POLS 130: American Politics
Benjamin Schrader
[email protected]
Location: ONLINE
Course Description
American Politics has transformed since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
on the United States. From the Global War on Terror to the Occupy movement there
have been many events that have captured not only the American public, but also
the world. This class will look at some of these major events through a number of
mediums in order to understand the current state of affairs within American
Politics. The course opens by looking at the events surrounding 9/11 and the
subsequent Global War on Terror. It then goes into contemporary issues in
American politics including: The Global Financial Crisis, Global Climate
Change/Environmental degradation, Social Movements (the Tea Party/the Occupy
Movement), Immigration, and many other issues. Each week will consist of two
documentaries, a reading, and a blog/blog response (there is also a final paper
component as well). So all you will need is Internet access and a Netflix account!
Course Standards
Every student at UH has the ability to succeed in my course. The difference between
success and failure in my class is a matter of attitude, effort, and initiative. There is a
difference between passively reading a text and critically engaging with complex
ideas and concepts. There is a difference between regurgitating facts and actively
applying new concepts, just as there is a difference between taking multiple-choice
tests and writing sophisticated papers. In this sense, successful students will be
those who embrace growth and hard work. They will overcome self-defeating
behavior (i.e. not completing the blog, writing half-baked papers), make use of
available resources, and turn freely to others for help.
The course will demand that its members read critically, participate actively, and
write effectively. Most of all, it will ask students work with their fellow members to
create an environment where ideas and arguments matter. On another note:
 Please feel free to email me at any time, with any questions and concerns you
may have and I will promptly respond to your email. Since this is an online
course, correspondences will be handled via email and Laulima.
 Students are expected to complete every online assignment.
 Papers must be submitted via Laulima mail in a Word or pdf attachment on
the specified dates. Work submitted after that time will be penalized 10% per
day.
 Weekly Blogs will be submitted on Laulima, by 11:59 PM every Wednesday
night. Late blogs will receive half credit. Comments on other peoples’ blogs
are to be completed by 5 PM the following Friday. Since the comments are
meant to be an ongoing dialog, there will be no credit given for comments
beyond the 5 PM Friday deadline.
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Students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner (i.e.,
respect your classmates, give critical/honest feedback, turn assignments in
on time, etc.).
Reading Materials
All texts will be made available on Laulima, including texts from Walter Benjamin,
Theda Skocpol, Cynthia Enloe, and many more. Furthermore, you will need a Netflix
account in order to watch certain documentaries (Think of this as your book
expense).
Each week you will have one mandatory reading, and you will have an option of a
number of documentaries to watch. You must pick at least two of the documentaries
offered every week and you will relate the reading to the documentaries that you
choose in your blog assignment.
Grading Criteria
This course is designed to enable students to become sophisticated political science
thinkers and writers. As such, course grades will be comprised of three elements:
Blogs (60%)
Final paper (40%)
Blogs: The Blog grade will consist of two parts: 1) Blog entry; 2) Responding to
other students Blogs. Students are expected to write a Blog entry on Laulima by
Wednesday evening 11:59 PM. After this time students will only receive half credit
for the week. Each week I will post a brief summery of themes to focus on within the
readings and movies. Your Blog is to tie together the movie/documentary of the
week, the weeks reading, and at least one current event from the news (and/or an
example that can be seen in media that is political). This is to bring together theory
and practice; it also helps to ensure that you are reading the required materials,
while staying informed on current events. Each Blog is worth 10 points.
The Blog response to other students is to create a conversation and to learn from
one another. As mentioned above, Blog responses are to be submitted by 5 PM
Friday. After this time students will not receive credit for the week. Each student is
expected to respond to at least 3 other students Blogs. The response should be more
than basic, “I liked your Blog,” generic responses like this will receive no credit.
Responses are to be thoughtful critiques that help expand upon the Original Blog’s
content. Each response is worth 5 points, with 10 points maximum each week.
Final Paper: Each student will submit a formal research paper (~12-15 pages, wellformed research question, professional writing style, footnotes, etc.) that examines a
contemporary critical issue, noting its historical emergence as well as its lasting
impacts on the shaping of society. The student is to draw on themes and readings
used in the class (at least 2 theorists from our course will be used for the final paper)
and will use a variety of mediums of media to draw analysis from. Detailed
guidelines will be emailed later in the semester.
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A Project Proposal will be due Friday, July 18th. This should include your
research question and a detailed outline of the project’s argument. This
assignment will constitute 10% of your Final Project grade.
You can send me rough drafts of your paper, and I can edit them to ensure
that you have an academically sound paper. The final day I will receive rough
drafts is Saturday, August 9th.
The Final Paper is due on Thursday, August 14th by 5:00 PM, and must be
submitted via Laulima. This paper will comprise of 90% of your final project
grade. Late papers will be penalized 10% per day.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND STUDENT CONDUCT
Students are required to follow the UH Manoa campus policies as listed in the
course catalog or found here: http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/about-uh/campuspolicies1.htm. Students are required to be respectful of their classmates and refrain
from disruptive behavior in the classroom and on campus. If you engage in cheating
or plagiarism, you will receive an F (0.0) grade for the course and I will be forced to
report you for academic dishonesty.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, submitting, to satisfy an academic
requirement, any document that has been copied in whole or in part from another
individual’s work without identifying that individual; neglecting to identify as a
quotation a documented idea that has not been assimilated into the student’s
language and style; paraphrasing a passage so closely that the reader is misled as to
the source; submitting the same written or oral material in more than one course
without obtaining authorization from the instructors involved. If you can find it
online, so can I. If you have questions regarding what does and does not constitute
plagiarism, please ask me.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute
that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities,
including reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you have a disability
requiring an accommodation, please let me know and contact the KOKUA Program
in Queen Lili‘uokalani Center for Student Services or call them at (808)956-7511.
Course Breakdown
Section 1: A Brave New World: The first part of the course will examine the events
of 9/11, the subsequent Global War on Terror, and the aftermath of those wars.
Week 1 (June 10-15): 9/11 and the Global War on Terror
-Reading: Douglas Kellner: September 11, Social Theory and Democratic Politics
-Movie options: 9/11: Day That Changed the World (Netflix); The 9/11
Commissions Report; (Netflix); Fahrenheit 9/11
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYYKLnFRA4s); Unconstitutional (about
the Patriot Act: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWMY8GQUjXs)
Week 2 (June 16-22): Iraq & Afghanistan
-Reading: Manfred Steger, “The Rise of the Global Imaginary: Political
Ideologies from the French Revolution to the Global War on Terror” Pgs: 213248
-Movie options: Restrepo (Netflix); Iraq for Sale (Netflix); Iraq in Fragments
(Netflix) Control Room (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3rMo5cgaXQ);
Militainment
(http://www.veoh.com/watch/v193682214BnwyD4a?h1=Militainment%2C+I
nc.); Generation Kill (Any 2 episodes-On HBO)
Week 3 (June 23-29): Post-War Politics/military/militarism
-Reading: Anne Jones, reading from “War is Not Over, When it’s Over” Pgs: 114; 204-247.
-Movie Options: We Steal Secrets (Netflix); The Invisible War (Netflix); Dirty
Wars (Netflix) WikiSecrets
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/page/frontline/wikileaks/); Strange History of
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (On HBO)
Section 2: And so it goes… This section will look at major events that have shaped
contemporary American politics. First it looks at the digital revolution that has
changed American politics. It then looks at the Global Financial Crisis, which not
only shook the world, but the epicenter was the United States. This section
concludes with the election of America’s first Black President and highlights
“politics proper.”
Week 4 (June 30-July 6): Politics in the Digital Age: Facebook and the Internet
-Reading: Andrew Chadwick: Internet Politics Pgs 1-37
-Movie Options: TEDTalks: Cyber Awe Online—Episodes 1-12 (Don’t worry,
they’re very short—Netflix); Mark Zuckerburg: Bloomberg Game Changers
(Netflix); TEDTalks: The Power of Crowds—Episodes 1-10 (Again their short—
Netflix)
Week 5 (July 7-13): Global Financial Crisis
-Reading: David Harvey The Enigma of Capital Chapter 1
-Movie Options: End of the Road (Netflix); The Flaw (Netflix); The Pit (Netflix);
Maxed Out (Netflix); We’re Not Broke (Netflix) Capitalism A Love Story
(http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/capitalism_a_love_story_2009/)
Week 6 (July 14-20): “Politics Proper”
-Reading: “Voters, Emotions, and Race in 2008: Obama as the First Black
President”
-Movie Options: House Quake (About Obama; on Netflix); Episodes 1 & 2 of
House of Cards (Fictional/Netflix); Mitt (Netflix); No Child Left Behind
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiGN7kVyeaM)
Final Paper Proposal due July 18th 5:00 PM HST
Section 3: Other Primary Issues in contemporary American Politics. The final
section of this course looks at other issues that have made major headlines within
American Politics. It opens by looking at the two most salient social movements of
the last 10 years, the Tea Party and the Occupy Movement. It then examines the
current environmental crisis that has become a charged debate within American
politics. The course concludes by looking at an issue that has long been important,
and is again on the forefront of American Politics, Immigration.
Week 7 (July 21-27): Social Movements: Occupy/Tea Party
-Reading: Theda Skocpol: The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican
Conservatism (Chapter 4)
-Movie: The Square (Netflix); The Billionaires’ Tea Party (Netflix); Tea Party
America BBC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpf6PhCXl_E );
Occupation Nation (About Occupy Movement;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFhza_nF6Mw )
Week 8: (July 28- August 3): The Environment
-Reading: Neil Carter. 2008. The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy. 2nd
Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (INTRO & CHAP 1: Need to check out
& Scan!!!)
-Movie Options: GasLand (Netflix); Houston We Have A Problem (Netflix); A
Crude Awakening (Netflix); Chasing Ice (Netflix); Climate of Change (Netflix);
Food Inc. (Netflix)
Week 9: (August 4-10): Immigration
-Reading: David Bacon: Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and
Criminalizes Immigrants (Chapters 1&2)
-Movie options: The Other Side of Immigration (Netflix); The Dream is Now
(Netflix); The House I Live in (about War on Drugs; Netflix); Lost in Detention
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/lost-in-detention/)
Week 10: August 11-14 No reading/No Blog—Paper Due Thursday August 14th
5:00 PM HST