Political Science 365
Congress and the Legislative Process
Spring, 2008 James Przybylski
The purpose of this course is to familiarize the student with Congress and the legislative process. Among the topics covered will be how candidates for Congress are recruited and nominated for office, how the electoral system works, the differences between Hill styles and home styles, the structures and processes by which Congress is run, the place of political parties and interest groups in the system, how the committee system works, and the relationship of Congress to the rest of the government. While the predominant stress of the course will be on the U.S. Congress, attention will be paid from time to time to state legislatures and parliaments in other countries to give the student a comparative perspective. It is hoped that by the end of the semester the student will have developed a deeper and broader understanding not only of the visible and formal aspects of Congress but of the informal and less visible as well.
The required texts for the course are Congress and Its Members, 11th Edition, by Roger Davidson, Walter Oleszek, and Frances Lee as well as Congress Reconsidered, 8th Edition, edited by Lawrence Dodd and Bruce Oppenheimer. In addition the student will want to become familiar with sources of information on the Internet such as Thomas and Project Vote Smart. Of course, it is also assumed that the student will follow congressional events on the Internet and in the media.
There will be one semester exam worth 100 points, two short exams worth 50 points each, and a final exam that will be worth 100 points. In addition, the student will participate in a congressional simulation exercise of the United States Senate worth 200 points. There will be several parts to the simulation. The first 50 points will involve setting up a profile of the assigned senator and the sponsoring of a bill appropriate to the senator being played. The next 100 points will involve the student's participation in the actual simulation including the sponsoring of a second bill appropriate to the position held by the senator. For the final 50 points, the student will write a paper evaluating the simulation including one's own performance in the simulation as well as evaluations of others in the class. Finally, there will likely be assignments from time to time to help the student understand assigned material. These could be worth up to 75 total points.
“The university is committed to making every possible effort to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Disability Services office (x4478) as soon as possible.”
This course will follow the normal conventions concerning proscribed student behavior. If any questions, refer to the following site: studentinvolvement.truman.edu/handbook/conduct.html#pros.
Dr. Przybylski's Office is MC223; his phone number is 785-4657; his e-mail address is jprz@truman.edu. His website is at www2.truman.edu/jprz/przybyls.html
A. Introduction and Background
January 16 Davidson,
Oleszek, and
January 18 Dodd and Oppenheimer, eds., “What the American Public Wants Congress to Be,” pp. 55-75, by John Hibbing and Christopher Larimer.
January 21 Martin Luther King Day
January 23-25 Davidson,
Oleszek, and
January 28 Dodd and Oppenheimer, eds., “Keystone Reconsidered,” pp. 159-179, by Morris Fiorina.
Simulation Roles Assigned
B. Recruitment, Election, and Presentation of
Candidates
January 30- Davidson,
Oleszek, and
February 1 Simulation Preparation Begins
February 4-6 Davidson,
Oleszek, and
Discuss Presidential Primary
February 8 Dodd and Oppenheimer, eds., “Voters, Candidates, and Issues in Congressional Elections,” pp. 77-106, by Robert Erikson and Gerald Wright.
February
11-13 Davidson, Oleszek, and
Simulation Preparation
C. Leadership in Congress
February 15-18 Davidson,
Oleszek, and
February 20 University
Conference Day
February 22 Dodd and Oppenheimer, eds., “The Dynamics of Party Government in Congress,” pp. 181-205, by Steven Smith and Gerald Gamm.
Simulation Preparation
February
25 Dodd and Oppenheimer,
eds., “Obstruction and Leadership in the
pp. 227-248, by C. Lawrence Evans and Daniel Lipinski.*
February 27 Review for Exam
February
29 Semester Exam #1
D.
Committees, Rules and Decision-Making in Congress
March 3-5 Davidson, Oleszek, and
Begin Simulation
March 7 Dodd and Oppenheimer, eds., “Congressional Committees in a Partisan Era,”
pp. 249-270, by John Aldrich and David Rohde.
Simulation
March 10-14 Midterm Break
March
17 Davidson, Oleszek,
and
March
19 Simulation
March 21 Davidson, Oleszek, and
Simulation
March 24 Spring Break
E. Congressional Policy-Making and Simulation
March 26 Davidson,
Oleszek, and
Review
March 28 Short Test #1
Simulation
March
31 Davidson, Oleszek,
and
Simulation
April 2 Simulation
April 3 Student Research Conference
April 4-7 Davidson, Oleszek, and
April 9 Davidson, Oleszek, and
Simulation
April 11 Dodd and Oppenheimer, eds., “From Congressional to Presidential Preeminence,” pp. 363-393, by Joseph Cooper.
Simulation
April 14 Davidson, Oleszek, and
Simulation
April
16 Davidson,
Oleszek, and
Simulation
April 18 Review
April 21 Short
Test #2
Simulation
April 23-25 Continue and Conclude Simulation
F. Conclusions
April
28-30 Davidson, Oleszek,
and
Dodd and
Oppenheimer, eds., “Re-Envisioning Congress: Theoretical Perspectives on
Congressional Change-2004, by
May 2 Conclusions
May 5 (Monday) Final Exam 11:30-1:20