Dr. Bob Botsch
Office C-7
Office phone:
Email: bobb@usca.edu
Office hours: TT: 9:25-10:40 am and by appointment
Learning
Objectives
1.
Gain a factual understanding of the laws and procedures
defining the national election process, focusing mainly on the presidential
election
2.
Learn how these laws and procedures influence candidate
strategies and tactics
3.
Become a more sophisticated consumer of campaign
communication with the ability to engage in more complete analysis
4.
Understand the role of the media in the process and how
media and political socialization affect our preferences and opinions
5.
Talk about the 2008 election and place its historical
importance in proper perspective in our complex political system
6.
Reduce the cynicism and distrust that typifies most
American views of elections
7.
Improve debating skills by being able to discuss all sides
of issues
Texts
Stephen J. Wayne,
THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE: 2008 (Belmont,
CA: Thompson-Wadsworth, 2008).
We will
also be using many resources off the Web.
General Information
The members
of this class represent a learning community.
The behavior of each person influences the perceptions and learning
ability of the other members of community.
I expect you to consider the impact of your behavior as to how you might
be helping or hindering the ability of the learning community to achieve its
objectives. To that end, I ask that each
student:
- Attend class. Absenteeism and lateness affects your
own learning experience and the learning experience of other class
members. Attendance and
participation is a must if you expect to do well in this course. I want to
give you an extra incentive for coming.
If you have perfect attendance for the classes covered by a test,
you will get five points extra credit on that test. If you miss one class, you will get two
points credit on that test. If you
miss two or more classes, you will not receive any extra points. You
must attend 75% of all classes to pass the course.
- Be on time and ready to go. Read assignments thoughtfully. Bring your textbook to class. Be prepared to ask questions and
contribute in discussions and activities.
Please silence cell phones as a courtesy to others.
- Focus on Effective Writing. College level writing is expected in all
aspect of your work in this course.
An “A” paper must be excellent in all respects, including grammar,
spelling, organization, clarity, and style. Work containing numerous and significant
errors will receive an “F”. If you
need assistance, contact me and/or connect with the Writing Room
Consultants in HSS 112.
- Follow the USCA Academic Honor
Code. Any student found cheating, plagiarizing
or lying can receive a zero for the assignment, an F in the course and
will be reported to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Plagiarism consists of taking someone
else’s words and/or ideas and passing them off as your own. Anytime you use anyone else’s words or
ideas, you must place them in “quotation marks” and footnote them
correctly. If you are not sure how
to do this, ask me or one of the Writing Room consultants. You are to sign all work, giving your
word that you have complied with the honor code.
- Demonstrate respect for each
other. Everyone needs to express their views,
ask questions, and challenge ideas and perspectives they read in the text
and or hear in class. Therefore,
each of us must allow others to speak, not interrupt and display positive
body language. Hate speech,
bullying behavior, racist and sexist comments, and any other type of
harassing language/actions have no place in the classroom.
- Disabilities. If you have a physical,
psychological and/or learning disability which might affect your
performance in this class, please contact the Office of Disability
Services as soon as possible (126A BSED, 641-3609). The Office will determine appropriate
accommodations based on medical documentation. If you are registered with the Office
and have an accommodation sheet, please make an appointment to see me
ASAP.
Grading
I will use the following scale:
A
= 100 - 90
B+ =
89 - 85
B
= 84 - 80
C+ =
79 - 75
C
= 74 - 70
D+ =
69 - 65
D
= 64 - 60
F
= 59 -
Your course grade will be determined
by three major tests, one research/project paper, and an issue debate.
I. Tests (50%)
The midterm
and final exams will employ a mixed format, including multiple choice,
true/false, identifications, and essay questions. You are expected to explain terms and
concepts and apply them to the current campaign in YOUR OWN WORDS! Tests will
cover both the reading assignments and the lecture/discussion materials as well
as current events. If it is necessary
for you to miss a test, you must notify your instructor as soon as
possible. You may take a make-up ONLY if
you have a verifiable written excused absence.
The make-up will be an all essay exam or an oral exam or a combination
therefore, at my discretion.
Bonus
points for current events. From time to time I will give you a current events
question at the beginning of class. If you get it right, you will get a bonus
point on the next test. So keep up with the campaign news by reading a paper
every day. I have links to newspapers on the course website. These are the same
papers I look at every day and the ones where I will get the questions!
II. Research/Project Papers (20%)
and Presentation of Paper (10%)
Your
project must be on a topic approved by me.
You must submit a written proposal to me no later than Thursday,
September 18th. Proposals
should include not only the topic, but the questions you will attempt to
answer, the methods you will employ, and a bibliography of sources with which
you will begin. The final paper itself
must be typed and double-spaced (one inch margins and 12 point font). It should be 6-10 pages in length. We will accept late papers, but there will be
a one letter grade penalty for each class period the paper is late.
You should
be creative in selecting your topics, but if you want some ideas, here are a
few possibilities.
- Media Coverage. Select one media source (electronic or
print) and analyze its coverage of the election or select two sources and
compare and contrast coverage. You should pay careful attention to how the
source “frames” the campaign. To a great extent, the campaign can be seen
as a battle between each campaign to influence the media to frame the
campaign in a way that helps their candidate and hurts the opposing
candidate.
- Problems in vice presidential
choice. You could write an overview
of how presidential candidates choice VP candidates and evaluate the
current choices and how the current process in light of the lessons of
history.
- Rhetorical analysis. We expect you to look at specific
speakers and speeches. Two
excellent ones would be the acceptance speeches at the national
conventions. You will have to do some research on rhetorical techniques to
provide a theoretical framework for this analysis.
- Platform analysis. Compare the current platform of the two
parties to past platforms and to each other both in terms of content and
style.
- The debates. The are several possible papers here:
- A historical review of the
evolution of candidate debates
- Media coverage of one of the
2008 debates
- Comparative rhetorical
analysis of one of the 2008
debates
- Comparative rhetorical
analysis of the candidates’ (s’) opening and closing statements
- Newspaper or news magazine
photo coverage. Is it different for
different candidates? What is the
relationship of such coverage to the newspaper/magazine’s editorial
policy/position? To what extent do
different media sources treat the candidates favorably or unfavorably?
- Campaign ads. Current research shows that spot ads are
the major source of information for voters. You could analyze a series of ads that
appear on one or more media. In
doing so, you should note who sponsors the ads.
- Websites. You could focus on the candidates’
official party websites. What
purposes do they serve? What other
websites are also attempting to attempt understanding, attitudes and
action? How effective are they?
- Press crises. Every campaign has them. You could look at how they have been
handled in the past and compare the lessons of history with the handling
of current crises.
- Pictures vs. words. A major strategy of the Reagan campaign
of 1984, was to emphasize pictures of the president doing positive
things. The campaign felt that the
film footage was much more important than anything the reporter could say
in describing the event.
- Third-party candidates. You could explore how third party
campaigns have impacted past elections and compare the lessons of history
with the 2008 presidential campaign. The Libertarian candidate Bob Barr
could play a major role in this campaign.
- Conventions. Are they needed any more in
light of the most recent conventions where little coverage takes place and
few people really watch? Do they make any difference in the actual
campaigns or for our political system?
Whatever you do, please propose a project based on the
course content and your major interest.
III. In-class Issue Debates (10%)
I will
divide you into teams. Each team will be
assigned to learn about specific issue positions of the candidates. Teams will prepare, present and defend those
positions. You will have a specific
format and debate schedule. I will grade
each person not only on the basis of their ability to prepare, present and
defend the position of their candidate but also on how well they question the
position of the opposing team. The
professor will serve as judge and will award five extra credit points on the
final exam to members of the winning team.
IV. Written Assignments (10%)
During the
course of the semester you will have about ten short papers (about a paragraph
to a page each) to turn in that are based on the readings and your observation
of the current campaign from keeping up with the news. They will be graded on a
Satisfactory/Marginal/Unsatisfactory basis, and your grade will be the
percentage of Satisfactory grades you get. Marginal’s will be counted as half a
Satisfactory. You will be allowed to drop your lowest grade on this. So if you
have 7 S’s and 2 M’s and 1 U, I will drop the U and your grade for this 10% of
the course will be 8 out of 9, or 89%.
Junior Writing Portfolio
Please
remember that the written work you produce in this class can be included in
your rising junior writing portfolio.
For further information on the portfolio requirement, read your USCA
Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Bulletin or speak with Dr. Lynne Rhodes,
Director of Writing Assignment, or Karl Fornes, Director of the Writing Room.