Pols 306 Syllabus_davenport

Colorado State University

POLS 306: Executive Politics Instructor: Mr. Ken Davenport Fall 2009 T/Th: 2:00-3:20 pm Classroom: Clark 238 Office: Clark 326 Office Hours: Tuesday 12:00-1:30 or by appt. Email: [email protected] Phone: 949-525-2611 (mobile)

Course Description: This course will focus principally on the evolution of the modern presidency since Franklin Roosevelt. It will address the presidency’s role and responsibilities, its historical development, institutional features and strategies of presidential leadership. In addition, we will evaluate in case-study format the dynamics of crisis decision-making. Each class will consist of a lecture of approximately 50-60 minutes duration, followed by a 20-30 minute period of class discussion. I will provide one or more questions to kick off the discussion. Class participation in these discussions and at other times during class is of critical importance in this course (and to your grade). It is essential that students come prepared to class ready to participate in these discussions – and that means doing the assigned reading. Required Course Texts (in CSU Book Store) •

Pfiffner, James P. and Roger Davidson. Understanding the Presidency, 5th edition. 2008 ISBN 9780321434357.

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Neustadt, Richard: Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, Revised Edition, Free Press, 1991 ISBN: 0-02-922796-8

Other Required Reading: •

Berman, Larry: Planning a Tragedy: The Americanization of the War in Vietnam, First Edition, Norton, 1982. ISBN13: 978-0-393-95326-8

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Allison, Graham: Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis, Second Edition, Longman, ISBN: 0-32101349-2

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You will be also assigned various readings in electronic format that will be available online.

Grading: Final grades will be assigned according to the following schedule: A 95-100%, A- 90-94, B+ 87-89%, B 83-87, B- 8083, C+ 77-79, C 73- 77%, C- 70-72, D 60-69%, F below 60%. They will be weighted as follows: Midterm Exam 1: 20%; Midterm Exam 2: 20%, Midterm Exam 3: 20% Term Paper Proposal: 5%, Term Paper: 25%, Class Participation: 10%. Midterm Exams: This class will have 3 mid-term exams and no final exam. All students must take the midterm exams in class on Thursday, September 24, Thursday, October 29 and Thursday, December 3. The exams will each consist of a combination of short-answer and essay questions. You must take all three exams to receive a passing grade in the course. Make-up exams will be given only in cases of documented medical or family emergency. If it is physically possible, the

instructor must be notified in advance of such an emergency. All make-ups are at the instructor’s discretion and would be in a different format than the original. Paper Proposal and Bibliography: All students will be writing a semester paper on a particular aspect of the Presidency. Students must choose a particular topic and turn in a proposal and bibliography of sources to be used in the paper. The proposal and bibliography are required to receive a passing grade in the class, and are due on Tuesday, September 29th. The proposal and bibliography are worth 5 points. Semester Paper: All students are required to write a semester research paper on a Presidency topic. All topics must be approved through the proposal and bibliography process. Final papers must utilize at least three academic sources from outside of class. Guidelines on what constitutes an academic source will be discussed later in class. Final papers must be 8-10 pages in length, double spaced, using 12 point Times New Roman font and 1 inch margins. Titles, blank spaces, pictures, graphs and other non-text materials in the paper do not count toward length requirements. Title pages and bibliographies do not count as pages of the paper. Students are required to cite sources within the paper, using either parenthetical references or endnotes. Substantial deviations from this format will receive a reduced grade. Note: Semester Papers are due Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 2 pm. Papers are to be submitted in hard-copy format on the date they are due. STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PAPER BEING READABLE BY THE INSTRUCTOR. Acceptable formats include Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format or PDF document. The paper is worth 25 points and late papers will receive a 2 point grade deduction per day. PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER Thursday, DECEMBER 17 AT NOON. Online Readings: I will make limited use of RamCT for announcements, etc. Your online readings will be available at a class blog at http://polisci306.blogspot.com. I will also be posting my lecture Power Point slides on the date that corresponds to the lecture. Attendance: You are adults and I will treat you as such. I will not be taking roll, but I have made clear here that attendance and participation will make up 10% of your grade, so I encourage you to come to class. Contacting the Instructor: You should feel free to contact me with any questions about the course. The best venue is during office hours. If you need to contact me outside of office hours, please email me. If I don’t respond within 24 hours please assume I didn’t get it and try again. Course Etiquette: Students are expected to come to class on time and stay the entire time. If it is necessary to come late or leave early, please let me know in advance. If your schedule does not permit you to be on time and in class on a regular basis, please take another course. Students are expected to be respectful of each other and of the instructor; lively debate is encouraged, but personal attacks are prohibited. The use of cell phones is prohibited during class for talking or texting. Students may use computers in class to take notes; if you are using your computer for other purposes, you will be prohibited from using a computer in class. These guidelines should be obvious, and they will help to make the course a more enjoyable experience for all!

Other Important Information Monday, October 19 is the last day to withdraw from the course with a grade of W. Academic dishonesty is strictly prohibited. For definitions of academic dishonesty, please see the CSU student handbook. Academic dishonesty will result in a 0 for the assignment in question. Students with learning disabilities that may affect exam-taking, note-taking or other aspects of the course should contact the instructor during the first two weeks of the semester. Course Schedule and Readings Note: Readings are to be completed BEFORE class on the assigned day. Part 1: Historical Foundations Week 1: August 25: Course Introduction (No Reading) August 27: Historical Foundation of the Presidency • Pfiffner Pages 1-5; • Pfiffner Readings 1, 2, 3, 4, Week 2: September 1: Historical Foundations: Washington • Article II of the U.S. Constitution • Online Readings September 3: Presidents on the Presidency • Pfiffner, Readings 6, 7, 8, 9 Week 3: September 8: War, Presidency and the Constitution • Pfiffner, 36 • Online Readings September 10: Toward a Modern Presidency • Pfiffner 10, 26 • Online Readings Week 4: September 15: Voting, Campaigning and Elections • Pfiffner 12, 13 • Online Readings September 17: Voting Campaigning and Elections • Pfiffner 14, 15, 19 • Online Readings

Week 5: September 22: The Presidency and the Press • Pfiffner 20, 21, 22 • Online Readings September 24: Midterm 1 in Class Part II: Presidential Power

Week 6: September 29: Presidential Power • Neustadt, Ch: 1, 2 • Term paper topics/bibliography due in class October 1: Power to Persuade • Neustadt, Ch: 3 Week 7: October 6: Personal Power • Neustadt, Ch: 4, 5 October 8: Going Public • Pfiffner, 23 • Online Readings Week 8: October 13: The Executive Presidency • Pfiffner 25, 27 • Online Readings October 15: The Presidency, Congress and the Courts • Pfiffner 28, 29, 42 • Online Readings Week 9: October 20: The Presidency, Congress and the Courts • Pfiffner 29, 31, 34 • Online Readings October 22: The Presidency, Congress and Foreign Policy • Pfiffner 37, 38, 39 • Online Readings

Week 10: October 27: The Presidency in the Age of Terrorism • Pfiffner 35, 40, 41 • Online Readings October 29: Midterm 2 in class Part III: The Presidency in Action Week 11: November 3: Case Study: The Cuban Missile Crisis • Allison, pp. 1-11 November 5: Case Study: The Cuban Missile Crisis • Allison, Ch. 5 Week 12: November 10: Case Study: The Cuban Missile Crisis (concluded) • Allison, Ch. 6 November 12: Case Study: LBJ and Vietnam • Berman, 1,2 Week 13: November 17: Case Study: LBJ and Vietnam • Berman, 3 November 19: Case Study: LBJ and Vietnam • Berman, 4, 5 Week 14: Thanksgiving Break November 24: No Class November 26: No Class Week 15: December 1: Catch up and Review December 3: Midterm 3 in Class Week 16: December 8: Term Paper Consultations December 10: Term Paper Consultations Week 17: Finals Week Semester papers due Tuesday, December 15 at 2 pm.