Campaigns and Elections POLS 3385 CRN: 81112 Fall 2016 Instructor: Dr. Joshua Meddaugh Office Hours: W: 10:30am-4pm Office: 105-A Clayton Hall Phone: 678-466-4607 Room: Arts & Sciences 101 Class Meeting Time: T: 2:10pm 4:40pm E-mail: JoshuaMeddaugh@clayton.edu Prerequisites: D POLS 1101 Texts: The American Campaign 2 nd Edition. Campbell (2008). Campaigns & Elections: American Style. Thurber & Nelson (2014). Course Description: The aim of this course is to examine the fundamental characteristics of American presidential campaigns and how they affect elections. This semester the course will focus on the impact of the candidates in presidential elections, the systematic aspects of campaign effects on elections, and concerns about the negativity of presidential campaigns. The course lectures and readings will attempt to answer questions about political campaigns as well: How have presidential campaigns changed over American history? What are the basic strategies involved in political campaigns? What resources are most important in campaigns? Has the increased polarization of the public and the parties affected campaigns and election outcomes? Do campaigns stimulate citizens to participate or turn them off on politics? Do presidential campaigns help to inform voters about the issues and the candidates? Do they help candidates to manipulate what voters think? Are campaigns too negative and what kinds of candidates run more negative campaigns? Have campaigns grown more negative in recent years? Is the television advertising of the candidates' messages to voters effective, either from an informational standpoint or in terms of gaining votes? Do presidential campaigns weaken or strengthen partisanship in the electorate? What is the role of the economy in elections? Are elections with an incumbent in the race fundamentally different from open seat elections? Do all incumbents have the same advantages or are first party-term incumbents particularly privileged? How much of a difference do campaigns make to the vote margins between the candidates? How often do presidential campaigns make a difference to the outcomes of the election? Are campaign effects on the vote systematic or do they depend largely on the chance developments of events, the particular strategies of the candidates' campaigns, and unforeseeable errors and gaffes of the candidates and their supporters? Outcomes: Provide you with important information and theories regarding the electoral process in a democratic republic. Be familiar with different explanations of the effects of presidential campaigns, Understand the history of recent elections, Understand the fundamental characteristics of American electoral politics,
Understand the strengths and weaknesses of modern campaigns in democratic politics. Understand the entire voting process in succeeding election, Have a first hand experience on how working in and for your community will strengthen your civic mindedness. To fully help you understand the intricacies of the civic life referenced above, this course is part of Clayton State University s Partnering Academics and Community Engagement (PACE) program. Therefore, this course has an academic community engagement component, meaning that this course is designed with intentional effort to engage you, the student, in planned and purposeful learning related to service experiences within your community to impact your learning outcomes. In plain English, you will work, hands-on, in the community, to bring about changes that positively affect the program and demonstrate how participating in the community around you not only helps that community, but provides a stronger learning opportunity for you. Upon successful completion of the course, I will help you become a better consumer of politics. You will be able to better understand news stories about politics and government. You will be able to cast a more educated vote in succeeding elections and have a working knowledge of the Unites States Constitutions and the election process. And, you will have a first hand experience on how working in and for your community will strengthen your civic mindedness. In short, it is my hope that I will help you become a better federal and local citizen. Course Tasks, Expectations, and Grading: Task 1: You will complete all scheduled readings prior to the classroom discussion and be prepared to discuss the material. Task 2: (300 Points) The class will participate in (3) exams. Each exam will be take home essay exams. Each exam will be on the readings and lectures since the previous test. NO EXAM WILL BE COMPREHENSIVE. The exams will be worth 100 points each. Task 3: (100 Points) PACE Project. As Clayton State students, you are afforded a unique opportunity to take college courses that emphasize community engagement that will help increase your civic mindedness. Project: It is your task to help your community, both college and local vote! Therefore, you will become trained voter registration delegates. Step 1: In order to do this, you will attend (1) of the (3) 2-hour voter registration trainings being offered by the American Democracy Project (ADP) in the month of August. ADP will provide dates of trainings. Step 1 total points = 20. Step 2: In the month of September continuing until October 11 th, you will attend designated campus wide voter and registers potential voters. During this time, you will also attend designated Clayton County events to register potential voters. Events both campus and community wide will be designated by ADP and your instructor. Upon completion of the 5, you will write a 3 page reflection paper detailing what you have learned from the, what your overall opinion of voter drives, and if you feel you are a better consumer/participant of politics. Step 2 total points = 30 points. Step 3: On November 8 th, the course will organize an Election 2016 Watch Party. At this event, the goal will be to educate the student population on the results, provide explanations as to why the election is unfolding the way it is, and increase the visibility of voter engagement. Feel free to reach out to Student Affairs and or the Clayton State Political Science and Law Club to co-sponsor the event with this course and ADP. Step 3 total points = 30
Step 4: Upon completion of the Watch Party, you will write a 5-page reflection paper detailing what you have learned from the project, what your overall opinion of the project is, and if you feel you are a better consumer/participant of politics. Step 4 total points = 20 * If you are reading this and are worried about how you will get all this set up, take solace in the fact that I, Dr. Meddaugh, will be helping with every step along the way. I will help to organize the Watch Party and so will ADP. Although this is your project... the results benefit all of us in the Clayton State community! ** You will also be required to fill out a rubric that collects data on PACE. You will complete the rubric before and after the project. It does not count as a grade and is for assessment purposes only. Task 4: (100 Points) Paper. You are required to write a 10-page research paper on a topic from the course of your choosing. More on the paper to come after the midterm break. Expectation 1: You are a responsible adult and a professional (see definition of professional behavior at the end of this syllabus). Just as you will have an occupation when you graduate, being a student, actively engaged in your own learning is your current occupation. It is expected that you will conduct yourself as such both in and out of the classroom. You and I, and your classmates, are a team and together we will seek answers to the questions in the course description, hence your attendance is important. Your questions, comments, and other contributions help the learning of others in the room and if you re not there, they suffer. Expectation 2: In this class you are in the academic discipline of Political Science and, regardless of your major, are expected to perform as a political scientist in training. This means applying critical thinking to political questions, asking for and evaluating evidence, and applying the standards of the discipline to your work. It also means asking questions in class, it means questioning your own political beliefs before you question those of others (regardless of your philosophy or partisanship), and it means paying attention to details like the appropriate way to cite the work of others (that is, use the APSA or APA style guide in all written work for the course). Grading: Final grades will be determined based on the following points... Letter Grades Policy and Procedures 500 450 points: A 449 400 points: B 399 350 points: C 349 320 points: D 319 0 points: F Policy/Procedure 1: Academic Integrity: Students must abide by policies in the CSU Catalog & Student Handbook. Click on this http://a-s.clayton.edu/basicundergraduatestudentresponsibilities.htm Policy/Procedure 2: Disabilities: For information about Disability Services or to obtain this document in an alternative format, contact the Disabilities Coordinator, Student Center, Room 255 - ADA/504 Compliance Officer at.678-466-5445 or disabilityservices@clayton.edu- Policy/Procedure 3: Midterm Grades: A course midterm grade will be posted on the DUCK by midterm each semester. The midterm grade will only reflect work completed to the middle of
the semester. More than half of the scored work in this course is completed after the midterm date. If you have questions, please contact the instructor. Policy/Procedure 4: CSU Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend and participate in every class meeting. Instructors establish specific policies relating to absences in their courses and communicate these policies to the students through the course syllabi. Individual instructors, based upon the nature of the course, determine what effect excused and unexcused absences have in determining grades and upon students' ability to remain enrolled in their courses. The university reserves the right to determine that excessive absences, whether justified or not are sufficient cause for institutional withdrawals or failing grades. The purpose of this policy is to increase retention. Students who have poor class attendance records often do poorly in our courses. The new policy is designed in order to emphasize to students that attending class is important and expected. Policy/Procedure 5: Plagiarism/ Honor code: Cheating will not be tolerated in this course. Please familiarize yourself with the CSU s honor code and rules at the following website: http://adminservices.clayton.edu/judicial/ Course plagiarism policy: If you are caught cheating on an exam that exam grade will be a zero. If you are found to have plagiarized a paper you will receive an F on that paper. If more than one of these events occurs you will receive an F for the course and may face further discipline from the university. Policy/Procedure 6: Class Cancellation Procedures: There may be times during the semester that one of your classes may need to be canceled. Here's what we'll do to keep you notified: When possible your professor who canceled the class will email students informing you of the cancelation. If the faculty member cannot email students the division secretary will email you. Each division secretary will also post a notice on the classroom door to inform students of cancelations. Please bear in mind that sometimes emergencies or unforeseen circumstances may prevent timely notification --- but all possible efforts will be made to ensure that you are informed in a timely manner. Some things you can do to make sure you know when a class has been canceled: Miscellaneous: Check your CSU email before you leave for class Check GeorgiaView or D2L for any possible notifications Operation Study:! At Clayton State University, we expect and support high motivation and academic achievement. To foster a change in the perception of studying, improve study habits, and hence promote student success, several Operation Study activities and programs will be offered throughout the semester. Be on the lookout for study sessions, study breaks, workshops, and other opportunities to earn Study Buck Gift Cards (for use in the University Bookstore) and other items.
Computer Requirement: Each CSU student is required to have ready access throughout the semester to a notebook computer that meets faculty-approved hardware and software requirements for the student's academic program. Students will sign a statement attesting to such access. For further information on CSU's Official Notebook Computer Policy, please go to http://www.clayton.edu/hub/itpchoice/notebookcomputerpolicy. In-class Computer Use: Computers are used to take notes. This is just as simple as it sounds. If you violate this policy you will be asked to put away the machine. After 3 violations, you will no longer be able to bring your machine to class. Computer Software and Skill Prerequisites: Adobe Readers (pdf) and Microsoft Word is required. Able to use the Windows TM operating system Able to use Microsoft Word TM word processing Able to send and receive e-mail using Outlook TM or Outlook Express TM Able to attach and retrieve attached files via email Able to use a Web browser. Professional Behavior Further Defined: Being a student is your job. I expect, and your classmates count on you to conduct yourself as a professional; with each of us (you, me, and your classmates) contributing to the learning environment in and out of the classroom. In order to contribute to that environment, while in the classroom your cell phone should be turned off (if you are expecting an important call, place it on vibrate and sit near the door and take your call outside) including for text messaging. You are no longer in high school, you are an adult and should have no need to pass notes during class, make excessive trips to the restroom, carry on conversations that are not related to the work at hand or the material under discussion in the class. If you have stayed up too late (obviously working on this or some other course) or are feeling ill do not view the shared environment of the classroom as your supplemental bedroom go back to your room and get the necessary rest. Just as sleeping on the job will have dire consequences in your future, sleeping in class will not help you maintain a professional level of performance. In short, use common courtesy, common decency, and common sense.
Approximate* Course Schedule: Week of Topic Material Covered PACE Project 1 August 18 Introduction to Campbell Chapter 1 Go Over Project Campaigns & Elections 2 August 25 Theory of the Predictable Campaign Campbell Chapter 2 Thurber Chapter 3 PACE Project Step 1 3 September 1 Money and Politics Thurber Chapters 4 & 5 PACE Project Step 1 Attend Voter Registration Training Attend Voter Registration Training 4 September 8 Media, Issues, Commercials Thurber Chapters 6 & 10 Attend 5 voter PACE Project Step 2 5 September 15 Exam 1 Attend 5 voter 6 September 22 Studying the Effects of Campaigns 7 September 29 The Stable Context of Campaigns Campbell Chapter 3 Thurber Chapter 13 PACE Project Step 2 Campbell Chapter 4 Thurber Chapter 11 Attend 5 voter Attend 5 voter 8 October 6 No Class Reflections due in Dropbox on 10/12 by 9pm 9 October 13 Presidential Incumbency and Economy 10 October 20 The Normal Course of the Campaign and Campaign Effects 11 October 27 Exam 2 12 November 3 Predicting the 2016 Presidential Election Campbell Chapters 5 & 6 Campbell Chapters 7 & 8 Readings on D2L Finalize PACE Project Step 3 13 November 8 Presidential Election Watch Party 13- November 10 Election Recap Project reflections due in Dropbox on 11/ 13 by 9pm 14- November 17 Why & How Campaigns Campbell Chapter 9 Matter Thurber Chapter 14 15 November 24 Thanksgiving Break Exam 3
16 December 1 Economic Theory of Democracy Readings on D2L Papers Due by 12/4 at 9pm. *Approximate means, the syllabus is subject to change due to classroom discussion and speed of material coverage. If syllabus changes, I will give students at least 24 hours notice and will post an updated syllabus on CourseWeb.