PLSC 518
Politics of the American South
Instructor: Dr. Scott H. Huffmon
Office: 344 Bancroft Hall
Telephone: x4669 (323-4669 from off campus)
e-mail: huffmons@winthrop.edu
web page: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/huffmons/
Office hours: Tue & Thr 9:30am - 10:45am and by appointment
This course focuses on the politics of the
American South in the last half of the 20th century and the entrance of the
South into the 21st century.
Naturally, an understanding of the South in the 21st century
requires a good bit of analysis of the politics of the 19th
century. In attempting to make sense of
this region's unique, fascinating, and often frustrating politics, we will
explore a series of related topics all relating to a central theme of race
relations. After placing the region's politics in theoretical context, we
will explore the economic and historical factors that shaped the
"old" South and led to revolutionary transformations in the region
during the middle decades of the 20th century. In the second half of the
course, we will turn our attention to more contemporary matters, examining
presidential and sub-presidential level politics in the South, surveying the
political landscapes in selected deep and rim South states, and considering
several contemporary topics in greater depth (including the theoretical concept
of partisan realignment, the dynamics of racial representation, and the
increasing influence of religion).
Texts
Black, Earl and Merle Black. 1987. Politics and Society in the South.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN: 987-0674689596
Black, Earl and Merle Black. 2003. The Rise of Southern Republicans.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press (Belknap). ISBN: 978-0674012486
Bullock, Charles S. III and Mark J. Rozell. eds. 2007. The
New Politics of the Old South. (3rd ed). Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, Inc. ISBN: 987-0742553446
In addition, I have put together a collection of articles and chapters.
These readings may be found online here: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/huffmons/518reading.htm
You MUST have the class username and
password to access the readings.
Selections from this collection of readings are marked by an "R"
in the assignments section.
Grading
Course grades will be calculated as follows:
Short Paper = 20%
Midterm Examination = 25%
Book Review = 20% (80% Book Review; 20% in-class presentation)
Final Examination = 25%
Quizzes = 10%
Short Paper: The paper must be 7 - 10 pages, 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”]. Paper
topic: Key argues that "if the politics of the South revolves
around any single theme, it is that of the role of the black belts."
What are "black belts," and what role have they played in the
development of politics in the south? Discuss their role in the creation
of "one-party" politics in the South and what this has historically
meant with regard to the role of the South in presidential politics. (HUGE
hint: base your arguments on the readings in section III.) The paper is due Tuesday, October 9th.
Book Review: In a short paper (7-10 pages; same specifications as
above) review a book relating to southern politics. You may not
choose your own book; the instructor will randomly assign books from a list of
selected texts. Your paper should be more than a summary; analyze the
book's arguments and place them in the context of this class. The paper is due Thursday, November 15th. Students must also do an
in-class presentation (lasting apx 5 - 7 minutes) on their assigned book.
All papers are due by the beginning of class on the due date. 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 BOTH papers 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.
Visit to Museum of the New South: On the afternoon of Friday, November
2nd, the class will visit the Museum of the New South in Charlotte (http://www.museumofthenewsouth.org).
We will determine the optimal time after discussing everyone’s schedule.
There will be several quizzes on the museum, so I suggest you plan to attend
with the class. If, for some extraordinary reason you cannot come
on this outing, you may visit the museum on your own and write a 5 page paper
in lieu of the museum quizzes.
NOTE: Students taking the course for graduate
credit have additional requirements. See the instructor for these
assignments as well as the graduate grading rubric.
General Education
PLSC 518: Politics of the American South
fulfills a number of Winthrop’s General Education 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 (4.1, 4.2, 4.3). ; by enabling you to examine values, attitudes, beliefs, and
habits which define the nature
and quality of life (7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 7.5). For more information on General
Education Goals, go to: http://www.winthrop.edu/universitycollege/GenEd/GNED%20Goals.htm
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.
Class Themes and Assignments
I Themes:
What is the South?
Why study Southern politics?
An Introduction to Southern economic history
Applebome (from Dixie Rising), pp. 4-22 (R)
Cochran (from Democracy Heading South). pp. 17-24 (R)
Wright (from Old South, New South), pp. 1-16 (R)
II Themes:
The South as a colonial economy
Race relations on the plantation
Why we really seceded and what it meant
Plantations, textiles, and early industry
Readings:
Wright (from Old South, New South), pp. 17-50 (R)
Wright (from Old South, New South), pp. 51-80 (R)
Wright (from The Political Economy of the Cotton South), pp. 10-42 (R)
Kantrowitz (from Ben Tillman), pp 10-39 (R)
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/huffmons/SlaveryQuotations.htm
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/huffmons/CausesOfSecession.htm
III Themes:
“Black-Belt” Politics
Color Lines
Foundations of Segregation
The “Democracy” and one party politics
The old South in presidential politics
Readings:
Key, Chpt 1 (R)
Key, Chpt 24 (R)
Key, Chpt 25 (R)
Prather (from Democracy Betrayed), pp. 15-41 (R)
Kantrowitz (from Democracy Betrayed), pp
95-111 (R)
Gavins (from Democracy Betrayed), pp 185-206
(R)
Vital South, Chpt. 4 (R)
Vital South, Chpt 5 (R)
Politics and Society, Chpt 1 and Chpt 4
IV Themes:
Industrialization and Urbanization
Rise of the Southern Middle Class
Readings:
Politics and Society, Chpt 2 and Chpt 3
Hanchett (Chpts 1, 2, 3 from Sorting out the New
South City), pp 13-88 (R)
V Themes:
Outer and intermediate color lines
The politics of civil rights
Readings:
Key, Chpts 30-31 (R)
Politics and Society, Chpts. 5, 6, & 7
Changes in the Southern electorate
Democrats and Dixecrats
GOP Growth in the Rim South
Readings:
Politics and Society, Chpt 8
The Rise of Southern Republicans, Chpts 3 & 4
VII Themes:
Contemporary Southern electorate
Public opinion in the modern South
Two-party politics in the 1980s
Readings:
Politics and Society, Chpts 9, 10, & 11
The Rise of Southern Republicans Chpt 1
The Rise of Southern Republicans Chpt 8
Kuklinski, Cobb, and Gilens,
“Racial Attitudes and the ‘New South’” (R)
VIII Themes:
Continuing Democratic strength
Emerging Republican presence
Readings:
Politics and Society Chpt 13
The Rise of Southern Republicans Chpt 9
The New Politics of the Old South,
Introduction, Chpt 1, Chpt
4, Chpt 5
The New Politics of the Old South, Chpt 7, Chpt 9, Chpt 11
IX Themes:
Religion and Politics in the South
Phillips (from American Theocracy Chpts 4 & 5) (R)
The New Politics of the Old South, Chpt 13
The New Politics of the Old South, Chpt 13
Personal Contact, Community Context, and
Support for an Anti-Gay Rights Referendum (R)
Political Culture, Gambling and the
Lottery in South Carolina (R)
X Themes:
Representation of black interests
Whites representing blacks
Blacks representing blacks
Redistricting and Representation
Symbolic v. Substantive representation
Readings:
Overby and Cosgrove, “Unintended Consequences...” (R)
Cameron, Epstein, and O'Halloran, “Do
Majority-Minority Districts Maximize Substantive Black Representation in
Congress?” (R)
Voss and
XII Themes
Southern Politics in National Perspective
Politics and Society, Chpt 12 and Chpt 14
The
Rise of Southern Republicans Chpt 12
*Others to be announced
Extra Credit
Buy a journal (the black & white type). Take at least one
journal page worth of notes on each individual reading / chapter we cover in
class. You will be awarded extra points on your final exam based on the
total number of readings for which you have taken notes. I will be
checking journals to tally points regularly throughout the semester. As
an added incentive, you will be allowed to use your notes from these journals
during quizzes.