POLS
420 Topics in Political Behavior and Participation
Campaign
Service-Learning 2008
Summer 2008
Wed. 12:45 - 2:15 Armstrong 215
Dr. Joe Kunkel
109 Morris Hall
joseph.kunkel@mnsu.edu
389-6930
http://krypton.mnsu.edu/~jak3
OFFICE HOURS
|
Mon 10:00 am -11:00 pm 2:30-3:30 pm |
Tue 10:00 am -11:00 pm 2:30-3:30 pm |
Wed 10:00 am -11:00 pm 2:30-3:30 pm |
Thurs 10:00 am -11:00 pm 2:30-3:30 pm |
Fri 10:00 am -11:00 pm 2:30-3:30 pm |
OBJECTIVES
Students
in this class should
1.
Understand the basic
activities, strategies and tactics of local political campaigns.
2.
Make decisions about
their political beliefs and partisanship at least for now.
3.
Participate as a
volunteer in a variety of campaign activities.
4.
Pay attention to, and become
a more informed observer of, media coverage of the campaigns.
5.
Think about your role as
a citizen and your ability to affect political events.
REQUIRED
READING
Catherine
M. Shaw. 2004. The Campaign Manager: Running and Winning Local
Elections. Third edition. Westview Press. Boulder, Colorado.
GRADING
Course
grades will be based your percentage of the maximum points.
A
= 90 -100%
B = 80 -
89 C =
70 - 79
D = 60 - 69
F = below 60
REQUIREMENTS
|
|
Points |
Deviations/Penalties |
|
Campaign Participation 5 points per hour, 30 hours total |
150 |
|
|
Notebook a. Campaign Notes 10 points/week X 5 week plan 5 points /week X 10 week
plan |
50 |
|
|
b. Reading Reviews 20 points per assignment |
80 |
Maximum 17 points (-3) Via email or late |
|
c. Media Watch |
20 |
|
|
Final Report (written) |
35 |
|
|
Final Presentation (oral) |
15 |
|
|
Class Attendance and
Participation |
20 |
|
|
TOTAL |
370 |
|
CAMPAIGN
PARTICIPATION
Each
student is required to participate in a political campaign a total of 30 hours.
Students may choose the five week plan and complete their hours by June 20 or
the ten week plan completing their hours by July 25. Students may work for one
or more candidates, party organizations or constitutional referendums. Students
working on a partisan contest may only work for that party. Ideally students
should engage in a variety of types of activities (eg. Not 30 hours of
telephoning). You should do most of your work off-campus in the wider
community. You will verify these hours by completing a weekly form, which you
will include in your notebook, and by a form signed by a campaign official or
candidate near the end of the campaign.
NOTEBOOK
Keep
a notebook which includes your Reading Reviews and Campaign Notes and Media
Watch.
Write
your name clearly on the front cover.
Use
the type of binder-folder shown by the professor. Pages should be bound
together.
Reading
Reviews, Campaign Notes, and Media Forms should be placed in the binder
organized by week. The Professor will collect your notebooks twice.
Each
week student-colleagues in class will check each othersı notebooks, signing off
on a form for the professor. This will also be an opportunity to discuss in
small groups for a few minutes.
Reading
Reviews
Read
the chapters by the date on the calendar. Write a short review which
includes:
1.
An outline of the
reading assignment including some of the main points and most useful tips in
each section. This outline should be one to two pages long.
2.
A paragraph giving your
reaction or evaluation of the assignment. Tell what was interesting,
informative, confusing, insightful etc. Did you learn anything important? This
paragraph should be 200-300 words long.
Reading
reviews should be neatly typed, with 1 inch margins using 10 or 12 point font.
Each
Reading Review should be labeled similar to this example:
June
18, 2008
Reading
Review # 4
Shaw,
The Campaign Manager
Ch.
6 Precinct Analysis and Ch. 7 Canvassing
Campaign
Notes
For each week you should include notes about your
campaign participation on the form provided.
These
notes will be used to verify your participation hours and to help you remember
your
involvement
and your learning. This will be presented more formally in your final report.
Include
report
for even for weeks you did not participate.
Media
Watch
For
each week you should ³watch²or access media sources for on hour each week to
help you follow the election. Record this on a Media Form each week.
FINAL
REPORT
Use
your Reading Reviews, Campaign Notes and Media Forms to write a short paper to
explain what you did and what you learned from your campaign participation and
from the class. You should attempt to place your work and role in the ³big
picture² of the 2008 election and your role as a citizen. Integrate what you
learned. This paper and the oral report should identify your learning and pull
it all together. The paper should be 5 pages long, neatly typed, double-spaced,
one-inch margins, pages stapled together. You should include writing about each
of the four topics you used for your Campaign Reports. Compose them in an order
and in a way that you think best.
Experiences
/Descriptions
Reflections
/Evaluations
Connections/Generalizations
Thinking
about Election 2008 and active citizenship
FINAL
PRESENTATION
Talk
with the class for 5-10 minutes about your experiences and learning. This
should be similar to what you will be putting in your written report. Please
donıt read from your report.
CLASS
PARTICIPATION
The
professor will note class attendance and participation.
SYLLABUS
CHANGES
We
will probably need to make minor changes in the syllabus. Such changes will not
affect the structure or requirements of the course in a major way. The updated
syllabus will be posted at the professorıs website.
ASSISTANCE
and ACCOMODATIONS
The
professor is employed by the university to help students learn. Too often
students wait until they are in academic trouble before seeking assistance. You
are encouraged to visit with the professor as soon as you need help. This goes
for everyone. Students with disabilities are particularly invited to meet with
the professor to discuss any special instructional needs they may have or
accommodations they may need. I generally permit extra time on examinations for
those for whom English is their second language.
CALENDAR
|
WEDNESDAY |
CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION HOURS 30 hours total |
|
May
21 Course
Introduction
|
I.
Participation Hours If
begin week 1: Average
6 hours per week for 5 weeks Average
3 hours per week for 10 weeks |
|
May
28 Reading
Review #1 Read
and write about two chapters from Shaw, Campaign Manager. Ch.
1 Campaign Team Ch.
2 Campaign Brochure Ch.
3 Volunteer Organization Media
Watch#1 & #2: one hour/week |
II.
Participation Hours If
begin week 2: Average
7.5 hours per week for 4 weeks Average
3.3 hours per week for 10 weeks |
|
June
4 Reading
Review #2 Read
and write about two chapters from Shaw, Campaign Manager. Ch.
4 Fundraising Ch.
5 Lawn Signs Ch.
6 Precinct Analysis Media
Watch#3: one hour/week NOTEBOOKS
COLLECTED |
III.
Participation Hours If
begin week 3: Average
10 hours per week for 3 weeks Average
3 hours & 45 min. per week for 8 weeks |
|
June
11 Reading
Review #3 Read
and write about two chapters from Shaw, Campaign Manager. Ch. 7 Targeting & Canvassing Media
Watch #4: one hour/week |
IV.
Participation Hours If
begin week 4: Average
15 hours per week for 2 weeks Average
4 hours & 17 min. per week for 7 weeks |
|
June
18 Reading
Review #4 Read
and write about two chapters from Shaw, Campaign Manager. Ch. 11 GOTV Ch. 13 After The Ball Media
Watch #5: one hour/week |
V.
Participation Hours If
begin week 5: Average
30 hours per week for 1 week Average
5 per week for 6 weeks |
|
Wednesday
June 18 NOTEBOOKS
DUE - Five Week Plan FINAL
REPORTS DUE -Five Week Plan |
Friday
July 25 END
OF SECOND SESSION |