Week 1, January 13, 2004: Introduction and Course OverviewGeneral overview of the courseOrganizations as Collective Actors, Policy Agendas and Mediation: Alternative Models.Week 2, January 20: Studying Media Attention CyclesDiscussion of using media archives for creating time-series of media attention to policy issues. What produces media attention cycles?Readings:Assignment (due in week 3):Week 3, January 27: Studying Policy AgendasWeek 4, February 3: Associations, Social Movement Organizations and Interest GroupsWeek 5, February 10: The Founding of Social Movement Organizations/Interest Groups.Week 6, February 17: The Survival of Social Movement OrganizationsWeek 7, February 24: The Policy Impact of SMOs and ProtestWeek 8, March 2: The Co-Evolution of Government and Groups.The Pennsylvania State University Departments of Political Science and Sociology PLSC/SOC 497 Research Fellowship in Political Science/Sociology Professors Frank Baumgartner and John McCarthy Spring 2004 Tuesdays, 2:30-5:30PM, 205 Ferguson Frank R. Baumgartner John D. McCarthy 107 Burrowes Building 912 Oswald Tower phone: 863 1449 phone: 863 8260 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] Office hours: Tuesdays 1:30-2:30 and appt Office hours: Tuesdays 1:30-2:30 and appt This course will focus on developing research skills in political science and sociology. Students will become involved in hands-on individualized research projects dealing with changes in public policy and the development and growth of interest groups and social movement organizations (SMOs). Readings will focus on articles from the recent professional literature on the growth of interest groups and SMOs as well as on theories and indicators of policy change over time. Using data from the Policy Agendas Project (www.policyagendas.org), and supplementing these with new sources on social movements and newspaper coverage, each student will learn to develop an individual research project linking a social movement, professional or business community of their choice with developments in public policy over the past 50 years. This class will be run as a seminar, with extensive class participation and with each student developing an individual research project during the term. During the weeks when there are readings, these should all be done in detail before class. In five of the weeks, a short (one page, single-spaced) paper discussing the measurements used in one of the assigned readings is due in class). Each week, class discussion will be structured in the following manner: 1) we will review the assignments due from the previous week’s readings if appropriate; 2) we will discuss the new readings in detail (each student’s paper will allow full participation); and 3) we will go over the new assignments for the following week. Assignments are all structured in such a manner as to walk each student through the necessary skills and steps so that their final project will be both feasible and professional. We hope you can use your final presentation (or a paper drawn from it) as a writing sample for graduate school or for other similar purposes. We’ll spend some time most weeks discussing various research methodology issues, such as how one knows whether a given social indicator is valid and reliable. We’ll focus on indicators of public policy and concerning the development of social movements and interest groups. You’ll gain an understanding of some on-going research projects here on campus. You’ll each write an original presentation making use of your own research.Baumgartner and McCarthy Spring 04 Syllabus Since each student will be researching a different topic, but using similar methodologies during the term, there is a premium upon students helping one another. Class discussions will provide a time to explain your own research projects as well as to get feedback from others. By the same token, helping other students in their research projects, through constructive criticisms and suggestions is an integral part of the class. Accordingly, when one student makes a presentation to the class, the other students should be ready to give feedback and help. This is not a class in which to sit quietly. Grades will be calculated in the following manner: 10% Two points each for 5 short measurement / critique papers (Graded Pass/Fail) 20% Class Participation (Note: 20 % is the equivalent of two full letter grades) 30% Combined grades on three short assignments 40% Final Presentation 100% Total There are no required textbooks for purchase. The course web site, available through Baumgartner’s home page (http://polisci.la.psu.edu/faculty/Baumgartner/welcome.htm#teach) will contain links to all the relevant articles, web sites, and data sources. Any papers not available on the web site will be distributed in class. Weekly class assignments, readings, and discussion topics Week 1, January 13, 2004: Introduction and Course Overview 1. General overview of the course 2. Organizations as Collective Actors, Policy Agendas and Mediation: Alternative Models. 3. Presentation of Two Power Point Presentations from 2002-2003. 4. Measurement issues Week 2, January 20: Studying Media Attention Cycles 1. Discussion of using media archives for creating time-series of media attention to policy issues. What produces media attention cycles? 2. Readings: • Hilgartner, Stephen and Charles L. Bosk. 1988. “The Rise and Fall of Social Problems—A Public Arenas Model.” American Journal of Sociology 94: 53-78. • Woolley, J. T. 2000. “Using Media-Based Data in Studies of Politics.” American Journal of Political Science 44: 156-173. 3. Assignment (due in week 3): • Create an annual time series of media attention to some issue of your choice using the Electronic New York Times Historical Archive. Week 3, January 27: Studying Policy Agendas 1. Review experiences in creating media attention time series. 2. Overview of Policy Agendas Project and Mapping changes in Government Attention. 2Baumgartner and McCarthy Spring 04 Syllabus 3. Readings: • Jones, Bryan D., and Frank R. Baumgartner. 1991. “Agenda Dynamics and Policy Subsystems.” Journal of Politics 53, 4 (November): 1044-74. • Baumgartner, Frank R., Bryan D. Jones, and John Wilkerson. 2002. “Studying Policy Dynamics.” Chapter 2 (pp. 29-49) in Policy Dynamics. Ed. Bryan D. Jones and Frank R. Baumgartner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. •