POLS
486 Citizenship and Civic Life in 21st Century
Class
Meeting Plan
Spring
2014
Last amended: March 30,
2014
Unit
1: What is citizenship? How has it evolved over time? Has is being changed by contemporary
conditions?
Wednesday,
January 15th
Introduction
to Active Citizenship Research Project; In-class Pre-Survey and Writing
Exercise 1; Introduction to Course.
Monday,
January 20th – No
Class – Holiday
Tuesday,
January 21st – Attend Logan Neighborhood Meeting, Fourth Memorial Church, 2000
N. Standard, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday,
January 22nd
Models
of Citizenship, Models of Governance
Reading: Held, David. 1995. ÒStories of Democracies Old and
New.Ó Democracy and the Global
Order: From the Modern State to
Cosmopolitan Governance. Stanford: Stanford University Press. (C) Read only
intro-1.1, stopping at 1.2 on pg. 16.
Monday,
January 27th
Democracy
and Citizenship continued
We
discussed the conditions presented by todayÕs world and how these affect the
practice of citizenship, especially being a good informed citizen.
Wednesday,
January 29th
Four
Conceptions of Citizenship
Reading: Van Gustareen, Herman.
1994. ÒFour Conceptions of
Citizenship.Ó In Bart van Steenbergen, ed. The
Condition of Citizenship.
London, Thousand Oaks, New Dehli:
Sage. (C)
Monday,
February 3rd
Hannah
Arendt, Politics as Human Action
Reading: Arendt, Hannah. 2000. ÒLabor, Work, Action.Ó In Peter Bachz,
ed., The Portable Hannah Arendt. New York: Penguin. (C)
Wednesday,
February 5th
Globalization
and Citizenship
Reading: Schattle, Hans. 2012. ÒA Dual Dynamic between Globalization
and Citizenship.Ó Globalization & Citizenship. Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield (C) (read first section through bottom p. 5; then p. 10 Section on
Allegiance, etc., through end of chpt.
Alba,
Richard D. 1995.
Review of ÒLimits of Citizenship: Migrants and Postnational
Membership in Europe and AuslŠnder--Aussiedler--Asyl: Eine BestandsaufnahmeÓ
(Books). Contemporary Sociology 24(4): 326-329. (C) (recommended)
Monday,
February 10th
In
class Writing Exercise 2 – What is citizenship? How is it being transformed by
contemporary conditions?
In
class, selection of issues we are passionate about, issues we feel are pressing
for the US civic and political life today; Turn in issues of preference in
class.
Begin
Unit 2: The American Civic
Tradition
AmericaÕs
Sacred Symbols
A
Mystical Vision of America, AmericaÕs Sacred Symbols, The Genius of Ben
Franklin
Reading: Needleman, The American Soul, Chapter 1, ÒThe Idea of America: Our AmericaÓ (posted in Blackboard under
Course Content)
Wednesday,
February 12th
The
American Civic Tradition:
Reclaiming Myths and Heroes
Paper
1 Assignment Discussed/Explained:
Your Civic/Political Hero/Role Model
Bring
to class: printed version of
Instructions for Paper 1, found in Blackboard under Assignments
Monday,
February 17th – No Class – PresidentsÕ Day
Tuesday,
February 18th – Attend Logan Neighborhood Meeting, Fourth Memorial Church, 2000
N. Standard, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday,
February 19th
No
class – work on your papers due Monday!
Monday,
February 24th
Paper 1 Assignment on Your
Civic/Political Hero Due
Sharing
about our heroes; Did reading Needleman give you a new
way of looking at America, as an idea, a spiritual tradition?
Beginning
of Unit 3: Practicing good citizenship
Report
back about Logan Neighborhood Meeting – how can we contribute to the
neighborhood?
Groups
for Paper two announced; some time for initial group meeting
Wednesday,
February 26th
Civic
and Political Associations: What
impressed Tocqueville about Democracy in America
Reading: (skim) Tocqueville,
Alexis de. 1990. ÒChapter VII: Relation of Civil to Political
AssociationsÓ and ÒChapter XII:
Political Associations in the United States.Ó Democracy
in America. Vol I. New York: Vintage Books. (C)
Monday,
March 3rd
Is AmericaÕs Civic Tradition
in Decline? What are the causes of
this decline, according to Putnam?
Can you think of trends that are counteracting this decline or
fundamentally changing the need for Òsocial capitalÓ as Putnam defines it?
Reading: Putnam, Robert N. 1995. ÒBowling Alone: AmericaÕs Declining
Social Capital.Ó Journal of
Democracy 6(1): 65-78. (F)
Wednesday,
March 5th
Working Session.
Bring laptops/tablets.
Do
research on your issue; bring the guide to Writing Assignment 2 so you can work
on filling it in with your group; what values that resonate through American
political culture does your issue represent?
Monday,
March 10th –Wednesday, March 12th – No Class
– Spring Break
Monday,
March 17th
**Visit
Logan Neighborhood COPS Shop – 802 E Sharp – meet there at 11:00
Tuesday,
March 18th – Attend Logan Neighborhood Meeting, Fourth Memorial Church, 2000 N. Standard, 6:30
p.m.
Wednesday,
March 19th
Discussion of Political Values. What values are most salient in American political culture? How are these reflected in the issues
you are studying, in the framing of them?
In class-writing exercise on
political values. What matters
to you? How are your political
values represented in the issue you chose?
Monday,
March 24th
Political Civility – has this been lost in the
US?
Final
discussions with on your issue with fellow group members. Draft of paper
2/presentation should be in progress.
Reading: Strachan, J. Cherie and Michael R.
Wolf. 2012. ÒPolitical Civility.Ó PS:
Political Science & Politics. Symposium: Political Civility. Volume 45. Issue 3. (July 2012). (F)
Wednesday,
March 26th
Progress report on Paper 3/Participant
Observation. How many civic events
have you written up? Have you
interviewed any citizens yet? Are there are other kinds of groups/citizens
youÕd like to find?
Monday,
March 31st
You should be attending civic functions this month,
setting up your interviews with group members.
Discussion
of Logan Neighborhood struggle over the McDonaldÕs on Mission and Hamilton;
mapping the issue – who are the stakeholders? What
does each want? What are the facts? What do we still need to know?
Civically Engaged Argument: In Search of Facts and Civility
What sources have you
discovered offer the best information on your topics for Paper 2?
Reading: Jamieson, Kathleen Hall and Bruce Hardy.
2012. ÒWhat is Civil Engaged Argument and Why Does Aspiring to It Matter?.Ó PS: Political Science
& Politics. Symposium: Political Civility. Volume 45. Issue 3. (July 2012). (F)
Wednesday,
April 2rd
Has America Lost the Capacity for Civil
Debate, Compromise?
Maybe
ItÕs not that Bad: The Rise and Fall of Nasty Politics in
America
Reading: Shea, Daniel M. and Alex Sproveri. ÒThe
Rise and Fall of Nasty Politics in America.Ó PS:
Political Science & Politics. Symposium: Political Civility. Volume 45. Issue 3. (July 2012). (F)
Monday,
April 7th
What is the Constitution for?
Reading: NYT Op-ed on the Constitution by Georgetown
Law Professor Seideman, appeared January 7, 2013.
Why
does Seideman think that availing oneself to the
Constitution is not helpful in political dialogue? What does he argue is unique about the
American Constitution that makes it a problematic symbol, rhetorical strategy,
means of making and remaking public policy?
Wednesday,
April 9th
No class to compensate you for time at
Neighborhood Clean-up
Saturday, April 12th
Logan Neighborhood Clean-Up
10:00 – 2:00; Fourth Memorial
Church
Monday,
April 14th
Issue presentation 1: Balancing Liberty
and Security in the post-911 World; paper due for this group.
Class
wide discussion and analysis of this issue
Tuesday, April 15th – Attend
Logan Neighborhood Meeting, Fourth
Memorial Church, 2000 N. Standard, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday,
April 16th
Report
back on your experiences with the neighborhood clean-up
Issue presentation 2: Economic Justice;
paper due for this group.
Class
wide discussion and analysis of this issue
Monday,
April 21st – No Class – Easter Monday Holiday
Wednesday,
April 23rd
Issue presentation 3: Interdependence and Diversity; paper due for this group.
Class
wide discussion and analysis of this issue
Monday,
April 28th
No class to compensate you for neighborhood clean-up and Logan Neighborhood Meeting attendance –
finish your interviews and paper 3!!
Wednesday,
April 30th
Paper 3 on Participant-Observation due
today
What
have your learned from the participant-observation experience?
Course
Wrap-up; Last In-class Writing Exercise
Final Exam – due by Finals Time
– Tuesday, May 6, 3 p.m.
Turn in through Blackboard, Assignments
page
Understanding Citizenship and
Contemporary Civic Life
Write
a 10-page reflection paper on your entire experience with the course. How has this course affected your
thinking about citizenship and civic life? How has it shaped your understanding
of what good citizens do? Include
reflections on course readings, in class exercises and discussions, your paper
on your political/civic hero/role model, the group project on a contemporary
political issue and your participant-observation and interviews in your answer.