Topics in Political Science: The First Amendment
Political Science 415
M 6-8:30 C121

Winter 2005

Available at: www.saintjoe.edu/~peterw
Instructor: Peter Watkins
Office: C208
Office Phone: x6350
peterw@saintjoe.edu

Introduction
This class is designed to introduce the student to the First Amendment and to the work of the United States Supreme Court. In addition to reading the Court's opinions in a number of important First Amendment cases, this course will also allow the student to focus in depth on three First Amendment cases decided by the Court. These cases, seen through the eyes of an historian, a journalist, and a professor of constitutional law, are Abrams v. United States (1919), The New York Times Company v. Sullivan (1964), and Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993).

The texts we will be using this semester are:
 If you are unable to get copies of the texts for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please give yourself sufficient time to read and re-read the material.

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, noted in parentheses, for assigned work. Please note: Additional readings may be assigned as the semester unfolds.

You will receive a zero if you absent yourself from quizzes. Half a letter grade (e.g. C+ to C) will be deducted for each day a writing assignment is handed in late. I will discuss exceptions to these rules at our first class meeting.

January 10: Introduction
January 17: O'Brien 370-380, 380-388, Schenck, Gitlow, Dennis, Brandenburg, O'Brien 409-414, Rust
January 24: Polenberg (entire text)
January 31: O'Brien 420-427, Roth, Stanley, O'Brien 432, Miller, Paris Adult Theatre I, Ferber, City of Erie, Reno, Finley
February 7: O'Brien 471-476, Cohen, Pacifica Foundation, R.A.V., Mitchell, O'Brien 502-506
February 14: Lewis (entire text)
February 21: O'Brien 506-513, Sullivan, Gertz, Masson, Cox Broadcasting Corporation
February 28: O'Brien 532-540, Bigelow, 44 Liquormart, Lorillard Tobacco
March 14: O'Brien 560-565, Near, New York Times, Branzburg, Houchins, O'Brien 589-594, Red Lion Broadcasting Co. Inc., Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium Inc., O'Brien 603-608, Globe Newspaper Company
March 21: O'Brien 611-615, Barnette, Tinker, Johnson, O'Brien 633-640, 640-646, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, United States Jaycees, Boy Scouts of America
April 4: O'Brien 663-671, 672-689, Everson, Engel, Abington School District, Lemon, Jaffree, Weisman
April 11: Zobrest, Board of Education of Kiryas Joel School District, Rosenberger, Agostini, Mitchell, Good News Club, O'Brien 782-785
April 18: O'Brien Animal Sacrifice & Religious Freedom: Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (entire text)
April 25: O'Brien 785-792, Sherbert, O'Brien 798-800, Yoder, Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon, Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, City of Boerne, O'Brien 829-834

Class Requirements
You are required to complete one research paper during the course of the semester. The paper is designed to get you to focus on legislative attempts to restrict free speech in the United States. The particular focus of the paper is the Sedition Act of 1798 and the Sedition Act of 1918. The paper must focus on 1) the context surrounding the passage of the laws under consideration; 2) the nature of the legislation; 3) arguments made for and against the passage of the legislation; 4) the life and ultimate fate of the legislation.

The paper must be a minimum of fifteen pages in length. It is to have a minimum of ten sources. The paper is due March 21.

Papers must possess a cover page and must be stapled in the top left-hand corner. They must be typed and double-spaced. The font size used in the paper must be no larger than 12pt. 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. You are responsible for keeping an extra copy of your paper. Failure to follow these requirements will lead to penalties being assigned.

I strongly urge you to take your paper 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, please let me know.

In addition to the above, you will also be tested on your understanding of the Court's work by taking a number of short in-class quizzes. The quizzes will be administered on January 24, February 14, March 14, April 4, April 25.

Finally, a portion of your grade will be determined by the quality, and to a lesser extent the frequency, of your class participation. In order to effectively participate in class discussion you must keep up with the reading assignments.

I tend to enjoy lively argument and debate in my classroom. I will frequently call upon students by name to address an issue that we are considering. Please come prepared to express your views about the issues at hand.

Your grade will be computed in the following way:

                                                                                Research Paper                    100 points
                                                                                Quizzes @ 15 points each    75 points
                                                                                Class Participation               100 points

                                                                                Total                                       275 points

No extra credit is available.

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.

Writing Portfolio
 All political science majors are required to keep a portfolio of their written work. This portfolio will be reviewed by members 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 types of assignments that can, and should, be placed in the portfolio will be discussed during the semester.

Office Hours and Contacting Your Professor
I will be available for conferences on MT 1-1:50 and W-F 8-8:50. 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 an e-mail message to peterw@saintjoe.edu.

I will often contact the class via e-mail. Please check your e-mail on a daily basis.

Student Tutors
In addition to the help available to you in class and during office hours, a student tutor will also be available to discuss class materials with you. I will provide you with details of the tutor's schedule during the first or second week of the semester.

Attendance Policy
A discussion of the college's attendance policy can be found in the Saint Joseph's College 2004-2005 Catalog. See pp. 47-48.

While your class participation grade is largely based on the quality of your participation, failure to attend class will have an adverse impact on your class participation grade.  In addition, attendance at class will profit you because attention will be given during those sessions to the reading material assigned for each quiz.

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 any athletic related absences.

Academic Honesty
"Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you, and act accordingly." - Thomas Jefferson

A discussion of academic honesty can be found in the college catalog. Please familiarize yourself with the policy. It can be found in the Saint Joseph's College 2004-2005 Catalog. Please reference pp. 52-54.