Campaigns & Elections COM 495 / POL 373 Spring 2016 TTH 10:30-11:45AM PHYS 223 Instructor: Dr. Josh Scacco [Skack-Oh] Office: BRNG 2154, (765) 496-0095 Office Hours: TTH 9:00-10:00AM & by appointment Email: jscacco@purdue.edu Eliza Osorio Castro (eosorioc@purdue.edu) Office: BRNG 2251 Office Hours: MW 1-2PM Teaching Assistants: 1 Delaney Harness (dharness@purdue.edu) Office: BRNG 2265 Office Hours: M 11-12:30PM; W 12:45-2:15 Course Description This course will examine the mechanics, processes, and purposes of federal and statewide election campaigns in the United States. Democratic nations are constituted by their electoral processes, particularly the legal and party infrastructures of managing elections, the campaign communication of candidates seeking elected office, media coverage of election events, and citizen influence on campaigns and election outcomes. This class examines each of these areas from theoretical and experiential perspectives. Drawing on coverage of contemporary federal and statewide electoral campaigns in the C-SPAN Archives and other news media outlets, the course presents students the opportunity to evaluate and debate the structure of American elections, analyze and apply candidate communications to different political contexts, and assess (compare and contrast) how citizens think and talk about the political process. The class stokes a broader discussion about the health of American democracy as assessed by its electoral process. Required Readings Sides, J., Shaw, D., Grossman, M., & Lipsitz, K. (2015). Campaigns and elections. (2 nd ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton. Course readings also will be available on our class Blackboard site. Grading Grades will be based on the following criteria: Assignment % of Grade Earned Exam #1 35% Exam #2 35% Campaigns & Elections Tracker [8 total responses] 30% In this course, final grades will be assigned based on the following scale: 93 100% = A 87 89% = B+ 77 79% = C+ 67 69% = D+ 59 and below = F 90 92% = A 83 86% = B 73 76% = C 63 66% = D 80 82% = B 70 72% = C 60 62% = D-
Consultations about grades are welcome in order to clarify course standards and procedures and to provide guidance that might improve future performance. Assigned grades will not be changed unless clear and significant procedural errors have occurred. Requirements Examinations (35% each). Three in-class, closed-book examinations will be given. Only the best two of the three exam scores will be used to compute the final grade. Exams will cover both the readings and class content to assess whether students have completed the required work and understood course ideas. The format of the exams will include a combination of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and short essay response options. The first exam will be held in class on 2/16/16, the second exam on 3/10/16, and the third exam on 4/21/16. Campaigns & Elections Tracker (30%). Each Thursday, students will receive a prompt related to a development in the 2016 campaign. This prompt may be a news article, a clip of a video from the C-SPAN archives or another media source, or some other campaign artifact. Students will use this prompt to write a two page, double-spaced response (typed, 12pt Times New Roman font, 1 margins) that integrates/relates course discussions and readings. The response will be due the following Thursday (uploaded to Blackboard by the beginning of class at 10:30AM EST). These responses will facilitate class discussions and assist with the review and application of course material. A total of 13 prompts will be made available during the semester for written responses. The best scores on 8 responses will be used to compute the final grade. Course Policies Seeking assistance. Students should not hesitate to seek assistance. Assistance is best sought before rather than after assignments and presentations. Some of the class material is based upon social scientific research. Students will be required to think and write in ways that may be unfamiliar. If something in class is unclear, however, please do not hesitate to ask either Dr. Scacco or one of the teaching assistants! Attendance. Students are expected to regularly attend meetings of the course. Should an absence occur (unexpected or expected), students are responsible for obtaining the course materials missed (i.e. notes, activity outlines, etc.) from a classmate. Should additional clarification of course material be needed, students may then contact Dr. Scacco or a teaching assistant. Examination Dates and Assignment Deadlines. Examination dates and assignment deadlines are given in this syllabus in order to provide ample notice to all students. Exams are taken only at the scheduled times, and make ups generally are not given. Any foreseeable schedule conflicts or medical issues should be discussed immediately with Dr. Scacco so that appropriate arrangements can be made. For unanticipated or emergency absences when advance notification is not possible, the student should contact Dr. Scacco or a teaching assistant as soon as possible, the Brian Lamb School of Communication main office at (765) 494-3429, or the Office of the Dean of Students. Only Dr. Scacco can excuse a student from a course requirement or responsibility. 2
Students are expected to write and proofread their assignments in advance of scheduled deadlines. Each week s Campaigns & Elections Tracker written response is to be uploaded to Blackboard by the beginning of class (10:30AM EST). Assignments submitted late, but within one hour after the deadline (11:30AM EST), will be accepted with a 10% penalty; thereafter, all late assignments will not be accepted. Last minute complications (sickness in the days just prior to the deadline, oversleeping, missed alarms, printer or computer or Blackboard problems, travel mishaps, power outages, and the like) will not justify extensions. Cell phones. Please turn off your cell phones during class. Dr. Scacco will leave his cell phone on for safety-related purposes. Laptops. A laptop is not required for successfully completing this course. Students may use laptops or tablets for general note taking as well as interactive class discussions. Interactive lectures will be announced by Dr. Scacco in advance. If a student uses a laptop on a regular basis in class, it is expected that the laptop be used for course-related purposes only. Syllabus changes. This syllabus is subject to change with sufficient notice to students. Accommodations. Students who require special accommodations due to a documented disability (physical or cognitive) need to get a letter that documents the disability from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) (Young Hall, Room 830; 494-1247; drc@purdue.edu). Please provide me with an official letter outlining authorized accommodations so that we can discuss the necessary accommodations. I am here to assist in this regard. Please see http://www.purdue.edu/studentsuccess/specialized/drc/index.html for additional information. Use of Blackboard. This course uses Blackboard, a Web based course management system in which a password protected site is created for each course. Blackboard will be used to distribute course readings, materials, and to communicate and collaborate online. Students also will turn in assignments through Blackboard. You will be responsible for checking the Blackboard course site regularly for class work and announcements. As with all computer systems, there are occasional scheduled downtimes as well as unanticipated disruptions. Notification of these disruptions will be posted on the Blackboard login page. Scheduled downtimes are not an excuse for late or unfinished assignments. Use of email. Email is recognized as an official mode of university correspondence; therefore, you are responsible for reading your @purdue.edu email for university and course related information and announcements. Policy on scholastic honesty. Purdue University defines academic dishonesty as cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to avoid participating honestly in the learning process. Scholastic dishonesty also includes, but is not limited to, providing false or misleading information to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment, and submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor. 3
In this class, students are encouraged to work with other students if it helps them master course material, but exams and weekly tracker assignments must represent an individual s own, original contributions. In the Campaigns & Elections tracker assignments, students may be required to summarize other researchers work, and these summaries must be original and must acknowledge all sources. By accepting this syllabus, you have agreed to these guidelines and must adhere to them. Scholastic dishonesty damages both the student's learning experience and readiness for the future demands of a work career. Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. For more information, please see: https://www.purdue.edu/odos/academicintegrity/. University-wide Emergency Procedures In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines, and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances beyond Dr. Scacco s control. Relevant changes to this course will be posted on Blackboard or can be obtained by contacting Dr. Scacco via email (jscacco@purdue.edu) or phone at (765) 496-0095. 4
Course Readings on Blackboard (in order of appearance on the schedule) Hart, R. P. (2000). Campaign talk: Why elections are good for us. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Lipari, L. (2001). Voice, polling, and the public sphere. In R. P. Hart & B. H. Sparrow (Eds.) Politics, discourse, and American society: New agendas. (pp. 129 149). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Weeks, B., & Southwell, B. (2010). The symbiosis of news coverage and aggregate online search behavior: Obama, rumors, and presidential politics. Mass Communication & Society, 13(4), 341-360. Trent, J. S., Short-Thompson, C., Mongeau, P., & Metzler, M. S. (2013). Diversity in 2008, homogeneity in 2012: The ideal candidate revisited. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(11), 1539-1557. Schill, D., & Kirk, R. (2014). Courting the swing voter: Real time insights into the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Presidential debates. American Behavioral Scientist, 58(4), 536-555. Nielsen, R. K. (2012). Ground wars: Personalized communication in political campaigns. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Jarvis, S. E., & Han, S. (2011). The mobilized voter: Portrayals of electoral participation in print news coverage of campaign 2008. American Behavioral Scientist, 55, 419-436. 5
COURSE SCHEDULE (Subject to Change with Advanced Notice) Date Topic Reading/Assignments Jan. 12 Tuesday Course Introduction Review Syllabus Jan. 14 Thursday Overview of the 2016 Primary Campaign MECHANICS OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS Jan. 19 Tuesday The American Electoral Process Chs. 1, 2 Jan. 21 Thursday History of American Elections & Campaigns Ch. 3 CET 1 Jan. 26 Tuesday Campaign Finance System Ch. 4 Jan. 28 Thursday Political Parties Ch. 6 CET 2 Feb. 2 Tuesday No Class Review coverage of the Iowa Caucus in Politico Feb. 4 Thursday Interest Groups Ch. 7 CET 3 Feb. 9 Tuesday Presidential Campaigns Ch. 9 Feb. 11 Thursday Congressional, State, & Local Campaigns Chs. 10, 11 CET 4 Feb. 16 Tuesday Exam #1 Exam #1 CITIZENS & THE ELECTORAL PROCESS Feb. 18 Thursday Socialization to American Politics CET 5 Feb. 23 Tuesday Citizen Talk & Sentiment in Elections Hart (2000) Feb. 25 Thursday Citizen Thinking: Public Opinion/Polling Lipari (2001) CET 6 Mar. 1 Tuesday Super Tuesday Discussion Visitor: Alexander Heffner, PBS Mar. 3 Thursday Varieties of Election Participation CET 7 Mar. 8 Tuesday Misinformation & Polarization Weeks & Southwell (2010) Mar. 10 Thursday Exam #2 Exam #2 Mar. 14 Mar. 18 No Class: Spring Break CANDIDATES, CAMPAIGNS, AND MEDIA COVERAGE Mar. 22 Tuesday The Ideal Political Candidate Trent et al. (2013) Mar. 24 Thursday Candidate Communication CET 8 Mar. 29 Tuesday Debates Schill & Kirk (2014) Mar. 31 Thursday Campaign Advertising CET 9 Apr. 5 Tuesday Grassroots Campaign Strategies Nielsen (2012) Apr. 7 Thursday Contemporary Digital Campaigning CET 10 Apr. 12 Tuesday Media and Voters Jarvis & Han (2011) Apr. 14 Thursday Media Framing of Campaigns & Elections CET 11 Apr. 19 Tuesday Infotainment Media: Arsenio to Colbert Apr. 21 Thursday Exam #3 Exam #3 Apr. 26 Tuesday Coming Summer 2016: The Party Conventions Apr. 28 Thursday The Future of Campaigns & Elections CET 12 Final CET 13 due Thursday, May 5 th by 10:30AM EST uploaded to Blackboard 6