Fall 1996
Professor
Thomas Kazee
"The
President...is rightly described as a man of extraordinary powers.
Yet it is also true that he must exercise those powers under extraordinary
limitations."
-John F. Kennedy, quoted in Hedrick Smith,
This course is intended to introduce you to several perspectives on presidential study. Particular attention will be paid to the development and use of power by American presidents, constraints on executive performance, and the role of presidents in the policy process. The primary emphasis will be on the American Presidency; however, the analytic framework used will be applicable to executives in other contexts.
Our first objective will be the acquisition of substantive information about the presidency. This requires you to read and understand a considerable amount of descriptive material. I will be assuming that all the assigned reading has been completed, and that you are prepared to discuss the material in class. Such discussions enable you to demonstrate your command of the material, but more importantly, your ability to apply what you have learned in other contexts (in other words, to think). The development of your analytic skills, then, is the second major course objective. Written assignments will be structured so that evidence of thoughtful (i.e., creative and critical) analysis is required. If any of the material we will cover is difficult to understand or to place in a broader context, it is your responsibility to raise questions in class or in individual sessions with me.
My office hours this semester are 10:30-11:30 Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and from 2:00-3:00 on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. You are also free to make an appointment at other times. I can be reached by telephone in my office at 892-2282, at home at 892-1444, and my e-mail address is tokazee@davidson.edu.
Exams: A midterm exam and final exam will be given. Both will be composed primarily of essay questions; the final exam will be comprehensive.
Papers: Two papers, each approximately 5 pages in length, will be assigned. The papers will be typed (double-spaced) and use appropriate footnote form. Tentatively, the first paper will be assigned September 11 and will be due on Friday, September 20. The second paper will be assigned on November 13 and will be due on Friday, November 22.
Late Work: Late work will be penalized one full letter grade (ten points) every three days. No work will be accepted more than two weeks late. Computer problems are not acceptable excuses for late work. All work in this course is bound by the Honor Code.
"Issue Bombs": At various times during the semester, unannounced "issue bombs" will be dropped. That is, you will be expected to write a brief in-class essay in answer to a question about the reading or a developing political event.
Grade Composition: The midterm exam will constitute 20% of the final grade, the final exam 25%. Paper #1 will count 20%, paper #2 25%. The issue bombs will count 10%.
Books required for the course are listed below. Additional assigned reading will be placed on reserve in the library. All students are also expected to purchase a term-long subscription to the New York Times. Details will be provided in class.
Norman C. Thomas and
Joseph A. Pika,
(4th ed.)
Michael Nelson, ed.,
The Presidency and the Political System(4th ed.)
Joseph A. Pika and Richard A. Watson,
The Presidential Contest(5th ed.)
James A. Thurber,
Rivals for Power: Presidential-Congressional Relations
Aug. 26-28 Introduction and Overview
Nelson (Nelson #1; Ragsdale
#2)
I. Presidential Relations
Aug. 30-Sept. 4 Presidential
Nominations
Pika and Watson, chaps.
1 and 2
Nelson (Buchanan #8)
Sept. 6-18 General Elections
and Voting Behavior
Pika and Watson, chaps.
3, 4, and 5
Nelson (Aldrich and Weko #9)
II. Presidential Power
Sept. 20 The Constitutional
Context
Thomas and Pika, chap.
1
Nelson (Tulis #4)
Sept. 23-25 Presidential
Views and Leadership Skills
Richard Neustadt, "Three
Cases of Command," from Presidential Power (on reserve)
III. The Impact Of
Presidential Character And Personality
Sept. 27 Personality
Theory: An Introduction
Thomas and Pika, chap.
4
Nelson (Nelson #7)
Sept. 30 Personality
Case Studies: Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson
James David Barber, "Franklin
Roosevelt and Active-Positive Affection," from Presidential Character,
(on reserve)
Doris Kearns, "Growing Up," from Lyndon Johnson and the American
Dream, (on reserve)
Oct. 2 A Critique of
Personality Theory
IV. The President And The Public
Oct. 4-7 The Presidency
and Public Opinion
Thomas and Pika, chap.
3
Nelson (Miroff #10)
Oct. 9 MIDTERM EXAM (tentative
date)
Oct. 11-16 The Media
and the President
Nelson (Cook and Ragsdale
#11)
V. The Administrative Office
Oct. 18-21 Cabinets and
the Bureaucracy
Thomas and Pika, chap.
6
Nelson (Burke #14; Moe #14)
Oct. 23-25 Presidential
Staff and the Vice Presidency
Nelson (Pika #18)
VI. Policy-Making
Oct. 28-30 Decision-Making
and "Groupthink"
Irving Janis, "A
Perfect Failure: The Bay of Pigs," and "The Cuban Missile Crisis,"
from Groupthink (on reserve)
Nov. 1-15 The President
and Congress
Overview: Thomas and
Pika, chap. 5; Nelson (Peterson #16); Thurber (Thurber #1)
History: Thurber (Davidson #2)
The Contemporary Context: Thurber (Oleszek #3)
Leadership and Effectiveness: Thurber (Seligman and Covington #4; Bond,
et al. #6)
Clinton and Congress: Thurber (Pfiffner #9)
Case Study: Base Closures: Thurber (Deering #8)
Nov. 18-20 Domestic Policy
Thomas and Pika, chap.
8
Nelson (Quirk and Nesmith #19)
Nov. 22-Dec. 2 Economic
Policy and Budgeting
Thomas and Pika, chap.
9
Thurber (Thurber #10)
Dec. 4-6 National Security
Policy
Thomas and Pika, chap.
10
Nelson (Sparrow #20)
Thurber (Fisher #11)
Dec. 9 Conclusion
Thomas and Pika, chap.
11
