Where Are We?...  Why Are We Here?... What Have We Done?
(dedicated to Admiral James Stockdale)

updated 17 April 2010

Soundclip from the 1992
Vice Presidential Debate 
(thanks to Michael Harms for technical assistance)

On this page I will post (akin to "on this rock I shall build...") comments relevant to reading adjustments, course discussion points, etc., for the semester.  Check back frequently -- via the mothership or the link on Blackboard to access this information.

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17 April:  Papers are due in hard copy at the beginning of class on Monday and must be submitted to the "safe-assign" link on the Blackboard page before class.  Late papers will begin accruing penalties after that point.

Be sure to read Jillson's chapter on the presidency, Rossiter, and Neustadt for class on Monday. 

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4 April: Welcome back for the big push.  Your paper assignment is up on the Blackboard page, and here is the rough schedule we will follow for the remainder of the semester.

Courts: 5 - 7 April
Civil Liberties: 9 - 12 April
Presidency: 14 - 23 April
Congress: 26 April - 3 May

The readings will be consistent with what is listed in the syllabus.  Be sure to be through ALL the reading for the Civil Liberties section by class on 12 April.

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12 March: The mid-semester exam will be on Monday, 22 March.  Next week we will discuss political parties and elections.  For Monday's class, have Jillson, Chapter 7 and Smith v. Allwright ready, and keep the "Responsible Parties and Pluralism" handout with you all week long.  Wednesday we will discuss the Morine and Deane piece, as well as turn to elections.  In particular, make sure to have the V.O. Key reading in hand, and be sure to print out and bring the "Critical and Not-So-Critical Elections" handout to class.  We will finish our discussion of elections on Friday, so have finished Jillson, Chapter 8, by then.

We will have a review session Sunday, 21 March, from 5-6:00 PM, likely in the Tower Center Board room.  I will post, on the Blackboard page, essay questions from which you can begin your preparation for the exam by late afternoon, Saturday, 13 March.

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13 February:  Losing Friday's class put us behind.  We will make it up, not to worry on that, but I am concerned with your essay on the Federalist Papers pending.  This is what I offer you (posted also on the Blackboard Announcements page):

If I hear from at least 4 of you that you want to have a special discussion section on your Publius paper tomorrow, Sunday, 14 Feb., from 1-2 PM, in my office on the second floor of Carr Collins Hall, I will hold such a session.

Were it me, and were I writing my first paper for a course on a very difficult topic, I'd jump at this chance, but that may just be me.  I try to pursue excellence.  I hope you do.

If you are interested in the discussion session, please note your interest on the discussion board.  If I don't have at least 4 commitments by 11 AM tomorrow morning, I'll just scrub the session.  Talk this up with your classmates.  I think you'd likely find it very helpful.

Monday, 15 February, we will finish our discussion of The Federalist Papers and move on to “federalism.”  We will wrap that discussion up on Wednesday, so have all the cases read by then.  On Friday we will turn to Schattschneider, so have him in hand and ready to go.

Also, for those of you possibly interested in law school, the  Political Science Symposium is sponsoring a panel discussion featuring former SMU undergraduates who have gone on to law school.  They will talk about what from their SMU education prepared them well for legal study, and what they’d do differently if they had the chance to do it all over again.  The panel will be held on Friday, 19 February at 3:30 in 200 Hyer Hall and active attendance will result in modest extra credit.

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6 February:  Next week will be Federalist Papers week, preparing you for the paper which will be due in class on 22 February.  Have all the Federalist Papers closely in hand, for Monday's class.  Make sure to fill out the "Making Sense of ("Interpreting") the Argument of the Federalist" handout with you in class, and prepare to annotate it carefully.  (Indeed, it may make sense to print out two copies.  One for the notes/citations/references that you make while you are reading and rereading the papers, and another for notes during class discussion.  The paper will be a demanding exercise.  Gathering information that you will use in understanding and arguing the meaning of the Papers before we discuss the interpretations in class will better stage you for the vexing task before you.  The paper topic will be posted by the end of this weekend.

So, the class schedule for the next four classes is as follows:

Monday, 8 Feb.:  Faction and structure (all of Publius read)
Wednesday, 10 Feb.:  Interpretations of Publius (Beard, Wills' "Introduction" to The Federalist Papers, and reponder Roche)
Friday, 12 Feb.:  Finish interpretations.  Move on to "federalism."  (Jillson Chapter 3 and McCulloch)
Monday, 15 Feb.:  Modern federalism (the remainder of the Supreme Court cases)

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2 February:  As I said at the end of Monday's class, be sure you have started to get into the Federalist Papers by tomorrow, being at least through Numbers Nine and Ten.  ALSO, bring the "Making Sense of the Federalist" hand out.  You will find it vital to making sense of the Federalist, and you will also find it vital to your first paper.  Obviously, bring your copy of the Federalist.  I shouldn't even have to say that, but until you show me that you are not just glorified high school students I will continue to treat you as such.

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24 January:  For tomorrow's class, be sure to have read Jillson's first chapter, Adamany's introduction to Schattschneider's book, The Semisovereign People.  By Friday, 29 January, be sure to have read the second chapter of Jillson and the piece by Roche posted on the Blackboard page.  Read Schattschneider at your leisure for now.  We will turn to pointed discussion of his argument on 15 February, and you'll want to have him in hand by then.

A reminder that your “Individual Political Action” results are due to me by class time tomorrow.  You also need to select a piece you will present to the class by Friday, 29 January.  If I don’t get these items by their due dates, you will start losing points.  Losing points because you try and fall short is one thing; losing points because you are lazy or don’t follow instructions is quite another.  My advice?  Get your butts in gear.

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21 January:  If you have not yet done so, and a number of your industrious peers have, go to the "Individual Political Action" page, take the surveys, and email me the results by Monday, 25 January.

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18 January:  Our first class is Wednesday, 20 January, at 11 AM.  Be sure that you do the things noted below before then. 

• The student contract is now posted.  Please print up two copies, sign both, and turn them in to me in class no later than Friday, 28 August.

• Go over the Blackboard page carefully, noting what it contains and how to find what it contains. 

• Read over the syllabus.  It is up-to-date, but don't print it out as I will distribute copies in class. 

• It would be for the best if you have read Jillson, Chapter 1 and Appendix A before our first class.  Once you have finished those, start Schattschneider.  Read Adamany's "Introduction" first.  It will help.  Trust me.  This is not an easy read.  It is a good one, but what is good -- really good -- is not easy.

• For our second class, I ask you to read Plato's "Cave" -- from the seventh book of The Republic -- and write a one-page discussion of why I would assign it to you at the outset of a course introducing you to American Government and Politics.  It will be due at the beginning of class on 22 January.  Late papers will only be accepted from students who added the class on or after 20 January.

Once the semester begins, I will post here information of relevance to the content and conduct of our class. 

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