POLS 4790: THE POLARIZATION OF AMERICAN POLITICS

Fall Semester AY2012-2013
Department of Political Science
University of Georgia
Athens, GA, 30602-1615

Classroom: Baldwin 301
Time: 12:20 - 1:10PM Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Instructor: Keith T. Poole

Office: Room 304D Baldwin Hall
E-Mail: ktpoole@uga.edu
WebSite: Voteview Home Page

Office Hours: Thursday 3:00 - 5:00PM

The following texts will be used in this course:

• Morris P. Fiorina. 2011. Culture War?


• Gary C. Jacobson. 2011. A Divider, Not a Uniter.


• Nolan M. McCarty, Keith T. Poole, and Howard Rosenthal. 2013. Political Bubbles
  

Requirements

Grades will be determined by three examinations -- two mid-semester exams and a final exam. The exams will consist of short answer essay questions. The midterms will be worth ¼ each and the final 1/2 of the course grade.

The first exam is scheduled for Friday, 28 September 2012, 12:20 - 1:10PM.
The second exam is scheduled for Friday, 2 November 2012, 12:20 - 1:10PM.

The final is scheduled for Monday, 10 December 2012, 12:00 - 2:00PM.

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Course Outline

1. Introduction: What is Political Polarization and Why Does it Matter?
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapter 1, A Divider, Not a Uniter
  
• Chapter 1, Culture War?
  
  
2. How do We Measure Polarization of the Elites?
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• "Measuring Ideology"
  
• "The Decline and Rise of Party Polarization in Congress During the Twentieth Century." Extensions, Fall 2005.
  
• "The Roots of the Polarization of Modern U. S. Politics." Revista de Ciencia Politica, December, 2008.
  
• Growing Apart: The Mathematical Evidence for Congress' Growing Polarization, by Jordan Ellenberg
  (Note that the links to voteview.uh.edu should be pooleandrosenthal.com. The pages are still on the website.)
  
• Handout Topic 2 (Part 1)
  
• Handout Topic 2 (Part 2)
  
• Handout for Topic 2 (PowerPoint)
  
• House and Senate DW-NOMINATE QuickTime Movie (through 1^st session of the 112^th Congress
  
  



3. Income Inequality and Political Polarization
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• The Level and Distribution of Economic Well-Being (Remarks by Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, 6 November 2007)
  
• Chapter 1, Polarized America, Nolan M. McCarty, Keith T. Poole, and Howard Rosenthal.
  
• Figures 1.1 - 1.3
  
• Chapter 2, Polarized America, Nolan M. McCarty, Keith T. Poole, and Howard Rosenthal.
  
• "Wages and Human Capital in the U.S. Financial Industry: 1909-2006," by Thomas Philippon and Ariell Reshef. Working Paper 14644, 2009, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.
  
• The Evolving Structure of the American Economy and the Employment Challenge, Michael Spence and Sandile Hlatshwayo, 2011, Council on Foreign Relations
  
• Handout for Topic 3 (Part 1, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 3 -- Civil Rights and the Realignment of the South (Part 2, PowerPoint)
  
  
  
• IRS Tax Tables Page
  
• Monthly Statement of the U.S. Debt
  

Information on the SPIA Public Policy Fellowship
SPIA Public Policy Isakson Fellowship


4. Post 1960s Political Polarization
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapters 2 - 7, Culture War?
  
• Handout for Topic 4 (Part 1, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 4 (Part 2, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 4 (Part 3, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 4 (Part 4, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 4 (Part 5, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 4 (Part 6, PowerPoint)
  
  

First Exam Study Questions


5. George W. Bush and the 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapter 8, Culture War?
  
• Chapters 2 - 7, A Divider, Not a Uniter
  
• Handout for Topic 5 (Part 1, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 5 (Part 2, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 5 (Part 3, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 5 (Part 4, PowerPoint)
  
• Real Per Capita GDP, 1790 - 2010
  
  
Second Exam Study Questions


6. The Public Policy Consequences of Political Polarization
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapter 8, A Divider, Not a Uniter
  
• Summary of What We Know About Polarization and Inequality
  
• Policy Consequences of Polarization (Part 1)
  
• Policy Consequences of Polarization (Part 2)
  
• "Politics, Public Policy, and Inequality: A Look Back at the 20^th Century," by Howard Rosenthal. In Social Inequality, edited by Kathryn Neckerman. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2004.
  
• Political Bubbles, by Nolan M. McCarty, Keith T. Poole, and Howard Rosenthal (forthcoming, 2013 Princeton University Press)
  
• Handout for Topic 6 (Part 1, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 6 (Part 2, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 6 (Part 3, PowerPoint)
  
• Handout for Topic 6 (Part 4, PowerPoint)
  
  
• Short Animation on the financial crisis
  
  
Final Exam Study Questions


7. The Future of American Politics
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapter 9, A Divider, Not a Uniter
  
• Chapters 10 and 11, Culture War?
  
  

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Site Links

VOTEVIEW Blog
NOMINATE Data, Roll Call Data, and Software
Course Web Pages: UGA (2010 - )
Course Web Pages: UC San Diego (2004 - 2010)
University of San Diego Law School (2005)
Course Web Pages: University of Houston (2000 - 2005)
Course Web Pages: Carnegie-Mellon University (1997 - 2000)
Spatial Models of Parliamentary Voting
Recent Working Papers
Analyses of Recent Politics
About This Website
K7MOA Log Books: 1960 - 2012
Bio of Keith T. Poole
Related Links

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