State
and Local Government
PLSC 202
Spring 2007
Instructor: Dr.
Office: 344 Bancroft
Phone #: ext. 4669 (323-4669 from off campus)
email: huffmons@winthrop.edu
Office Hours: Mon 9:30am-10:30am, Wed 7:45am-10am, and by appointment
Course Objectives
This course is intended to familiarize the student with the political differences between the American states as well as address the unique political organizations, divisions, and problems of the state and local governments and place these entities and phenomena within the body politic of the nation. This course has been described as "comparative politics within the American borders." This description reflects the philosophical underpinnings of the course. The focus will be comparative in nature. That is, we will examine the approaches that different states take in addressing similar problems as well as how the differing governmental structures guide the politics of the various states in many different ways. We will not focus on the structure, politics, or problems of any single state.
While the evening news may focus on national politics, bear in mind that the states are truly the policy leaders in many domestic areas. The states also touch our lives directly; often, more so and with greater frequency than does the national government. As the trend continues toward greater power in the states, it behooves us to become more familiar with the scope and operation of state and local governments. Further, citizens often find it easier to have a direct impact on their government at the state and local levels.
In fact, many "national policies" actually require state action in a complicated arrangement of federalism. Therefore, to truly understand national policy, we need to understand what goes on in the states. These are but a few reasons to study state and local politics. Once the topic is broached, many students find state politics much more "colorful" than national politics.
Course Requirements
Grades will calculated using the following formula:
Exam
1:
25%
Exam
2:
25%
Exam
3:
25%
State-Portfolio: 10%
Paper:
15%
Exams
The exams may be multiple choice, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, essay, or any combination thereof. Material for the exams will be drawn from readings, lectures, and class discussions. Make up exams must be scheduled one week in advance in the case of an unavoidable planned absence; otherwise, make ups will be given only in the case of a documented illness or emergency. "Documented" means a legitimate doctor’s note dating from prior to the exam. Any student health center note describing vague symptoms dated the day of, or after, the exam will not be acceptable. In either case, make up exams will consist entirely of essay questions.
The tests are topic-bound, not time-bound. That is, the test will occur when we have covered a certain amount of material; therefore, the exact dates of the first two tests will remain uncertain until a few days prior (so you better be in class for the announcement, "Test in X days"!). The first test will be after we cover "Direct Democracy" and the second test will be after we cover "Power & Problems."
State Portfolio
Each student will keep a "portfolio" of the political and
governmental happenings in his or her assigned state. States will be assigned
randomly. Each Tuesday that the class meets (unless noted otherwise), the student
will turn in a summary of the current political and governmental news from his
or her state. News may be gleaned from any source. I suggest the primary
state/capital city online newspaper as a main source, although the student is
free to examine any alternative (legitimate) news source. State newspapers may
be found at http://www.newspaperlinks.com
or http://www.ipl.org/div/news/
. http://www.stateline.org is an
excellent source. You may use our own
Each summary should be one page in length, single-spaced, with one inch margins and a 12 pt Times New Roman font. Taking only three lines, you should put your name, student ID#, the date, the course, and your state at the top of each summary thusly:
Your Name, Your Student ID#
Mo/Day/Yr, PLSC 202
Your State
Summaries will not be accepted late!
Paper
The paper should be 7-10 pages in length (not including bibliography), double-spaced, with one inch margins and a 12 pt Times New Roman font.
Students will select one of the Articles from Annual Editions: State and Local Government (it may be any article, not just one we have read). In the paper, students must identify and explain the key arguments. Students must then place the book’s argument (issue, view of situation, or conclusion) in the context of 5 - 10 outside sources drawn, if possible, from articles written in the last 3 years. Academic journals and magazine features will be more useful, but newspaper articles may be informative as well.
You must have your topic approved by me no later than Tuesday February 6th. This should be merely a one or two paragraph description. I may make suggested changes and if someone else has already chosen that article, I may ask you to change your topic. The paper is due no later than the beginning of class on Tuesday April 10th. Papers will be penalized one full letter grade if it is not received by the beginning of class on the due data AND one full letter grade for each day late it is received thereafter. (What matters is when I get the paper....not when you slide it under my door...)
I strongly encourage you to visit the
Your paper must be submitted to www.turnitin.com or it will not be graded. How to do this will be explained in class
MARCH 7: Last day to withdraw from the course with a grade of "N."
Academic Misconduct
Academic misconduct will not be tolerated.
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.
Students with Disabilities
Books
The following books are required and may be purchased at The Bookworm:
Dye, Thomas R. and Susan A. MacManus 2007. Politics in States and Communities 12th
Edition.
list of readings)
Stinebrickner, Bruce (editor). 2007. Annual
Editions: State and Local
Government 13th
Edition.
(abbreviated
"AE" in the list of readings)
|
TOPIC |
|
|
Looking at States and Localities |
Dye: Ch1; AE: Hamilton (1), Madison (2), Bryce (3) |
|
States in a Nation |
|
|
State Constitutions |
Dye: Ch2 |
|
Political Culture |
|
|
Federalism |
Dye: Ch3; AE: Tubbesing (4), Pound (5), Ehrenhalt (8) |
|
Demands on State Government |
|
|
Public Opinion & Elections |
Dye: Ch4; AE: |
|
Political Parties |
Dye: Ch5 |
|
Interest Groups |
Dye: Ch4 (review pp. 127-141) |
|
Direct Democracy |
Dye: Ch2 (review pp.47-58); AE: Bowser (15), Greenblatt (16), Adams (17) |
|
******EXAM 1***** |
|
|
Political Institutions |
|
|
State Legislatures |
Dye: Ch6; AE: Rosenthal (21), Economist (22), State Legislatures (23) |
|
The Governor & the Bureaucracy |
Dye: Ch7, Ch8; AE: Greenblatt (26) |
|
The Courts |
Dye: Ch9; AE: Forer (29), Wohl (12) |
|
Local Government |
|
|
Local Government Politics |
Dye: Ch10, Ch11; AE: Rybczynski & Linneman (33); Belsie (36) |
|
Power & Problems |
Dye: Ch12, Ch13; AE: Gurwitt (34), Swope (35) |
|
******EXAM 2***** |
|
|
Public Policy in the States |
|
|
Economic Development |
Huffmon & Thomas; AE: |
|
Financing & Taxation |
Dye: Ch14; Huffmon, Smith, & Winkler; AE: Ginsberg (37) |
|
Civil Rights |
Dye: Ch15; other readings; Public Agenda Online: www.publicagenda.org |
|
Health & Welfare Policy |
AE: King & Gordon (47); Public Agenda Online: www.publicagenda.org |
|
Education Policy |
Dye: Ch16; AE: Finn & Gau (45) |
|
******FINAL EXAM ***** |
|
*The instructor reserves the right to change reading assignments, graded assignments, and grading criteria as deemed necessary.*
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