SEMINAR IN POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
PSCI 382.01
Fall 2014
M 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Old Chapel 207
Dr. Lauren Cohen Bell
Office: Provost’s Office, 1st floor of Peele Hall
Office Phone: 804-752-7268
e-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: Mondays, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Thursdays, 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
And by appointment
Course Description:
This one-hour special topics course exposes students to issues in political leadership. It considers models of
political leadership and followership in the United States, such as ambition theory, groupthink, and the
arrangement of institutions to promote leaders’ agendas. The seminar-style class will include visits from
political leaders and an exit poll of the 7th district’s congressional race between Randolph-Macon College
professors David Brat and Jack Trammell.
Course Goals:
I have five main goals for this course:
1. To familiarize students with the theory and practice of political leadership in the United States.
2. To contextualize the political events taking place in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
3. To connect political science students and politically-engaged students in other disciplines with
practitioners who work closely in politics or related fields.
4. To give students practice and experience with collecting and analyzing survey data.
5. To encourage critical thinking, reading, and writing at an appropriate collegiate level.
Course Readings:
There is no single textbook for this course. Course readings are listed in the syllabus and available on Moodle
or will be distributed in class. I reserve the right to require supplemental course readings.
Course Requirements:
The graded work in this course consists entirely of short essays – a total of six – as well as participation in the
November 4 exit poll. Class attendance and participation are worth 10 percent of the final grade. Full and
appropriate participation in class is expected, as is attentive listening and engagement during the presentations of
guest speakers.
1
Due Dates and Point Values for Graded Work
Assignment
Reflective Essay
Reading Reaction Paper #1
Reading Reaction Paper #2
Exit Poll Participation and
Analysis Essay
Reading Reaction Paper #3
Final Essay
Class Participation
Total Points
Due Date
September 8
September 22
October 20
November 4 (Poll)
November 17 (Essay)
December 1
December 12, 5:00 p.m.
Ongoing
Grading Scale:
488-500
463-487
448-462
438-447
413-437
398-412
388-397
363-387
348-362
338-347
313-337
298-312
Below 298
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
2
Points
50
50
50
100 total
50 points for poll participation
50 points for analysis essay
50
100
50
500
Course Policies:
These policies are designed to facilitate the learning of each and every student enrolled in this class. They are
also designed to ensure that each student is treated fairly. For every student who feels sick on a given day and
decides to skip class, another feels just as bad but makes an effort to attend. Likewise, for every student who
wants to postpone a test or paper due to a heavy workload, another student with an equally heavy workload
has still found time to study or complete an assignment. Therefore:
Make-up Exams: Make-ups will be given only in the event of a serious illness or family emergency, verified
by a doctor’s note or similar communication from campus authorities. I will not consider a make-up exam in
the absence of documentation from a doctor or the Provost’s or Dean of Students’ Offices.
Late Papers: Papers are due during class time on the due date, unless otherwise specified in the assignment.
Late papers will be accepted, but will lose one full letter grade for every day that they are late. Papers that are
handed in by 5:00 p.m. on the due date will lose a half of a letter grade. Exceptions to this policy may be
granted for verifiable illness or family emergency (see make-up exam policy above).
Attendance: Approximately 10 percent of the final course grade is based on class participation. Because
you can not participate if you are not in class, students are expected to attend all regular class meetings. Any
student that misses more than one regularly-scheduled class meeting will lose all possible class participation
points, unless the additional absences are excused. I will excuse absences for the following reasons only: 1)
illness, provided that a doctor's note for the date of the absence is presented; 2) family emergency, provided that I
receive a notice from College officials concerning the absence; 3) representation of the College at a
conference or another institution for an academic, leadership, or athletic purpose, provided that I receive a
notice from the appropriate coach, faculty member, or organization adviser prior to the absence.
Academic Misconduct: I take academic misconduct very seriously. The College's Code of Academic
Integrity (which can be found in the Student Handbook) sets out a list of prohibited behaviors, including
plagiarism, cheating, and tampering with or destroying College property (including computers in computer
labs). The most common act of academic misconduct is plagiarism, which is defined by Gordon Harvey in
Writing With Sources: A Guide for Students as: “[P]assing off a source's information, ideas, or words as your own
by omitting to acknowledge that source – an act of lying, cheating, and stealing.” Any student who commits a
violation of the Code of Academic Integrity will be subject to the policies and procedures outlined in Fishtales.
It is each student's responsibility to read and be familiar with the College's Code of Academic Integrity.
Citation Methods for Written Work: Different disciplines have different standards concerning appropriate
citations. In general, I prefer the American Political Science Association's method, which includes in-text
citations – i.e. "The quick, brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" (Smith 1900, 1) – and a "Works Cited" page at
the end of the essay. Any time you use information gathered from any outside source, whether or not you are
quoting directly, you must provide a citation. This includes information gathered from your class notes.
If you have any questions about citations, see me before you hand in the paper. Careless citations will nearly
always cost you 10 percent of the grade on the assignment, and if I have reason to believe that you have
committed plagiarism, I will follow the guidelines outlined in the Code of Academic Integrity.
Use of Internet Sources in Written Assignments: The Internet can be a valuable reference source.
However, the Internet should not take the place of more traditional sources, including books, journals,
newspaper articles, etc. Moreover, many websites are unregulated and their content is inappropriate for
scholarly use. Therefore, no student may use any Internet or web-based source in any writing assignment that
is being turned in for a grade without prior permission from me.
General Expectations for Written Work: All written work that is prepared outside of class must conform
to the following guidelines: 1) It must be typewritten, double-spaced, in an appropriate font/font size (10 or
3
12 point), with no more than 1.25 inch margins. 2) It must be cleanly printed on white paper, in black ink. 3)
It must be stapled or clipped together (folding the corner down is not sufficient) -- this is for your protection
as much as it is for my convenience! 4) It must be clean of obvious spelling and grammatical errors; in other
words, it must be proofread, as spelling and grammar always count. I reserve the right to refuse to grade any
paper that clearly has not been proofread. 5) It must conform to all other course policies, especially those
governing academic misconduct. 6) Collaboration is prohibited, unless specifically and explicitly required by
the assignment. 7) A hard copy must be handed in. I will not grade e-mailed papers.
A Note on Grading: I will do my best to return all papers/exams within three days. However, I do read
carefully, and papers that are full of proofreading, grammatical, or citation errors take longer to grade. In
extreme cases, I reserve the right to return ungraded any paper that clearly has not been spell checked or
proofread. In such cases, I will require you to return a clean copy of the paper, free from proofreading
and/or spelling errors within 24 hours. In such cases, you will lose a letter grade because I had to return the
paper to you, and you will lose one additional letter grade for every 24-hour period beyond the 24 hours I
have given you to return papers to me.
Final examination policy: As a reminder, students must turn in the final paper for this class at the time it is
scheduled by the Registrar. Any student that has a conflict with this exam time must have approval from the
Provost’s Office in order to change the time of the exam. Students may seek approval by completing the
Exam Change Request form, available in the Provost’s Office. Please be aware that reasons such as travel
plans, work scheduling conflicts, or events within a student’s control will not be considered valid grounds for
an exam change. Any student that does not take a final exam in a course will automatically receive a grade of
F in the course, according to College policy.
Students With Disabilities: Any student in this class who has a disability that may prevent him or her from
fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me as quickly as possible to discuss accommodations
necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate his or her educational opportunities.
4
Complete Listing of Class Meetings and Reading/Writing Assignments
Date
September 1
September 8
Topic
Course Introduction
Theories of Political Leadership
Assignment
None
Mackie, “Schumpeter’s Leadership
Democracy”
Burns, “Political Leadership” (1977)
Reflective Essay Due
Fox and Lawless (2005)
Mezey—Ambition Theory
Selection from Kazee, Who Runs for Congress?
Federalist Paper #51
Polsby, “Institutionalization of the U.S.
House of Representatives”
Canon, “Institutionalization of Leadership”
September 15
Political Ambition
September 22
Institutions and Leaders
September 29
October 6
Followership
Linkages Between Leaders and
Followers
Reading Reaction Paper #1 Due
Selection from Kellerman, Followership
Selection from Arnold, The Logic of
Congressional Action
October 13
October 20
Legislative Leadership I
October 27
Legislative Leadership II
November 3
November 4
November 10
Exit Poll Preparation
Congressional Midterm Election and Exit Poll
Executive Leadership I
Selection from Neustadt, Presidential Power
and the Modern Presidents
November 17
November 24
Executive Leadership II
Leadership in Non-Traditional
Forums
The Problem of Leadership
December 1
December 12
No Class—Fall Break
Arnold, “Strategies for Coalition Leaders”
Reading Reaction Paper #2 Due
Selection from Peters, The American
Speakership
Exit Poll Analysis Due
Lewis, “The Supreme Court: Last Bastion of
American Leadership?”
Selection from Janis, Groupthink
Selection from Bennis, Why Leaders Can’t
Lead
Reading Reaction Paper #3 Due
Final Paper Due By 5:00 p.m.
5
Class Assignments
Reflective Essay: In a paper of approximately four pages, identify a person (living or dead) that
you consider to be a great political leader. Who is this person? What about them makes them a
great leader? In answering these questions, you should consider what qualities you consider to
demonstrate leadership, and be explicit about these qualities and how the person you identify
embodies them.
NOTE: There is no right answer to this question. Your task is to clearly articulate what
constitutes political leadership in your mind and to identify a person who embodies them, as well
as to provide sufficient biographical information about this leader to demonstrate how she or he
is compatible with your vision of great political leadership. You may use external sources, but
must provide appropriate citations.
Due: September 8
Reading Reaction Paper #1: Considering your reading, especially Federalist Paper #51,
Polsby, Kazee, and Canon, answer the following question: How does the design of systems and
institutions both constrain and influence the types of leaders that emerge?
This essay should be approximately four pages in length. Outside research is not required, but
papers must refer to (and cite properly) class readings.
Due September 22
Reading Reaction Paper #2: Considering your reading, especially Kellerman and Arnold,
answer the following questions: What is the role of followers in politics, and how do the nature
and characteristics of followers affect what leaders do?
This essay should be approximately four pages in length. Outside research is not required, but
papers must refer to (and cite properly) class readings.
Due October 20
6
Exit Poll Participation – Poll Will be Held November 4.
One of the ways that the press and political scientists learn about the public’s voting behavior is
to poll voters. Polls are taken throughout the election cycle, and may even be taken after
individuals have already voted. When such polls are conducted on election day, these polls are
called exit polls. In conjunction with the Hanover Herald-Progress, WHAN Radio, and R-MC’s
Stinger Radio, our class will conduct an exit poll during the congressional midterm election on
Tuesday, November 4th. Students will work in teams of two or three to administer a survey to
voters in Hanover County. The survey will query voters as to their choices for the U.S. Senate
and the House of Representatives, as well as their views on a number of political questions.
Your assignment is to participate fully in the exit poll. ALL students are expected to devote
approximately three hours to polling and/or data entry during the day on Tuesday, November 4.
Details will be announced prior to the poll, and poll results will be distributed in class during the
next regularly-scheduled class meeting.
Exit Poll Analysis Assignment: The November 4, 2014 exit poll includes several questions
about leadership in one form or another. Based on your reading of the poll results, discuss what
the exit poll reveals about the public’s perceptions of political leaders. Do particular
demographic factors seem to influence the way leaders are perceived? What do the responses to
the poll suggest about the connection—or disconnect—between leaders and followers?
This essay should be approximately four pages in length. Outside research and quantitative
analysis are not required, but papers must refer to (and cite properly) any external sources used.
Due November 17
Reading Reaction Paper #3: Considering your readings, especially Janis and Bennis, answer
the following question: Why can’t leaders always lead effectively? In answering this question,
you should consider the challenges that leaders confront, consider any special challenges that
confront political leaders, and offer perspectives on how those challenges affect what leaders are
able to accomplish.
This essay should be approximately four pages in length. Outside research is not required, but
papers must refer to (and cite properly) class readings.
Due December 1
7