M, W, and F 1:55-2:45
Instructor: Jason Kassel
kassel@ufl.edu
Office: 330
Office Hours: M 12:30-1:30 & F 12:30 – 1:30 (and by appointment)
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jkassel/Syllabus_Spring_2007.htm
“A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he cannot do, never does all he can.”
John Stuart Mill, Autobiography
University
Rules – I strictly adhere to all
About
the Instructor – I am a PhD Candidate in Political Science expecting a Ph.D.
prior to the Fall 2007 term.
Instructor
Pedagogy –My goal is to develop students who can understand
contemporary political events and place these within broad theoretical frameworks.
Class Rules
Required Textbooks
Required Reading
Packet
Additional
Class Goals
My primary goal for this class is to enable students to
understand the complexities and layers of legislative politics that is reported
daily in newspapers such as the New York
Times. At the end of the semester,
students will be able to comprehend, interpret, and analyze the events taking
place in
My secondary goal is to educate students on the different
ways in which political science has studied congress across American
history. Through class discussions about
the U.S. Constitution and the development of the American state, students will
learn the questions asked, and answers given, by congressional scholars about
the role of Congress in the
My final goal is to teach students the art of philosophically discussing the role legislatures occupy in a democracy. Students will learn an intellectual history of legislatures in the western world.
Student Grades
10% - Class attendance – Students are expected to attend class regularly and be prepared to participate in class discussions.
40% - Quizzes – On Fridays, students will take 15-minute quizzes. These will be short-answer essays that focus on broad thematic questions raised by the week’s readings.
40% - Discussion board participation - Students will participate in the WebCT discussion board set up for this class. On Mondays and Wednesdays students will initiate at least one post and respond to at least two. All of these posts must make references to the readings and current events.
10% - Final Exam
Due No Later Than Midnight April 29
Instructions - Students have the option of choosing one of five questions. The final paper should be 10-12 pages. I expect answers to be drawn from the readings, class discussions, and student posts on the discussion board. I would prefer students to use this as an exercise in reading and editing thoughts from throughout the semester. Examine your posts throughout the semester for growth in understanding the workings of the U.S. Congress. Identify continuities and discontinuities in your thinking. What types of issues do you think you have been most concerned about? What have you learned? What types of readings were most instructive? Students should also feel free to examine posts written by other students.
Everything needs to be cited. But there shouldn’t be long quotations. Ideally, you would want to identify a main point and then cite where that came from. Rely on the readings, both for fact and perspective. For instance, if you wrote, “Congress has become more of a professionalized work environment,” you would cite individual readings from the Zelizer book and, perhaps, the Loomis article.
Questions
1. Thinking metaphorically, how do you explain the historical relationship between Congress and the development of the American government? Be specific in your use of examples, and consistent in your use of metaphoric reasoning. Answer must include a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen metaphor.
2. Identify four metaphoric perspectives discussed this semester. What are the benefits and drawbacks of applying each to the Congress? Which one stands out for offering the most insights?
3. “Congress is fundamentally a human institution composed of ambitious individuals with big egos.” Defend or reject the validity of this statement. What types of broad generalizations does this allow you to make about the institution? Examples should include historical references, procedural structure, and institutional organization.
4. “Applying metaphoric thinking to Congress is useful for political science.” Agree or disagree with this statement. The answer should be focused on whether metaphors, as opposed to more ‘rigorous’ scientific methods (i.e. mathematics), leads to more meaningful generalizations, lessons, and predictions.
Option 5 can also be turned in
as an extra credit paper assignment.
5. With the advent of the Internet, some experts have
suggested that Congress can fulfill its responsibilities in a virtual space.
In 1997, during the 105th Congress, the House Committee on Rules held a
hearing on the subject titled “The 21st Century Congress.” The Chairman of the Rules Committee, David
Dreier, later wrote an essay denouncing the idea of a completely virtual
legislative space. Assess the pros and
cons of a virtual Congress. Focus on Congress as an institution and
relate your paper to topics discussed in class. What metaphoric lenses
require a physical space? Which ones do not? What new metaphors emerge?
Does deliberation require interpersonal contact through physical
proximity? Does bargaining? How would a virtual space affect the
behavior of political parties?
Reading Schedule
(I reserve the right to schedule additional readings.)
Week 1 January 8 – 12
(Getting Started)
Week 2 January 15 – 19 (The Bicameral
American Congress)
Week 3 January 22 –
26 (The Republican Congress [1995-2006])
Week 5 February 5 – 9
Week 6 February 12
-16
Week 7 February 19 –
23
Week 8 February 26 –
March 2
Week 9 March 5 – 9
*****SPRING BREAK****
Post Spring Break Discussion Board Rules
The significant difference between the Discussion Board during the first part of the semester and the last is that students are now responsible for only one part of the initiating/replying component. The class is divided into two groups by last name:
On these dates, Group 1 is responsible for initiating a post and Group 2 is responsible for replying to two posts:
On these dates, Group 2 is responsible for initiating a post and Group 1 is responsible for replying to two posts:
Week 11 March 19 – 23 (Historical)
Week 12 March 26 – 30
(Historical)
Week 13 April 2 – 6
(Historical)
Week 14 April 9 – 13
(Historical)
Week 15 April 16 – 20
(Historical)
Week 16 April 23 -27
(Wrap-up)