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THE GREAT WORKS SYMPOSIUM PRESENTS THE NEXT COURSE IN ITS 2008-2009 SERIES ON “DEMOCRACY”:

 

"The Election"

UNIV 241, 3 credits

FALL TERM, 2008

COURSE INFORMATION

 

The Great Works Symposium: The Election

Every four years in the United States citizens gather to elect a President.  This course examines the 2008 election season, but in doing so will examine the deeper questions related to this act of democratic expression.  How are candidates selected, how do citizens choose among them, and what role does the media play?  Are elections the most important form of democratic participation?  How have elections shaped American history, world history?  These questions and more will animate the conversation in “The Election.”

 

The Great Works Symposium: Mission

The Great Works Symposium is an interdisciplinary course—focused on exploring subjects of the broadest possible interest and greatest societal impact—designed to bring Drexel University students, teachers, and visiting expert lecturers into collaboration.  The Great Works Symposium strives to avoid the “textbook approach,” with an emphasis on developing in students the active skills of interdisciplinary inquiry: reading, writing, critical thinking, methodological creativity, and argument.  Through an intense examination of one topic, students are encouraged to see the University as an interconnected enterprise, and to imagine the University as one part of a larger spectrum of scholars in the communities of the city, the nation, and the world.

 

Days/Times

Lectures: Thursdays, 6:00-7:20 p.m.

Sections: Thursdays, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

 

Instructors, Contacts, Office Hours

Ronald Bishop

Office: PSA Building, Room 324

Phone: 215-895-1823

Email: bishoprc@drexel.edu

Kevin Egan

Office: 211 Hagerty Library

Phone: 215-895-0457

Email: kde25@drexel.edu

 

Craig Ewasiuk

Office: 5022 MacAlister Hall

Phone: 215-895-0994

Email:cre26@drexel.edu

 

Texts

A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, Ed Larson

 

The Keys to the White House: A Surefire Guide to Predicting the Nest President, Allan Lichtman

 

Taking On the Pledge of Allegiance: The Media and Michael Newdow’s Constitutional Challenge, Ronald Bishop

 

Additional readings will be available on course reserve.

 

Assignments and Grades

Class Participation:             20%

Take-home Papers:            40% (2 papers x 20% each)/p>

Term Project:                        40%

 

Your class participation grade will be determined in part by your attendance and your role in section/workshop discussion.  This will be a very ACTIVE class!  Participation comprises a large proportion of your grade.  Please attend every lecture and every section/workshop meeting.  Come to class having completed the reading assignments, prepared to meet research goals, and ready to take part.  This will result in your getting the most possible from the course, and it will create a dynamic classroom environment.  You will be evaluated with these expectations in mind.

 

Your two take-home papers will be due in weeks 4 and 6, respectively. These papers should be NO LESS than five and NO MORE than seven typewritten, double-spaced pages. You will be free to choose from a “bank” of questions that will seek to address and synthesize material from the readings and classroom talks of the prior weeks (thus, the first paper will cover weeks 1-3, while the second paper will cover weeks 4 and 5).

 

In the second half of the course students will work in small groups (4—6) towards completion of a major term project.  Students will choose an area of interest from among a menu of options (see below for a more detailed explanation). In collaboration with the group, students will research, write, and submit their work for presentation by the close of the term.  Each group will meet in weeks 7-9 with course instructors and with expert workshop facilitators to develop their ideas and craft their projects.  You will present your project in Week Ten of the course.  Though the majority of your grade on this project will be earned individually, the group dynamic is expected to push you to produce the most interesting and rigorous possible research effort. 

 

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COURSE POLICIES AND GRADES

 

Policies and Conduct

Consult the syllabus frequently in order to keep up with scheduled speakers, section meetings, readings, and assignment deadlines.  Keeping up with the assignment schedule is your responsibility.  We will make all take-home exam assignments available to you in plenty of time for successful completion.

 

As a rule we do not accept late exams or other assignments for any reason other than excused, documented absences.  It will be your responsibility to make certain that the instructor receives a hard copy of any excused absence documentation.  Leaving town for work, or having a busy week are understandable facts of life, but they do not comprise excused absences from class.

 

Please arrive to guest lectures and discussion sections on time, stay for the entire period, and display professional conduct at all times.  Cell phones must be turned off, laptops must be used only for taking notes during class time—these rules will be strictly enforced.

 

All excused schedule conflicts must be submitted to your section instructor, in writing, by the end of the first week of the term.  Make-up assignments are only offered in the case of documented, excused absences.  Excused absences include illness, religious observances, and documented university extra-curricular events.

 

No extensions or incompletes will be offered in this course.  If a student has unfinished coursework at the end of the term due to a documented, excused absence, the instructor will assign the grade earned to that point—the student will then have two weeks from the last day of the term to complete any missing work, and the instructor may at that time submit a change of grade form.

 

It is the responsibility of the student to be on the class e-mail list, and to be aware of e-mail updates from the instructors.  It is the responsibility of the student to make sure that she/he is marked present on roll sheets.  It is the responsibility of the student to obtain all reading updates, sample exam questions, take-home exams, and any other materials handed out in class. 

 

The instructors reserve the right to amend this syllabus in any way necessary for the benefit of the class.

 

Academic Honesty

The following policies are drawn from the Official Student Handbook:

Drexel University is committed to a learning environment that embraces academic honesty. In order to protect members of our community from the results of dishonest conduct, the University has adopted policies to deal with cases of academic dishonesty. We comply fully with the Drexel University “Academic Honesty Policy,” as explained in the Official Student Handbook. It is the student’s responsibility to know and follow the policies set forth in the Official Student Handbook. 

 

Academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism will result in an immediate F for the course with no exceptions.  Academic dishonesty may result in suspension or expulsion from Drexel University.

 

Americans With Disabilities Act

In compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Drexel University’s policies and procedures, the University is committed to the non-discrimination of students with disabilities.

Student with disabilities requesting accommodations and services at Drexel University need to present a current accommodation verification letter (“AVL”) to faculty before accommodations can be made.  AVL’s are issued by the Office of Disability Services (“ODS”).  For additional information, contact the ODS at www.drexel.edu/edt/disability, 3201 Arch St., Ste. 210, Philadelphia, PA  19104, V 215.895.1401, or TTY 215.895.2299.   

 

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COURSE SCHEDULE

 

Week 1:    September 25 COURSE INTRODUCTION

 

Reading:Assigned in class

 

 

SEPT 26 FIRST DEBATE—DEBATE WATCH PARTY, LOCATION TBA

 

 

Week 2:    October 2: What is an Election? (historical considerations)

Guest Speaker:

Ed Larson, Pepperdine University

 

Reading:

Chapter 2 (pgs. 37-66); Chapter 10 (pgs. 241-270) from A Magnificent Catastrophe

 

Assignment:

Finalize group and general topic for final project

 

SECOND DEBATE (VICE-PRESIDENTIAL) 9pm ET

 

OCTOBER 7 THIRD DEBATE

 

 

Week 3:    October 9: What is an election? (modern US context)

 

Guest Speaker:

Allan Lichtman, American University

 

Reading:

Chapters 1 & 2 (pgs. 1-48); Chapter 10 (pgs. 177-183) from The Keys to the White House

 

Assignment:

Project proposal and list of research resources due

 

OCTOBER 15 DEBATE 4

 

Week 4  :   October 16: Mediators of Elections

 

Guest Speakers:

Ron Bishop and Scott Knowles

 

Reading: TBA

 

Assignment:

FIRST TAKE-HOME PAPER DUE

 

 

Week 5:    October 23: The Media and Elections, Panel

 

Guest Speakers:

Michael Delli Carpini, University of Pennsylvania

 

Dave Heller, WHYY

 

Kyle Kutuchief, The Chief Source and The Point

 

Monica Malpass, WPVI-TV/Channel 6

 

Phil Martin, Burnt Orange Report

 

Reading:

Chapter 1 “Media Power and Government Control” (pgs. 1-32) and Chapter 8 “Elections in the Internet Age” (pgs 235-270) from Mass Media and American Politics

 

 

Week 6:    October 30: A Talk about the upcoming election.

Guest Speakers:

Ron Bishop, Craig Ewasiuk, Kevin Egan, Scott Knowles

 

Reading:

Students are to read articles in the popular press (i.e. articles in the New York

Times, Washington Post, Time magazine, Newsweek, etc.) regarding major issues

leading up to the election (we will highlight significant issues in class).

 

Assignment:

SECOND TAKE-HOME PAPER DUE

 

 

October 31—Last Day to Withdraw

   

Election Day November 4

 

Week 7:    November 6: Do Elections Matter?

 

Guest Speakers:

Craig Ewasiuk and Kevin Egan

 

Reading:

Chapter 7 “Neither Leaders Nor Followers: Citizenship Under Strong Democracy” (pgs. 95-110) and Chapter 14 “Service Citizenship, and Democracy: Civic Duty as an Entailment of Civil Rights” (pgs. 187-202) from A Passion for Democracy: American Essays.

 

Assignment:

Work on final projects during discussion section

 

 

Week 8:    November 13

 

Assignment:

“Rough draft” of project due; continue to work on final projects in class

 

 

Week 9:    November 20

 

Assignment:

Continue work on final projects in class

 

 

Week 10:  November 27 THANKSGIVING

 

NO CLASS

 

 

Week 11: December 4

 

POSTER PRESENTATIONS OF FINAL PROJECTS

 

 

 

Menu of Choice for Collaborative Projects

 

The final project for the class will give you the opportunity to apply the ideas and concepts we have discussed during the term by creating a vehicle that educates people younger than yourselves about elections and the electoral process.

 

Although the approach is up to the group, here are a few possibilities:

 

* create a teaching module for a high school social studies/civics class.

* create a prototype for a video game that simulates the electoral process

* create a website that encourages public debate on issues and candidates

* write a white paper about a policy that directly impacts your target audience

* shoot and edit a short video in which you describe some part of the electoral process.

* create a media and politics reader intended to educate younger students to become “critical viewers” of mass media

 

Groups will submit a formal proposal for their project by week 3 of the term.

 

Groups will be given significant portions of our week 7, 8, and 9 classes to work on their projects.

 

A finished draft/first version of the project will be submitted on week 8.

 

Final projects will be presented at a poster session on Thursday, December 4 - our last class meeting. The entire university community will be invited to view the posters and to offer comments on your work.

 

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ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKERS

 

Michael Delli Carpini

http://www.asc.upenn.edu/ascfaculty/facultyBioDetails.asp?txtUserID=mdellicarpini

 

Michael X. Delli Carpini, Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania (1975) and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (1980). Prior to joining the University of Pennsylvania faculty in July of 2003, Professor Delli Carpini was Director of the Public Policy program of the Pew Charitable Trusts (1999-2003), and member of the Political Science Department at Barnard College and graduate faculty of Columbia University (1987-2002), serving as chair of the Barnard department from 1995 to 1999. Delli Carpini began his academic career as an Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department at Rutgers University (1980-1987). His research explores the role of the citizen in American politics, with particular emphasis on the impact of the mass media on public opinion, political knowledge and political participation.

 

Dave Heller

 

Dave Heller broadcasts on 91FM, WHYY, updating listeners in the afternoon and early evening with expanded local coverage during Here and Now, Day to Day, and All Things Considered.

 

Kyle Kutuchief

http://thechiefsource.com/ and http://politics.ohio.com/

 

Kyle Kutuchief is founder of TheChiefSource.com, which is a political blog based in Akron, OH.  He has been a contributor to the Akron Beacon Journal's political blog Poltics.Ohio.com since January of 2008.  He has a bachelor's in Political Science from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH and a master's in Public Administration from the University of Akron in Akron, OH.

 

Ed Larson

http://law.pepperdine.edu/academics/faculty/larson.html

 

Professor Larson is Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law at the Pepperdine University School of Law. Professor Larson specializes in law, science and technology, and health care law. The author of seven books and over sixty published articles, Professor Larson writes mostly about issues of science, medicine, and law from an historical perspective. His books include A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, The Creation-Evolution Debate: Historical Perspectives, Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory, Evolution's Workshop: God and Science in the Galapagos Islands, Sex, Race, and Science Eugenics in the Deep South, Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion.

 

Diana Laufenberg

 

Diana Laufenberg will be our Research Partner for this semester as we work with the Science Leadership Academy. She is an instructor of History at the SLA.

 

Allan Lichtman

http://www.american.edu/cas/hist/faculty/lichtman.htm

 

Dr. Lichtman is a Professor of History at American University. Dr. Lichtman has over 100 scholarly and popular articles to his name, and he has provided commentary for all major U.S. broadcasting networks and cable companies, the Voice of America, and many foreign broadcast companies, including BBC and CBC. He worked with Dan Rather as a CBS consultant during the impeachment of President Clinton, served as the 2004 election-night analyst for BBC Worldwide and the political analyst for CNN Headline News. Dr. Lichtman’s books include Prejudice and Old Politics: The Presidential Election of 1928; Your Family History; Ecological Inference; and The 13 Keys to the Presidency.

 

Monica Malpass

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/bio?section=ontv/stationinfo/bios&id=3316409

 

Monica Malpass is co-anchor of Action News at 5 pm and anchor of the award-winning political discussion program Inside Story. She received her BA in Journalism at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and her Master’s in Political Science from Villanova University. She has covered every election since 1988, the inaugurations of Presidents Bush and Clinton, Princess Diana’s funeral, and has conducted a number of exclusive interviews with Hillary Clinton, Tom Ridge, and Arlen Specter, among others. The recipient of numerous journalism awards, Monica is alsothe author of 6ABC's political podcasts, political blogs, web book reviews, and moderates political debates for WPVI-TV.

 

Phillip Martin

http://www.burntorangereport.com/userDiary.do?personId=13

 

Phillip Martin is in the midst of his final year at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University, where he is pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Policy with a concentration in Press, Politics, & Public Policy. In addition to school, Martin holds two part-time jobs, one for America Votes in New Hampshire, where he serves as a Political Communications & Research Intern, and the other for the Legislative Study Group, a public policy group in Texas for whom he is helping craft policy papers for the upcoming Legislative Session. Additionally, he is the Senior Adviser for Burnt Orange Report, the largest political blog in the state of Texas. Martin, who completed his undergraduate work in is hometown at the University of Texas at Austin, is 24 years old.

 

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ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS

 

Ron Bishopis a professor in the Department of Culture and Communication at Drexel University. He serves as director of the Communication program, and teaches a variety of media and journalism-related courses including media law, sports journalism, political communication, and the cultural history of fame. His recently published book, "Taking on the Pledge of Allegiance: The News Media and Michael Newdow's Constitutional Challenge," explored the tendency of reporters to marginalize individuals with divergent viewpoints as seen against the backdrop of Newdow's lawsuit challenging the use of the words "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Bishop's research has been published in a variety of top journals, including the> Journal of Communication, Journal of Popular Culture, Journalism and Communication Monographs, Journalism, and Addiction Research and Theory.

 

Craig Ewasiuk is an Auxillary Professor of Political Science at Drexel University. His primary field of research is political theory, with an emphasis on early liberalism and German Idealism. He has recently written a piece on Thomas Hobbes and his appropriation of the myth of Prometheus.

 

Kevin Egan is the Visiting Fellow in the Great Works Symposium. His research and teaching interests focus on issues of democratic theory, individual rights, and the role of identity in politics. He received the Alumni Association Dissertation Award while working on his dissertation at Penn State, and he is currently looking to expand his arguments to encompass issues of inclusion surrounding immigration.

 

Scott Gabriel Knowles is Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Great Works Symposium at Drexel University.  He is currently working on a book about the history of disaster management titled Experts in Disaster: A History of Risk and Authority in the Modern United States.

 

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