State
and Local Government
PLSC 202
Spring 2009
Instructor: Dr.
Office: 344 Bancroft
Phone #: ext. 4669 (323-4669 from off campus)
email: huffmons@winthrop.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9:30am - 11:30am, 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 1 inch margins on all sides and a 12 point Times New Roman font; there will be no “headers;” you will use a title page (which does not count toward your total page count), bottom-center pagination, and an upper-lefthand corner staple [no “paper covers”].
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 3rd. 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. Papers are due on Tuesday
February 10th. All papers are due by the beginning of class
on the due date. You must hand in a hard copy of the paper. Papers received
after class begins on the due data will incur a penalty of one full letter grade
beginning the moment class formally begins that day, plus one additional letter
grade for every additional day after the due date until the paper is turned in
to me. What matters in this respect is when I get the paper, not
when you slide it under my door, put it in my mailbox, or give it to the
departmental Administrative Specialist. You WILL have to submit the paper to
turnitin.com, so unless you want a zero for the paper and academic prosecution,
plagiarism is not advised. Papers not submitted to turnitin.com will not
be graded. The procedures for using turnitin.com will be explained in
class.
I strongly encourage you to visit the
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.
**ADDITIONALLY, the
Department of Political Science has it's own policies
on plagiarism and academic misconduct:
Poli Sci Statement on
Plagiarism In the immortal words of Brad Hamilton: "Learn it; Know it;
Live it!"**
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, in any manner, on an exam, quiz, or
paper will receive a zero for that assignment in addition to academic
prosecution.
Touchstone Goals:
PLSC 202 fulfills a number of Winthrop’s Touchstone program goals: by
requiring you to read, write, and speak standard English and practice rhetorical
techniques via an oral presentation (1.1, 1.4); by requiring you to use critical
thinking and problem solving skills (3.1, 3.3, 3.5); by challenging you to
recognize and appreciate human diversity (both past and present) as well as the
diversity of ideas, institutions, philosophies, moral codes, and ethical
principles and by challenging you to
understand the nature of social and cultural conflict and methods of resolution
(4.1, 4.2, 4.3).
; by enabling you to
examine values, attitudes, beliefs, and habits which define the
nature and quality of life, by enabling
you to examine problems, issues, and choices that confront citizens of the world
and by motivating you to take responsibility for the consequences of those
actions and choices (7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 7.5).
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 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, or browsing the web will be declared “Absent” for that class. Since I don’t take roll, this is the only way to be declared absent.
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 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.
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.
Students with Disabilities
Books
The following books are required and may be purchased at The Bookworm:
Donovan,
Todd, Christopher Z. Mooney, and Daniel A. Smith. 2009.
State and Local Politics: Institutions &
Reforms. Belmont, CA: Centage Learning/ Wadsworth ISBN
978-0-495-09044-1
(abbreviated "Donovan" in
the 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 |
Donovan: Ch1; AE: Hamilton (1), Madison (2), Bryce (3) |
|
States in a Nation |
|
|
State Constitutions |
Elazar: State Constitutions |
|
Federalism |
Donovan: Ch2; AE: Tubbesing (4), Pound (5), Ehrenhalt (8) |
|
Demands on State Government |
|
|
Public Opinion & Elections |
Donovan: Ch3; AE: |
|
Political Parties |
Donovan: Ch5 |
|
Interest Groups |
Donovan: Ch6 (review pp. 127-141) |
|
Direct Democracy |
Donovan: Ch4 (review pp.47-58); AE: Bowser (15), Greenblatt (16), Adams (17) |
|
******EXAM 1***** |
|
|
Political Institutions |
|
|
State Legislatures |
Donovan: Ch7; AE: Rosenthal (21), Economist (22), State Legislatures (23) |
|
The Governor & the Bureaucracy |
Donovan: Ch8 AE: Greenblatt (26) |
|
The Courts |
Donovan: Ch9; AE: Forer (29), Wohl (12) |
|
Local Government |
|
|
Local Government Politics |
Donovan: Ch11; AE: Rybczynski & Linneman (33); Belsie (36) |
|
Power & Problems |
Donovan: Ch12, AE: Gurwitt (34), Swope (35) |
|
******EXAM 2***** |
|
|
Public Policy in the States |
|
|
Economic Development |
Huffmon & Thomas; AE: |
|
Financing & Taxation |
Donovan: Ch10; Huffmon, Smith, & Winkler; AE: Ginsberg (37) |
|
"Morality" Policy |
Donovan: Ch13; Barth, Overby, & Huffmon; Public Agenda Online: www.publicagenda.org |
|
Health & Welfare Policy |
Donovan: Ch 14; AE: King & Gordon (47); Public Agenda Online: www.publicagenda.org |
|
Education Policy |
Donovan: Ch15; AE: Finn & Gau (45) |
|
******FINAL EXAM***** |
|
*The instructor reserves the right to change reading assignments, graded assignments, and grading criteria as deemed necessary.*
Back to Dr. Huffmon's Faculty Page
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/