AMERICAN POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY
POLITICS 101
FALL 2007
Class Sessions: Tuesday and
Thursday 1:30-2:55 pm in Fowler 112
Films: Monday 7-9 pm in Weingart
117
Professor Peter Dreier
Office: Urban & Environmental
Policy Institute (UEPI)
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 3-5 pm and by appointment.
Phone: (323) 259-2913 Email: dreier@oxy.edu
What This Course is About
Many Americans have become cynical about politics
and government. They associate these words with “dirty” election campaigns,
broken promises, corruption and scandals, or wars. But politics and government are about much
more than that. They shape how we live. Almost every aspect of your life is in
some way shaped by the outcome of politics and government, which is public policy.
These include: Where you live, what you learn (or don't learn) in school, the
kind of car you drive, your career ambitions, the kind of job(s) you take, the
quality of the food you eat, and the quality of the air you breathe. They are
also about what role the U.S. should play in the world, including when and
whether the U.S. should go to war.
Politics and government can be a force for good or
evil, for justice or injustice. Politics and government can be competent or
incompetent. This course looks at the major institutions and ideas of American
government, how policy is made, and what impact it has on
society.
This course is intended to help you understand the
workings of American government, to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and
to help you decide how to participate in making government work better.
Government policies are made up of a series of decisions
or choices over a period of time. These choices involve (a) whether to
do anything at all about a problem or issue and (b) what to do. These choices
involve actions such as passing laws, raising and spending money, creating
regulations, enforcing (or not enforcing) laws and regulations, and
adjudicating disputes.
All politics and
public policy involves values --
what people think is good or bad, the proper role of government, and how
society should be organized. Public policy involves political conflict
-- differences between organized groups
about what should and shouldn't be in the law and regulations.
A key to understanding American government,
politics, and public policy is to compare our own political institutions to
those of other countries, including other democracies. For example:
o How does voter turnout in the U.S. compare with
that in other countries?
o How do tax rates in the U.S. compare with tax
rates elsewhere?
o Is the level of poverty in the U.S. higher or
lower than in other countries? Why?
o How does the relationship between the press and
the government in the U.S. compare with the relationship in other democracies?
o What is the responsibility of the American
government to promote and protect human rights, American business, the
environment and public health in the U.S. and around the world?
This course is organized around three key themes:
Part 1: Democracy and Society. This focuses
on the major political views (sometimes called ideologies) about the
appropriate role of government and citizenship in American society. How much of
a voice should “ordinary” people have in their government - and other
institutions? We will explore the
different views of the “founding fathers” and how these views have evolved
since then. We will also look at different views about what kinds of “rights”
people have or assume they have and the ways that government protects and/or violates these “rights.”
We will look at the differences between
conservatism, liberalism, and other ideologies.
Part 2: Democracy, Social Class, and Social Justice. This focuses on the various forms of economic and
social inequality in our society -- particularly socio-economic classes as well
as race, gender, and geography. We will look at how these inequalities shape
our political system and on the ways that government and politics promotes or
discourages equality, fairness, and opportunity for people.. We will also
examine the relationship between the
private sector (business and the labor market), the public sector (government),
and individual citizens.
Part 3:
Political Participation. This
focuses on the different ways that citizens, individually and as part of
groups, take part in their government. We will examine the impact of the mass
media, interest groups and their various resources, voting and election
campaigns, political parties, electoral systems, and mass movements. We will
look at the role that money plays in influencing politics and government. We
will also look at how organized citizens can influence politics and government
through interest groups and grassroots movements, including movements to
address such issues as racism, sexism, economic inequality, and human rights
and civil liberties..
Course Format and Requirements
The course will meet twice a week -- on Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 1:30 ‑2:55 p.m.
Every student is expected to attend every lecture and to arrive promptly
at 1:30 p. m.
Films will be shown on Mondays at 7 p.m. in Weingart
117 These are required.
The basic elements of this course include:
Reading.
Readings (books, articles, reports, tables and charts) will be assigned for
each week, as specified below. Students are expected to do the reading before
each class and be prepared to discuss the readings in class. All readings
except the books -- The Democratic Debate, Savage Inequalities,
and Ending the War in Iraq --
will be available on electronic reserve on the Oxy library website. Look
for the website for Politics 101. I
strongly recommend that you print these readings and keep them in a loose-leaf
binder. This will help you prepare for class discussions, papers, and
exams. Bring the readings to class with you. I may make some changes to the readings
during the semester to keep abreast of current events and breaking news. In addition, I will distribute various tables
and charts in class, or add them to the course website, throughout the semester.
Films.
During the semester, we will screen and discuss films each Monday night (except
the first week, when the films will be shown on a Tuesday night). I expect
every student to see each film. The
names and dates of the films are listed in the syllabus.
Class Discussion. Class discussions will center on the readings and
films. Many of these sessions will involve discussions about public policy
issues. Students are encouraged to debate these and disagree ‑‑ but
to do so based on information and evidence as well as their own values.
Writing.
Each student will have six writing
assignments during the term ‑‑ three short essays, a profile of
your Congressional district and Congressperson, a profile of two presidential
candidates , a midterm exam, and a final exam. The schedule of writing
assignments is on the last page of the syllabus.
In grading your written work, I will look not only
at the content, but also at the style. Be sure to proofread
your papers before handing them in. Look for spelling, punctuation, and
grammatical errors. Be clear and concise. Don't repeat yourself. Cite your
sources. Make sure you understand the assignment. It helps to do an outline
before you begin writing. Show it to your discussion section professor and
discuss it with him/her before revising. Students are also urged to take
advantage of the college's Center for Academic Excellence (ground floor of the
library) to get help with their essays. Don't be hesitant. The Center staff is
eager to assist you and can help you improve your writing significantly. For
most essays and both exams the following eight criteria will be used:
1. Do you have a clear thesis? This should be a
sentence or two early in your essay.
2. Have you employed appropriate concepts?
3. Have you presented persuasive evidence to support
your thesis or arguments?
4. Have you made appropriate reference to the assigned
readings?
5. Have you made a tie‑in to current events?
Refer to items in the daily newspapers when appropriate.
6. Have you sought to find a creative twist ‑‑
a different viewpoint, a distinctive
argument, unusual evidence?
7. Is your prose readable? Read your prose aloud to
check on this.
8. Is your essay mechanically flawless? Typos,
misspellings, and punctuation errors are inexcusable.
Newspapers Clippings
I encourage students in Politics 101 to get in the
habit of reading a daily newspaper. The
most useful papers are the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times,
the Christian Science Monitor, and the Wall Street Journal. You
can get a subscription to any of these publications, buy some of them in the
bookstore, or read them in the library. You can also subscribe to the Washington
Post National Weekly, which includes the best articles from the previous
week's Washington Post. You can subscribe via the web.
Our library also subscribes to many "opinion
magazines." These are weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly publications that
look at politics and policy from a particular perspective -- conservative,
moderate, liberal, progressive, libertarian, religious, feminist,
environmental, and others. Among the more interesting are the Nation, American
Prospect, Weekly Standard, New Republic, In These Times,
Commonweal, American Spectator, Washington Monthly, and National
Review. Many of these magazines have on-line versions. One of the best sources of information about
American politics is a weekly magazine called National Journal. It is
available in the library. (You need a subscription to get it on-line,
unfortunately).
In an effort to help students develop the newspaper
habit (which includes articles, commentaries and editorials on government,
politics and public policy), you are asked to submit at the beginning of each
Thursday section meeting a timely item from a daily newspaper which is directly
applicable to one of the issues addressed in the Politics 101 readings for
that week. Each week, attach a few notes that explain why you have
chosen this article -- how it is relevant for the topics covered in class that
week. These notes must involve no
more than 100 words.
A minimum of ten clippings is required during
our 14 week semester, but it is strongly suggested that you submit one each
Thursday. (No make‑ups will be
permitted.) Make sure you put your
name on the clipping and that the name and date of the newspaper is identified.
On Thursdays, I will ask at least one student
(selected randomly) to present very briefly to the group his/her clipping and
its significance. This presentation
should be no more than two or three minutes describing how the article,
editorial or opinion piece illustrates and/or amplifies some aspect of that
week's topic.
A great
source of information about political campaigns is FactCheck (http://www.factcheck.org), which examines whether what
candidates and media are saying is accurate.
Profile of your state or Congressional district
One of the assignments for the course will be a
political profile of your home Congressional district). You will be expected to become familiar with
the candidates in the November 2006 race, their positions on key issues, their
voting records (if they’ve held office before),
the major interest groups, the campaign funding, the TV ads, and other
aspects of the candidates and the campaigns. You will be expected to learn
something about the likely candidates for November 2008. One place to start
looking is the local news media, which you may be able to access on the web or
through Lexis/Nexis on the Oxy library website. Another good source is the
publication National Journal and its bi-annual Almanac of American
Politics. Another good sources is Congressional Quarterly’s (CQ) American
Politics. Another good source is Project Vote Smart (http://www.vote‑smart.org/index.htm)
which provides information about Congressional districts, and US Senate
profiles. This assignments is due on Thursday, October 25.
Following the Presidential campaigns
The November 2008 election will be one of the most
important in American history. The
campaign for President – and the campaigns for Congress – have already begun.
Pick two candidates for President -- one Democrat
and one Republican – and follow their campaigns during the semester. Use the New
York Times as a key source, but also use the candidates’ own websites, or
even sign up for their email lists, so you’ll get regular communication from
the campaigns. Keep an ongoing journal
of these campaigns, and write a 10 page paper (5 pages about each campaign),
due at the end of the semester on Tuesday, December 4. You should focus on the following topics:
1. The
biography and career of the candidates
2. The
candidates’ views on major issues, including their records on these issues in
elected office
3. The
candidates’ source of campaign money
4. How the
candidates are doing in the polls compared with their rivals in the same party
5. The major
themes of the candidates’ campaigns, including how they seek to position
themselves compared with their rivals
6. Each
campaign’s strategy in terms of winning enough Electoral Votes to win the
nomination
7. They key
constituency groups, voter groups (ie demographics), and interest groups that
the candidates are focusing on
8. How the news media cover these candidates’
campaigns
Grades
Your grades will be based on five factors:
20% on attendance and participation in class
sessions and films, and your performance on the weekly news clipping
assignments.
20% on the 3 written essay assignments.
20% on a mid‑term examination.
20% on a final examination.
20% on your Congressional profile and Presidential
campaign analysis
Required Books to Purchase
1. Bruce
Miroff, Raymond Seidelman, and Todd Swanstrom, The Democratic Debate: An
Introduction to American Politics, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 4th Edition,
2007.
2. Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities: Children
in America's Schools, New York: Crown Publishers, 1991.
3. Tom
Hayden, Ending the War in Iraq, New York: Akashic Books, 2007.
Helpful Materials
on Library Reserve
I will place examples of very good writing
assignments in a folder on reserve in the Library for those who are interested
in seeing what constitutes good responses to the bi-weekly writing
assignments. (The names of the student
authors are removed but the instructor's comments on the essays do appear as
well as the grade assigned). It will be
at the circulation desk.
Interesting Websites About American Politics
The internet has opened up a wide array of sources
about American politics. There are thousands of websites on every conceivable
topic. Fortunately, the University of Michigan has assembled the best of these
resources and put them on its website.
It includes such topics as upcoming elections at the federal, state, and
local levels; biographies; campaign finances; political cartoons; members of
Congress (including voting records); political consultants; a wide variety of
domestic and foreign policy issues; lobby groups; news sources and periodicals;
political advertising; political parties; the Presidency; public opinion; think
tanks; and advocacy groups. I encourage you to browse this website at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/psusp.html#policy.
Speakers on Campus
There will be a number of speakers on campus this
semester discussing topics related to this course. We will alert you to these
events and strongly encourage you to attend.
Academic Honesty
You should be familiar with the college’s policies
regarding academic honesty and plagiarism. I
take these issues very seriously and so should you.
Students with Disabilities
Accommodation of disability-related needs is
available. Please let me know if you need some kind of accommodation.
Registering to Vote
If you are 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, you are eligible to vote. If you live outside California, or in
California but far from home, you can register at home and vote by absentee
ballot, but you have to request it.
Regardless of where your parents live, you can register as a California
resident, with your Oxy dorm as your home address. The Office of Student Life will have voter
registration forms available. You can
also get a California voter registration form on-line from the Cal. Secretary of
State’s office: http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm.
Discussion Topics and Reading Schedule
(LAT = LA Times; NYT = New York Times; NJ=National
Journal)
Part I: Democracy and Society
Week 1: Politics and You
Thursday, Aug. 30 – Intro to the course
Week 2: The
Democratic Debate: Different Views About Democracy and Government
Tuesday, September 4
– Films: “Occupation” (44 min.) and “Never Say Die” (46 min.)
Tuesday, Sept. 4 –
Rights and Responsibilities
*Young, "George Robert Twelves Hewes, A Patriot
Shoemaker of Boston" (in The Way We
Lived)
*Zinn, "Young Ladies Who Can Picket"
(from Zinn, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train)
*Dreier, “Rosa Parks: Angry, Not Tired” (Dissent,
Winter 2006)
*Dreier and Appelbaum, “Campus Breakthrough on
Sweatshop Labor” (Nation, June 1, 2006)
*Sheth, Hardin and Bhagwat, “SLAC Claims Victory as
Hunger Strike Comes to a Close” (Stanford Daily, April 23, 2007)
*Slater, “Public Corporations Shall Take Us
Seriously” (NYT Magazine, August 12, 2007)
*Greenhouse,
“Battle Lines Drawn Over Ergonomic Rules” (NYT, Nov. 18, 2000)
*Greenhouse, “Bush Plan to Avert Work Injuries Seeks
Voluntary Steps By Industry” (NYT,
April 6, 2002)
*Dreier, “Mine Deaths Follow Weak Regulations” (National Catholic Reporter, Feb. 16, 2007)
*Schoch, “Labor Lends Its Clout to Port Pollution
Battle” (LAT, January 28, 2006)
*Greenhouse, “Invoking Legacy of Civil Rights
Movement, Drive Is On to Unionize Guards” (NYT, July 26, 2006)
Thursday, September 6 – Elite vs. popular democracy
Miroff, Seidelman, and Swanstrom, The Democratic
Debate
Chapter 1, "Introduction: The Democratic
Debate"
Chapter 2, "The Revolution and the
Constitution”
Declaration of Independence (MSS, Appendix)
James Madison, "Federalist No. 10"
(Appendix, pp. A12-A16)
Go to this webwite and calculate where you stand on
the political spectrum. Bring the
results to class on Thursday.: http://typology.people-press.org/typology
*Seib, "The Federal System: You Can Get Away
from Washington‑‑But Not Government" (Wall Street Journal,
June 21, 1995)
*Kettl, "Clueless in the Capital" (Washington
Monthly, July/August 1999)
*Brownstein, "The Government Once Scorned,
Becomes Savior" (LAT, Sept.19, 2001)
*Will, “The Case for Conservatism” (Washington
Post, May 31, 2007)
*Harris, "Truth, Consequences of Kerry’s
Liberal Label” (Washington Post ,
July 19, 2004)
*Alperovitz, “Tax the Plutocrats” (The Nation,
Jan. 27, 2003)
*Dreier and Atlas, “The Missing Katrina Story” (Tikkun,
January/February 2007)
*Cong. Bernard Sanders, "Whither American
Democracy?" (LAT, Jan. 16, 1994)
*Klein, “Government By Bake Sale” (LAT, May
13, 2007)
*Greenberg, “Democrats Are Back -- But...” (American
Prospect, July/Aug. 2007)
*Labaton, “OSHA Leaves Worker Safety Largely in
Hands of Industry” (NYT, April 25, 2007)
Week 3 – The
Rules of the Game
Monday, Sept. 10 – Films: “Free Speech for Sale” (57 min.) and “The Road to
Clean Elections” (19 min.)
Tuesday, Sept. 11 –
How the things we take for granted shape how we think and behave
*Dunham,
et al., "Does Your Vote Matter?" (Business Week, June 14,
2004)
*Hook, “GOP Seeks Few Safe House Seats” (LAT,
August 2, 2006)
*Quinn, “Battleground Blues” (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, July 8, 2004)
*Palast, "1 Million Black Votes Didn't
Count..." (SF Chronicle, June 20, 2004)
*Geoghagan, “The Infernal Senate”(The New
Republic,. Nov 21, 1994).
*Hertsgaard, “Recounting Ohio” (Mother Jones,
November 2005)
*Richie and Hill, “Outmoded Electoral College
Betrays Democratic Process” (Pasadena Star-News, July 22, 2004)
*Hertzberg, “VoteScam” (The New Yorker, Aug.
6, 2007)
*Littlefield, "Nader Republicans" (Atlantic
Monthly, September 2004)
*Dionne, "Third Parties in Second Place,"
(Washington Post Weekly, July 10, 2000)
*Clawson, Neustadtl and Weller, “Dollars and Votes”
(1998, updated in 2005)
*Carney, “The Death of Public Financing” (NJ,
June 16, 2007)
*Cook, “Showing the Money” (NJ, July 7, 2007)
*Caruso, “Immigrants’ Call to Action” (NJl,
June 17, 2006)
*Rauch, “Campaign Seasoning: Why Early Primaries
Will Make for a Better President” (The Atlantic, July/August 2007)
*Seelye, “Michigan Joins Race for a `Me First’
Primary” (NYT, Aug. 22, 2007)
*Healy and Cooper, “To Keep Foot Clear of Mouth,
Presidential Debaters Carefully Plot Each Tiny Step” (NYT, Aug. 19,
2007)
Thursday,
September 13 –
Federalism: Who Has Power in Los Angeles?
Miroff, Seidelman, and Swanstrom, The Democratic
Debate
Chapter 15 -- “State and Local Politics: The Dilemma
of Federalism” (read pages 455-472 only)
*Cooper, "The Two Worlds of Los Angeles" (The
Nation, August 21/28, 2000)
*Candaele and Dreier, “LA’s Progressive Mosaic” (The
Nation, August 21/28, 2000)
*Dreier, et al. “Movement Mayor: Can Antonio
Villaraigosa Change LA?” (Dissent, Summer 2006)
*Gurwitt, “Mayor in the Middle” (Governing,
February 2007)
*Zahniser, “Friends in High-Rise Places”(LA
Weekly, August 2, 2006)
*”The West 100: Our List of the Most Powerful People
in Southern California: The Top 10" (West: LAT Magazine, August 13,
2006)
Film: “The New Los Angeles”
Week 4 – The November 2008 Elections – What’s At
Stake?
Monday, Sept. 17 – Film: “With God On Our Side: George W. Bush and the
Rise of the Religious Right” (100 minutes)
Tuesday, Sept. 18 – The political environment
Miroff, Seidelman, and Swanstrom, The Democratic
Debate
Chapter 4 – “Public Opinion and Political Culture”
*”Is America Turning Left?” and “Under the Weather”
(The Economist, August 11, 2007)
*Will, “Democrats’ Prosperity Problem” (Wash.Post,
June 10, 2007)
*Perlstein, “Will the Progressive Majority Emerge?”
(The Nation, July 9, 2007)
*Kohut and Doherty, “Permanent Republican Majority?”
(Wash.Post. Aug. 19, 2007
*Will, “The Road to a GOP House” (Wash.Post,
May 3, 2007)
*Edsall, “The Rascals on the Right” (NYT, Dec
9, 2006)
*Kristol, “Why Bush Will Be a Winner” (Washington
Post,July 15, 2007)
*Douthat and Salam, “What Is the Matter with
Kansas? Economic Populism Makes a Comeback” (Weekly Standard, Nov. 20,
2006)
*Edsall, “Dems Work to Satisfy Competing
Constituencies in ‘08" (Huffington Post, July 30, 2007)
*Gibbs and Duffy, “Leveling the Praying Field” (Time,
July 23, 2007)
*Chait, “The Left’s New Machine: How the netroots
became the most important mass movement in U.S. politics” (New Republic,
May 27, 2007).
*Judis and Teixeira, “Back to the Future” (American
Prospect, July/Aug. 2007)
*Hulse, “GOP Agenda in House Has Moderates Unhappy”
(NYT, July 8, 2006)
*Cohen, “The New Congress: What’s Next?” (NJ,
Jan. 26, 2007)
*Neuman, “Detroit’s Bullying Angel Is Set To Fight”
(LAT, Aug. 11, 2007)
*Zernike, “Tight Race for Another Senator, This Time
a Republican” (NYT, Aug. 13, 2006)
*Hulse, ”Leveled Colorado Playing Field Creates an
Election Laboratory” (NYT, August 5, 2006)
*Barabak, “Iraq is Political Fault Line in Contested
N.M. District” (LAT, May 14, 2006)
*Feldmann, “Democrats Seek Gains in Stem-Cell Issue”
(Christian Science Monitor,
July 28, 2006)
Thursday, Sept. 20 – The Candidates
Go to this NY Times website about the
Republican and Democratic candidates for President. Read their profiles, their
finances and their positions on key issues. http://politics.nytimes.com/election‑guide/2008/candidates
“”White House 2008 Rankings: The Republicans” (NJ,
July 20, 2007)
*”White House 2008 Rankings: The Democrats” (NJ,
Aug. 6, 2007)
*”2006 Vote Ratings: The Griddle in the Middle,” “Key
Votes Used to Calculate the Ratings,” and Cohen, “Left to Right” (NJ,
March 2, 2007)
*Barnes, “Can This Candidacy (McCain) Be Saved?” (NJl,
June 30, 2007)
*Continetti, ”See Rudy Run” (Weekly Standard,
August 6, 2007)
*Edsall, “Party Boy: GOP’s Future Belongs to Rudy” (New
Republic, May 21,2007)
*Tumulty, “What Romney Believes” (Time, May
10, 2007)
*Ambinder, “Journey to the Right: Romney” (NJ,
Feb. 9, 2007)
*Schneider, “The Poverty Candidates” (NJ,
July 28, 2007)
*Herbert, “America in 2026" (NYT, June 22,
2006)
*Hook, “Edwards Announces `Tax the Rich’ Plan (LAT,
July 27, 2007)
*Gerstenzantg, “Before Budget Fight, Bush Puts Up
His Fists On Taxes” (LAT, July 27, 2007)
*Wolfee and Briscoe, “Across the Divide” (Newsweek,
July 16, 2007)
*Barnes, “Hillary’s Home-Field Advantage” (NJ,
July 14, 2007)
*Barlett, “Hillary: The Right’s Choice?” (LAT,
Aug. 10, 2007)
Week 5: What’s the Appropriate Role of Government in
Society?
Monday, Sept. 24 - Films: “The Great Health Care
Debate” (45 min.) and “Wellstone” (80 min)
Tuesday, Sept. 25 – The Democratic Debate Over
Health Care
*Krugman, “One Nation Uninsured” (NYT, June
13, 2005)
*Leland, “When
Health Insurance is Not a Safeguard” (NYT, Oct. 23, 2005
*Pear, “Without Health Benefits, a Good Life Turns
Fragile” (NYT, March 5, 2007)
*”Editorial- World’s Best Medical Care?” (NYT,
Aug. 12, 2007)
*Capell, “The French Lesson in Health Care” (Business
Week, July 9, 2007)
*Kuttner, “Canadian Drugs Aren’t the Cure” (Boston
Globe, Aug. 18, 2004)
*Bernasek, “Health Care Problem? Check the American
Psyche” (NYT, Dec. 31, 2006)
*Toner, “2008 Candidates Vow to Overhaul US Health
Care” (NYT, July 6, 2007)
*Lindorff, “GM’s Health Care Double Standard” (InThese Times, April 27,
2005)
*Mintz, “Single Payer: Good for Business” (The
Nation, Nov. 15, 2004)
*Gladwell, “The Moral-Hazard Myth” (The New
Yorker, Aug. 29, 2005)
*Leeds, "Health Care Firms Spend Big to Head
Off Reforms" (LAT, July 23, 2000)
*Hayes, “Michael Moore’s Sicko,” (The
Nation, July 16/23, 2007)
*Gratzer, “Unhealthy Policies” (Weekly Standard,
June 18, 2007)
*Pear, “GOP Leaders Fight Expansion of Children’s
Health Insurance” (NYT,
July 25, 2007)
Thursday, Sept. 27 – Is America Unique? - The U.S.
in Comparative Perspective
*Kingdon, America the Unusual, 1999.
(“Introduction” and “Public Policy”)
*Dreier, “The U.S. in Comparative Perspective” (Contexts,
Summer 2007)
*Reynolds, “Social Citizenship: Lessons from Sweden”
(from Taking the High Road, 2002)
*Johansen, “Scandanavia Gets Serious on Global
Warming” (Progressive, July 2007)
*Dreier and Bernard, "Kinder, Gentler
Canada" (American Prospect, Winter 1993)
*Smeeding, “The Poverty Quagmire” (Washington
Post, Dec. 21, 2003)
*Greenhouse, "If the French Can Do It, Why
Can't We?" (NYT, Nov. 14, 1993)
*Williams, “So, This is Heaven: Norway” (LAT,
Nov. 8, 2001)
*Wilgoren, “Education Study Finds U.S. Falling
Short” (NYT, June 13, 2001)
*Gornick and Meyers, “Support for Working Families:
What the U.S. Can Learn From Europe” (American Prospect, January 1-15,
2001)
Week 6: What Should Government Do?
Monday, Oct. 1 – Film: “Trade Secrets” (120 min.)
Tuesday, Oct. 2 - Governments Regulate the Behavior
of Institutions and People
*Mintz, "Remembering Thalidomide" (Washington
Post Weekly, July 22-28, 1996)
*Cauchon, “Study: Higher Taxes Cut Smoking” (USA
Today, Aug. 10, 2007)
*Roberts and Watson, “Should Cigarettes Be
Outlawed?” (U.S. News, April 18, 1994)
*Ellingwood, “Montgomery Eateries Dread Smoking Ban”
(LAT, Dec. 17, 2002)
*Mozingo, "Residents Want Action After Fatal
Accident on Figueroa" (LAT, Oct. 18, 1998)
*Hamberger, “EPA Puts Mandated Lead-Paint Rules on
Hold” (LAT, May 10,
2005)
*Bradsher, “Stricter Rules for Tire Safety Were
Scrapped by Reagan” (NYT, Sept. 4, 2000)
*Warrick, "Is U.S. Beef Safe to Eat?" (Washington
Post Weekly, April 16-22, 2001)
*Story, “Lead Paint Prompts Mattel to Recall 967,000
Toys” (NYT, Aug. 2, 2007)
*Barringer, “California Air is Clearer, But Troubles
Remain” (NYT, Aug 3, 2005)
*Greenhouse, “Among Janitors, Labor Violations Go
with the Job” (NYT, July 13,
2005)
*Greenhouse, “Hotel Rooms Get Plusher, Adding to
Maids’ Injuries” (NYT, April 21, 2006)
*Weber, “The Factories of Lost Children” (NYT,
March 25, 2006)
*Reich, "The Bridgestone Tire Controversy"
(from Locked in the Cabinet, 1997)
*Nagourney and Kirkpatric, "Urged by Right,
Bush Takes on Gay Marriages" (NYT,
July 12, 2004)
*”Five Rights Women Could Lose” (MS, Summer
2005)
*Lake, “The Polls Speak: Americans Support Abortion”
(MS., Summer 2005)
Thursday, Oct. 4 –Governments Provide Services and
Invest in People and Institutions
*Broder, "Gramm's Life of Entitlements" (Washington
Post, March 6, 1995)
*David Horsey, “Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C...”
(Cartoon, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 2003)
*Nazario, "Going to School Hungry" (LAT,
November 20, 1994)
*Bergmann, "Decent Child Care at Decent
Wages" (American Prospect, Jan. 1-15, 2001)
*Hage, Fischer, and Black, "America's Other
Welfare State" (U.S. News & World Report, April 10, 1995)
*Gosselin, “The 90s: Private Boom Stingy on Public
Good” (LAT, Aug. 5, 2001)
*Isaacs and Schroeder, “Where the Public Good
Prevailed” (American Prospect, June 4, 2001)
*Cimons, "Fluoridation: A Shining Public Health
Success" (LAT, Jan. 26, 1995)
Week 7 - Governments Protect People from Physical Harm And Secure Order
Monday, Oct. 8 - Film: “Atomic Cafe” (86 min)
or “Iraq for Sale” (75 min)
Tuesday, Oct. 9 - Order and Safety at Home and
Abroad
*Dreier and Reiman, "Prisoners of Misleading
Facts" (Dissent, Spring 1996)
*Fortunato, “Corporate Crime and Voting Rights” (Dissent,
Summer 2002)
*Herbert, “Who Gets The Death Penalty?” (NYT,
May 13, 2002)
*Perry, Pfeifer & Oldham, “San Diego Was In No
Shape for This Fight” (LAT, Oct. 31, 2003)
Miroff, Seidelman, and Swanstrom, The Democratic
Debate
Chapter 18, “Post-Cold War Foreign Policy” and “US
Foreign Policy After September 11" (read pages 566-575 only)
*Judis, “Imperial Amnesia” (Foreign Policy,
July/August 2004)
*King, "Is Congress Giving Too Much
Surveillance Power...? Yes" (Insight, Jan. 14, 2002)
*Smith, "Is Congress Giving Too Much
Surveillance Power...? No" (Insight, Jan.. 14, 2002)
*”Limiting Civil Liberties” (LAT, March 10,
2002)
*Huq, “Flying While Muslim” (TomPaine.Com, August
17, 2006)
*Bixler, "Immigrants' Rights at Risk?" (Atlanta
Journal Constitution, Feb. 27, 2002)
Thursday, Oct. 11 - The War in Iraq
Hayden, How to End the War in Iraq (entire
book)
Week 8 - The Dilemmas of Globalization: The U.S.
Role in the World