J. Pitney Office: Kravis 232 Telephone: 909/607-4224
Office Hours: MW 11-noon, 4:15-5:15.
If these times are inconvenient, please make an appointment.
E-mail: jpitney@cmc.edu
Homepage: http://www.cmc.edu/pages/faculty/JPitney/
General
This courses examines the role of interest groups in American politics, with special attention to their influence on public policy. It asks these questions:
Classes
Classes will include lecture and discussion. Finish the readings before
class because our discussions will involve those readings. We shall also
talk about breaking news, so you must read a good news source such as
Politico,
RealClearPolitics or the
New York Times. Blog Our class blog is at
http://gov106.blogspot.com. I
shall post videos, graphs, news stories, and other material there. We
shall use some of this material in class, and you may review the rest at your
convenience. You will all receive invitations to post to the blog.
(Please let me know if you do not get such an invitation.) I
strongly encourage you to use the blog in these ways: To post questions or comments about the
readings before we discuss them in class; To follow up on class discussions
with additional comments or questions. To post relevant news items or videos.
Grades
The following will make up your course grade:
| Class participation (including blog): | 10% |
| One 3-page paper: | 15% |
| One 4-page paper: | 20% |
| One 6-page paper: | 25% |
| One sit-down final: | 30% |
Details
The papers will develop your skills in research, writing, and political analysis. When grading, I do take the quality of writing into account, applying the standards of Strunk and White. If you object to this approach, do not take this course – or anything else that I teach.
The final examination will test your factual knowledge and comprehension of the readings. Graduating seniors will turn in a take-home exam, due on the last day of class.
Class participation will hone your ability to think on your feet. This grade hinges on class discussions. I will call on students at random, and if you often miss sessions or fail to prepare, your grade will suffer.
As a courtesy to your fellow students, please arrive promptly and refrain from eating in class.
Check due dates for papers, as well as the date of the final exam. Arrange your schedule accordingly. Do not plan on seeking extensions or make-up work.
Plagiarism or any other academic dishonesty will mean referral to the Academic Standards Committee. See: http://registrar.claremontmckenna.edu/acpolicy/plagiarism.asp
Required Books
Gary J. Andres, Lobbying Reconsidered: Under the Influence (New York: Pearson Longman, 2009).
Allan J. Cigler and Burdett Loomis, editors, Interest Group Politics, 8th ed. (Washington: CQ Press, 2012).
Doris Fleischer and Frieda Zames, The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation, 2d ed. (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2011).
Paul S. Herrnson, Christopher J. Deering, and Clyde Wilcox, eds., Interest Groups Unleashed (Washington: CQ Press, 2012).
Frederick R. Lynch, One Nation Under AARP: The Fight Over Social Security, Medicare, and America's Future (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011).
Schedule (subject to change, with advance notice).
In addition to the readings below, I may also supply you with various handouts and Internet links.
Sept 5: Introduction
"From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties. The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society. A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good." -- James Madison, Federalist 10.
Is everyone part of a special interest? What is the proper role of organized interests in a democracy?
Sept 10, 12: "Hyperpluralism"
"Americans of all ages, all stations in life, and all types of disposition are forever forming associations." -- Alexis deTocqueville
How has the world of interest groups grown more complex and specialized?
Sept 17, 19: Economic Groups
"And that brings me to my final and most important point. Which is why, at least in my opinion, NEA and its affiliates are such effective advocates. Despite what some among us would like to believe, it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children. And it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power. And we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year because they believe that we are the unions that can most effectively represent them, the unions that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees." -- Former NEA General Counsel Bob Chanin
How did corporations, trade associations, and unions become players? When do they seek public and private goods?
THREE-PAGE PAPER ASSIGNED SEPTEMBER 19, DUE OCTOBER 1.
READ STRUNK AND WHITE FIRST.
Sept 24, 26: Public Interest Groups, Nonprofits