Government Politics and Law

Tentative Course Syllabus

Tentative Schedule for the Course

Section Topics Covered Timeline

Context and Overview:
American Political Culture
The Founding and the
Constitution: Origins &
Structure
• Declaration of Independence Aug 25 – Aug 29
• Declaration of Sentiments
• King’s ‘I have a Dream’
• De Tocqueville’s Democracy
• Lipset’s American Exceptionalism
• Articles I – II, III – IV Aug 29 – Sept 5
• Address of the Penn Minority
• Jefferson’s Letter to Madison Sept 4 – Field
• Federalism: The Federalist 47, 48, Trip

Federalism 51
• Excerpt: Wood’s The Creation of
Unit Exam:
the American Republic
Monday, Sept 8
Congress • Miller and Stokes’ ‘Constituency Sept 11 -
Influence in Congress’
• Mayhew’s Congress: The Electoral
Connection
• Hibbing and Smith’s ‘What America
Wants Congress to Be’
The Presidency • The Federalist 68, 70 Oct 20 – Oct 24
The Bureaucracy •
The Judiciary • The Federalist 78 Oct 27 – Oct 31
• Marbury v. Madison
Political Parties • Hershey and Beck’s Party Politics in
America
• Key’s ‘A Theory of Critical Elections’
• Key’s ‘Secular Realignment and the
Party System’
Interest Groups • The Federalist 10 Nov 10 – Nov 14
• Schattschneider’s The
Semisovereign People
• Salisbury’s ‘An Exchange Theory of
Interest Groups’
The American Voter • Nov 3 – Nov 7
The Media • Nov 17 - 21
WINTER BREAK WINTER BREAK Dec 1 – 19
???? End of Semester Dec 22 – Jan 3
Jan 6 – Jan 16