Courses taught at Lenoir-Rhyne University
American Government (POL 120) - Fall 2024 Syllabus
A study of the American political system, institutions, processes and problems of national Government, the development of the federal system, the nature of the political process, and political behavior in the U.S.
That sounds boring, right? Actually, this course will be anything but boring. U.S. political history, the processes by which citizen preferences are converted into policy, and the political institutions of this nation are all characterized by drama and conflict. We will answer questions such as: why did over 96% of members of Congress who ran for re-election win when public opinion polls consistently find that Americans rate Congress lower than cockroaches, root canals, traffic jams, and Genghis Kong? We will focus on topics like the civil rights movement, the war on terrorism, polarization in Congress, the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and 2022 mid-term elections, and debates over gun control just to name a few. You will learn what Ludacris can teach us about public opinion. You will learn how to become a more engaged citizen.
Each of these questions or political issues can be understood most clearly through the lens of the historical and institutional developments of the American political system. In this course our lectures, readings, discussions, and assignments will focus on the fundamental ideas and structures of government that create the arena in which political events occur and ideas are discussed. We will focus on the political struggles during this nation’s founding that continue to impact politics today; the Constitution; political parties; Congress; the presidency; the judiciary; voting, campaigns, and elections; public opinion; the news media; among other topics.
Media and Politics (POL 420) - Fall 2024 Syllabus
This course investigates the role that the media plays in our society and politics. Different from a traditional course on the media and politics, this course is focused around answering 7 questions about the media, politics, and their intersection in the contemporary political environment. As such, this course focuses on several broad themes, including the development of the news media, the role of the news media in informing public opinion on contemporary issues, Americans’ views of the news media, recent changes in the news media, among others. To answer each of the questions, we’ll engage in vigorous discuss as a class, drawing from readings of scholarship in economics, political science, and communication. Our class meetings will be centered around getting a better understanding of the readings. We’ll ask and answering questions we have about the readings, talk with one another about the readings and related ideas they made us think about, and helping each other better understanding the readings, their arguments, their ideas, and what they mean for our understanding of the news media and American politics.
Each of these questions or political issues can be understood most clearly through the lens of the historical and institutional developments of the American political system. In this course our lectures, readings, discussions, and assignments will focus on the fundamental ideas and structures of government that create the arena in which political events occur and ideas are discussed. We will focus on the political struggles during this nation’s founding that continue to impact politics today; the Constitution; political parties; Congress; the presidency; the judiciary; voting, campaigns, and elections; public opinion; the news media; among other topics.
Research and Writing in Political Science (POL 310) - Spring 2024 Syllabus
The social sciences (political science, economics, and sociology) are by their nature empirical disciplines. These fields are interested in understanding the state of the world and how the world works, and do so most frequently using "real world" data. This course is an introduction to the ways in which we obtain that “real world” data. In particular, this course provides an introduction to the research process and methods in the social sciences. In addition to focusing on specific research methods, this course will introduce students to the use of the scientific method in the social sciences and the field of epistemology. This course focuses on survey and interview research, but it will also cover experimental, quasi- experimental, content analysis, and evaluation methods. Finally, this course will focus on the standards of writing in the discipline of political science
Public Administration (POL 250) - Spring 2024 Syllabus
The catalog description reads: The administrative process in public bureaucracies including its structural and institutional characteristics, behavioral patterns, and policy outputs. That sounds terribly boring. But, it’s not!
The bureaucracy is one of the most influential political actors in American government. This course will focus on understanding the bureaucracy and politics of the executive branch. More generally, this course will examine both how other political actors influence the bureaucracy and how the bureaucracy influences them. We will address questions about who controls the bureaucracy, and what influences the creation and design of government regulation to implement policy. Rather than analyzing the bureaucracy as a separate government entity, the course emphasizes the political position of the bureaucracy as part of the executive branch and the powers-sharing system of American government.
Political Analysis (POL 210) - Fall 2023 Syllabus
The catalog description of this class reads: A review of major works in political thought (including Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Mill, etc.) and a survey of the major empirical approaches used in the discipline.
Although the above sounds interesting, this course will be more than just that. Ultimately, the purpose of this course is to introduce you to the field of political science and all that it endeavors to do. You’ll be introduced to topics including what is political science is, what political scientists study, how we approach the study of political phenomena, the development of American political science, and much more. You’ll learn about political theory, American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and much more. Ultimately, this course is intended to help you become more acquainted with the field of political science and all that it encompasses.
Special Topics: Political Behavior (POL 410) - Fall 2023 Syllabus
This course provides an introduction to the mass behavior of the electorate in the American political context. As such, this course focuses on the individual and how they interact with, and behave within, politics. This course will introduce students to a variety of approaches to understanding the behavior of the American public, drawing most heavily from political psychology to understanding mass behavior.
Courses taught at Birmingham-Southern College
Introduction to American Politics and Government (PS 101) - Spring 2023 syllabus
This course provides a survey of the political processes and institutions of American government. That sounds boring, right? Actually, this course will be anything but boring. U.S. political history, the processes by which citizen preferences are converted into policy, and the political institutions of this nation are all characterized by drama and conflict. We will answer questions such as: why did over 96% of members of Congress who ran for re-election win when public opinion polls consistently find that Americans rate Congress lower than cockroaches, root canals, traffic jams, and Genghis Kong? We will focus on topics like the civil rights movement, the war on terrorism, polarization in Congress, the 2020 presidential election and 2018 mid-term elections, and debates over gun control just to name a few. You will learn how to become a more engaged citizen.
American Political Behavior (PS 345) - Spring 2023 syllabus
This course provides an introduction to the mass behavior of the electorate in the American political context. As such, this course focuses on the individual and how they interact with, and behave within, politics. This course will introduce students to a variety of approaches to understanding the behavior of the American public, drawing most heavily from political psychology to understanding mass behavior.
Media, Politics, and Political Culture (PS 195) - Fall 2022 syllabus
This course investigates the role that the media plays in our society and politics. Different from a traditional course on the media and politics, this course is focused around answering 7 questions about the media, politics, and their intersection in the contemporary political environment. As such, this course focuses on several broad themes, including the development of the news media, the role of the news media in informing public opinion on contemporary issues, Americans’ views of the news media, recent changes in the news media, among others. To answer each of the questions, we’ll engage in vigorous discuss as a class, drawing from readings of scholarship in economics, political science, and communication. Our class meetings will be centered around getting a better understanding of the readings. We’ll ask and answering questions we have about the readings, talk with one another about the readings and related ideas they made us think about, and helping each other better understanding the readings, their arguments, their ideas, and what they mean for our understanding of the news media and American politics.
Each of these questions or political issues can be understood most clearly through the lens of the historical and institutional developments of the American political system. In this course our lectures, readings, discussions, and assignments will focus on the fundamental ideas and structures of government that create the arena in which political events occur and ideas are discussed. We will focus on the political struggles during this nation’s founding that continue to impact politics today; the Constitution; political parties; Congress; the presidency; the judiciary; voting, campaigns, and elections; public opinion; the news media; among other topics.
Survey Data Analysis and Statistics (SBS 204) - Spring 2022 syllabus
This course provides an introduction to statistics as applied in the social sciences, as well as an introduction to data management and analysis. Knowing how to evaluate the arguments and claims made by others is important to being an educated member of society. Understanding statistics better will help you do this. You will also need to understand statistics in order to read scholarly and professional literature in the social (and other)sciences. Thus, there is no downside to learning statistics.
Media and Society (PS 300, cross-listed as MFS 300) - Spring 2022 syllabus
This course investigates the role that the media plays in our society and politics. It focuses on several broad themes important to understanding the media and the role it plays in our politics: the centrality of the media to American politics; the growth and development of the American media system and the changes to media taking place today; the media’s coverage of specific policy issues; the process of newsmaking; the effects on public opinion and voting behavior; the structure of the American media system; and the American media system in a comparative context. Class discussions and readings will be devoted to scholarship in economics, political science, and communication that elucidate these key themes about the media.
Research Methodology (SBS 304) - Fall 2021 syllabus
The social sciences (political science, economics, and sociology) are by their nature empirical disciplines. These fields are interested in understanding the state of the world and how the world works, and do so most frequently using "real world" data. This course is an introduction to the ways in which we obtain that “real world” data. In particular, this course provides an introduction to the research process and methods in the social sciences. In addition to focusing on specific research methods, this course will introduce students to the use of the scientific method in the social sciences and the field of epistemology. This course focuses on survey and interview research, but it will also cover experimental, quasi-experimental, content analysis, and evaluation methods.
American Presidency and Congress (PS 355) - Spring 2021 syllabus
An examination of the executive and legislative branches, including the relationship between the President and Congress, as well as how both interact with the bureaucracy, the news media, and the public. This course will primarily focus on the legislative branch, Congress. We’ll spend about 2/3 of our time thinking about Congress, and the remained of our time thinking about the president or Congress-president relations and what they mean for the policy-making process.
Public Opinion (PS 348) - Spring 2020 syllabus
In democratic systems of government, it is assumed that public opinion has a role to play in the direction of public policy and national affairs. As a result, the study of public opinion is a central focus of the study of democratic politics, and thus, American politics. In this course, we will answer a number of questions about public opinion in the context of the U.S., such as: What is public opinion and how do we define it? Where do opinions and attitudes come from? Is the American public polarized? If so, how much? Does the news media influence our opinion? Do Americans even have attitudes about public opinion? If so, what is the nature of Americans’ attitudes about contemporary political phenomena and events? What explains these attitudes? Finally, does public opinion matter? That is, does the government listen to the governed?
Courses taught at The George Washington University
Media and Politics (PSC 2229) - Summer 2017 syllabus
This course investigates the role that the media plays in our society and politics. It focuses on several broad themes important to understanding the media and the role it plays in our politics: the centrality of the media to American politics; the growth and development of the American media system and the changes to media taking place today; the media’s coverage of specific policy issues; the process of news-making; the effects on public opinion and voting behavior; the structure of the American media system; and the American media system in a comparative context. Class discussions and readings will be devoted to scholarship in economics, political science, and communication that elucidate these key themes about the media.