PSC 212: American Policy System, Syllabus

By Jeremy Lewis. Last revised 6 Jan. 2009 with minor editing.

PURPOSE:

1997 Catalog description, PSC 212: American Policy System The system of making and implementing public policy with case studies of public policy such as foreign policy, economic policy and civil rights. State and local government with Alabama as a particular example. Recommended: 201. (201 is no longer a pre-requisite).

Learning Objectives, at the introductory level:

Knowledge of the federal system
Understanding of the process of making and implementing public policy
Knowledge of case studies of domestic public policy such as economic policy, health care, welfare and civil rights.
Competence in the basics of international relations
A brief introduction to US foreign policy
Introductory knowledge of state and local government
Understanding of Alabama as a particular example of politics
Critical thinking about current challenges in state politics and policy
Critical thinking about current challenges in federal policymaking

Expected Outcomes, at the introductory level:

Competent exam answers on the federal policymaking system
Competent exam answers on US domestic policy
Competent exam answers on US foreign policy
Competent exam answers on the current challenges in world politics
Competent exam answers on state and local government
Critical discussion of the contemporary challenges in the federal policymaking system
Critical discussion of the contemporary challenges in US domestic policy
Critical discussion of the contemporary challenges in US foreign policy
Critical discussion of the current challenges in world politics
Critical discussion of the current challenges in state and local government

This introductory course will be devoted primarily to the process and results of policymaking at the federal, state and local level. This course, not simply the second half of American Government, has an emphasis on public policy using Larry Brewster's lively text, The Public Agenda; and more emphasis on the state level and the basic characteristics of international relations.

This course will present you with some of the moral questions about public policy and explain some of the choices the American system has made in public programs. For example, what does federal law actually say about abortion, school prayer or capital punishment? How does the law match or contradict public opinion? Why is American health care policy or taxation so distinct from that of other developed liberal democracies? Is the federal government actually distinguished by waste, fraud and abuse -- or is that more true of the states and cities, including Alabama and Montgomery?

Throughout the Janda text you will find fascinating data charts which we will examine in class -- and in Serow's The Lanahan Polity Reader, classic readings of political theory for class debate.

Rather than simply listening to lectures, you will be invited to present readings, and question guest speakers in class on the dilemmas of democracy and public policy. Mondays will usually offer an interactive lecture on the key points of the main text chapter, often followed by a Wednesday discussion of Janda's data charts or Serow's readings. Often the end of the week will offer a guest speaker, video documentary, or Serow reading-based seminar with students contributing presentations, questions and discussion. (You may present from outline notes, but not by reading out of the outlines or the book: that is unparliamentary!)

ABOUT THE BOOKS:
Note: Resources in blue are shared with other political science courses:

Kenneth Janda, Jeffrey Berry and Sheldon Goldman, The Challenge of Democracy. (Houghton Mifflin /DC Heath.) Probably the liveliest and most comparative of the more theoretical leading texts. [Chapters 11-20]
Ann Serow (ed), The Lanahan American Polity Reader. (Lanahan Press.) [Parts 13-16]. The cheapest and yet perhaps the most plentiful anthology on the market. You will present and discuss most of these in seminar sessions, matching each section to a chapter of Challenge.
William Riordon, Plunkitt of Tamany Hall. (Dutton). [Entire]. Classic, brief memoir of ward politics in an immigrant machine. How well does this relate to modern Alabamian politics?
Lawrence G. Brewster and Genie Stowers, The Public Agenda. (Thomson /Wadsworth.) [Entire]. A lively, inexpensive text on topics in public policy.

In a ring binder on library reserve: Selected policy chapters of some excellent American Government texts. e.g., James Q. Wilson and John DiIulio, American Government.; Thomas Patterson, American Government; or Fiorina and Peterson, The New American Democracy. Some other brief materials (e.g. on

Alabama state politics, campaigning, the Clinton Presidency and the 1994 or 1996 elections) are also included.

Current Affairs: You will subscribe to Newsweek or US News at the lowest available discount -- generally under $9. The magazine will bill you directly.

Discontinued:Khan, Study Guide for the Challenge of Democracy. (Houghton Mifflin /DC Heath.) [Chapters 11-20]. Recommended as preparation for tests, explains text's concepts, but no longer required.

Behavior: you are expected to comply with the HC honor Code and with specific rules placed on our Requirements page above.

Accommodation of Special Needs, HC notice, from August 2008:
Faculty at Huntingdon College make every effort to accommodate unique and special needs of students with respect to speech, hearing, vision, seating, or other possible adaptions. Please notify the Disability Services Intake Coordinator, Ms. Camilla Irvin, as soon as possible of requested accommodations.