Campaigns & Elections in
America
PLSC 3
Fall
2016
(3 credit hours)
Instructor: Dr.
Office: 344 Bancroft
Phone #: ext. 4669
(323-4669 from off campus)
email:
huffmons@winthrop.edu
Web Page:
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/huffmons/
Office Hours: Tuesdays 10am-12noon, Wednesdays 12:30pm-1:30pm, and by appointment (feel free to stop by, as well. I am frequently in my office)
Course Description and Objectives
At the core of a representative democracy lies the selection of the representatives who will govern the people. Free and open elections are the hallmark of any democracy. However, the way in which those elections take place can vary widely. This is not just true between different democratic countries, but between American states and between state level and federal level elections as well. This course focuses on the campaign competition between candidates to win the right to represent a constituency at the federal or state level in America and an examination of the electoral mechanisms that define their arenas of competition.
At the end of the course, the students should be able to answer the following questions: How do institutional constraints (such as the federal and state constitutions, state and federal laws, and party rules) shape our electoral process? What is the impact of campaigns on electoral outcomes? What are the trends in voting behavior in America? How are campaigns designed?
Student Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the course will better
understand how institutional constraints shape the electoral process, how
political campaigns are designed in differing American contexts, the basic
contours of voting behavior in America, how political actors (parties and/or
candidates) behave in a real-world electoral environment, and how campaigns
shape attitudes and behaviors.
Prerequisites
Students must have completed PLSC 201 with a grade of “C” or better.
Experiential Learning
This course meets the "Experiential Learning Requirement" for the major in
political science
Student Learning Activities
Grades will be calculated using
the following formula:
|
Exam |
15% |
Sept 28 |
| Exam 2 | 20% | Nov 9 |
|
Final Project |
15% |
Dec 7 at 3pm |
|
Group
Project |
15% |
Presentations Sept 19 & 21 |
|
Election Paper |
15% |
Nov 30 |
|
Volunteer Project |
20% |
|
Group Project: Students will be randomly placed into groups which will be assigned a 2016 race for the US House of Representatives. The group will create a presentation and handout that describes the demographics of the district, how it has voted in House, Senate, and Presidential elections since 2000, and what the key issues facing the district appear to be. Additionally, each group will create a commercial/video and a mailer for one of the candidates (determined by the professor) and present them to the class with an explanation for why that commercial and mailer are expected to be effective in your particular race. Presentations should be approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Further details will be discussed in class.
Volunteer Project: You must volunteer a minimum of 20 hours with the candidate or political party of your choice. Your candidate or political party MUST have a significant presence in the area (definition of “significant presence” will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the instructor). PART 1: You will write a 3 - 4 paper describing your introduction to the world of active campaigns. This is mostly a "reaction paper" that juxtaposes your expectations with actual experiences and details the assignments you were given and how you perceive them to fit in with a larger strategy. If you can connect your experiences to course material, so much the better. PART 2: You will write a 4 - 6 page paper describing your work with the candidate(s)/party, how that fit into an overall strategy, and whether the electoral outcome(s) differed from past elections and/or the expectations of the campaign staff/directors. You MUST integrate theories/literature/knowledge from the course into Part 2. Paper requirements: double-spaced with 1 inch margins and a Times New Roman 12pt font, there will be no “headers,” you will use a title page [not counted toward total number of pages], bottom-center pagination, and an upper-lefthand corner staple [no “paper covers”]. Part 1 due NO LATER THAN Monday, October 3rd. Part 2 due NO LATER THAN Wednesday, November 16th. You will have to submit your paper to turnitin.com; details on how to do this will be explained in class. In addition to the two papers, your grade will depend on verification of your volunteer hours and a report from your campaign supervisor(s).
Election Paper: Each student will be randomly assigned a US Senate or state gubernatorial race. In a 5 - 7 page paper, you will describe the demographics of the state, the state electorate, the issues in the race, the polling (& accuracy thereof) in the race, the prior electoral outcome, the candidates, any controversies, and the outcome of the race. Pay careful attention to how the campaigns targeted voters and worked on Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts. Paper requirements same as above. Due NO LATER THAN Wednesday, November 30th
Final Project: You will be randomly assigned to a group. Each group
will be assigned a Ballot Initiative from the 2016 election cycle (we will
talk more about what ballot initiatives are in class). Your group will
describe the initiative, research past similar initiatives for this or other
states, discuss the groups who support and oppose it, describe the state
demographics, the electoral demographics, issues with turnout related to
previous initiatives, the strategies of the for/against campaigns and then
discuss how the losing side could have better targeted/converted potential
supporters. Your group presentation should be multimedia in nature.
Presentations will occur during our Final Exam period on
December 7th at 3pm.
Class announcements will be made via the class
listserv.
If you have an active
winthrop.edu email account, you should be automatically added to the
listserv, otherwise you must add yourself to the
listserv. You are EXPECTED to regularly
check your email for class announcements!
If you are not on the class listserv, go
HERE for instructions on how to sign up (the
course designator to sign up is: PLSC390001).
Withdrawal Date: The last day to withdraw from the course with an
automatic grade of “N” is October 21, 2016
Required Texts
Campaign
Craft: The Strategies, Tactics, and Art of Political Campaign Management,
5th Edition by Michael John
Burton, William J. Miller, Daniel M. Shea ISBN-13: 978-1440837326
Campaigns & Elections , 2nd Edition by John Sides, Daron Shaw, Matt Grossmann, Keena Lipsitz ISBN: 978-0-393-93852-4
Academic Misconduct
Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. Winthrop’s Conduct
Code defines academic
misconduct as:
”Academic misconduct includes but is not
limited to providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by
the professor in the creation of work to be submitted for academic
evaluation including papers, projects, and examinations; presenting, as
one's own, the ideas or words of another for academic evaluation without
proper acknowledgment; doing unauthorized academic work for which another
person will receive credit or be evaluated; and presenting the same or
substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the
explicit permission of the professors involved. In addition, academic
misconduct involves attempting to influence one's academic evaluation by
means other than academic achievement or merit. More explicit definitions of
academic misconduct specific to certain academic disciplines may be
promulgated by academic departments and schools.
I will
prosecute cases of academic misconduct to the fullest extent of university
policy, and that can mean expulsion from the university. Obviously,
any student caught cheating or plagiarizing, in any manner, on an exam or
assignment will receive a zero for that assignment in addition to academic
prosecution. Additionally, I reserve the right to award the student an
"F" in the course for ANY act of academic misconduct if I feel it is
warranted. This is in addition to academic prosecution by the Dean of
Students.
University Level Competencies (ULCs): This course contributes to student mastery of the following ULCs: Competency 1: Winthrop graduates think critically and solve problems. and Competency 4: Winthrop graduates communicate effectively.
Class Policies:
Please provide a respectful learning environment for your fellow students. Repeated tardiness, cell phone disruptions, reading materials unrelated to the course (such as the student newspaper), and use of communication technologies (e.g., web browsing/IMing/ texting/ snapchatting/ etc. during class) during class will adversely affect your grade.
Attendance Policy: Beginning with the third time a student is declared absent, the student will lose a full letter grade for each absence. Any student caught IMing, texting, browsing the web or doing ANYTHING on a computer, tablet, phone, or other electronic device that is not directly related to class and has been sanctioned by the professor will be declared “Absent” for that class. Since I don’t take roll, this is the only way to be declared absent. Additionally, you will be asked to leave the class that day. Campus police will be called if you do not do so voluntarily.
Please arrive at class on time and switch off all pagers, cell phones, and alarms during class. The only exceptions to this rule are if you have children or an emergency family situation (e.g. family member in surgery). For these circumstances, you must notify the professor of the situation after which you may leave your phone on vibrate and you must leave the class to answer a call.
I do not provide lecture notes for students under any circumstances. To repeat, I do not provide lecture notes for students under any circumstances.
Grade Appeals: If you wish to dispute a grade on a particular assignment for any reason other than an obvious arithmetic error on my part, you will need to type a one-page explanation of your position and turn it in, along with the original graded assignment, at least one week after the assignment is returned to you. I will then consider your appeal and make a determination.
Appeals must be submitted in hard copy format; no appeals submitted via email will be considered.
For appeals regarding your final grade in the course, please consult the Student Handbook and Catalog for procedures.
This syllabus subject to change by the instructor
throughout the course. Readings may be added or changed throughout the
course.
|
Topics and
|
|
American Electoral Process ►Sides. et al. Chpts 1-2 |
|
Change in America Elections ►Sides. et al. Chpts 3-5 |
|
Parties, Interest Groups, & the Media ► Sides. et al. Chpts
6-8 |
|
Presidential Campaigns ►Sides. et al. Chpt 9 |
|
Congressional & State Campaigns ►Sides. et al. Chpts 10-11 |
|
Voters ►Sides. et al. Chpts 12-14 |
|
Revving the Campaign Engines ►Burton et al. Chpts 1-3 |
|
Finding and Targeting Voters ►Burton et al. Chpts 4-6 |
|
$$$$$$$$$$ ►Burton et al. Chpt 7 |
|
Media & Communications ►Burton et al. Chpts 8-9 |
|
Voter Contact & the Evolution of Campaigns ►Burton et al. Chpts 10-12 |
Final Exam: December 7, 2016 at 3pm