah's Mormons in 2016. CNN.
Debate #4: What role should the government have in “legislating morality?”
Week 13: Public Policy III: Immigration (Tuesday, 11/28 & Thursday, 11/30)
Readings:
Hirschman, C. 2006. The Impact of Immigration on American Society: Looking Backward to the Future. SSRC.
Begley, J. 2016. Best of Luck with the Wall. The Intercept.
Wright, G. (Reviewer). How Many is Too Many? By Philip Cafaro, p. 1129 – 1131
Light and Togunde. 2008. The Mexican Immigration Debate. International Review of Modern Sociology, 34(2): 279-293.
Vargas, J. 2011. My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant, The New York Times.
DUE: 3 to 4 page Data Analysis
Week 14: Public Opinion (Tuesday, 12/05 & Thursday 12/07)
Readings:
Erikson, Wright and McIver. 1989. "Political Parties, PublicOpinion, and State Policy in the United States." American Political Science Review 83(3): 729-750.
Barry-Jester. A. 2015. Attitudes Towards Racism and Inequality are Shifting. FiveThirtyEight.
DeSilver, D. 2014. The Most Liberal and Conservative Big Cities. Pew Researcher.
Soss, J. And J. Schram. 2007. A Public Transformed? Welfare Reform as Policy Feedback. The American Political Science Review, 101(1), p. 111 – 127.
DUE: Final Paper submitted via Blackboard – Thursday, December 14th by 11:59 pm
Critical Reflection:
Student Accessibility
Early on in my graduate school career, I discovered that Temple has a wide range of students with regards to motivation, reasons for attending, and skill and prior knowledge levels. As a result, making a syllabus, at first, was fairly challenging. I felt myself pouring over the different potential readings and assessing whether I am not challenging them enough… or too much. As a result, I try to find a happy middle ground between academic studies and more engaging material such as videos and op-eds. I find that assigning the academic articles presents a challenge to the students who come in a little confused and unsure about what they read. I go over these readings in class. Once they understand that material, I notice the “lightbulbs” going off and most seem to get it.
It is important to note, however, that simply reading and retaining information is not everyone’s strong suit. Rather, many students need some source of interactive learning for certain concepts and theories to stick. As a result, I have developed several pathways to achieve this which take formal and informal avenues. Formally, I have structured several debates throughout the semester where students will roleplay activists, politicians, and the media. The goal of which is to work on verbal communications skills and develop arguments with sound evidence to back positions that they may not be comfortable with. Informally, students have plenty of opportunity for immediate reflection. For example, in my latest lecture dealing with political parties, I talk about how unsuccessful third party candidates have been throughout the years. But, there are outliers. So, the questions becomes… why? What explains Michael Bloomberg’s success as mayor? Or Ross Perot’s presidential campaigns? The students quickly come up with money. However, I push them a little bit further. Bernie Sanders is one of the least well-off in Congress. Maybe, there is something more to the story…
Application of Readings
One of the most interesting and important readings I read in the first five weeks is “Coaching Thinking through the Use of Small Groups.” This chapter argues that there are several benefits to use small groups to facilitate discussion, problem solve, and learn from each other. The idea of the “environmental mode” of teaching caught my eye. Specifically, Hillocks et al (1983) demonstrates that having students work independently produces “significantly higher levels of thinking.” Ostensibly, this is not without its potential drawbacks. It is not uncommon for students to start talking about other, non-class related, topics while in discussion groups. However, I have found that these digressions occur when instruction is unclear or the topic at hand is not worthy of a small group discussion. For example, I would never conduct a small group exercise to answer the question: “what is the responsible party model?” After the students do a quick Google search, the exercise is over. Nevertheless, by providing students with several opportunities in class to engage in small group discussions which immediately reflect upon issues in class, I hope to facilitate higher levels of understanding by having students work through problems together.
Another reading which relates to this syllabus is Ambrose et al’s “What motivates students to learn?” In it, they argue that the development of goals and a clear path of attainment is more likely to get students to “buy into” the class.