In this course, we will study strategies used by political elites, interest groups, activists, and others with an interest in influencing political behavior. Primary topics include public opinion, ideology, the development of subjectivity, governmentality, voting behavior, and political identity.
Students will be investigate these themes both as they are articulated in the literature of political science and political theory and as they pertain to contemporary politics.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
- Quintus Tullius Cicero, How to Win an Election: An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians, Princeton
- Niccolo Machiavelli, The Essential Writings of Machiavelli, Modern Library
- Michel Foucault, Security, Territory, Population, Picador
- Michael Kazin, The Populist Persuasion, Cornell
- Thomas Frank, What’s the Matter with Kansas, Picador
- George Lakoff, The Political Mind, Penguin
- Jill Lepore, The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle over American History
Texts must be brought to class on the day they will be discussed.
Students must read the Politics section of a newspaper daily or subscribe to an RSS feed like talkingpointsmemo.com or something similar that emphasizes politics.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
This course will emphasize critical reading and analysis of the assigned texts. The reading load will be approximately 75-100 pages per week. Class meetings will be a combination of lectures and discussions. Readings should be completed before the class meeting in which they will be discussed. This enables students to get the most out of the lectures and to participate effectively in discussion.
Discussion: During class discussion you are not expected to have fully developed points of view about the course materials, but you are expected to participate. You will be rewarded for trying; you will not be penalized for being wrong or unclear, but it should be clear that you have done the readings and are working toward mastery of the material.
Aggressive Reading: Unlike other courses in which you read to complete an assignment—in which you read in order to read every word—you will benefit most from this course by reading aggressively. Rather than attempting to read every word, you should attempt to understand and ponder every idea. That may allow you to skim/skip repetitive paragraphs, or you may need to read some sections two or three times. The key is that you read for understanding, not completion. You are most likely to do this if you read with a pen and paper in which you write down ideas, questions, quotes, points of confusion, and points of disagreement.
Questions: None of us, myself included, knows everything about the topics of this class. It is our responsibility to ask others who may know the answer, either in class, in office hours, or over dinner. I expect that you are learning the material, not that you know it. As much as possible, try not to be shy or embarrassed about what you don’t yet know. The biggest failure in learning any material, in college or in life, is to fail to ask questions about things you do not know.
Availability: I expect that all of you, either alone or in groups, will contact me at some point during the semester. I am available to discuss the course material, either during office hours, at other times, over the phone, or through email. If you would prefer to schedule a time during non-office hours, simply contact me by phone or email and we will schedule an appropriate time.
Laptops and Cell Phones: Laptops may not be used is class. Cell phones must be turned off and put away during class meetings.
EVALUATION CRITERIA:
- Weekly Assignments: 30%
- Research Paper: 30%
- Final Exam: 20%
- In-class participation: 10%
- Online participation: 10%
Weekly Assignments: On the Schedule of Meetings (below), you will find study questions for each class session. On the first day of class, students will be assigned questions for each week. All students are responsible for writing approximately 500 words in response to these questions. The weekly assignments must be brought to class so that they can be used in our discussion. Students will be discussion leaders for the questions they have answered. Answers must also be transcribed to the Blog tool on Blackboard by 11:59 pm after class. In these assignments, you should not only answer the questions as they pertain to the texts but also relate insights from the texts to contemporary political issues. Weekly assignments will be given a “4” for outstanding work, a “3” for adequate work, and a “1” if the work is inadequate.
Online Participation: Students must contribute 250 words to our blogs each week by Monday at 11:59 pm. Main responses will have been posted by midnight on Thursday after class. You may contribute to as many of the entries as you like, as long as your contribution totals 250 words.
Research Paper: Students are required to write a 5000-word research paper. For this paper, students will select a particular public policy, describe the various arguments made for and against that policy, and then critically evaluate the strategies used by political elites to win support for their policy preference. Students must upload an outline to SafeAssign on Blackboard by 11:59 pm after class in week 3. On the dates given below, students must upload 1500 words of their research by 11:59 pm. Original work must be submitted on each occasion. I will return this work with comments and suggestions. The completed final draft will be due on Sunday before finals week at 11:59 pm. Late papers will be penalized at the rate of one grade per day.
Final Exam: The final exam will be composed of a selection of the study questions given below.
In-Class Participation: Class participation will be measured based on attendance and preparedness (i.e. whether students are prepared to discuss the reading in class). Students who miss more than three classes will automatically suffer a deduction of one-third of a grade (e.g. a B+ becomes a B). Students who miss more than six classes will suffer a full grade deduction (e.g. a B+ becomes a C+).
SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS AND REQUIRED READINGS:
August 30: Kant, “An Answer to the Question ‘What is Enlightenment?,” “Kant’s Trouble with Romney: The Enlightenment Gap,” and “Should We Have Elections”
Sept. 6: Quintus Tullius Cicero, How to Win and Election (entire book)
- Group 1___OH, JL, BM___________________________________________________
- Who were Marcus and Quintus Cicero? p. xi
- What are the similarities and differences between how elections were won in Rome and in contemporary politics? p. xi
- How does Freeman summarize Cicero’s rules for winning elections? pp. xvi-xxi
- What are the dangers in promising “everything to everybody?” pp. xviii-xix
- “Commication skills are key.” (p. xix) Is this true today? What, if anything has changed?
- Group 2___AN, AG, JA___________________________________________________
- How might the strategies Cicero recommends for winning elections make it difficult to govern afterward? To what extent are the strategies Cicero recommends also good for governing? p. xx
- What is the difference between a traditionalist and a populist? p. 9
- Why is it important that Marcus convince voters he is a traditionalist? p. 9
- What is the danger in being percieved as a populist? p. 9
- What are the qualities of a good candidate? What does Cicero leave off of the list, in your opinion? p. 13
- Group 3___AC, KA, EO___________________________________________________
- What disqualifies Antonius as a viable candidate? p. 13
- What disqualifies Catiline as a viable candidate? p. 15
- What lesson Gaius Coelius’ campaign illustrate for Marcus? p. 21
- Why are people jealous of Marcus? Why is this a problem for him politically? p. 23
- What, in Cicero’s opinion, were Marcus’ deficiencies? How does Cicero recommend that Marcus handle those deficiencies? p. 25
- Group 4___KF, SK, NB, CT________________________________________________
- What is “friendship,” as Cicero employs the term? p. 27
- Why must Marcus pay particular attention to his family and friends? p. 29
- Why must Marcus cultivate supporters from a variety of backgrounds? p. 29
- Why should Marcus court “men of distinguished reputations” first? Is this still the case in contemporary American politics? Think of an example that supports your position. p. 29
- Why does Cicero emphasize the gratitude of supporters as especially important? p. 31
- What is the danger in cultivating people of high reputation? p. 3
- Group 5___LF, HM, MM, MK________________________________________________
- What are the differnt types of friendship? p. 39
- Does Marcus’ greatest advantage lie in his own good qualities or in his opponents’ lack of them? p. 43
- What is the role of appearance in political success? p. 61
- What are the things that are disgraceful in ordinary life but useful in running for office? p. 63
- Why does Cicero advise Marcus to make more promises than he can keep? p. 71
- What, if anything, about Cicero’s advice is outdated? p. 79
Sept. 13 Machiavelli, pp. ix-xv, 3-64
- Group 1_JA, KF, OH________________________________________
- According to Constantine, how should we read Machiavelli? p. x-xi
- According to Constantine, what role should biography play in our understanding of Machiavelli? p. xi
- What does Machiavelli claim is the basis of the conclusions he draws about politics? p. 5
- What are the different types of states? p. 7
- Why are new principalities particularly difficult to govern? p. 9
- Group 2__JL, MM, NB_________________________________________________
- What must a prince know about his subjects? p. 10
- What aspects of political culture must a prince understand? p. 10
- What should a prince do to hold a state? p. 11
- What is the purpose of governance for the prince?
- When should princes wage war? p. 13
- Group 3__AG, KA_________________________________________________
- When should princes attempt to acquire new territory? p. 15
- What is freedom for Machiavelli? p. 20
- What should the prince do if he must rule over people who are accustomed to freedom? p. 20
- Why are free states harder to conquer? p. 21
- How does Machiavelli’s advice compare to Cicero’s? What might account for the differences?
- Group 4___AC, LF ________________________________________________
- What role does “Fortune” play in a prince’s success? p. 27
- What is the modern-day equivalent of eliminating enemies? p. 29
- What were the advantages and disadvantages of giving power to Ramiro de Lorqua? p. 29
- What is so appealing about leaving the populace “both stunned and appeased?” p. 29
- What is success in politics? Can it be enough to “prevent a choice of which [one does] not approve?” p. 31
- Group 5___HM, AN________________________________________________
- How might Machiavelli’s insights be applied to a democracy?
- Does Machiavelli write esoterically (i.e. does he shield naive readers from his true message)? p. 34
- Is Agathocles an example of a good prince? p. 36
- What are the primary challenges of governing a civil principality? p. 37
- What are the two humors or impulses? What must the prince do to manage these two humors? p. 37
- Group 6___CT, SK________________________________________________
- Is it better from the prince to align himself with the nobles or the people? p. 38
- What are the challenges of govering an ecclesiastical principality? p. 44
- Why is it more important to have a good army than good laws? p. 47
- Why are excellent mercenaries dangerous? p. 48
- What are the comparative advantages and disadvantages of a auxiliary army and a citizen army? p. 52-3
- Why does Machiavelli spend so much time on war and warfighting?
- Group 7__BM, DT_________________________________________________
- Why shouldn’t princes be concerned to comport themselves correctly? p. 59
- What’s wrong with generosity in a prince? p. 61
- When, if ever, should a prince be generous? p. 62
- What is the difference between “disdain” and “hatred?” Why is it tolerable to incur disdain but not hatred? p. 63
- Is it better to be loved or feared? Why? p. 64
- How is it possible to use cruelty well? p. 64
Sept. 20: Machiavelli, pp. 65-100, 101-107, 121-6, 132-5, 140-2, 147-50, 151-4, 181-2, 185-7, 194-5, 199-200, 203, 208-9, 210-14, 215-19, 237-9, 246-8, 253-8
- Group 1___CT, HM________________________________________________
- How do princes avoid being hated? p. 65-79
- When, if ever, should princes keep their word? p. 68
- Why is appearance “most necessary?” p. 69
- Why are conspiracies relatively easy to avoid? p. 73
- When should a prince build fortresses? p. 83
- Group 2__SK, AN_________________________________________________
- Machiavelli counsels princes to choose a side in conflicts. (p. 86) Is this true in a democratic context as well?
- How should a prince combat fortune? p. 94
- What is a republican form of government? p. 101
- How do the strategies for governing in a principality differ from those in a republic?
- Why does Machiavelli believe it is so important to study antiquity? p. 106
- Group 3___BM,_AC, AG_______________________________________________
- What is Marchiavelli’s critique of Christianity? p. 106
- Why was Rome strong? p. 121
- How does discord produce liberty? p. 121
- What is liberty?
- When do the people pose a threat to stability and liberty? p. 122
- Group 4____DT, LF, KA_______________________________________________
- Is the protection of liberty more secure in the hands of the populace or of the nobles? p. 124
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of giving power to the people and the nobles respectively? p. 125
- Why do those with power threaten liberty more than those without it? p. 126
- What are the uses of clashes? p. 127
- “Many might judge it a bad example that a founder of a state…would first have killed his brother?” Why shouldn’t they? p. 140
- Group 5_____JL, JA______________________________________________
- Why must a legislator have recourse to God? p. 149
- How does the papacy threaten Italy’s religiosity? p. 154
- What means must a prince or republic employ to avoid the vice of ingratitude? p. 181
- How can a general or citizen avoid falling into ingratitude? p. 181
- When a problem within a state has grown, how should it be handled? p. 185
- Group 6______KF, MM_____________________________________________
- Why are the nobles and populace so dangerous to one another? p. 200
- How should the state respond to the conflict between the nobles and the populace? p. 200
- What is the role of necessity?
- Why must republic’s or prince’s “make a show” of generosity? p. 203
- Can a “man of gravity and respect” control a “aroused multitude?” p. 208-9
- Why is governance so much easier when the populace is not corrupted? p. 210
- Group 7____OH, NB_______________________________________________
- Why is it impossible to create a principality where there is equality or a republic where there is no equality? p. 210
- How does the example of Venice undermine Machiavelli’s position? p. 213
- Why is the populace wiser and more constant than the prince? p. 215
- What is the danger in deliberation? p. 241
- Why are insults so dangerous (and useless)? p. 246
- What does it mean to bring a state back to its origins, and why is it so important? p. 253
Sept. 27: Foucault, Security, Territory, Population, Introduction, ch. 1, ch. 2 (pp. 44-49), ch. 3 (pp. 63-5)
- Group 1__KA, JA, NB_________________________________________________
- What are governmentality and pastoral power? What is the relationship between the two? p. xviii-xix
- What is the appeal of “conduct” for Foucault? p. xix
- “Resistance is ‘coextensive and absolutely contemporaneous’ to power.” (p. xx) What are the implications of this, especially for those who would resist power?
- Give an example of what Foucault calls “counter-conduct?” p. xxiii
- What is ascesis? p. xxiii
- Group 2__AC, KF, DT_________________________________________________
- What is the relationship between morality, moral conduct, and pracitices of the self? p. xxiv
- What are the components of “care of the self?” p. xxiv
- What is the relationship between power and freedom? p. xxiv
- What is asceticism? Why isn’t Christianity ascetic? p. xxiv-xxv
- What is the “‘juridification’ of moral and political experience?” p. xxvi
- Group 3__LF, AG_________________________________________________
- What is the relevance of J.S. Mill to Foucault’s argument? p. xxvii
- What is truly radical about homosexuality? What might Foucault think of gay marriage? p. xxviii
- “Probably the principal objective today is not to discover but to refuse what we are?” What is the meaning of this claim? p. xxx
- Why not “behave yourself?” p. xxxii
- What is “bio-power?” p. 1
- Group 4__OH, SK_________________________________________________
- From where do mechanisms of power emerge? p. 2
- On what basis does Foucault define philosophy as “the politics of truth?” p. 3
- Foucault frames his analysis around struggle. What must one know if one wants to struggle? p. 3
- What is the difference between the two “modulations” penalizing stealing? p. 4
- What effects of the second modulation of punishment is Foucault interested in exploring? p. 4
- Group 5__JL, HM_________________________________________________
- How do the different penal forms map on different historical periods? p. 6
- What is the role of history in philosophy? p. 8
- What does Foucault mean by “security?” p. 10
- What is an apparatus (dispositif)? p. 11
- What is population? How does it emerge historically? p. 11
- Group 6__MM, BM_________________________________________________
- What are the targets of sovereignty, discipline, and security? p. 11
- What was the apparatus of governance in the 18th-century European town? p. 18
- What is the difference between discipline and security as models of governance? p. 19
- What are the three differences between discipline and security? pp. 44-46
- Law works “in the imaginary.” (p. 47) What is the meaning of this claim?
- “Freedom is nothing else but the correlative of the deployment of apparatuses of security.” (p. 48) What is the meaning of this claim?
- Group 7__AN, CT_________________________________________________
- How does Foucault use the term “ideology?” p. 49
- What is the relationship between a law and a norm? p. 56
- Why is the town important in the shift from discipline to security? pp. 63-4
- Why was the town “free” under feudalism in a way that the rest of the territory was not? p. 64
- What is the “problem of circulation?” p. 64
Oct. 4: Foucault, Security, Territory, Population, ch. 3 (65-79), chs. 4-5, pp. 183-5, 191-7, 273-5, FIRST INSTALLMENT OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE (1500 WORDS)
- Group 1__KA, AC, NB_________________________________________________
- How is Foucault’s analysis different from Machiavelli’s? p. 65
- What is a panopticon? Why is it archaic? p. 66
- How and why did the concept “population” change in the 17th century? p. 68
- What is required for the population to serve the state’s power and strength? p. 69
- What are mercantilists and physiocrats? p. 70
- Group 2__LF, OH, DT_________________________________________________
- How does the physiocrats’ view of population differ from the mercantilists’ view? p. 70
- What techniques are available for controlling the population on the physiocrats’ (security) model? p. 72
- What unites a diverse population? p. 72
- What series of knowledges emerges with population? p. 76
- “Man…, as he is reflected in nineteenth century humanism, is nothing other than a figure of population.” (p. 79) What does Foucault mean? What are the implications of this claim?
- “For Machiavelli, the Prince exists in a relationship of singularity and externality, of transcendence, to his principality.” (p. 91) What does Foucault mean by this?
- Group 3__JL, MM_________________________________________________
- What are the consequences of the externality of the Prince? pp. 91-2
- What is the “art of government?” (p. 92) Why is it missing in Machiavelli?
- What are the three types of government? p. 93
- How does La Perrière’s definition of government differ from Machiavelli’s? p. 96
- Why does the importance of law recede for La Perrière? p. 99
- Why, according to La Perrière, should a good ruler rule like a bumblebee? p. 100
- Group 4__AN, JA_________________________________________________
- What were the conditions for the emergence of the art of government? p. 103
- What role do statistics play in the art of government? p. 104
- How does the family change with the emergence of population? p. 105
- What role do sovereignty and discipline play in the new era of population? p. 107
- What does Foucault mean by “governmentality?” p. 108
- Group 5__KF, AG_________________________________________________
- What are the three stages of governmentality? What characterizes each one? p. 110
- What is a “technology of power?” p. 117
- “Madness exists, which does not mean that it is a thing.” What does this mean? p. 118
- What did “government” connote in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries? p. 121-2
- How is the Greco-Roman model of governance different from the Hebrew model? pp. 122-25
- Group 6__SK, HM_________________________________________________
- What differences between the Greek gods and the Hebrew God does Foucault emphasize? p. 125
- What is Greco-Roman power if not beneficent? p. 126
- Why is pastoral power uniquely individualizing? p. 128
- Why is the pastorate so important to governmentality? p. 184
- What are the forms of resistance to pastoral power? p. 195
- Group 7__BM, CT_________________________________________________
- What was the Western pastorate founded against? pp. 195-6
- How did Christianity deal with with Medieval counter-conduct? pp. 215
- At the start of the seventeenth century, what new knowledge was required for one who governs? p. 273-4
- Why do statistics become important at the start of the seventeenth century? p. 274
- What is the “problem of the public?” p. 275
Oct. 11: Michael Kazin, The Populist Persuasion, pp. 1-65
- Group 1___BM, SK, KF________________________________________________
- Kazin begins by quoting Carl Sandburg, “Who shall speak for the people?” Why can’t the people speak for themselves? p. 1
- What is so compelling about the distinction between the powerful and the powerless? p. 1
- What is the “language of populism?” p. 1
- Who do populists celebrate? pp. 1-2
- Why is American populism unique? pp. 1-2
- “Populism” is “more an impulse than an ideology.” What does Kazin mean by this? p. 3
- Why did populism move from the left to the right in the late 1940s? p. 4
- What were George Wallace’s primary arguments? p. 5
- Group 2___AN, JL, LF________________________________________________
- How did the “New Left” respond to Wallace’s success? p. 5
- How did the New Left’s response to Wallace’s success ultimately benefit the right? p. 5
- What is the primary question Kazin’s text is intended to answer? p. 6
- What does Kazin admire about populism? What does he fear about it? pp. 6-7
- Describe the populist themes in the cartoon on p. 8.
- What were Thomas Jefferson’s and Publius’ arguments in favor of the “middling sort?” p. 9
- What were the two strains of the “embryonic populist rhetoric” in antebellum American? p. 10
- What was the relationship between the two strains in the 19th century? p. 11
- What are the four clusters of populist belief? p. 11
- Group 3___KA, CT________________________________________________
- “Speakers and writers transformed the country from a mere place on the map to an ideology.” What is the meaning of this claim? p. 12
- What was producerism? p. 13
- What made one a producer? p. 14
- Why weren’t women factory workers considered producers? Who else was excluded from the class of producers? p. 14
- Why did black activists resist joining the populist movement? p. 15
- What were the characteristics of the “elite?” p. 15
- What was the role of movements in populism? p. 16
- For Jefferson, what did it mean to be a republican? An anti-republican? p. 18
- What were the goals of Jacksonian populism? p. 19
- Group 4__HM, AG_________________________________________________
- How does the Bank of the U.S. illustrate the dangers of populism? pp. 20-21
- Where did populism come down on the question of slavery? p. 21
- How did Jackson’s biography fuel his populist credentials? p. 22
- How did Lincoln’s biography fuel his populist credentials? p.23
- What are the populist themes in the political cartoon on p. 26?
- What was the motive for forming the People’s Party (1892)? pp. 27-8
- Who were the constituents of the People’s Party? How do they compare to the Tea Party? p. 28
- What was the platform of the People’s Party? p. 29
- Why did populist activists decide that a Jackson or Lincoln could not no longer be elected? p. 30
- Group 5__JA, MM_________________________________________________
- Why did populist reformers break with the Republicans? p. 31
- Why and how did populists invoke Christianity? p. 33
- Why were populists often opposed to immigration? p. 36
- What were the conditions for black inclusion into the populist movement? p. 36
- What did the Populist Party propose? p. 38
- Why did the Populist Party choose not to address race? p. 40
- How did the Populist Party propose to increase the power of the state? p. 42
- What arguments did William Jennings Bryan make? p. 44
- Why was the 1896 election so pivotal? p. 45
- Group 6__OH, AC_________________________________________________
- What is included and excluded in the cartoon printed on p. 48?
- “…if the great industrial combinations do not deal with us they will have somebody to deal with who will ont have the American idea.” (p. 49) What is Gompers threatening?
- What contribution did the muckrakers make to populist discourse? p. 51
- How did the Progressives change populist discourse? How did their view of “the people” change p. 51
- Why was an alliance between labor and progressives “never fully consummated?” p. 54
- How did Samuel Gompers define “John Public?” p. 57
- What was the AFL’s response to immigrants? pp. 59-60
- Group 7__NB, DT_________________________________________________
- How did the unions pick their enemies? p. 62
- Why did the unions refrain from villifying capitalists? p. 63
- How did the unions feel about government power? p. 63
- Why did unions fear the government? p. 64
- How did unions criticize the judiciary? p. 64
- “The average citizen cannot understand how this judicial shell game is worked. When he comes to thoroughly understand it there will be doings.” (p. 65) Do Americans understand the judiciary?
- What language did the unions speak? p. 65
- What was the radicals’ dilemma? p. 6
Oct. 18: Michael Kazin, The Populist Persuasion, pp. 66-138, 154-169
- Group 1____KA, AN, HM______________________________________________
- Why were workers suspicious of U.S. involvement in WWI? p. 69
- Why did the AFL ultimately support WWI? pp. 69-70
- What was the populist argument against the WWI? p. 71
- What did Woodrow Wilson do to win over labor? p. 72
- Did the left overplay its hand after WWI? p. 73
- Compare the language of advertising to the language of populism? p. 76
- Group 2_____LF, OH______________________________________________
- “Why is it?” (p. 78) What is the artist’s answer to this question?
- Why was Prohibition appealing? p. 80
- How was liquor cast as a tool of exploitation? p. 81
- What was the WCTU? Why were women attracted to Prohibition? p. 82
- What precipitated the split in populism after 1896? p. 85
- What did the Anti-Saloon League have in common with the abolitionists? the unionists? p. 87
- Group 3_____JL, BM______________________________________________
- Why did prohibitionists target the saloon rather than individuals? p. 90
- For prohibitionists, what did the liquor industry represent or stand-in for? p. 90
- What motivated the prohibition movement, according to Kazin? p. 93
- How was prohibition used for right-wing (anti-immigrant) populism? p. 99
- “The reign of tears is over.” (Billy Sunday, p. 101) Why didn’t Prohibition produce the results Sunday predicted? p. 101
- How was the KKK able to take on the energy of the prohibition movement? p. 103
- Group 4_______MM, JA____________________________________________
- What did the KKK stand for? What did it stand against? p. 104
- What was the anti-Prohibitionists’ populism? p. 105
- In the cartoon on p. 108, who is being depicted as the people and who as the enemies of the people? p. 108
- How can Charles Coughlin reconcile the “rottenness of modern capitalism” with his vow to “strike against Communism?” p. 109
- What was the nature of FDR’s populism? p. 113
- Why is the radio suited to populism? p. 115
- Group 5____NB, DT, CT_______________________________________________
- What was the basis of Coughlin’s populism? p. 118
- What was Coughlin’s proposed solution to the problem posed by the money changers? p. 120
- How is it possible to mobilize class without a discourse of class? p. 123
- What was the role of nostalgia in Coughlin’s populism? p. 128-9
- Why did Coughlin support fascism, and how much did he support it? p. 130
- Can Coughlin’s populism be separated from his fascism? p. 132
- Group 6_____KF, AG______________________________________________
- What is industrial democracy, as depicted in the cartoon on p. 134?
- What is the relationship between unions and democracy according to John L. Lewis? p. 135
- What distinguished the CIO from other populist movements? p. 130
- What was the CIO’s political agenda? p. 138
- What accounts for Lewis’ downfall? pp. 155-6
- Why did the CIO form the nation’s first PAC? p. 159
- What was Mills’ criticism of the CIO PAC? pp. 160-1
- Group 7____AC, SK_______________________________________________
- Why did labor’s power decline in the 1950s? p. 161
- How did the unionists political rhetoric change in the 1950s? pp. 161-2
- “Labor’s success was also its failure.” (162) Explain.
- What are the populist themes in the cartoon on p. 164? How have they changed from the earlier cartoons?
- How did the Cold War open up possibilities of new populist discourse? p. 166
- What did postwar conservatives jettison in their political rhetoric and policy positions? p. 167
- Who is the enemy of the people in conservative populism? p. 16
Oct. 25: Michael Kazin, The Populist Persuasion, pp. 169-292
- Group 1____MM, AG, KA_______________________________________________
- What role did masculinity play in conservative populism? p. 170
- What was the goal of conservative intellectuals? p. 171
- What role did conspiracy play in conservative populism? p. 173
- Why were Catholics attracted to conservative populism? p. 173
- What was conservative populisms definition of “the people?” p. 176
- Who were the “real Americans,” according to Joseph McCarthy? p. 184
- Why had white ethnics voted Democrat in in the 1930s? p. 186
- How did Republicans believe McCarthy could bring them back? p. 186
- Group 2______LF, BM, DT_____________________________________________
- Why was Joseph Welch’s attack on McCarthy so effective? p. 189
- How did intellectuals conception of themselves change in the 1950s? p. 191
- What did Populist campaigners share with conservative anti-communists? p. 192
- What are the populist themes in the cartoon on p. 194?
- How was the New Left more radical than previous populist movements? p. 197
- What is radical in Tom Hayden’s Port Huron Statement? p. 198
- What was the agenda of the participatory democracy movement? p. 198
- Group 3______KF, NB_____________________________________________
- What were the political costs of jettisoning the implicit exclusion of blacks? pp. 200-1
- What did Saul Alinsky hope to achieve? pp. 202-3
- Why did so many Americans turn aginst 60s radicalism on college campuses? p. 206-7
- What success, if any, did the New Left have in recruiting working class support? p. 213
- How did feminism undermine the left’s “traditional agenda?” p. 217
- Who was the “enemy of the people” for Wallace? p. 221
- Who are “the people” in the New Right’s populism? p. 223
- Who are the enemies of the people in the New Right’s populism? p. 224
- Group 4_____HM, SK____________________________________________
- How did the right adopt MLK’s and LBJ’s language of rights? p. 227
- What was Wallace’s “populist formula?” p. 231
- How were states rights arguments deployed toward populist ends? p. 233
- How did country music serve Wallace’s populism? p. 235
- How did left intellectuals play into Wallace’s hands? p. 236
- For Wallace, who were not “the people?” p. 240
- “Women simply did not like George Wallace.” (p. 241) Why?
- Group 5____AN, JL_______________________________________________
- What are the populist themes in the cartoon on p. 244? How have they changed from previous cartoons?
- How did the new conservatives define “the people?” p. 246
- “The labor-liberal alliance forged in the 1930s was the victim of its own success.” (p. 246) Explain.
- What allowed conservatives to dominate national politics in the 1970s? p. 248
- How did Nixon adapt Wallace’s populism? p. 250
- What was the Nixon-Agnew message in 1972? p. 255
- How did conservatives incorporate women? p. 258
- Group 6______AC, CT_____________________________________________
- What comprised the “New Right,” as Kevin Phillips called it? p. 260
- For Reagan, who was the enemy of the people? p. 262
- How can presidents counter populist opposition? p. 265
- What is wrong with our rhetoric, according the Robert Bellah? p. 269
- How did the left try to revive a populist movement in the ’70s and ’80s? p. 276
- What language did this revived left select? What language did it avoid? p. 276
- Who supported Jesse Jackson’s 1988 campaign? Why didn’t this coalition prove successful? p. 280
- Group 7___OH, JA_______________________________________________’
- What was the New World Order? p. 281
- Why did globalism fail to generate a mass populist movement? p. 285
- According to Kazin, is populism good, bad, or neither? p. 287
- Why is populism still heard mainly on the right? p. 288
- Why, according to Kazin, is the desire to transcend populism shortsighted? p. 289
- What is “connected criticism?” p. 289
Nov. 1: Thomas Frank, What’s the Matter with Kansas?, Introduction, pp. 1-35, 67-9, 75-7, 85-8, 89-96, 113-137, 157-9, 174-182, 191-95, 228-31, 237-51, SECOND INSTALLMENT OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE (1500 WORDS)
- Group 1___AC, AN, KA___________________________________________________
- Why does the poorest county in America vote Republican (in overwhelming numbers)? p. 1
- What explanations does Frank offer? pp. 2-3
- “Cultural anger is marshaled to achieve economic ends.” (p. 5) Explain.
- What is the “Great Backlash?” p. 5
- “Abortion is never halted. Affirmative action is never abolished. The culture industry is never forced to cleam up its act.” (p. 6) Why?
- How do liberals misunderstand the “Great Backlash?” p. 8
- Group 2___CT, HM, DT___________________________________________________
- What are the sides in the “quasi-civil war” of the “backlash imagination?” p. 13
- Why is it a mistake to assume that the heartland is inherently conservative? p. 15
- What is the “latte libel?” p. 16
- What are David Brooks’ generalizations about “Blue America?” What’s wrong with them? pp. 18-20
- What are Brooks’ generalizations about “Red America?” What’s wrong with them? pp. 20-24
- What’s wrong with Brooks’ model of society? p. 26
- Group 3___OH, NB___________________________________________________
- What leads Frank to call early Kansas a “freak state?” p. 31
- What were the Populists fighting for? pp. 32-34
- How is it possible that Kansas is both average and freaky? p. 34
- How have Kansans responded to their economic suffering? p. 68
- What are the primary tenets of the Kansas Republican Party platform? p. 75
- What does the story of Ulysses and Boeing illustrate? pp. 85-88
- Group 4___JA, KF___________________________________________________
- How does Frank use 1991 and Operation Rescue to describe the change in conservatism in Kansas? p. 91
- How did Operation Rescue make use of disgust with “politics as usual?” p. 95
- What made Kansas conservatives successful? p. 95
- What separates the Mods from the Cons? p. 103
- “In Kansas the political geography of social class has been turned upside down.” (p. 104) What does Frank mean by this claim?
- How have the upper classes in Kansas contributed to their image among the Cons? p. 107
- How do the Mods benefit from class antagonism? p. 109
- Group 5__JL, SK____________________________________________________
- What is the basis of the class distinction in Kansas?
- If there is a class war, then why is there “no resentment or class consciousness?” p. 114
- What is the “liberal elite?” How has it altered the predominant conception of class in America? p. 114
- How have conservatives depicted themselves as victims? p. 119-120
- What do conservatives see themselves subverting? p. 120
- In what sense has the backlash been a “bust?” p. 121
- Why are the Cons right to be angry? p. 133-4
- Group 6___LF, AG___________________________________________________
- How does the conservative movement provide “an attractive and even a seductive way of dealing with an unfair universe?” p. 157
- What makes the backlash “holy?” p. 168
- What was triangulation? Why was it bad political strategy? p. 176
- Why doesn’t racism explain the backlash in Kansas? p. 179
- Who is in charge of the country, according to the backlash? p. 191
- How does anti-intellectualism serve the free market argument? p. 193
- How has the “political valence of Vietnam-related martyrdom” been switched? p. 229
- Group 7___BM, MM___________________________________________________
- What is the Kansas stereotype of liberals? Where does it come from? p. 240
- Why hasn’t the culture industry changed? p. 241
- What does the backlash have in common with the commercial culture it derides? p. 242
- What part did liberals play in the backlash? p. 242
- What is the lesson in the Kansas story for Democrats? p. 245
- Why was the Swift Boat campaign successful? p. 256
Nov. 8 Jeffrey Guroc presentation & Thomas Frank, What’s the Matter with Kansas? (cont’d)
Nov. 15: George Lakoff, The Political Mind, pp. 1-110
- Group 1___LF, MM________________________________________
- How does Lakoff characterize “radical conseratives?” p. 1
- What are the goals of conservatives? p. 1
- What is the Enlightenment view of reason? p. 1-2
- What are the two uses of the book, according to Lakoff? p. 2
- What are Lakoff’s “modes of thought?” p. 3
- How does our mistaken view of reason affect politics? p. 3
- How has democracy been linked to universal reason historically? p. 6
- Group 2____BM, AG_________________________________
- What was the 18th-century view of reason? p. 7-8
- What role does emotion play in reason? pp. 8-9
- What do most of us not know about our minds? p. 10
- If you believe the 18th-century view of reason, what mistakes will you make? p. 11
- What is changing brains? How is it necessary to changing minds? p. 12
- Why is language insufficient for understanding thought? pp. 14-15
- What gives language its power? p. 15
- Group 3____JL, JA_________________________________
- “You’ll never understand how politics works if you don’t understand Anna Nicole Smith.” Why? p. 21
- What is a frame? p. 22
- What is a narrative? p. 23
- What is “neural binding?” p. 25
- What do Anna Nicole Smith and Barack Obama have in common? p. 29
- Why did people identify with Anna Nicole Smith? p. 33
- What narrative did the Republicans use to describe the first Gulf War? How did this narrative compare to the narrative used by George W. Bush in the second Gulf War? p. 37
- Group 4___SK, KF__________________________________
- What is “mirror neuron circuitry?” p. 39
- What does it mean to “create realities?” p. 40-41
- What is the view Lakoff opposes? p. 43
- The “left-to-right scale” is “innacurate” and “dangerous.” (p. 45) Why? pp. 45-46
- What is the “politics of empathy?” p. 47
- What is “neoliberal thought?” p. 51
- What is “real reason?” How does it differ from “old Enlightenment reason?” p. 52
- Group 5___OH, DT, HM__________________________________
- What role does morality play in the development of political identity? In the development of interests? p. 53
- What is the problem of “issue silos?” How does using morality remedy it? p. 54-5
- In what sense is neoliberalism elitist? p. 55
- What’s wrong with incrementalism? p. 57
- Why are narratives so hard to change? p. 59
- What is conservative morality? p. 60
- What factor does the market play in conservative morality? p. 61
- Group 6____NB, AN_________________________________
- What do conservatives and neoliberals have in common? p. 62
- How has Adam Smith’s view of the market changed? p. 62
- What are the effects of deregulation? Why don’t conservatives acknowledge these effects? p. 63
- Why haven’t conservatives been outraged by government intrusions on civil liberties? p. 64
- What does it mean to be “biconceptual?” p. 70
- What is the “strict father” model? pp. 77-81
- Why is homosexuality a threat to the strict father model? p. 78
- Why is abortion a threat to the strict father model? p. 78
- Group 7_____AC, CT________________________________
- Why do conservatives emphasize character? p. 79
- What is the “nuturant parent” model? p. 81-2
- What is a metaphor? pp. 82-4
- What are “primary metaphors?” p. 94
- Which neurons fired in most people in response to Hurricane Katrina? p.104
- What is the political lesson of Katrina and Terri Schiavo for progressives? p. 105
- Why are conservatives punitive? p. 106
Nov. 22: THANKSGIVING
Nov. 29: George Lakoff, The Political Mind, pp. 111-132, 145-274
- Group 1___OH, AG__________________________________
- How have conservatives addressed the fact that most people are biconceptual? How can progressives reverse this process? pp. 113-4
- When did the “truths” of the Declaration of Independence become “self-evident?” Why? p. 118
- How does trauma affect our acceptance of ideas? p. 125
- How was the “war on terror” metaphor used to “get virtually unlimited war powers” for the president? p. 126
- How did the “war metaphor” influence policy? p. 126
- Group 2___HM, BM__________________________________
- What is “reflective cognition?” p. 129
- “The military occupation in Iraq is going so badly that the Democrats might just win a big electoral victory in 2008. The broader question is, will they have changed the minds, and hence the brains, of Americans.” (p. 132) The electoral victory occurred, but were minds changed?
- What causes one to appear soft? p. 145
- How did the Bush administration frame the Iraq War? Why did that frame change? p. 148
- How did the Iraq War narrative change after the fall of Saddam? p. 148
- What language did the administration use and what language did it avoid relative to the Iraq War? p. 149
- Group 3___AC, JL__________________________________
- What does Lakoff think Obama did well in response to Wolf Blitzer’s question? p. 153
- What is “Prototype Theory?” p. 159
- What was the difference between Reagan’s “Welfare Queen” and the typical welfare recipient? p. 160
- Why did so many white welfare recipients vote for Reagan and support his stand against welfare? p. 161
- What is the Bad Apple frame? What are its uses? p. 164
- What is “cognitive policy?” p. 169
- Group 4___CT, JA__________________________________
- What is Sky Trust? Why does Lakoff think it could work? p. 174
- What is the Common Wealth frame? p. 174
- How do the “strict” and “nuturant” worldviews extend the concept of freedom in different directions? p. 182
- How do conservatives and liberals differ on their understanding of fairness? p. 185
- How do conservatives and liberals differ on their understanding of accountability? p. 185
- How do the conservative and liberal views of causation differ? p. 188
- Group 5___MM, DT__________________________________
- What does John T. Jost’s work show about conservatives? p. 198
- How does the empathay model demand a revision of traditional political theory? p. 203
- What should Democrats avoid the language of interest? p. 207
- What is the rational actor model? What’s wrong with it, according to Lakoff? pp. 210-221
- How does game theory define the “rational actor?” p. 215
- How does the “rational actor model” contradict “real reason?” p. 220-1
- Group 6___LF, NB__________________________________
- How does people’s real reaoning violate the assumption of classical economics? p. 224
- Why will a president, losing in a war, nevertheless send more troops into battle? p. 225
- How does prospect theory show that our use of reason inclines us toward war? p. 229
- “Meaning is embodied. All meaning.” (p. 232) What does this mean?
- What does the term “tax relief” connote? How does it frame discourse? p. 234
- How should progressive counter the conservative discourse of “tax relief?” p. 239
- Group 7___KF, AN__________________________________
- What is the relationship between frames and narratives? p. 250
- What did Michael Reddy’s research show? p. 252
- What is the “neural theory of metaphor?” p. 256
- How will cognitive science change political philosophy? p. 266
- “Suppose the twenty-first century understanding of the brain and the mind were widely known and fully appreciated. What might change?” p. 267
Dec. 6: Jill Lepore, The Whites of their Eyes, THIRD INSTALLMENT OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE (1500 WORDS)
- Group 1____NB, MM__________________________________________________
- How does Lepore explain the abuse of history? p. ix
- How did the Tea Party begin? p. 3-4
- What is the silent majority? p. 4
- Why does Lepore discount the Tea Party’s concerns about representation? p. 7
- “Something more was going on, something not about taxation or representation.” (p. 7) What more was going on?
- What is declamation? pp. 7-8
- Group 2____DT, CT__________________________________________________
- Why did Fox News start giving history courses? p. 11
- What was the Tea Party’s analogy? p. 14
- How did the Tea Party take their analogy further? p. 15
- What is fundamentalism? Why is the Tea Party an instance of it? p. 16
- Why is the revolutionary principle dangerous? p. 22
- How can so many claim to be inheritors of the revolution? p. 23
- Group 3____AN, LF__________________________________________________
- On what basis does the Tea Party invoke the Constitution? p. 43
- What is the meaning of Admas’ claim? p. 46
- Why does Lepore talk about women’s literacy? p. 48
- How did Rick Santelli misunderstand Benjamin Franklin? p. 52
- Why does Lepore include a discusion of the British inciting the slave rebellion? p. 57-8
- To what did the revolutionaries attribute the repression of liberty? p. 59-60
- Group 4____KF, JA__________________________________________________
- In what sense did the Tea Party have more in common with the 1970s than with the 1770s? p. 68
- What is presentism? How have historians dealt with it? p. 68
- What is Lepore’s answer to the problem of presentism? p. 69
- Why did slavery persist in America after it was abolished in Britain? p. 74
- Why, according to the Tea Party, is liberty more at risk now than it was in the 1770s? p. 84
- What were the “Intolerable Acts?” p. 91
- Group 5_____HM, OH_________________________________________________
- How was the ACA a “modern-day Intolerable Act?” p. 94
- What is left out of the Tea Party’s history of the revolution?
- What’s wrong with the far right’s “anti-history?” What is the solution? p. 96
- How did the Founders view democracy? pp. 104-5
- What were the Founders’ concerns about the 3/5 compromise? p. 106
- Who should vote? p. 107
- Group 6____BM, AG__________________________________________________
- What does the 10th Amendment say? Why is it so central to the Tea Party? p. 112
- How did the Founders regard reverence for the past? p. 113
- “In the decades between the Revolution and the Civil War, every story about the Revolutionwas a story about slavery.” Why? pp. 114-16
- Why is it difficult to depict the Founders as evangelical Protestants? pp. 121-2
- How religious were the Founders? pp. 122-3
- How loyal were the Founders to tradition? p. 123
- Group 7_____OH, JL_________________________________________________
- Why does Lepore talk about what was expunged more than what was included in the Declaration of Independence? p. 132
- What does the story of Phillis Wheatley tell us about the revolutionary period? p. 139
- What did Adams think of the founding period? p. 145
- Was Paine a Christian? p. 146
- What does Jane Mecom teach us about “respecting our history?” pp. 153-4
- Why does Lepore quote Haider? p. 164
Final Exam: Dec. 13, 4 pm
STYLE GUIDE:
The Department of History and Political Science mandates that all submitted work adhere to the Turabian/Chicago style delineated in Kate Turabian, et. al., A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, University of Chicago Press (available at the Wilson Library Reference Desk).
EXAM PROCTORING GUIDELINES:
- One seat space between students when possible.
- No bathroom breaks except in the case of illness or emergency. Student should discuss this circumstance with the proctor prior to the start of the exam.
- No materials on the desk except for pens/pencils, bluebook or writing paper and exam.
- Under no circumstances can students access electronic devices during the exam.
- Exam proctors will note any violation of these rules and those will be considered in the final grade.
GRADING:
Your work will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
A—designates work of extraordinarily high quality; reflects unusually thorough and comprehensive understanding of issues at hand; presents a clearly identifiable thesis and argument that demonstrates cogent and creative development and support of ideas.
B—designates work of high quality; reflects clearly organized and comprehensive understanding of issues and hand; presents substantive thesis and argument with evident development and support of ideas.
C—designates work which minimally meets requirements set forward in assignment; reflects some organization and development of ideas, but develops argument in superficial or simplistic manner; may only address part of the assignment or be otherwise incomplete.
D—designates work of poor quality which does not meet minimum requirements set forward in assignment; demonstrates poor organization of ideas and/or inattention to development of ideas, grammar, and spelling; treatment of material is superficial and/or simplistic; may indicate that student has not done reading assignments thoroughly.
F—designates work that does not meet ANY of the standards set above or which is not handed in.
PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is a prevalent but highly unethical practice. Plagiarism will result in the immediate failure of this course and disciplinary action which could lead to expulsion from the University. If you are having problems in the course please come and talk to me about it rather than doing something that could put your entire college career in jeopardy.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to the following:
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The direct copying of any source, such as written and verbal material, computer files, audio disks, video programs or musical scores, whether published or unpublished, in whole or part, without proper acknowledgment that it is someone else’s.
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Copying of any source in whole or part with only minor changes in wording or syntax, even with acknowledgment.
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Submitting as one’s own work a report, examination paper, computer file, lab report or other assignment that has been prepared by someone else. This includes research papers purchased from any other person or agency.
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The paraphrasing of another’s work or ideas without proper acknowledgment.
Jason Neidleman 