This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.
A list of topics is presented in the calendar below.
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
This course provides students with an introduction to the basic institutions of American government, especially as established in the constitution, and with an introduction to currents of thought among social scientists about the workings of U.S. politics. This is a communication intensive course. As such you are required to write at least 20 pages - that's the C.I. requirement - and participate in class discussions.
| Requirements | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Participation | 20% |
| Reading Paper and Discussion Leader | 20% |
| Observation Paper | 20% |
| Term Paper | 40% |
Regular attendance and participation in class discussion.
Write one short paper on the readings for one of the weeks. Please choose one of the weeks during the first week of class.
This paper is due Tuesday morning, 10 a.m., of the week about which the paper is written. The paper should engage what you feel to be an interesting political question raised in the readings. The paper should be 3 to 4 pages long, double spaced, 12 points, 1 inch margins. Send the paper to me and to all other students in the class electronically. I will use these to open conversation about the week's topic. During your week I expect you to help lead discussion. The paper will be graded on your writing and analysis and your participation during that week.
The paper should be 3 to 4 pages long and on a topic related to your term paper. Please submit your paper by the end of Week 7.
A 15-page research paper that builds off the observation paper on one of the topics distributed in class. I expect you to choose a topic and inform your TA by the end of Week #6. You will work in recitation on how to research and write your paper. You are required to submit a paper outline by end of Week #8 and a rough draft by the end of Week #10. We will give you comments on your draft so that you can rewrite the paper and turn it in by the end of Week #14.
| Term paper stages | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Outline | 10% |
| Rough Draft | 40% |
| Final Term Paper | 50% |
Please see assignments for more detailed instructions for the reading paper, observation paper, and term paper.
The papers will be graded on the quality of thought and analysis of the political situation, the research you do, and the quality of writing.
| WEEK # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction and Politics of the American Constitution | ||
| 1 | Introduction and Organization | |
| 2 | Theories and Theoretical Tools | Choose one week's readings on which to write a short paper |
| Pluralism and Its Critiques | ||
| 3 | Pluralism | |
| 4 | Economic Interests | |
| 5 | Race | |
| 6 | Collective Action | Term paper topic due |
| Voting and Elections | ||
| 7 | Party and Ideology | Observation paper due |
| 8 | Responsiveness | Term paper outline due |
| 9 | Retrospective Voting Issue Ownership | |
| 10 | Voting and Seats Election Reading | Rough draft of term paper due |
| Law Making | ||
| 11 | Representation | |
| 12-13 | Policy Making | |
| Media and Politics | ||
| 14 | Zaller's Theory | Term paper due |
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