Assignments | Introduction to American Politics | Political Science

The following assignments are due for this course.

Three Short Papers

The short papers are designed to prepare students to write the long paper. They should be between 1,000 and 1,250 words in length (around four double-spaced pages). Each assignment is designed around a particular skill.

The first paper assignment asks students to analyze a piece of political rhetoric in light of the themes covered in Part I of the course.

The second paper asks students to apply a theoretical framework to a set of facts.

The third paper asks students to adjudicate between competing theoretical frameworks as accounts for a specific political phenomenon.

Assignment files.
SHORT PAPER #	PROMPTS	RELATED READINGS
1	Short paper 1 prompt (PDF)	"Obama's Second Inaugural Speech," New York Times, January 21, 2013. "Transcript: Mitt Romney's Faith Speech," npr.org, December 6, 2007.
2	Short paper 2: Apply a Theory to a Particular Case prompt (PDF)	Krehbiel, Keith. "A Theory." Chapter 2 in Pivotal Politics: A Theory of U.S. Lawmaking. University of Chicago Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780226452722. [Preview with Google Books] Lizza, Ryan. "As The World Burns: How the Senate and the White House Missed their Best Chance to Deal with Climate Change." New Yorker, October 11, 2010. Krehbiel, Keith. "Basics." Chapter 1 in Pivotal Politics: A Theory of U.S. Lawmaking. University of Chicago Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780226452722. Layzer, Judith A. "Cold Front: How the Recession Stalled Obama's Clean-Energy Agenda." Chapter 8 in Reaching for a New Deal: Ambitious Governance, Economic Meltdown, and Polarized Politics on Obama's First Two Years. Edited by Theda Skocpol and Lawrence R. Jacobs. Russell Sage Foundation, 2011. ISBN: 9780871548559. [Preview with Google Books] Ideology of the 111th Senate (PDF)
3	Short paper 3: Comparative Analysis prompt (PDF)	Moe, Terry M. "The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure." Chapter 8–1 in Principles and Practice of American Politics: Classic and Contemporary Readings. 4th ed. Edited by Samuel Kernell and Steven S. Smith. CQ Press, 2009. ISBN: 9781604264630. Lewis, David E. Excerpt from "The Politics of Presidential Appointments: Political Control and Bureaucratic Performance." Chapter 8–3 in Principles and Practice of American Politics: Classic and Contemporary Readings. 4th ed. Edited by Samuel Kernell and Steven S. Smith. CQ Press, 2009. ISBN: 9781604264630. Martin, Andrew D., Kevin M. Quinn, Theodore W. Ruger, et al. "Competing Approaches to Predicting Supreme Court Decision Making." Perspectives on Politics 2, no. 4 (2004): 761–7. Graber, Mark A. "The Nonmajoritarian Difficulty: Legislative Deference to the Judiciary." Studies in American Political Development 7, no. 1 (1993): 35–73. Rosenberg, Gerald N. "The Real World of Constitutional Rights: The Supreme Court and the Implementation of the Abortion Decisions." Chapter 5-4 in Principles and Practice of American Politics: Classic and Contemporary Readings. 4th ed. Edited by Samuel Kernell and Steven S. Smith. CQ Press, 2009. ISBN: 9781604264630. Bartels, Larry M. "Homer Gets a Tax Cut: Inequality and Public Policy in the American Mind." Perspectives on Politics 3, no. 1 (2005): 15–31. Schudson, Michael. "America's Ignorant Voters." Chapter 10–3 in Principles and Practice of American Politics: Classic and Contemporary Readings. 4th ed. Edited by Samuel Kernell and Steven S. Smith. CQ Press, 2009. ISBN: 9781604264630. Downs, Anthony. "An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy." Journal of Political Economy 65, no. 2 (1957): 135–50. Quattrone, George A., and Amos Tversky. "Contrasting Rational and Psychological Analyses of Political Choice." American Political Science Review 82, no. 3 (1988): 719–36.

Oral Presentation

Students are required to deliver a short oral presentation on the topic of one of their short papers. These presentations will be delivered in recitation.

Long Paper

The course culminates in a longish (3,000–3,500 words) paper, in which students will take and defend a normative position on one of the substantive debates in Part V of the course. (See the Calendar section.)

Long Paper prompt (PDF)

In preparation for the long paper, the following assignment was given:

Idea for Long Paper (PDF)