POL S 299 B: Special Topics in Political Science

Political campaigns today are too often separated by a massive partisan divide – with the two major parties providing their specific perspectives on values, issues, and policies, thus prompting voters to take sides and rarely cross that divide.

Veteran political consultants and media pundits Cathy Allen (Democrat) and Randy Pepple (Republican) present students an opportunity to learn about today’s campaigning from both sides of the political spectrum and better understand how this heightened partisanship can frustrate even the best of elected officials in their efforts to bring needed changes to government, even those that have significant voter support.

The course focuses on current campaign practices, starting with choosing a candidate or cause to monitor so you can learn strategic political thinking, messaging, fundraising, and all the tools needed to win. Students will learn about the ever-changing nature of campaigns, especially those elements being deployed in this presidential election year. Topics will include the dramatic changes caused by the emergence of social media, the growing importance of a candidate’s image, voice and self-confidence, the importance of opposition research, and how to counter negative attacks.

The class focuses on new (and old) strategic campaign planning tools which makes this learning experience important for students who might be interested in campaigns, policy development, government service, and/or non-profit careers.

Grading

Over the course of the quarter, students will have short weekly assignments based on lectures and the campaigns of the candidate/cause of their choice. Attendance and participation in class is a must to succeed. There will also be two take-home quizzes and a final exam featuring an oral presentation to the instructors.

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

Students will earn their grades based on the following class elements:

• Participation (10%): Students need to regularly attend class and be ready to join in discussions of lecture topics and class materials for this class to be successful.
• Weekly assignments, based on lectures and candidate campaigns (20%)
• Quiz #1 (25%): Distributed as a take-home assignment after eight classes.
• Quiz #2 (25%): Distributed at the end of the 16 classes, it is also a take-home test.
• Final Presentation (20%): Appointments will be scheduled in 15-minute time blocks for individual presentations during finals week. 
• Late Assignments.  If you cannot complete an assignment on time, you must notify the instructor ahead of time.  If students advise the instructors of non-attendance due to illness or pre-approved schedule conflicts, they may have up to a week from the due date to complete the assignment.

Late Penalty. Penalties are at the discretion of the instructors and can be negotiated by students and instructors.

Grade Appeals. Students must submit a written (1 page) appeal within one week of the grade being posted. This appeal should articulate your understanding of the assignment or question, and why the grade is inappropriate. The instructor then has one week 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.

Religious accommodations policy: “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.  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..”