Home Page GOVT 710 Home Page Course Requirements Class Planner
August 28: No Class, Professor at APSA (American Political Science Association) Annual Meeting
Pick up readings for next week in graduate student lounge. Students are expected to complete them in advance of next week's class.
September 4: Pluralism and Elite Theory
John F. Manley, "Neo-Pluralism: A Class Analysis of Pluralism I and Pluralism II," American Political Science Review 77 (June 1983): 368-83.
Charles E. Lindblom, "Comment on Manley," American Political Science Review 77 (June 1983): 384-6.
Robert Dahl, "Comment on Manley," American Political Science Review 77 (June 1983): 386-9.
C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite (Oxford University Press 1956), Chapters 1, 12-13 (pp. 3-29, 269-324).
Peter Bachrach and Morton S. Baratz, "Two Faces of Power," American Political Science Review 56 (December 1962), 947-52.
Supplementary Reading:
Steven P. Erie, Rainbow's End: Irish-Americans and the Dilemmas of Urban Machine Politics, 1840-1985 (University of California Press 1988), Chapters 1-4, 7 (pp. 1-140, 236-66). Recommended that you read Chapters 5-6 as well.
Robert Dahl, Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City (Yale University Press 1961), Chapters 1, 4-7, 19 (pp. 2-8, 32-86, 223-8).
E. E. Schattscheneider, The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America (Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1960).
Murray Edelman, The Symbolic Uses of Politics (University of Illinois Press 1964).
Floyd Hunter, Community Power Structure: A Study of Decision Makers (University of North Carolina Press 1953).
September 9: Last Day to Add a Course or Change Grade Option
September 11: Participation
Raymond E. Wolfinger and Steven J. Rosenstone, Who Votes? (Yale University Press 1980), all (pp. 1-130).
Jonathan Nagler, "The Effect of Registration Laws and Education on U.S. Voter Turnout," American Political Science Review 85 (December 1991): 1394-1405.
Michael P. McDonald and Samuel Popkin, "The Myth of the Vanishing Voter," American Political Science Review 95 (2001): 963-74.
Stephen Knack, "Does 'Motor Voter' Work? Evidence from State-Level Data," Journal of Politics 57 (August 1995): 796-811.
Supplementary Reading:
*Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry Brady, Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics (Harvard University Press), Introduction and Chapters 9-14 (pp. 1-34, 269-415). Chapters 7-8 and 15-16 are recommended.
Henry E. Brady, Sidney Verba, and Kay Lehman Schlozman, "Beyond SES: A Resource Model of Political Participation," American Political Science Review 89 (June 1995): 271-94.
Richard J. Timpone, "Structure, Behavior, and Voter Turnout in the United States," American Political Science Review 92 (March 1998): 145-58.
Steven J. Rosenstone and John Mark Hansen, Mobilization, Participation and Democracy in America.
Benjamin Highton, "Easy Registration and Voter Turnout," Journal of Politics (May 1997): 565-75.
David Lublin and Katherine Tate, "Racial Group Competition in Urban Elections," Chapter 10 in Classifying by Race, edited by Paul E. Peterson (Princeton University Press 1995), pp. 245-61.
September 18: Party Identification
Angus Campbell, Philip E. Converse, Warren E. Miller, and Donald E. Stokes, The American Voter (1960), Chapters 6-7 (pp. 120-67).
Norman H. Nie, Sidney Verba, and John R. Petrocik, The Changing American Voter (Harvard University Press 1976), Chapter 4 (pp. 47-73).
Larry M. Bartels, "Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952-1996," American Journal of Political Science (January 2000): 35-50.
September 25: Congressional Elections, Paper Topic and Bibliography Due
Gary C. Jacobson, The Politics of Congressional Elections, 5th edition, Chapters 3, 5-6 (pp. 21-55, 101-209).
Andrew Gelman and Gary King, "Estimating Incumbency Advantage without Bias," American Journal of Poltical Science 34 (November 1990): 1142-64.
Supplementary Reading:
*Gary W. Cox and Jonathan N. Katz, "Why Did the Incumbency Advantage in U.S. House Elections Grow?" American Journal of Political Science 40 (May 1996): 478-97.
*Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, "A Dynamic Analysis of the Role of War Chests in Campaign Strategy," American Journal of Political Science 40 (May 1996): 352-71.
*David Epstein and Peter Zemsky, "Money Talks: Deterring Quality Challengers in Congressional Elections," American Political Science Review 89 (June 1995): 295-308.
Richard F. Fenno Jr., Home Style: House Members in Their Districts (Little, Brown and Company 1978).
Gary C. Jacobson, Money in Congressional Elections (Yale University Press 1980).
October 2: Formal Models: Voting and Interest Groups
Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy (HarperCollins 1957), portions of Chapters 1-4, 7 (pp. 3-8, 11-14, 21-31, 36-47, 96-103).
Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups (Harvard University Press 1990), Introduction and Chapters 1A-1C, part of 1D, 1E-F, 6 (pp. 1-22, 33-52, 132-67).
Donald P. Green and Ian Shapiro, Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory (Yale University Press 1996), Chapters 1-4 (pp. 1-71).
Lawrence S. Rothenberg, "Organizational Maintenance and the Retention Decision in Groups," American Political Science Review 82 (December 1988): 1129-52.
Supplemental Reading:
*Terry M. Moe, "Toward a Broader View of Interest Groups." Journal of Politics 43 (May, 1981): 531-543.
*Terry M. Moe, "Control and Feedback in Economic Regulation: The Case of the NLRB," American Political Science Review 79 (December 1985): 1094-1116.
Morris P. Fiorina, Retrospective Voting in American National Elections (Yale University Press 1981), Chapters 1-2 (pp. 3-43).
Frank R. Baumgartner and Beth L. Leach, Basic Interests: The Importance of Groups in Politics and Political Science, Chapters 2-6 (pp. 22-119).
Terry M. Moe, "A Calculus of Group Membership," American Journal of Political Science 24 (November 1980): 593-632.
October 9: The Media
Thomas E. Patterson and Luann Walther, Out of Order (Vintage 1994), Prologue and Chapters 1-2, 4 (pp. 3-93, 134-76); recommended that you read as much of the rest of the book as possible.
Stephen Ansolabehere et al, "Does Attack Advertising Demobilize the Electorate?" American Political Science Review 88 (December 1994): 829-38.
Supplemental Reading:
*Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., Shanto Iyengar, Adam Simon, and Oliver Wright, "Crime in Black and White: The Violent, Scary World of Local News," Press/Politics 1: 3(1996): 6-23.
*Marc J. Hetherington, "The Media's Role in Forming Voters' National Economic Evaluations in 1992," American Journal of Political Science 40 (May 1996): 372-95.
Stephen Ansolabehere and Shanto Iyengar, Going Negative: How Political Advertisements Shrink and Polarize the Electorate (Free Press 1995).
October 16: Representatives in Congress
David R. Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection (Yale University Press 1974), complete book, especially Introduction and Part I (pp. 1-180).
Gary C. Jacobson, The Politics of Congressional Elections, 5th edition, end of Chapter 8 (pp. 242-67).
Supplemental Reading:
John H. Aldrich and David W. Rohde, "The Consequences of Party Organization in the House: The Role of the Majority and Minority Parties in Conditional Party Government" in Jon R. Bond and Richard Fleisher, Polarized Politics: Congress and the President in a Partisan Era (Chapter 3).
Richard F. Fenno, Jr., Congressmen in Committees (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company 1973; reissued by Institute of Governmental Studies Press), Introduction and Chapters 1-4 (pp. xiii-xvii, 1-138).
October 18: Last Day to Drop a Course
October 23: Candidate Characteristics, Literature Review Due
Keith Reeves, Voting Hopes or Fears? White Voters, Black Candidates, and Racial Politics in America (Oxford University Press 1997), Chapters 1-6 (pp. 13-111).
Nayda Terkildsen, "When White Voters Evaluate Black Candidates: The Processing Implications of Candidate Skin Color, Prejudice, and Self-Monitoring," American Journal of Political Science 37(November 1993): 1032-53.
Supplemental Reading:
*Barbara C. Burrell, A Woman's Place is in the House: Campaigning for Congress in the Feminist Era (University of Michigan Press 1996), Chapters 7-8 (pp. 131-82).
*Leonie Huddy and Nayda Terkilsen, "Gender Stereotypes and the Perception of Male and Female Candidates," American Journal of Political Science 37(February 1993): 119-47.
October 30: The Voting Rights Act and Racial Redistricting
Frank R. Parker, Black Votes Count: Political Empowerment in Mississippi after 1965 (University of North Carolina Press 1990), Chapter 2 (pp. 34-77). It is recommended that students also read Chapters 3-6 (pp. 78-197).
David Lublin, The Paradox of Representation: Racial Gerrymandering and Minority Interests in Congress (Princeton University Press 1997), Chapters 3, 5-6 (pp. 39-54, 72-119).
Supplemental Reading:
*Carol M. Swain, Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress (Harvard University Press 1995).
"The Voting Rights Act," text found in Keith Reeves, Voting Hopes or Fears? White Voters, Black Candidates, and Racial Politics in America (Oxford University Press 1997), Appendix C (pp. 119-44).
November 6: No Class, Professor at Southern Political Science Association Conference
November 13: Parties and Realignment I
James L. Sundquist, Dynamics of the Party System: Alignment and Realignment of Political Parties in the United States (The Brookings Institution 1983), Chapters 2-5, 10, 13, 18 (pp. 19-105, 198-239, 298-321).
Supplemental Reading:
*Leon Epstein, Political Parties in the American Mold (University of Wisconsin Press 1990), Chapters 2, 6 (pp. 9-39, 155-99).
David K. Ryden, "‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’: The Judicial Shaping of Party Activities." In John C. Green and Daniel M. Shea, eds., The State of the Parties: The Changing Role of Contemporary American Parties (Rowman and Littlefield 1999), pp. 50-65.
Steven J. Rosenstone, Roy L. Behr, and Edward H. Lazarus, Third Parties in America, Second edition, revised and expanded (Princeton University Press 1996), Chapters 1-2, 5-6, 9 (pp. 3-47, 125-88, 231-73). Unlike with Neustadt’s Presidential Power, you really need this edition of the book because earlier editions do not contain the chapter on Perot.
November 19: Rough Draft Due (Optional)
November 20: Parties and Realignment II
James M. Glaser, Race, Campaign Politics and the Realignment in the South (Yale University Press 1996), Chapters 1-6 (pp. 1-196).
Martin P. Wattenberg, The Rise of Candidate-Centered Politics: Presidential Elections in the 1980s (Harvard University Press 1991), Chapter 2 (pp. 31-46).
Larry M. Bartels, "Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952-1996," American Journal of Political Science (January 2000): 35-50. (Reread this piece.)
Supplemental Reading:
Edward G. Carmines and James A. Stimson, Issue Evolution: Race and the Transformation of American Politics (Princeton University Press 1989), Chapters 1-2 (pp. 3-58).
William Crotty, Party Reform (Longman 1983).
Morris Fiorina, Divided Government (Allyn and Bacon 1996).
Kevin P. Phillips, The Emerging Republican Majority (Arlington House 1969).
Martin P. Wattenberg, The Decline of American Political Parties 1952-1984 (Harvard University Press 1986).
November 27: No Class, Thanksgiving Break
December 4: The Presidency and The Judiciary, Final Paper Due.
Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan (Free Press 1990), Chapters 1-6 (pp. 3-127). Earlier editions of Presidential Power will contain this material as well so the use of this edition is not critical.
Aaron Wildavsky, "The Two Presidencies." In Aaron Wildavsky, Perspectives on the Presidency (pp. 448-61).
Donald A. Peppers, "'The Two Presidencies': Eight Years Later." In Aaron Wildavsky, Perspectives on the Presidency (pp. 462-71).
Donald R. Songer and Stefanie A. Lindquist, "Not the Whole Story: The Impact of Justices' Values on Supreme Court Decision Making," American Journal of Political Science 40 (1996): 1049-63.
Supplemental Reading:
*Samuel Kernell, Going Public (Third Edition), Chapters 1-4 (pp. 1-139).
*Donald R. Songer, Jeffrey A. Segal, and Charles M. Cameron, "The Hierarchy of Justice: Testing a Principal-Agent Model of Supreme Court-Circuit Court Interactions," American Journal of Political Science 38 (1994): 673-96.
*Jeffrey A. Segal and Harold J. Spaeth, The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lawrence Baum, The Puzzle of Judicial Behavior (University of Michigan Press 1997).
Karen O'Connor, Women's Organizations' Use of the Courts. Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books.
December 18: Final Exam
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the American University. If you have any questions about this page, please email David Lublin at dlublin@american.edu. This page was last updated on August 20, 2002.