Dr. Patrick Sellers
Chambers 2039
Office phone: 704-894-2078
Email: pasellers@davidson.edu 

Office hours:
T 1:00-3:30 (CHA2039)
Th 1:00-3:30 (CHA2039)
And by appointment

• Media Projects Website
• Group Assignments
• Survey
  • Questionnaire
  • Codebook
  • Dataset
    

Course Objectives

This course explores the role of paid and free media in American politics. Students will learn how to create television advertisements, as well as examine their effectiveness. We will examine the role of advertisements in several areas of American politics, from election campaigns and the news media to Congress and the White House.

To complete the course, students will be required to fulfill diverse requirements, including creating and editing video advertisements, analyzing survey results, and writing papers and exams.  Completing these requirements will involve mastering course material from assigned readings and class lectures.  A central part of the course is a survey of the Davidson student body, incorporating advertisements that the POL111 students produce.  These various activities will develop students' analytical skills, including (very) elementary quantitative analysis.  Students will also improve their skills of expression, both verbal and written.  Finally, students will develop a better understanding of the uses and abuses of advertising in American politics.  These skills and knowledge can prove useful for each student's career at Davidson and afterwards.

Course Requirements

Each student’s grade for the course will be based on several components. 

• Advertisement #1. At the start of the semester, I will separate the class into four groups. Each group will produce an initial 15-second ad, including planning, filming, and editing. All students in a group will receive the same grade for their group's ad. This first advertisement will count 5% of the overall grade.
• Paper #1. This one-page paper asks students to propose an advertisement for inclusion in the Davidson Survey, and a plan for analyzing the effectiveness of the advertisement. Each student in the class will complete a separate paper and receive an individual grade. This assignment will count 10% of the overall grade.
• Advertisement #2. Each group will also produce a 30-second advertisement, for use in the Davidson survey. Again, all students in a group will receive the same grade for their group's ad. This second advertisement will count 15% of the overall grade.
• Paper #2. This two-page paper will use the results of the Davidson Survey to assess the effectiveness of an advertisement. Students will use the results for the advertisement produced by their group. But, each student will complete a separate paper and receive an individual grade. This assignment will count 20% of the overall grade.
• Class participation. For each day's class, I expect students to complete the assigned reading and to come to class prepared to discuss that reading. Many discussions will incorporate current events, and students should also read the New York Times or another national news source on a regular basis.  I will assess each student’s performance, and this assessment will make up 20% of the overall course grade.
• Final exam.  This self-scheduled exam will be taken during the final exam period.  It will count 30% of the overall course grade.

All the paper assignments are due at the start of class on the assigned date (unless noted otherwise above).  Assignments turned in more than 10 minutes after the scheduled start of the class period will be considered late.  For each 24-hour period that an assignment is late, the grade on that assignment will be penalized by 10 points.  Exceptions to the late penalty will be considered for medical and other emergencies; computer problems are not acceptable excuses for late work.The Honor Code binds all work in the course.  In accordance with the Honor Code, all paper assignments must provide appropriate citations for any sources or information included in the paper.  If you have questions about the appropriate format for citations, make sure that you ask me before turning in the paper.  You can also visit the Campus Writing Center for additional assistance with citations.  Except for explicitly defined group assignments, all work for the course must be completed individually, with each student responsible for his or her own work.  Students are encouraged, however, to work together in several ways.  When preparing for the final exam, study groups with fellow members of the class are an excellent way to study.  In addition, students can often improve their papers by getting classmates to read and comment on them.  I encourage this peer review, but students must cite in their paper the names of any other students who have read and commented on that paper.

The numerical grade for any assignment turned in may range from outstanding (in the 90-to-100 range) to failing (55 or lower).  Note that the failure to complete and turn in any assignment (paper, presentation, exam, or in-class activity or discussion) will result in a numerical grade of 0 for that assignment.  When calculating final course grades, I will calculate the overall numerical averages and convert them to letter grades, using the following scale: A: >=92; A-: >=90, <92; B+: >=87, <90; B: >=82, <87; B-: >=80, <82; C+: >=77, <80; C: >=72, <77; C-: >=70, <72; D+: >=67, <70; D: >=60, <67; F: <60.

Assigned Readings

Three required texts are available for purchase in the bookstore: Campaigning for Hearts and Minds, by Ted Brader, Media Politics: A Citizen's Guide by Shanto Iyengar and Jennifer McGrady, and Words That Work by Frank Luntz. Students are also encouraged to read the New York Times or another national news source on a daily basis.  Finally, the course outline below lists many additional articles that are required reading.  Marked with a "*", all of the articles are available on electronic reserve in the library. I may also place additional reading on reserve in the library during the semester. In addition, for students desiring a broad introduction to all aspects of American politics, I have placed on reserve in the library an introductory textbook (We The People by Ginsberg, Lowi, and Weir) that covers a wide range of topics. This reading is optional.

 Course Outline

1. Introduction

2. Creating and Analyzing Ads
   1. Strategy

• Faucheux, pp.46-92*

2. Creation
   1. Technical details and planning

• Barbash and Taylor, pp. 95-130*

2. Training

3. Group discussions

3. Analysis
   1. Framework for analysis

• Shively, pp.14, 112-116*

2. Non-attitudes and question wording

• Asher, pp.32-77*

3. Evidence

• Iyengar and McGrady, pp.197-269

• Ad #1 due

• Paper #1 handed out

4. Language

• Luntz, pp.1-126
• Lakoff, pp.3-80*

• Paper #1 due

5. Dialogue

• Simon, pp. 66-91*

6. Emotion

• Brader, pp.1-47
• Brader, pp.48-108
• Brader, pp.109-146
• Brader, pp.147-198

6. Emotion (continued)

• Ad #2 due

2. Advertising in other contexts
1. News media
   1. A comparative perspective

• Iyengar and McGrady, pp.1-47
• Dimock and Popkin, pp.217-224*

2. Reporters and politicians

• Iyengar and McGrady, pp.48-104
• Miller and Krosnick, pp.258-275*
• Gilliam et al., pp.287-295*
• Zaller, pp.296-311*

3. New media

• Iyengar and McGrady, pp.105-126

2. The Davidson Survey
   1. Introduction to Stata

2. Explanation of survey data

3. Analysis of survey data

• Paper #2 handed out

3. The President

• Iyengar and McGrady, pp.167-185, 270-291
• Kernell, pp.1-47*
• Edwards, pp.1-77*

4. Congress

• Luntz, pp.127-178, 279-296
• Iyengar and McGrady, pp186-196, 295-316
• Baumgartner et al., pp.349-363*
• Jacobs et al.*

• Paper #2 due

5. Elections

• Iyengar and McGrady, pp.127-166