GOVT219

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GOVT219

Organizing for Popular Rule: States, Localities and the Democratic Experiment GOVT219 FA

Section	Class Size	*Available	Times
1	30	9	Times: .T.T... 1:10PM-2:30PM;

*The number of spaces listed as available is based on class seats open for the current phase of registration. Some seats may be taken in previous phases while others may be held out for subsequent phases of registration. (Last Updated on Wed Mar 4 05:01:03 EST 1998 )

No matter where you live, you are subject to some form of public authority. In the United States, this includes a complex system of state and local governments -- states, countries, municipalities, townships, school districts, and a host of others, including some with exotic and unfamiliar names such as gores and surpluses. Although at times overshadowed by the national government, state and local governments remain crucial actors in the nation's system of governance, raising and spending billions of dollars annually, and being responsible for such key functions as education, law enforcement, public health, and zoning. This course is about these governments -- what they are, how they are organized, what they do and how well they do it, and their place in a federal system some insist is no longer truly federal. It is also a course about democracy, and the ways state and local governments have given concrete expression to the ambitious but often ambiguous promises of this political philosophy. Democratic theory is not a comprehensive, detailed blueprint for action. It requires choices, and in the United States these choices have been influenced by a persistant concern about the political competence of ordinary citizens. This concern has been reflected over the years in the efforts by institutional engineers to distance policy-making from politics, and to replace parties and elections with professionalism. The result has been a wonderfully complex and often baffling system of state and local government, which, while at times seemingly nonsensical, in fact makes a great deal of sense.

MAJOR READINGS

The major readings will be Grumm and Murphy,
GOVERNING STATES AND COMMUNITIES: ORGANIZING FOR POPULAR
RULE. This book will be supplemented by readings from
primary sources, including state constitutions and city
charters, as well as secondary sources on political parties
and electoral systems, chief executives, legislatures and
courts, the policy process and policy assessment.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Standard letter grades, based on: mid-term and a final; a research project and class participation.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

GOVT151 is strongly recommended, but not required, as are courses in American History and Economics.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS GOVT

Prerequisites: None

Section 01: Murphy, R; Times: .T.T... 1:10PM- 2:30PM;; Grading Mode: A/F; Registration Preference (1 high to 6 low, 0=Excluded) Sr: 1, Jr: 1, So: 2, Fr: 2; Major Preference Given

Last Updated on MAR-03-1998

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