PS 468: The United States Congress Fall 2009 2:00-3:20, Tuesday and Thursday McKenzie Hall 240A

Professor: Curt Ziniel Office: 917 PLC Office hours: 10:00-11:00am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or by appointment Phone: 346-4862 Email: cziniel@uoregon.edu

GTF: Michael Weinerman Office: 636 PLC Office hours: 10:30-11:30am Tuesday and Thursday or by appointment Phone: 346-4972 Email: weinerma@uoregon.edu

Course Description:

This course examines current knowledge about, and debates surrounding, the United States Congress. We will examine Congress as an institution as well as a collection of political representatives. We will explore a variety of congressional issues. These include (but are not limited to) members’ goals, elections, competitiveness, redistricting, trust, careerism, party politics, committees, process, presidential relations, and constituent representation. Students should gain a solid foundation toward understanding how Congress functions as a political institution and representative body.

Required Course Texts:

Davidson, Roger H., Walter J. Oleszek, & Frances E. Lee. 2007. Congress and Its Members (12^th Edition). Congressional Quarterly Press.

Dodd, Lawrence C. & Bruce I. Oppenheimer. 2008. Congress Reconsidered (9^th Edition). Congressional Quarterly Press.

Burden, Barry. 2007. Personal Roots of Representation. Princeton University Press.

Following the current policy debates and politics within Congress will also help to make the class material more relevant and interesting. News articles about Congress can be found on the websites of most major newspapers (i.e. Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today). More detailed information can be found on Politico (www.politico.com) and The Hill (www.hillnews.com).

Grading:

Miscellaneous class assignments (0-5%)

• I may randomly request small tasks or assignments to be completed either during class or by the next class period. Examples include in-class group work, bringing a news article about a member of Congress to class, or writing up a couple of sample exam questions and bringing them to the exam study session. These assignments will generally not be graded but rather checked for completion. If I require students to bring something to the next class I will also post a note on blackboard.

Paper #1 (20%)

• 4 to 5 page paper comparing and contrasting two scholarly works on Congress

• Due on October 27^th at start of class. See blackboard for a full assignment

description. Midterm exam (20%)

• Scheduled October 29^th during class. Paper #2 (30-35%)

• • 7 to 9 page paper analyzing the representation of a single member of Congress
• Due December 3^rd at start of class. See blackboard for a full assignment description. Final exam (25%)

• Final comprehensive exam scheduled Thursday December 10^th at 1:00pm.

Academic Honesty:

I will not tolerate academic dishonesty in any form. All work must be your own and produced exclusively for this course. Source material must be correctly cited. All papers must be submitted in two forms: in a paper hardcopy handed to the professor or GTF and electronically through blackboard. I will provide further details on submitting papers through blackboard.

You should be familiar with the University’s policies on academic conduct, which can be found at: http://studentlife.uoregon.edu/StudentConductandCommunityStandards/StudentConductC ode/tabid/69/Default.aspx

More information about the correct citation of sources and avoiding plagiarism can be found at: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students

Disability Resources:

The University of Oregon is working to create inclusive learning environments. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your participation, please notify me as soon as possible. You are also welcome to contact Disability Services in 164 Oregon Hall at 346-1155 or disabsrv@uoregon.edu

Course Outline:

Week 1: Introduction to Congress, current challenges September 29^th

• Introduction to the course. October 1^st: Two Congress concept and challenges facing the 111^th Congress.

• Davidson. Chapters 1 and 2.

• Dodd. Chapters 3, 16, and 18.

Week 2: Goals, interests, and trust. October 6^th

• Mayhew, David R. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven, CT. Yale

University Press. Chapter #1, pages 13-77 (available on blackboard). October 8^th

• Davidson. Chapter 5.

Week 3: Careerism and congressional campaigns. October 13^th: Campaigns part 1.

• Davidson. Chapters 3 and 4.

• Dodd. Chapter 4. October 15^th: Campaigns part 2.

• Dodd. Chapters 5 and 6.

Week 4: Competitiveness and party politics. October 20^th: Partisan redistricting.

• Abramowitz, Alan, Brad Alexander, and Matthew Gunning. 2006. “Incumbency, Redistricting, and the Decline of Competition in U.S. House Elections.” The Journal of Politics, 68:75-88 (available on blackboard).

October 22^nd: Party politics part 1.

• Davidson. Chapter 6.

• Dodd. Chapters 7 and 8.

Week 5: Party politics and midterm exam. October 27^th: Party politics part 2 and study session.

• Binder, Sarah A. 1999. “The Dynamics of Legislative Gridlock, 1947-96.” The American Politics Science Review, 93(3):519-33 (available on blackboard).

• Paper #1 due at start of class. October 29^th: Midterm Exam.

Week 6: Committees and structure. November 3^rd

• Davidson. Chapters 7 and 9.

• Dodd. Chapter 10. November 5^th

• Weingast, Barry R. and William J. Marshall. 1988. “The Industrial Organization of Congress; or, Why Legislatures, Like Firms, Are Not Organized as Markets.” Journal of Political Economy, 96(1): 132-163.

Week 7: Congress and the other branches of government. November 10^th

• Davidson. Chapters 10 and 11.

• Dodd. Chapter 14. November 12^th

• Davidson. Chapter 12.

• Dodd. Chapter 11.

Week 8: Representation in Congress. November 17^th: Introduction to political representation.

• Burden. Chapters 1 and 2.

• Mansbridge, Jane. 2003. “Rethinking Representation.” American Political Science

Review, 97(4): 515-28. November 19^th: Representation continued

• No readings.

Week 9: Representation November 24^th

• Burden. Chapters 3 and 4. November 26^th

• • No Class. Enjoy Thanksgiving break.
• Burden. Chapters 5 and 6. December 3^rd

Week 10: Representation December 1^st

• Paper #2 due at start of class. Final exam review.

Week 11: Finals Week Final exam: 1:00pm, Thursday December 10^th