PSC 321: British Politics, Timetable

Page revised 1 May 2008 with video link, & previously with removal of Bartle book; by Dr. Jeremy Lewis.
Documentary films will only be shown in brief excerpts, and only when time permits.
Spring '08 NO classes: 21 Jan (MLK), 6-7 Mar. (Winter break), 21-31 Mar. (Spr. break), 9 Apr. (Assesst. day), 6 May (Dead day).
Week: [01] [02] [03] [04] [05] [06] [07] [08] [09] [10] [11] [12] [13] 14] [15] [Final]

PSC 321	British Politics, WEEKLY TOPICS:
	Reading	Topic (give priority to bold readings).	Speaker
Week 1	Norton 1	Contemporary Landscape
only Th 17 Jan	Dunleavy 1	Patrick Dunleavy, et al., "Introduction"
Week 2	Norton 2	Political Culture
22-24 Jan (M MLK)	Dunleavy 2	Steven Fielding, "A New Politics?"
	Dunleavy 12	Elizabeth Frazer, "Citizenship and Culture"
Week 3	Norton 3	Past & Present
28-30 Jan	Jeremy Lewis	Battle, Falklands /Malvinas. \| Lecture \| Maps
	Granada TV	Battle of the Falklands, documentary What happens when an old colonial commitment is challenged?
Week 4	Norton 4	Uncodified Constitution Lecture on British and US Constitution, for US Constitution Day [PPT]
5-7 Feb	Dunleavy 5	Gillian Peele, "Law and the Constitution"
Week 5	Norton 5	Electoral System: Fair and Workable?
12-14 Feb	Dunleavy 8	Patrick Dunleavy, "Elections as Party Politics"
Week 6	Norton 6	Political Parties: ... A Two Party System? [Lecture] *NEW*
19-21 Feb	Dunleavy 9	Paul Webb, "Political Parties: Adapting to the Electoral Market"
		[Sample Questions] TEST Tuesday week 7
Week 7	Norton 7	Interest Groups: Insiders or Outsiders? [Lecture] *NEW*
26-28 Feb	Dunleavy 11	Helen Margetts, "Political Participation and Protest"
	BBC Video	comedy drama series, Yes, Prime Minister: The Grand Design. (Nuclear-free defense strategy) The Smoke Screen (the plan to abolish smoking)
Week 8	Norton 8	Executive: Gov't at the Center [Lecture] *NEW*
only T 4 Mar	Dunleavy 6	Ian Holliday, "Executives and Administrations"
	Curtis (ed) v2	Thomas Hobbes
	Audio CD	Winston Churchill, Wartime Speeches to the House of Commons
		Research Links \| Scores
Week 9 11-13 Mar	Norton 10 Norton 11	New Assemblies: Gov't Beyond Center Local Gov't: Below the Center [Lecture] *NEW*
	Curtis (ed) v2	John Stuart Mill Herbert Spencer
	Dunleavy 3	Jon Pierre and Gerry Stoker, "Restructuring: Towards Multi-Level Governance"
Week 10	Norton 9	European Community: Above the Center \|
18-20 Mar	Dunleavy 4	Simon Hix, "Britain, the EU and the Euro" \|
	Dunleavy 16	Joanna Spear, "Foreign and Defence Policy"
	video	Granada TV, Battle of the Falklands
(GF)		Good Friday and Spring Break: No classes
Week 11	Norton 12	Parliament: Commons and Lords
25-27 Mar	Dunleavy 7	Philip Cowley, "Legislatures and Assemblies"
	web page	House of Lords, “The Membership of the House of Lords Briefing”. [expired link]
	Curtis (ed) v2	Thomas Paine
	Curtis (ed) v2	John Locke
	videos	House of Commons Question Time and debates: Thatcher \| Major \| Blair
		Mar 20-24 Spring Break: No class
Week 12	Norton 13	Monarchy: Above the Fray?
1-3 Apr	Curtis (ed) v1	James I on Divine right of Kings
	video	documentary films on The Windsors: a Royal family \| Elizabeth R Monarchy lecture notes
		Research Paper: due T week 13.
Week 13	Norton 14	Enforcement: Courts & Police
8-10 Apr	Dunleavy 13 Dunleavy 14 Dunleavy 15	Policy Topics: Colin Thain, "Economic Policy" Pete Alcock, "Welfare Policy" Andrew Jordan, "Environmental Policy"
	BBC video	"Yes, Prime Minister: The Official Visit" (state visit from African leader to Scotland, during marginal by-elections)
Week 14	Norton 15	Communication & Feedback: Mass Media
15-17 Apr	Dunleavy 10	Margaret Scammell, "New Media, New Politics"
	BBC video	comedy drama series, Yes, Prime Minister: The Ministerial Broadcast (the new strategy on national TV)
	C-SPAN videos	Gordon Brown, Chancellor, speech, "British Values: Liberty, Responsibility and Fairness," Fabian Society, Feb. '06 David Cameron, Conservative Conf. speech on values, Apr. '06. Blair biography, including clips of interview with Blair & Brown in 1993.
Week 15	Norton 16	Flux & Strength
28 Apr -2 May	Dunleavy 17	Andrew Gamble, "Policy Agendas in a Multi-Level Polity"
	PBS video	PBS, The Blair DecadeNEW Nova, PBS, "The Bomb Squad", 1997 PBS Frontline, "Behind the Mask: the IRA and Sinn Fein." Amanpour Reports, CNN, “The War Within”*NEW*
+ M 24 May		Conclusions
FINALS	Dead Day: T 6 May \| M 12 May, 11:30, Comprehensive FINAL essay examination

Resources:

Formerly required, still recommended, the series edited by John Bartle and others, Britain at the Polls, 2001, 2005, etc. 1997 was the most interesting election.

Recommended as excellent source for term paper research: Butler and Stokes, Political Change in Britain.

Is that a sticky wicket? Cricket explained for baseballers, from the Johns Hopkins University alumni update:

"Stroll into the upper quad at Homewood some summer evening, and you may just find yourself in the middle of... a cricket match. As disorienting as that is, it's nothing compared with staying and trying to figure out what's going on in a game that's wildly popular around the world but virtually unknown in the United States." The story of the JHU Cricket Club and a cricket primer written especially for the baseball fan are at
http://www.jhu.edu/~gazette/2003/21jul03/21crick.html