Please note: At your instructor’s discretion, there may be minor alterations to the reading assignments listed below. One of the major advantages to providing you with an on-line readings archive is that timely articles can be added or substituted when appropriate. 

Readings or documents that are underlined should be downloaded from the course website. Opening many of these documents will require that your computer have Acrobat Reader. You will also need the class-specific password to open individual files.

• Handout with focus questions for Unit 1

• HW Brands, "Founders Chic" (Atlantic Monthly, 2003, 8pp)

• Jay Tolson, "Founding Rivalries" (US News & World Report, 2001, 5pp)

• Lowi, et al., "The Founding and the Constitution" (Chapter 2, up to the sections on the Constitutional Convention)

• The Declaration of Independence (or see We the People's appendix). Skim. Don't get overwhelmed by the difficult language, but instead try to discern what the main complaints of America's colonists were.

• The Articles of Confederation (or see We the People's appendix). Skim. You don't need to know the details here. Instead, focus on trying to understand how America's first document conceived the relationship between the states, the national government, and everyday citizens.

• Lowi, et al., Chapter 2, read all sections on the Constitution except for the amendment process.

• Joeph J. Ellis, a selection from American Creation (2007, pp. 87-113). Skim. You don't need to know the details of this chapter; it is assigned in case you need more background information that what we have covered in class in order to understand the main ideas to help you understand the reading by Robertson.

• David Brian Robertson, "Madison's Opponents and Constitutional Design" (American Political Science Review). This is a very difficult reading, and you should just focus on the big questions addressed by the article: What specifically did Madison want and why? What was the process for drafting the Constitution, and why didn't Madison get what he wanted?  

July 1 (Th)—Did the Founders intend to forever "protect" our democracy from change? 

• Joeph J. Ellis, a selection from American Creation (2007, pp. 114-26) 

• Sanford Levinson, "The Democratic Deficit in America" (Harvard Law and Policy Journal, 2006, 7pp). Read this article carefully.

• Lowi, et al., Chapter 2, read the final section of the chapter on the amendment process and amendments that have passed.

July 2 (F)—Why was governmental power limited and divided? How and why has federal power grown and become more concentrated over time? 

• Federalist 10: The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (also in We the People's appendix). The Federalist Papers are very challenging reading. Focus on the main arguments as they relate to the questions in your Unit 1 study guide.

• Federalist 51 "The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments" (also in We the People's appendix)

• Lowi, et al., "Federalism" (Chapter 3)

July 5 (M)—No Class

July 6 (T)—How and why have civil liberties and rights developed and flourished in the United States?

• Lowi, et al., "Civil Liberties and Civil Rights")

• United States vs. Morrison, et al. (2003, the majority opinion, 3pp). This reading is short but difficult; pay attention to the logic and major court cases cited as the court explains why the federal government is Constitutionally limited in its ability to protect its citizens)

UNIT II: POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AND PARTICIPATION IN THE UNITED STATES 

July 7 (W)—Are Americans prepared to protect the common good through the democratic process?

• Robert Putnam, "The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital" (PS: Politics and Political Science, 1994). Please read the first 15 pages carefully and review the charts at the end.

• The Economist, "Vote for Me, Dimwit" (2007, 1p)

• Michael X. Delli Carpini, "In Search of the Informed Citizen" (Communication Review, 2000, 18pp).

July 8 (Th)—Political participation in America: Why is it so unequal and why does political inequality matter?

• Sidney Verba, Kay Scholozman, and Henry Rady, "The Big Tilt" (American Prospect, 1997, 7pp)

• Sidney Verba, "Would the Dream of Political Equality Turn out to Be a Nightmare? " (Perspectives on Politics, 2003, 17pp).

July 9 (F)—Mid-term examination

July 12 (M)—The American electoral system: Why so complex and so uncompetitive?

• Lowi, et al., "Political Parties and Elections" (Chapter 10, second half)

• Dan Gilgoff, "A Fake Democracy? (USN&WR, 2006, 4pp)

• Charles S. Bullock, "Two Generations of Redistricting" and Michael McDonald, "Drawing the Line" (Extensions, 2004, 10pp)

July 13 (T)—Campaigning in America: Why are so many voters and important issues being ignored?

• Marshall Ganz, "Voters in the Crosshairs" (The American Prospect, 1994, 11pp)

• Dan Gilgoff, "Everyone is a Special Interest" (US News & World Report, 2006, 2pp)

• Steven Levy, "Campaigns Get Personal" (Newsweek, 2008, 1p)

• Handout using survey data from the annual American National Election Survey (2005, 2pp): Who gets contacted by the parties and urged to register and vote? Please look carefully at the data to identify which socioeconomic and demograpic characteristics most closely correlate with being contacted by a party about voting.

July 14 (W)—How do political parties influence American politics?

• analytic Paper 1 due.

• Lowi, et al., "Political Parties and Elections" (Chapter 10, first half)

• What socioeconomic and demographic factors most highly correlate to partisan identification?  Handouts from the annual American National Election Survey (2005) that look at party affiliation over time: (1) Democrats by group affiliation; (2) Republicans by group affiliation.

• Lowi, et al., "The Media" (Chapter 7)

• Jay Tolson, "The Media on Trial" ( US News & World Report , 2004, 5pp)

• Ted Koppel, "Commercial Pressures and the News." Washington, DC: National Public Radio, November 18, 2005. You can listen to this five minute interview in either  *.wav or *.mp3 formats.
  

UNIT III: AMERICAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS AND POLICYMAKING

July 16 (F)—Is Congress the people's branch?

• Lowi, et al., "Congress" (Chapter 9)

• Steven Stark, "Too Representative?" (The Atlantic Monthly, 1995)

July 19 (M)—How and why modern presidents have become more powerful over time?

• Lowi, et al., "The Presidency" (Chapter 10)

• Gene Healy, "The Cult of the Presidency" (Reason Magazine, 2008, 8pp)

• Aziz Huq, "Imperial March" (Democracy Journal, 2008, 12pp)

 July 20 (T)—The bureaucracy: Is it as bad as they say?

• analytic Paper 2 due. 

• Lowi, et al., "Bureaucracy" (Chapter 11)

• Michael Grunwald, "Why Hurricane Katrina was a Man-Made Disaster" (The New Republic, 2006, 7pp)