POL S 299 A Wi 22: Special Topics In Political Science

Instructors:                  Cathy Allen (cathy@connectionsgroup.org) and Randy Pepple (rjp1984@uw.edu)

Time and location:      T/TH 4:30 – 5:50 pm, Smith 105 (via Zoom in January)

Office hours:               T/TH 3:00-4:00 pm (Allen), 3:00-4:00 pm (Pepple), via Zoom, or by appointment on campus

Course Overview

Veteran political consultants and media pundits Cathy Allen (Democrat) and Randy Pepple (Republican) present students an opportunity to learn the key components of political campaigns today and the practical experience of putting to use what they learn on an actual campaign.

In PS 299, Modern Political Campaigns, students will learn how (even before the current pandemic) political professionals had moved from the dark ages of hand-written voter lists and one-way communications to the dominance of Big Data targeting and the 24/7 social media engagement we see today.

The course is grounded in today’s reality, so you'll be asked to choose an active campaign to monitor, identifying the strategic moves and messages your candidate utilizes to better position him/herself to win. Among the learning opportunities you will have in this Special Topics course are:

• Seeing what digital campaigning can offer. Join a class that lets you potentially become the expert advising a campaign on a new style of social network-based campaigning, from virtual Town Halls to Zoom fundraising.
• No matter what crisis knocks you off balance, every campaign needs to be centered on a relevant, inspiring, brief message from which the campaign grows. How do you find, create, and stay on a message?
• Understanding how the role of image and voice grows more important as our still ongoing pandemic environment changes behavior, including forcing us to see candidates on screens in front of us, instead of at public events.
• Fundraising is a skill everyone will need at one time or another in their lives, and this class can help you learn how NOT to fear or hate it. We will share logical tips that make "the ask" efficient and effective, especially online.

By the end of the course, the engaged student will have a solid understanding of the underlying fundamentals of campaigns and the many strategic decisions campaign professionals face. Ideally this learning experience will put those who are interested at the top of the list for the political professionals making hundreds of hiring decisions locally for campaigns in 2022. 

Learning objectives

It’s an oft-repeated truism that elections have consequences – and thus the importance of the campaigns that persuade the voters whose decisions prompt those consequences. This course focuses on the nuts and bolts of staffing winning campaigns, but many of the lessons have broader applications to our lives, including:

• Strategic thinking
• Communication and persuasion skills
• Raising funds for a cause
• Dealing with criticism
• Team building
• Planning and project management
• Using the right technology – and not over-reaching your team’s capacities

Grading

Unless otherwise noted, assignments are due before class begins at 4:30 pm on the assigned due date. Students must upload an electronic version to Canvas by this time.

Over the course of the quarter, students will have a two paragraph-length weekly assignment based on lectures and the campaigns of the candidate of their choice. Attendance and participation in class is a must to succeed. There will also be two quizzes, one of them in class, and a final exam which will include a presentation to the instructors.

• Participation (20%): For this class to be successful, students need to regularly attend class and be ready to join in discussions of the topic and materials. Participation is based on attendance, evidence of preparation, and contributions to class activities.
• Weekly assignments, based on lectures and candidate campaigns (20%): Due every Tuesday, starting Jan 11.
• Quiz #1 (20%): Conducted in class, Jan 25th, based on first three weeks of lectures.
• Quiz #2 (20%): Distributed in class, Feb. 17, due Feb. 22nd, based on lectures from weeks 4-7.
• Final Presentation (20%): Appointments will be scheduled in 3-minute time blocks for individual presentations during finals week. Date TBA (currently scheduled for Fri, Mar. 18).

Grading scale: Written assignments and presentations will show a point total based on the total points available for the task. Final grades will be based on the raw score out of 100, and this corresponding 4.0 grade:

100-90= A range; 89-80= B range; 79-70= C range; 69-60= D range; below 59= F.

Grading Criteria. The following rough guidelines will be used in the evaluation of the written assignments.

Written work in the A range is characterized by a creative, perceptive, and persuasive arguments; comprehensive synthesis and analysis of the course material; fully addresses all components of the prompt; considers counter arguments; straightforward yet sophisticated organization of thoughts and error-free prose.

Written work in the B range is characterized by sound, original, and reasonably thoughtful arguments; addresses nearly all components of the prompt; considers counter arguments; competent analysis of various course material, logical organization; and clear and error-free prose.

Written work in the C range is characterized by relatively underdeveloped, simplistic, or derivative arguments; partial, inconsistent, or faulty analysis of course material; partially addresses prompt; convoluted organization; and awkward, or otherwise distracting prose.

Written work in the D range is characterized by incoherent or extremely confusing arguments; prose minimally engages prompt; superficial or fleeting engagement with the course material; chaotic or irrational organization; and error-riddled prose.

Written work that lacks argument or analysis, and is sloppy, earns an F.

Late Assignments.  If you cannot complete an assignment on time or attend an exam, you must notify the instructor ahead of time.  You are responsible for making arrangements for a new exam date.

Late Penalty. Penalties are at the discretion of the instructors. The general policy is a 20% deduction if it is turned in within 24 hours of the due date, and a 50% deduction if it is turned in within 48 hours of the original due date. Assignments turned in later will receive a 0.

Grade Appeals. Students must submit a written (1 page) appeal within one week of receiving their grade. This appeal should articulate your understanding of the assignment or question, and why the grade is inappropriate. The instructor then has two weeks to respond and may assign a new grade (higher or lower) as part of the review process. Students then have the option of appealing to the department chair, which exhausts the grade appeals process.

Readings

Required: Cathy Allen, Taking Back Politics: An Insider’ Guide to Winning (1996) Jalapeno Press (ISBN 0965311201).; This book covers the essential skills and strategies of modern campaigns, and various selections will be provided from it.

Other required reading materials will be available electronically or will be provided by the instructors.  The readings are listed in advance of the day they will be discussed (in other words, they should be read prior to that class period).

Accessibility

If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to either one of your instructors as soon as possible so we can discuss your needs in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructors, and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Religious Accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.).

Course Conduct

Every student brings a different perspective to the classroom (as do the instructors). We encourage differences of opinion, but they must be expressed with respect for the views of other students. If you have suggestions for improving the course, we would also like to hear them.

Students engaging in behavior that is disrespectful, disrupting or distracting (such as texting, talking on the phone, web surfing, talking to other students, etc.) may be asked to leave.  All cases of suspected academic misconduct will be referred to the Arts and Sciences Committee on Academic Conduct, and may result in a grade of 0.0 for the assignment in question. 

The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-120-024) defines academic misconduct as: (a) "Cheating," which includes, but is not limited to: (i)The use of unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; or (ii)The acquisition, use, or distribution of unpublished materials created by another student without the express permission of the original author(s). (b) "Falsification," which is the intentional use or submission of falsified data, records, or other information including, but not limited to, records of internship or practicum experiences or attendance at any required event(s). Falsification also includes falsifying scientific and/or scholarly research. (c) "Plagiarism," which is the submission or presentation of someone else's words, composition, research, or expressed ideas, whether published or unpublished, without attribution. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to: (i)The use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment; or (ii)The unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or acquired from an entity engaging in the selling of term papers or other academic materials.   (d) Prohibited collaboration. (e) Engaging in behavior specifically prohibited by an instructor in the course of class instruction or in a course syllabus.   (f) Multiple submissions of the same work in separate courses without the express permission of the instructor(s). (g) Taking deliberate action to destroy or damage another's academic work in order to gain an advantage for oneself or another. (h) The recording of instructional content without the express permission of the instructor(s), and/or the dissemination or use of such unauthorized records.

University policies and guidelines regarding cheating and plagiarism can be found at https://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.).

Improve your writing by visiting the Writing Lab!

Good writing is a skill that is learned (and requires lots of practice and feedback). Fortunately, the Political Science Writing Center is here to help! It offers a number of useful tip sheets (e.g. plagiarism; proper citation) at http://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/forstudents.html (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.).  In addition, you can schedule an appointment with one of the student advisors at https://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/ (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) .  They get busy, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead!

Reminders:

*Required readings are expected to have been read by the day they are listed in the syllabus, as they are aligned with the lecture topics.

*Assignments listed are due for electronic submission on Canvas by 4:30 pm before the class date listed.

**Please note the instructors reserve the right to change/update this syllabus during quarter** 

Week One

Jan 4

How did we get here: The Evolution of 21st Century Campaigns and class overview (Randy)

Jan 6

The (Campaign) World Has Changed: Today’s Covid-Shaped Realities (Cathy)

Reading: Taking Back Politics, Chapter 5: Campaign Team (p. 63- 92).

Assignment for Tuesday: Organized campaigns often start with some research, and to start this course you will complete a short, anonymous survey distributed after class on Thursday.  We will use combined class responses to compare/contrast with other target audiences during future classes.

Week Two

Jan 11

The Partisan Divide: What are you voters thinking? (Focus Groups)

Reading: Taking Back Politics: Chapter 8: Research & Polling (p. 139-156).

Jan 13

The Polling Divide: What’s a candidate to believe - and can you believe in one? (Quantitative data)

Reading to skim for perspective: The Political Typology: In polarized era, deep divisions persist within coalitions of both Democrats and Republicans | Pew Research Center/ November 9, 2021

Reading to skim for perspective: Republicans and Democrats move further apart in views of voting access - Pew Research Center report

Assignment for Tuesday: Identify a candidate campaign to follow through the quarter, and based on your review of the campaign’s website, polling, press clips, public disclosure files, and/or other research, what issue should your candidate be most concerned about right now?

Week Three

Jan 18

Planning to Win – Making It Strategic  (Randy)

Reading: Sun Tzu, Art of Warfare, On Assessments, p. 103-05.

Reading: Taking Back Politics, Chapter 4: Campaign Plan, p. 33-62

Jan 20 

It ain’t all about the words: The growing importance of voice and image in campaigns (Cathy)

Reading: Taking Back Politics, Chapter 10: Speech and Image, p. 171-190.

Reading: The Role of Image in the Political Campaigns (ijser.org)

Assignment for Tuesday: Now that you have chosen a candidate, describe an image characteristic they should focus on to attract other young voters like yourself.

Week Four

Jan 25

Quiz I – The quiz will have one question each from the first 6 lecture topics, from which you will choose three to answer in no more 100 words each. Extra credit opportunities will be available. It will be handed out at the start of class, and will be due by the end of class. 

Jan 27

Show me the money: Mastering the art of fundraising – without burning out (Cathy)

Reading: Taking Back Politics, Chapter 6, Fundraising, p. 93 – 128

Reading to skim for perspective: The Gender Gap in Donors:

https://cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/cawp_money_race.pdf

Assignment for Tuesday: Record a verbal ask of less than one minute on behalf of your candidate (like a telephone message) or write an email fundraising letter asking for at least $250.

Week Five

Feb 1

Everybody does not matter: Targeting and Identifying Your Voters (Cathy)

Reading: The Basics of a Solid Targeting Program - Campaigns & Elections (campaignsandelections.com)

Reading: Best Political Campaign Strategies to Win an Election – Aristotle

Feb 3

Plowing the field: Talking to voters takes many tactics (Randy)

Reading: Taking Back Politics, Chapter 11: Field Operations, p. 191-222.

Assignment for Tuesday: Who is your campaign’s target population, and how many voters (in the primary) will your candidate target? Are there populations your campaign will test in the primary for possible positioning against your general election opponent?

Week Six

Feb 8

Let’s get digital, digital (Randy)

Reading to skim for perspective: Inside The Cave, power point deck, 93 slides

Feb 10

No fake news, just real people: Hearing from journalists (Cathy)

Reading: Taking Back Politics: The Press, p. 273-293.

George Orwell, The Decline Of American Press Freedom

Reading: An article from each our guest speakers will be provided prior to Week 8.

Assignment for Tuesday: Identify a current element of your chosen campaign’s digital profile (web site, Facebook, emails, etc), and write a one-page memo advocating a way to improve it to reach college voters.

Week Seven

Feb 15

Know Thy Enemy: The World of “Oppo” (Randy)

Reading: Taking Back Politics, Chapter 17: Going Negative, p. 333-344).

Feb 17

Negative Campaigns: Friend or Foe of Democracy? (Cathy)

Reading: Taking Back Politics: Chapter 18, Damage Control , p. 345-355.

Quiz II – The quiz will have one question from each of the lecture topics from weeks 4 through 7, from which you will choose four to answer in no more 100 words each. It will be handed out at the end of class. Extra credit opportunities will be available. It is due before class on Feb 22.

Week Eight

Feb 22

Voting reforms: What matters, who votes, or who counts the votes (Cathy)

Reading: Kim Wyman, Election 2020: Controlling Chaos; p. 320 -336.

Feb 24

Special guest: Congressman Adam Smith.

Assignment for Tuesday: Kim Wyman defined the three categories of information being monitored by federal officials protecting our electoral system from outside influence. What are those categories, and apply one of them to your candidate's chosen campaign?

Week Nine

Mar 1

Independent Expenditures and Super PACS: Constitutional Right or Subverting Democracy? (Randy)

Mar 3

The Ethics of Politics: The words we use and how we define them (Cathy)

Ethics & Politics, by Aristotle, last three chapters

Assignment for Tuesday: Write a one-page memo advising your candidate how to use a special interest endorsement, or why to refuse one, to reach target voters.

Week Ten

Mar 8

Women Power 2022: Women in Politics

In celebration of International Women’s Day – and the largest number of women worldwide, nationally and statewide in public office - we take a night of personal privilege to talk about how systemic views of women and their efforts to be treated equally have resulted in an uptick of women’s representation all over the world.

Is there a difference in women and men’s campaigns, women and men’s policy priorities and different reactions by the public between women and men leaders?

We’ll have a guest – former British Columbia (Canada) Rep. Sue Hammell, a 22-year member of the BC Parliament in Victoria - who banded together with her women colleagues to challenge their less than 10% representation in government. They drafted and passed one of the most successful equity policies in the world. In less than 15 years, the ruling party New Democrats went from having two women members to a majority of women now ruling the province.

And, oh by the way, they also took the majority of votes cast in the recent two elections for the New Democrats to form a government that now rules our neighbor province today.

Mar 10

Let’s do it again: A final focus group to identify what has changed (or not) – and preparation for your final presentation. (Both)

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT: Worth up to 3 points, maximum 400 words, due March 15 at 4:30 pm.

For students who have women candidates, an opportunity to explain what the candidate is doing to maximize her candidacy as a woman.

For students who are running as male candidate against a woman candidate, how is he using or compensating for her being a woman?

And for those who don’t fit in either category, how is their candidate appealing to women voters?

Final

Monday, March 14, 11 am - 2 pm and Tuesday, March 15, 11 am - 2 pm (15-minute time blocks)