Professor David L. Fisk Summer Session I 2009 Office: Social Sciences Building 449 Office Hours: 12:45-1:45 MW Class Schedule: 2:00-4:50 MW Class Location: Peterson 102 E-mail: [email protected] Course Website: http://dfisk00.googlepages.com Teaching Assistant: Jonathan Mark ([email protected]) POLI 120B: THE GERMAN POLITICAL SYSTEM Course Objectives: This course is designed to introduce students to the modern German political process, taking the creation and failure of the Weimar Republic as our point of departure. We will also examine the consequences of Nazism and the division and subsequent unification of the modern German state. We will pay particular attention to how history and geopolitical realities shape and are also shaped by, the political institutions, economic system and political culture of the modern Germany. Course Assignments/Grading: Course Participation: 10% Midterm: 45% Final Examination: 45% Participation: Students are expected to attend lecture having completed the assigned reading and able to participate in course discussions. We will also talk about current events within the German system during course discussions. Current events analysis will occur at the beginning of each lecture, so students are strongly encouraged to be on time and ready to participate. The following is a list of new websites that may be of use. You may wish to sign up for e-mail alerts from your favorite websites. Information on setting up e-mail alerts will be discussed in class. The list is not exhaustive: New York Times Online (http://www.nytimes.com) Los Angeles Times Online (http://www.latimes.com) Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com) Economist Online (http://www.economist.com) CNN (http://www.cnn.com) BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk) Course Papers: The midterm and final examination will be 6-8 pages in length. Materials relating to format of the midterm and final examinations will be placed on the course website and will also be discussed in class. A handout for writing social sciences papers will be made available. Late Assignments: Barring documented emergencies, no late assignments will be accepted. Additionally, a hard copy of each paper is required; e-mail attachments will not be accepted. While issues of plagiarism are not expected, course assignments are to be completed on an individual basis. Incidents of plagiarism will be dealt with according to department and university procedures. Reading Schedule: Course examinations will draw heavily from course readings and lecture material. Please keep this in mind while planning for the session. Students are strongly discouraged from depending solely on lecture material for course assignments. Given that we are covering ten weeks of material in a five week period, the reading load for the course is relatively intense. Strategies for tackling academic readings can be found at: http://www.si.umich.edu/~pne/PDF/howtoread.pdf. Books (required): Allen. The Nazi Seizure of Power Hancock and Krisch. Politics in Germany Padgett et al. Developments in German Politics 3Given the rising costs of textbooks, you may wish to shop around online. Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Textbooks.com all have used and new textbooks at competitive prices. Week 1: 29 June Introduction/Course Logistics Weimar Germany Hancock and Krisch CH 1 and 2 Allen pgs 3-158 1 July Nazi Germany Allen pgs 159-306 Week 2: 6 July Postwar Aftermath: Division and Unification Hancock and Krisch CH 3 Midterm Distributed 8 July German Political Institutions: Basic Law and Federalism Hancock and Krisch CH 5 (pgs 77-82) Padgett CH 2 German Political Institutions: Basic Law and the Central Government Hancock and Krisch CH 5 (pgs. 82- 103) Padgett CH 1 and 5 Week 3: 13 July NO LECTURE-MIDTERM DUE 15 July German Political System: Party System: Hancock and Krisch CH 6 Padgett CH 4 German Political System: Electoral System Hancock and Krisch CH 7 Padgett CH 3 Week 4: 20 July Policymaking in Germany Padgett CH 5 Critical Issues in German Politics: German Economic Model Hancock and Krisch CH 9 Padgett CH 6 and 722 July Critical Issues in German Politics: Immigration Padgett CH 11 Critical Issues in German Politics: German Foreign Policy Hancock and Krisch CH 10 Padgett CH 9 Final Examination Distributed Week 5: 27 July Critical Issues in German Politics: Germany and the EU Padgett CH 10 Critical Issues in German Politics: Prospects Hancock and Krisch CH 11 Padgett CH 13 29 July Final Examination Due Disclaimer: This syllabus is intended to provide an overview of the course. You cannot claim any rights from it. While the information included within the syllabus should be a reliable guide for the course, scheduling and dates may change. Official announcements are always those made be in