PSC  312:  American Legislative System

Summer 2009

Professor Steve Borrelli
307 ten Hoor, 348-3802 (voicemail)

Office Hours:  MWF,  11 AM – 11:45 AM

My personal webpage (includes course info):    http://bama.ua.edu/~sborrell

Please send all communications concerning this course, and term papers if submitting electronically, to me VIA E-LEARNING E-MAIL for this course
(In emergency, or if E-Learning is down, you may e-mail to sborrell@bama.ua.edu)

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course offers a detailed examination and analysis of the US Congress:  its Constitutional origins and history; its current rules and procedures; the process of congressional selection (election); and its relationships with the executive branch, interest groups, courts, and the public.  

 

COURSE PREREQUISITES

None;  PSC 101  or the equivalent is highly recommended. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Students who successfully complete course requirements will gain:

1.  An understanding of the structure and powers of Congress as created by the Constitution, and as they have evolved over time;

2.  An understanding of the historical dynamics of congressional development in the last 200 years, focusing on the relative influences  of parties, party leaders, committees, and external forces;

3.  A thorough introduction to the current rules of the legislative process in the House and Senate, and how they can be used to shape policy and political outcomes; 

4.  An understanding of the process of electing and re-electing members of Congress, including an appreciation for why re-election rates are generally high, and the relative impact of national and local factors;

5.   Insight into the relationships of mutual influence between Congress and the public, the bureaucracy, interest groups, and the courts.  

6.   The ability to track legislation through various stages of the legislative process using THOMAS.loc.gov; house.gov, and senate.gov, and to apply concepts learned in class to information gained therefrom

7.  An introduction to the work of top political science scholars of Congress, and the issues and methodologies prevalent in political science research on Congress

 

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

 

Steven Smith, Jason Roberts, and Ryan Vander Wielen editors.  2009.  The American Congress Reader.  Cambridge University Press.

Note that this is an anthology, with each stand-alone chapter written by a different author or authors.  (Most of these selections are reprinted academic journal articles or book chapters).  In class and on tests, I will refer to readings from this book by the chapter authors’ names, not the chapter numbers, chapter titles, or the editors’ names.

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 

NOTES ON EXAMS:   The two exams will be noncumulative, and will be in identical formats:  50% multiple choice questions, 50% “short essay” questions (depending on your handwriting, a “short essay” will take up anywhere between 1/2 of one side of a page and one whole side of a page in an exam booklet).  Lecture and class discussion material is the highest priority in studying for the tests, but I do reserve the right to ask about some material exclusively from the textbook (not covered in class);  however, I will usually offer hints as to which chapters are most likely to be sources for exclusively- text-derived questions. 

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LATE PAPERS:  Late papers will be assessed a grade penalty commensurate with the degree of lateness.  Papers that are late because of verified illness or family emergency will not be penalized IF I am informed before or on the due date of the illness or emergency; if I am not informed, the usual penalties will apply.  Participation in University activities (including athletics) is NOT an acceptable excuse for a late paper;  students missing class for this reason are expected to find ways to turn their papers in early or ontime.

 

HOW TO TURN IN PAPERS:  The preferred method of turning in a paper is in person, during class on the day the paper is due.  The second best method is via e-mail attachment, sent through E-Learning’s  E-MAIL FUNCTION.  E-submitted papers should be in MS Word, MS Works, pdf, or Wordperfect format, and should not be zipped).  I WILL NOT ACCEPT PAPERS BY ANY OTHER METHOD THAN IN-CLASS SUBMISSION OR E-LEARNING E-MAIL.  THIS MEANS I WILL NOT ACCEPT PAPERS SENT TO MY REGULAR BAMA ADDRESS, PUT IN MY MAILBOX OR SLID UNDER MY DOOR.   I WILL TRY TO ACKNOWLEDGE BY E-MAIL EVERY PAPER THAT I RECEIVE VIA E-MAIL OR PERSONAL SUBMISSION.  IF I FAIL TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR E-MAIL SUBMISSION within 3 days of the due date,  PLEASE RE-SUBMIT YOUR PAPER (forwarding the original submission to show that you did it on time initially).    NO MATTER HOW OR WHEN YOU TURN IN YOUR PAPER, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO KEEP A BACKUP COPY ON FILE FOR YOURSELF UNTIL SEPTEMBER 1, 2009 in case anything happens to your original.  The instructor is not responsible for accidental loss or deletion of an original paper if the student has failed to keep a backup replacement copy.

 

Midterm Exam:  Tuesday, July 21, during class

Final Exam:   Friday, August 7, 2 PM

Paper Due:  Assigment posted Friday, July 10th;  DUE FRIDAY JULY 31, (12 noon )

 

Class participation bonus points:   students who contribute to class discussion thoughtfully and regularly (this includes substantive questions, i.e., other than “would you repeat that?” or “can we get out early today?”)  will receive one to five points added to their final exam grade.   

 

 

DISABILITY POLICY

If you have a disability that requires special accommodations in this class you need to contact the Office of Disability Services, 133B Martha Parham East, 348-4285 (or ods@bama.edu).  The Office of Disability Services will work with you and me to come up with specific plan that will meet your needs.

 

ATTENDANCE AND MAKEUPS POLICY
Attendance will not be taken on a daily basis.  However, especially given the accelerated pace of the summer term,  daily attendance and effective, personal note-taking is effectively essential in order to perform adequately on exams and in discussion.  Attendance also facilitates participation, which can lead to bonus points.

Makeups for the exams will be allowed only in cases of verified illness or family emergency covering the exact date of the exam itself.   It is entirely the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor in a timely fashion of the reasons for his her absence, to produce adequate verification of those reasons, and to schedule a makeup exam.

 

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY

The University of Alabama’s policy on academic dishonesty (which includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication) can be viewed at

http://www.teaching.ua.edu/policies/handbook/appendixpdfs/c.pdf


I will strictly adhere to and enforce this policy.  Penalties for academic dishonesty can be as severe as indefinite suspension from the University.

 

 

OUTLINE OF TOPICS AND READINGS

This schedule is a general guide and outline;  some topics may take more or less time than what is written here.  I will try to make clear at every class period exactly where we are in terms of readings and topics, and of course I will try to be very clear about the exact material to be covered on upcoming tests.   For those who attend class regularly, there should be little difficulty in knowing what topics are being covered and what readings should be done at any given point in the course (another reason why attending class pays off!)

EVERY FRIDAY, regardless of where we are at in the general course material,  we will devote the last hour of class to discussing current events and/or the assigned readings from the week from the American Congress Reader.  (If there are particular readings we will focus on, I will let you know on Thursday).    For maximum benefit, try to make sure you have done the required readings from that book by Friday.

 

 WEEK ONE (July 7-10)  Defining “Congress” and “Legislature”;  Representation and Lawmaking;  Constitutional Origins of Congress

READINGS:  Hibbing and Theiss Morse (Chapter 1)
Brady and Theriault (Chapter 2)

Constitution (Chapter 4)
Fenno (Chapter 6)
Lee (Chapter 11)

 

WEEK TWO (July 13–17)  Historical Evolution of Congress; Parties and Party Theories

READINGS:  Binder (Chapter 23)
Cooper and Brady (Chapter 14)
Cox and McCubbins (Chapter 15)
Smith (Chapter 16)

 

WEEK THREE (July 20–24)  The Legislative Processes in House and Senate
READINGS:  Chapters 20 and 21
Roberts and Smith (Chapter 24)
Shepsle and Weingast (Chapter 41;  read words, skip mathematics)

MIDTERM JULY 21st!!

 

WEEK FOUR (July 27-31)  The Budget Process, Congressional Elections

READINGS:  Solomon and Birnbaum (Chapter 39)
Mayhew (Chapter 10)
Jacobson (Chapter 9)
Sulkin (Chapter 13)

 

WEEK FIVE (August 3-5)  More on Committees, Interest Groups, the Bureaucracy, & Courts

READINGS:   Hurwitz, Moiles, and Rohde (Chapter 17)
Hall and Wayman (Chapter 36)
Wright (Chapter 37)
Krutz, Fleisher, and Bond (Chapter 35)