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MAPL 6003

Civic Engagement and Political Culture

Spring 2006
Saturdays 8:45 -11:45 a.m.
SBE 32

Instructor: Drew Digby
Office: Cina 104A
Office Hours: Saturdays 11:45 a.m.- 1 p.m. on class days by appointment
Tuesdays 2-4 p.m. and Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. and by appointment
Email: ddigby@d.umn.edu
Phone: 726-8657

This course is a survey of the philosophical foundations of American politics. This course exams the development of the American political system and the role of social movements, but I have adopted the class to find readings of particular interest to advocates and to help understand those with different political viewpoints. Simultaneously, the course will explore the political cultures of the United States. Special emphasis will be placed on the political culture of Minnesota.

Required Readings
James Read, Power versus Liberty: Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson
Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community
Richard Florida, Rise of the Creative Class
Andreas Hess, American Social and Political Thought: A Reader
Michael Schudson, A History of American Civic Life
Stewart Winger, Lincoln, Religion, and Romantic Cultural Politics

Grading and Assignments

Your course grade will be determined as follows:
Leading Class 15%
Assignments 25%
Participation 20%
Final Project 40%

Leading Class. Each student will chose one week in which they (and a partner[s]) will be responsible for leading the class discussion of a particular subject. For this assignment, you should bring two copies of a proposed outline of the discussion, along with questions for discussion. One of the sheets will be turned in to the instructor at least 10 minutes before class.

Assignments. For each of the discussions of Hess, you will choose one of the subtopics and prepare a discussion of that subtopic for the class along with a one-page summary of that topic for your class members to remember about your subtopic. There will be three students working on each subtopic; you should work together, though each of you are responsible for your own summary sheet).

Participation. You are responsible for coming to class having done the reading and being ready to participate in the discussion. Your participation grade is based on how well you work in the group to move the discussion forward. Quantity of comments is not what you’ll be graded on, but rather whether your participation helps the class’s collective discussion.

Final Project. For the final project, I want you to collaborate in groups of 2-4 students to present to the class a piece of Minnesota history that helps explain our current political culture. This is not a history paper per se, but rather I want you to spend your time developing a way to talk about that history in a way that’s useful to someone in political advocacy. Each person in the group will turn in a 5-10 page introduction plus annotated bibliography or an annotated website, and the group will do a 30-minute presentation on the last day of class. Potential subjects include: the founding of the DFL, the Minnesota Miracle, The election of 1990, the rise of the Suburbs, the rise of Diversity in Minnesota. You could also pick a region to do a historical summary of political culture.