Brett S. Sharp, Ph.D.
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Brett S. Sharp, Ph.D. |
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Political Science 3990 (16387): Elect 2004 III: Political Advertising Issues in American Politics: Politics in Popular Culture Series
Syllabus for October 8-10, 2004 Friday, 5:30-9:00; Saturday, 9:00-5:00; and Sunday, 1:30-5:30 PM, Room LAR 136
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Brett S. Sharp, Assistant Professor, received his Ph.D. and Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science/Public Affairs with a minor in Religious Studies from Oklahoma State University. He is currently the Associate Director of the Oklahoma Policy Research Center at UCO conducting policy analysis and other research on state and local issues in Oklahoma. He is a past President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration and current Director of the Oklahoma League of Political Scientists. He was recently named the Oklahoma Political Science Teacher of the Year by the Oklahoma Political Science Association..
Office Hours: MWF 11:00 AM -12:00 PM and MW 5:00-5:45 PM (and by appointment) Office: LAR 102-J Email: bsharp@ucok.edu Telephone: (405) 974-5526 Fax: (405) 974-3823 Web Site: http://www.libarts.ucok.edu/political/faculty/sharp/index.html Classroom: LAR 136
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will review the powerful influence of political advertising on American politics.
TEACHING METHODS/LEARNING EXPERIENCES: Students will read textbook and assigned articles relating the influence of political advertising over the American political process. This class will also involve group project and writing assignments.
TOPICS TO BE COVERED:
All readings must be completed prior to the first class period.
Textbook:
West, Darrell M. (2001). Air Wars: Television Advertising in Election Campaigns, 1952-2000 (3rd Ed.). Washington DC: CQ Quarterly Press.
Online Articles: "A Political Hit Parade: Insiders Rate the Best Campaign Commercials of All Time," New York Metro "The Paradox of Political Ads." Center for Media Literacy "Political Ads Practice Art of Half-truths." USA Today "Political Ads: Why Limit a Good Thing?" CATO Institute "Two Central Figures on the Kerry Media Team Go Toe to Toe." The New York Times "Political Ads Already Deluging Swing States." Los Angeles Times "Political Ads Aren't English-Only." AlterNet ((Independent Media Institute) "Cyberspace is Changing Political Advertising." Macon Telegraph A Newsroom Guide to Political Advertising. Political Coverage Project Kerry Launches $50 Million Ad Blitz MSNBC "Sorting Through Campaign Materials." Common Cause
HELPFUL ONLINE SOURCES
University of Iowa Department of Communications Studies: Political Advertising http://www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/resources/pol_ads.html
Annenberg Public Policy Center - Annenberg Political Fact Check
MoveOn.org's Political Advertising Contest http://www.bushin30seconds.org
Stanford Political Communication Laboratory
EVALUATION METHODS AND GRADING Instructor will determine course grades using the following scale: 90 -100 = A 80 - 89 = B 70 - 79 = C 60 - 69 = D 0 - 59 = F Grading components include: 10% Class Participation 30% Exam 20% Group Project - Proposed Advertising Campaign 30% Journal Based Narrative Essay (Campaign Commercial Analysis)
CLASS ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION Attendance has its privileges. Since this course is time compressed, class attendance is vital. Class attendance is an important part of succeeding in this class and is expected of all students. Class time provides an opportunity for you to ask questions, clarify issues, and deepen your understanding of the concepts covered in the readings. If you are absent or late, you are responsible for getting any notes, assignments, and schedule changes that you may have missed. Class attendance may affect marginal grades and will be considered when assigning participation points.
Above and beyond the expected class attendance, students are required to complete the readings prior to coming to the first night of class. Demonstrated mastery of the assigned readings through class discussion is necessary to earn full participation points.
TOPICS Historic Campaign Commercials Direct Mail Advertising Bumper Stickers Yard Signs Campaign Buttons Leveraging for Free Media Coverage Special Interest Advertising Contemporary Campaign Commercials
EXAMINATION An examination based on the reading assignments will be administered early on the second day of the course. The exam will be a combination of multiple choice, essay, and/or short answer questions. Up to an hour of class time preceding the exam will be scheduled for students to review their readings and class notes. The exam will not be scored until the following week. Students wanting to know their exam scores prior to posting of the final grades should email the instructor at bsharp@ucok.edu.
JOURNAL-BASED NARRATIVE ESSAY (CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL ANALYSIS) Throughout the three days of the course, students will keep a journal of their thoughts and reactions to the campaign commercials and other forms of political advertising presented in class (by both the instructor and other students). One week after the end of the course, students will turn in a narrative essay based on their experiences listening to political advertising as described in their journal notes. This narrative essay will be graded on the following criteria:
Turning in the actual journal (used for preparing the narrative essay) is not expected. Outside research is also not expected, but if the student draws upon the work of others. these ideas must be appropriately documented with an accepted citation style convention such as APA or Chicago/Turabian.
GROUP PROJECT Students will break out into 4-5 groups. Using information from your readings, class lectures, audio clips, and video segments each group will prepare a 20-minute presentation concerning a proposed political advertising campaign for a candidate of the group's choice. You should have fun with this assignment but also give it the time and effort it deserves. It is intended to foster your creativity. Your team is expected to use the lunch period on Saturday as a collective opportunity for working on this project. Other in-class time may also be provided. However, significant outside class time is expected for completion of this project. An overhead projector, VCR, CD player, computer, cassette player, and a dry erase board will be available for your use in presenting your ideas. Other visual aids may be employed as appropriate. Each group will present their project on Sunday afternoon. A 1-2 page description and outline of your presentation must be turned in to the instructor for grading purposes. This outline must include the names of all group members as well as a short outline of your overall proposal. This project will be graded on creativity, demonstrated teamwork, content, organization, and overall presentation.
ADA STATEMENT The University of Central Oklahoma complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need special accommodations should make their request by contacting the coordinator of Disability Support Services at 974-2549. The office is located in the Administration Building, Room 211. Students should also notify their instructor of special accommodation needs by the end of the first week of class.
REGENTS’ STATEMENT It is expected that a full-time college student will spend a minimum amount of time in class attendance and study out of class approaching a 40-hour week. A person employed on a full-time basis should not simultaneously expect to maintain a full-time academic schedule. At the undergraduate level, this means that for each hour in class, a student is expected to spend at least three (3) hours doing homework. In other words, for this one-credit hour class, a student is expected to spend forty-five hours outside of class reading the assigned articles, reviewing notes, completing group work, and doing the assigned homework.
ACADEMIC HONESTY Cheating = Failure (please refer to attached Academic Integrity Statement). Cheating is unacceptable conduct and will result in an automatic grade of "F" for the course, and be reported to Academic Affairs. Students are required to do all of the work for this class on their own. Copying answers to exercises or examinations from anyone constitutes cheating. Allowing another student to copy one’s answers will be treated as cheating. Consulting with the instructor about any assignment does not constitute cheating and is encouraged.
The Political Science Department of the University of Central Oklahoma is asking all students taking political science courses to read the following Academic Integrity Statement. Our purpose in doing so is to ensure that all our students are aware of what is improper academic behavior. Academic Integrity Statement As members of the academic community, students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The Political Science Department expects that its students will conduct themselves honestly. This means, above all, that students submit for credit work that is the product of their own efforts. Principles of academic integrity require that all dishonest work be rejected as a basis for academic credit, and that students refrain from any and all forms of dishonorable conduct in the course of their academic work. The examples and definitions given below are intended to clarify the standards by which academic honesty and integrity is judged. The list is merely illustrative of some of the more common infractions. It is not intended to be exhaustive. Any question a student has about what constitutes inappropriate behavior should be directed towards their instructor. The rule of thumb to follow is: If in doubt, ASK! Definitions and Examples Plagiarism - Plagiarism is presenting another person’s work as one’s own. Plagiarism includes not only the exact use of another’s words, word for word, but also the paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without acknowledgment, including the submitting of another student’s work as one’s own. The student is responsible for understanding the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly, or creative indebtedness, and the consequences of violating this responsibility. In case of doubt, give a citation of the author you are using. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one's reliance on other sources is plagiarism. A plagiarized paper will result in a failing grade on the work in question, and perhaps, for the entire course. Cheating on Examinations - Cheating on examinations involves giving or receiving unauthorized help before, during, or after an examination. Examples of unauthorized help include the use of notes, texts, or "crib sheets" during an examination (unless receiving instructor approval), or sharing information with another student either during or after an examination. Falsification - It is a violation of academic honesty to misrepresent material or to fabricate information in an academic exercise or assignment (e.g. false or misleading citation of sources, the falsification of the results of experiments or of computer data). Multiple Submissions - It is a violation of academic honesty to submit substantial portions of the same work for credit more than once without the explicit consent of the instructor to whom the material is being submitted the second time.
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