Syllabus
Overview
Description
This is a course on public opinion and American politics. We begin with the basics. What is public opinion and why do we care about it? More specifically, we ask whether our best understanding of how citizens think and act lives up to what a functioning democracy requires. Do citizens hold coherent and consistent beliefs? Do they know basic facts about government and politics? Can they use these beliefs to make informed decisions in a democracy?
As we will see, the field of public opinion offers more causes for concern than celebration in answer to these questions. If most people, most of the time, rarely form opinions and make decisions in the way democratic theory presumes, how exactly do they think about politics? The second portion of this course considers this question by examining the ways social and group identities structure political attitudes, with a specific focus on partisanship, race, gender, and sexuality.
Finally, we’ll conclude our journey with an exploration of some sources of stability, change, and difference in public opinion. How much of our beliefs about the world are relatively fixed or dispositional? How much do our environments, such as our families, friends, or media habits, shape our political beliefs?
Goals
Students taking POLS 1140 will:
Develop their understanding of processes, theories, empirical regularities of public opinion in American politics.
Learn how to read academic articles to identify and critique a study’s research question, theory, design, results, and conclusions (and not just skip over the tables, figures and footnotes).
Build effective written communication skills, especially the ability to convey complex concepts and information in a clear and concise manner.
Conduct their own surveys on issue of public opinion of interest to them and their peers. In the process they will learn basic principles of survey design and research methodology, and gain experience analyzing and presenting survey data.
Deepen their understanding and appreciation of their own political beliefs, the beliefs of their peers, and the broader public.
Expectations
This is a lecture course with periodic, project-based sections. I will do my best to break up long periods of me talking, with opportunities for small, individual reflection, small-group discussion, and larger debates. Questions are welcome throughout. I expect that you will have done the readings and submitted your assignments on time (more on that below). In terms of participation, I expect that you will come to class eager to learn and engage with that week’s topics and with each other’s ideas in a critical and respectful manner. Finally, I expect that you will treat the assignments in this class not as a chore or a necessary evil but as an opportunity for discovery and development. The writing assignments and group projects are a chance for you to clarify your understanding of a topic, form your own ideas on a topic and engage in ongoing scholarly and political debates. I look forward to seeing what you have to say and helping you say it in a way that clearly conveys your meaning and intent.
Academic Integrity
Neither the University nor I tolerate cheating or plagiarism. The Brown Writing Center defines plagiarism as ``appropriating another person’s ideas or words (spoken or written) without attributing those word or ideas to their true source.’’ The consequences for plagiarism are often severe, and can include suspension or expulsion. This course will follow the guidelines in the Academic Code for determining what is and isn’t plagiarism:
In preparing assignments a student often needs or is required to employ outside sources of information or opinion. All such sources should be listed in the bibliography. Citations and footnote references are required for all specific facts that are not common knowledge and about which there is not general agreement. New discoveries or debatable opinions must be credited to the source, with specific references to edition and page even when the student restates the matter in his or her own words. Word-for-word inclusion of any part of someone else’s written or oral sentence, even if only a phrase or sentence, requires citation in quotation marks and use of the appropriate conventions for attribution. Citations should normally include author, title, edition, and page. (Quotations longer than one sentence are generally indented from the text of the essay, without quotation marks, and identified by author, title, edition, and page.) Paraphrasing or summarizing the contents of another’s work is not dishonest if the source or sources are clearly identified (author, title, edition, and page), but such paraphrasing does not constitute independent work and may be rejected by the instructor. Students who have questions about accurate and proper citation methods are expected to consult reference guides as well as course instructors.
We will discuss specific information about your written work in class in more detail, but if you are unsure of how to properly cite material, please ask for clarification. If you are having difficulty with writing or would like more information or assistance, consult the Writing Center, the Brown library and/or the Academic Code for more information.
Community Standards
All students and the instructor must be respectful of others in the classroom. If you ever feel that the classroom environment is discouraging your participation or problematic in any way, please contact me.
Accessibility
Brown University is committed to full inclusion of all students. Please inform me if you have a disability or other condition that might require accommodations or modification of any of these course procedures. You may speak with me after class or during office hours. For more information contact Student and Employee Accessibility Services at 401-863-9588 or [email protected].
Academic Accommodations
Any student with a documented disability is welcome to contact me as early in the semester as possible so that we may arrange reasonable accommodations. As part of this process, please be in touch with Student Accessibility Services by calling 401-863-9588 or online
Diversity and Inclusion
This course is designed to support an inclusive learning environment where diverse perspectives are recognized, respected and seen as a source of strength. It is my intent to provide materials and activities that are respectful of various levels of diversity: mathematical background, previous computing skills, gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture. Toward that goal:
- If you have a name and/or set of pronouns that differ from those that appear in your official Brown records, please let me know!
- If there are things going on inside or outside of class that are affecting your performance in class, please don’t hesitate to talk to me, provide anonymous feedback through our course survey, or contact one of Brown’s Academic Deans.
Course Structure and Policies
Grading
- Attendance and participation — 20%
- Three reading reflections — 30%
- Two term papers — 30%
- Group project — 20%
Attendance
Somewhere between 80 and 99 percent of life or success is just showing up de- pending on how much weight you give to Google’s search algorithm. In this class, 75 percent (15 percent of your overall grade) of your participation and attendance grade will come from attendance. Attendance will be taken via survey – approx- imately one, one-question survey during one of the classes. After the first week, there are thirteen weeks of classes. I will calculate your attendance grade from ten of the thirteen surveys. So you can miss three classes before it affects your grade. After those three classes, I will need a Dean’s note for any additional excused absences. Before those three, I don’t need to know – so no need to email me.
Participaiton
Learning is not a passive activity. Your active participation is a crucial part of this seminar and your grade (5 percent of your final grade). This includes both regular attendance in class, contribution to class discussion, and active engagement in your group projects. You should complete all readings and submit all assignments before attending class so that you can engage critically with that material.
Assignments
Please go here further details on the assignment
Course Time Allotment
After the first class, this course will meet three times a week for 13 weeks. Over those 13 weeks, you should expect to spend 3 hours per week in class (39 hours total); approximately 7 hours per week reading and reviewing required readings (91 hours total); approximately 5 hours writing each of your three reflection papers (15 hours total); approximately 15 hours writing and revising your two term papers (30 hours total); approximately 30 hours researching and designing your group project and at least .5 hours meeting with me in person to discuss the (182.5 hours total).
Readings
The primary text for this course is: Achen, C. H. and Bartels, L. M. (2017). Democracy for realists: Why elections do not produce responsive government. Princeton University Press Achen and Bartels (2017) is available online through the library should cost between $15-20 (used is fine). Copies of additional chapters and articles assigned for each week will be posted to the course website. Most weeks, you will read 3-4 articles or chapters from a book. Reading academic articles is a skill which requires practice. When I started graduate school, I had this idea that I would read every article on the syllabus twice. It was horrible.