January 28  Course Overview
   Reading: Entire syllabus (do so before Feb 4th class)

Simulation Activities:
1. Choose policy issues for Executive and Judicial branch simulations
2. Sign up for simulation roles for all three branches
 

The Congress

February 4  Congressional Representation and Interactions with District
Reading: Fenno, “U.S. House Members…”*
            Eulau et al., “The Role of the Representative…” *
            Price, Chapter 9
            Dolan and Ezra, 2001a - Part II (Patient’s Bill of Rights and Safe and Sober Streets Act)

Simulation Activities:
1. Choose policy issue for legislative simulation
2. Choose specific members of Congress for legislative simulation
 

February 11  Congressional Lawmaking: Committees, Party Leadership, and General Procedures
Reading: Fenno, “Member Goals”*
              Price, Chapters 4, 5 and 8
              U.S. House of Representatives, Parts V, VI, and VII*
              Dolan and Ezra, 2001a, pages 3-20

Simulation Activities: None

 *** We’ll spend the first part of class getting introduced to Library and Internet Research Resources on American Government, so please meet in DeWitt Library, 2nd Floor Bibliographic Instruction Room
 

February 18  Congressional Procedures and Policy Making in Action
Reading: Dolan and Ezra, 2001a, Chapter 2 (pages 20-23) and Part II  (only for Patient's Bill of Rights)
              U.S. House of Reps, Parts IX, X, and XI*

Simulation Activities:
1. Committee hearings AND    2. Committee mark-up

PAPER 1 DUE (biography of Member of Congress OR legislative history, depending on your role in simulation – see Appendix)
 

February 25  Congressional Floor Debate and Other Congressional Responsibilities: Budgeting and Oversight
Reading: McCubbins and Schwartz, “Congressional Oversight …”*
              Price, Chapter 7
              U.S. House of Reps, Parts VIII and XII*

Simulation Activities:
1. Floor debate AND   2. Debriefing
 

The Presidency and the Executive Branch

March 4   The Presidency: Historical Roots and Current Practices
Reading: Federalist Papers #69 and #70* (in P&D and available online)
              Pfiffner and Davidson: Rozell, Maltese, and Edwards (in Ch 4)
              Dolan and Ezra, 2001b, Chapter 1 (The White House and the Media)

Simulation Activities:
1. All journalists will select the media outlet for which they work
 

March 11  The President and Policy Making: Part I (the Executive Branch)
Reading:  Pfiffner and Davidson: Brownlow Committee Report, Moe, Reich, Kernell, Heclo, Pfiffner, and Rourke (all in Ch 5)
               Dolan and Ezra, 2001b, Chapter 2 (Guide to the Simulation)
              and Part II (only for Faith Based Initiatives)

Simulation Activities:
1. The Morning “Gaggle”
 

March 18  The President and Policy Making, continued
Reading:      Dolan and Ezra, 2001b, Chapter 2 (review pages 32-38)

Simulation Activities:
1. Presidential Rose Garden Address AND  2. Afternoon briefing AND
3. Debriefing

PAPER 2 DUE (Pres Bush policy position paper – see Appendix)

March 25  No class – Spring break

April 1     The President and Policy Making, Part II (Interactions with Congress, the Judiciary, and Interest Groups)
Reading: Peterson, 1992*
              Pfiffner and Davidson: Davidson, Thurber (in Ch 6); Neustadt, Dudley, and Schick (in Ch 7); Fisher, and Mann (in Ch 8)
 

The Judiciary

April 8  Overview of the Supreme Court
Readings: Baum, Chapters 1-3
               Federalist Paper #78*
               Dolan and Ezra, 2002, Chapter 1 (Supreme Court Procedures and Players)
              and Part II (only for School Vouchers)

 Simulation Activities: None
 

April 15  Supreme Court Decision-Making
Readings: Baum, Chapter 4
                Dolan and Ezra, 2002, Chapter 2 (Guide to the Simulation)

Simulation Activities: None.
 

April 22  The Supreme Court in Action: Relations with Congress and the Executive
Reading: Baum, Chapter 5
              Relevant case materials submitted by your colleagues (required reading for Justices and Clerk only)

Simulation Activities:
1. Oral Arguments
 

April 29  The Supreme Court’s Impact on Public Policy
Reading: Baum, Chapter 6
              Rosenberg, Intro and Chapter 1*

Simulation Activities:
1. Justices’ Conference

The Bureaucracy

May 5  The Fourth Branch: Is it Undemocratic?
Reading: Rosenbloom, “Whose Bureaucracy Is This, Anyway?”*
              Meier, “Bureaucracy and Democracy…”*

Simulation Activities:
1. Supreme Court handing down the Ruling AND
2. Debriefing