Presidency and Congress
                                                                           Political Science 304
                                                                                                          TR 2-3:15 C117

                                                                                                             Fall 2003

Instructor: Peter Watkins                                                                                                                                                  Office Hours M-R
Office: C208                                                                                                                                                                           11-11:50 and by 
Office Phone: x6350                                                                                                                      Appointment
peterw@saintjoe.edu

Introduction


This class is designed to provide the student with a relatively in-depth analysis of two of this country's most important political institutions. In addition to considering the work produced by students of these institutions, we will watch two documentary films

In addition to providing you with a good background on work on the presidency and Congress, this class is designed to continue to improve your research skills and oral communication skills. Much of our time this semester will be spent discussing the assigned material in class. Your research skills will be further fine-tuned by completing two short research papers.

You are required to purchase two texts for this class. They are

The texts we will utilize this semester are available for purchase at the College bookstore. If you are unable to get a copy for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I urge you to supplement the readings we will be completing this semester by watching the nightly news and a variety of news programs, and by reading a number of newspapers and magazines. I encourage you to be a frequent visitor to CNN Interactive, The New York Times on the Web and The Washington Post. Their addresses are www.cnn.com, www.nytimes.com, and www.washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post National Weekly Edition provides a fine review of American politics. Copies of The Washington Post National Weekly Edition can be found in the "periodical section" of the Robinson Memorial Library.

If you are a student with a disability, please meet with me at your earliest opportunity to discuss any accommodations you will need during class activity, examinations, and out of class assignments in order to participate fully and demonstrate your abilities.

Class Schedule

The course calendar can be found below. On it you will find a weekly breakdown of reading assignments and due dates for assigned work. In order to participate fully in this class all reading must be completed by the date noted in the calendar. Half a letter grade (e.g. C+ to C) will be deducted every day a writing assignment is handed in late. I will discuss exceptions to these rules at our first class meeting.

August 26-28: Introduction and Fiorina, Peterson, and Voss, Ch. 10 (8/28)
September 2-4: Pfiffner and Davidson, Section 1 (9/2) and Section 2 (9/4)
September 9-11: Pfiffner and Davidson, Section 3 (9/9) and The War Room (Video) (9/11)
September 16-18: Pfiffner and Davidson, Section 4 (9/16)
September 23-25: Pfiffner and Davidson, Section 5 (9/23)
September 30-October 2: Pfiffner and Davidson, Section 6 (9/30) 
October 7-9: Pfiffner and Davidson, Section 7 (10/7) and Section 8 (10/9)
October 14-16: Pfiffner and Davidson, Section 9 (10/14)
October 21-23: Fiorina, Peterson, and Voss, Ch. 9 (10/21) and Davidson and Oleszek, Part 1(10/23)
October 28-30: Davidson and Oleszek, Part 2 (10/28) A Perfect Candidate (Video) (10/30)
November 4-6: Davidson and Oleszek, Part 3 (Chs. 6-7) (11/4)
November 11-13: Davidson and Oleszek, Part 3 (Chs. 8-9) (11/11)
November 18-20: Davidson and Oleszek, Part 4 (Chs. 10-12) (11/18)
December 2-4: Davidson and Oleszek, Part 4 (Chs. 13-15) (12/2)
December 9-11: Davidson and Oleszek, Part 5 (12/9)

Please complete all reading assignments by the date indicated. The reading load is occasionally very heavy. The material from Fiorina, Peterson, and Voss will be placed on Reserve in the Robinson Memorial Library.

The documentary films, The War Room and A Perfect Candidate, will be shown on 9/11 and 10/30 respectively. Both films exceed the time (75 minutes) normally scheduled for class. The War Room runs for 96 minutes. A Perfect Candidate runs for 105 minutes. Please try and schedule your time so that you can view the film during class.

Class Requirements

You are required to complete two research papers this semester. The first paper, due October 9, provides you with the opportunity to study one of the following areas: (1) impeachment, (2) the line item veto, (3) war powers, (4) presidential immunity, (5) executive agreements. The paper is to be a minimum of 10 pages in length. You are required to have a minimum of 10 sources. Paper 2, due on November 20, invites you to research the electoral history, voting record and issue stances of the individual who represents your district in Congress. The page and source requirements for this paper are the same as those for Paper 1. I will discuss each of these papers in more detail during the second week of the semester.

Papers must possess a cover page, stapled in the top left-hand corner. They must be typed and double-spaced. A font size no larger than 12 pt. must be used. The right and bottom margins are to be 1 inch wide. The left margin is to be 1.25 inches wide. The top margin, with the exception of the first page, must be 1 inch wide. The top margin on the first page must be 2 inches in width. Papers must be handed in during class on the date the assignment is due. Failure to adhere to these requirements will lead to penalties being assigned.

I strongly urge you to take all your papers to the Writing Clinic. The Writing Clinic is located in Core 212. I also urge you to consult The Everyday Writer as you begin the writing process. If you do not have a copy of this text, and would like to peruse it, please let me know.

In addition to the above, you will also be graded on your performance in leading class discussion on the articles assigned for a particular class period. You job is to orally summarize the articles and then provide the class with questions that will lead to further discussion of the writings under consideration. I will hand out a sign-up sheet for this assignment during the second week of the semester.

Finally, you will be graded on the quality of your class participation. I urge you to participate in class on a regular basis. If you absent yourself from class without due cause your class participation grade will suffer.

Your grade will be computed in the following way:

                                                                             Research Papers @ 150 points each...300 points
                                                                             Discussion Leader.................................100 points
                                                                             Class Participation.................................100 points

                                                                             Total.........................................................500 points

No extra credit is available.

Half of your class participation grade will be assigned at mid-semester.

A=100%-94.5%, A-94.4%-89.5%, B+=89.4%-86.5%, B=86.4%-83.5%, B-=83.4%-79.5%, C+=79.4%-76.5%, C=76.4%-73.5%, C-=73.4%-69.5%, D+=69.4%-64.5%, D=64.4%-59.5%, F=59.4% and below.

Attendance Policy

A discussion of the college's attendance policy can be found in the Saint Joseph's College 2003-2004 Catalog. See pp. 47-48.

While your class participation grade is largely based on the qualityt of your participation, failure to attend class will have an adverse impact on your class participation grade.


If you are a member of an athletic team, please identify yourself during the first class session. Professor Teresa Massoels, the Faculty Athletic Representative, has prepared an information sheet for members of the faculty, which addresses questions of athletic-related absences. I will distribute this sheet to those identified as members of athletic teams. You, not your coach, are responsible for informing me of an athletic-related absences.

Writing Portfolio

All political science majors are required to keep a portfolio of their written work. This portfolio will be reviewed by member of the political science faculty prior to your enrollment in the capstone course, Seminar in Political Science. Your portfolio should be kept on a computer disk. The department will supply disks. The type of assignments that can and should be placed in the portfolio will be discussed during the semester.

Office Hours

I will be available for conferences at the times noted above. If you would like to meet me at another time, please make an appointment to do so. Appointments can be made by calling the number listed at the top of the syllabus, by calling me at home (866-8768), or by sending me an e-mail message.

Academic Honesty

A discussion of academic honesty can be found in the college catalog. Please familiarize yourself with this policy. It can be found in the Saint Joseph's College 2003-2004 Catalog. Please reference pp. 52-54.