Tuesday, Thursday 10:20 – 11:35
Bush 1006
Instructor: Dave
Peterson
Office: 2037
Phone: 845-6783
Email:
Office
hours: Tuesday
and Thursday
The best way to
get a hold of me is through email.
Please keep in mind that I am unlikely to check my email much later than
Description:
In this class we are going to be studying how individuals act
politically. We will seek to understand
how political behavior is affected by characteristics of people--their
abilities, skills, personalities, identities, values and attitudes--and the
political environment--institutions, information, norms, conflicts
of interest. Many different topics of
American politics can be included in this topic. This course is designed to introduce you to
some of these and the ways political scientists study them. More specifically, I will ask: Where do
political attitudes come from? How do people make political decisions? How do we decide who we will vote for? If we will vote at all? What is the role of the mass media is shaping
and/or creating our opinions? How should
we (or can we) create a more tolerant society?
Objectives:
I have several goals for this Semester.
Primarily I want to provide you with knowledge that will allow you to
answer the question: Why do people behave the way they do in politics? By the end of the quarter, you should be able
to appreciate that the answer to that question can be quite complex. In addition, we want to introduce you to some
ways of doing empirical research in political science. My purpose here is to give you a sense of the
things that are involved in evaluating different theories. How do people pursue their hunches, ideas,
and hypotheses about the causes of political behavior? I hope to show you that
original research can be interesting, even fun.
Finally, through various written assignments, I want to encourage
analytical thinking about political behavior.
Student Responsibilities: Students should come to class having
read the material assigned for that day. You will be evaluated based on two
exams (a mid term and a non-comprehensive final) and three short papers. I WILL NOT– repeat, NOT negotiate over the
due dates for assignments. Under very rare circumstances, I will consider
changing grads given on exams or papers.
However, any request for a re-evaluation must 1) be in writing (typed),
justifying why you believe you deserve a better grade and 2) turned in to me in
one of the two class session immediately following the assignment is
returned. Be warned: if your request is
reasonable, the assignment will be re-evaluated. This may cause your grade to go up, but it
may cause it to go down.
Books: Several books have
been ordered for the course and you should also purchase a course packet. They are available in the MSC Bookstore. You
should purchase the following books:
·
Iyengar,
Shanto and Donald R. Kinder. 1987.
News that Matters.
·
Marcus,
George E., John L. Sullivan, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, and Sandra L. Wood. 1995. With Malice Toward Some: How People Make Civil
Liberties Judgments.
·
Stimson,
James A. 1999. Public Opinion in
·
Flanigan,
William H. and Nancy H. Zingale. 2002. Political Behavior of the American
Electorate. CQ Press.
Grading:
Midterm: 35%
Written Projects: 30%
Second Exam: 35%
Note on
attendance and participation: I expect that you will attend class and participate
in discussions. At the same time, I am
realistic. You are all adults, and you
are here to learn. If you feel you need
to miss a class for some reason that is your prerogative. While I do not assign points for
participation, when it comes time to assign final grades, I will keep the
amount you participated in mind. Those
who demonstrate that they understand the material and have learned something in
this class may have their grades improved.
Basically, I will not punish you for not being involved in class, but I
will reward you if you are prepared and participate.
Course outline
January 14 &
16: Introduction
January 21 –
February 6
February 11 –
February 27
March 4 Exam
Review
March 6 Exam
March 11 &
13 Spring Break
March 18 – April
3
April 8 – April
22
April 24 Exam
Review
May 2,
Second Exam (not
a cumulative final)
I
expect that all students will conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent
with the Aggie Code. Any lying or
cheating in this class will be handled in accordance with Texas A&M policy.
The
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute
that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with
disabilities. Among other things, this
legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a
learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their
disabilities. If you believe you have a
disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student
Life, Services for Students with Disabilities in Room 126 of the
Course Materials/Copyright
Statements
The
handouts used in this course are copyrighted.
By “handouts,” I mean all materials generated for this class, which
include but are not limited to syllabi, quizzes, exams, lab problems, in-class
materials review sheets, and additional problem sets. Because these are copyrighted, you do not
have the right to copy the handouts, unless I expressly grant permission.
Plagiarism Statement
As
commonly defined, plagiarism consists of passing off as one’s own the ideas,
words, writings, etc., which belong to another.
In accordance with the definition, you are committing plagiarism if you
copy the work of another person and turn it in as your own, even if you should
have the permission of the person.
Plagiarism is one of the worst academic sins, for the plagiarist
destroys the trust among colleagues without which research cannot be safely
communicated. If you have any questions
regarding plagiarism, please consult the latest issue of the Texas A&M University Student Rules, under the section
“Scholastic Dishonesty.”