COURSE OUTLINE POLITICAL SCIENCE 334 INTEREST GROUP POLITICS Professor Jeb Barnes E-Mail: barnesj@usc.

edu Office: 310 VKC Office Hours: to be announced Course Goals: This course examines the role of interest groups in American democracy. As developed in the Course Outline, we will explore a wide range of questions, including the following: What are interest groups? What do they do? Are they good or bad for American politics? Required Text: Course Reader (available in the USC bookstore) Grading: Grades will be based on your performance on the following: Book Analysis (10%). The first assignment is a 2-page analysis of a major academic work on interest group behavior in light of Federalist Paper #10. We will hand out this assignment on the first day of class. It will be due on Tuesday, January 31 at the beginning of lecture. Midterm (20%). There will be a midterm examination on Thursday, March 8. Mock Trial Project (35%). The major project in the course will be a mock trial on interest groups. In connection with this project, you will participate as a lawyer or witness at trial (10%) and each write an 7-8 page appellate brief on behalf of the prosecution or defense in light of the trial and the course materials (25%). The final briefs will be due May 4. Final Examination (35%). There is an in-class, cumulative final. The time and date of the final is set by the University for May 8. Students should confirm the date and time of the final in the Spring Schedule, as these dates are subject to change. FAILURE TO COMPLETE ANY WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT (I.E., EXAMS OR PAPERS) WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC F FOR THE COURSE, REGARDLESS OF PERFORMANCE ON OTHER ASSIGNMENTS. General Expectations for Class Meetings: Throughout the semester, I expect you to be prompt, prepared, and, most importantly, respectful of one another. In short, take this class as seriously as I do and actively participate in building a productive and supportive learning environment. If you would rather read the paper, listen to music, text your friends, check your Facebook page, or sleep, please do so outside the classroom.
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Deadlines: All deadlines are firm. Late papers will be marked down by one-third of a grade. For each additional day a paper is late, the final grade will be lowered an additional one-third. So, the final grade of a paper due on Wednesday, but handed in on Thursday, would be reduced two-thirds of a grade (e.g., a B paper would receive a C+). (Weekends count as one day.) Extensions will be granted only for good cause such as a documented medical problem and, whenever possible, must be arranged with prior to the due date. HAVING AN AIRPLANE RESERVATION ON AN EXAM DATE OR PAPER DUE DATE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A VALID EXCUSE FOR AN EXTENSION OR ACCOMODATION. Office Hours: Office hours offer a chance to raise any questions or concerns you may have about the course. Believe me, there is no such thing as a dumb question, so feel free to ask. Academic Accommodations: Any student requesting academic accommodation based on a disability must register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP). A letter of verification for approval of accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or your teaching assistant) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776. Several Comments on the Readings: The readings are essential to excelling in this class. I have spent considerable time and care in choosing them, and I expect you to read each selection carefully prior to the relevant lectures. Please note that the readings complement the lectures. Thus, I will not review each reading in class. Instead, some readings will be central to lectures; some provide background material; and others offer opportunities to apply the themes in lecture. In short, expect me to test you on the readings but do not expect me to spoon feed them to you. Of course, if you are confused about specific materials, feel free to ask us in office hours, section, or during lecture at the appropriate times. A Final Caveat: Please, please, please keep up with the weekly assignments. This course is not too burdensome if you come to class and stay current with the assignments. If you fall behind, however, and try to play catch-up at the last minute, you will easily become overwhelmed. If you are not prepared to invest at least 10 hours a week to this course, do yourself a favor: drop it now. PROPOSED COURSE OUTLINE PART I: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND In the first part of the class, well consider the broad outline of the class and provide the essential background for the course by defining interest groups, discussing the right of association under the First Amendment, and outlining recurring debates over the role of interest groups in American politics.

January 10. Course overview. In the first class, Ill hand out the course outline, provide an overview of the course, and review the first assignment. January 12. The Contested Role of Interest Groups in American Politics. In this class, well ask: What are interest groups? How do they differ from groups, factions and political parties? What is their role in American politics? Robert Spitzer, Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore Lowi, and Margaret Weir, Interest Groups, Essentials of American Politics (W. W. Norton, Second Edition 2006) pp. 197-219 (a basic textbook overview of the subject) James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 10, reprinted in James R. Pfiffner, Governance and American Politics (Harcourt Brace 1995) pp. 471-477 CSPIs Xtreme Eating Awards May Disgust YouOr Make You Hungry, Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2010 (reprinted from http;//blogs.wsj.com/health) Greenpeace Activists Scale Oil Rig Off Mexico, Yahoo! News, November 22, 2010 (reprinted from http://news.yahoo.com) Malia Wollan, Gang Injunction Names Names, and Suit Follows, NY Times, May 15, 2010 (reprinted from http:// www.nytimes.com) KU KLUX KLAN: A Keynote Speech, November 23, 1923 (reprinted from http:// www.time.com) Stokely Carmichael, Black Power, 1966 (reprinted from http://www.edchange.org) January 17 and 19. The Right of Association in the United States. This week well explore the right of association in the United States and debate what the scope of this right should be given the war on terrorism. The First Amendment, U.S. Constitution Battling Over Beach Access, LA Times, November 23, 2010 (reprinted from http:// www.latimes.com) Donald Alexander Downs, Nazis in Skokie: Freedom, Community, and the First Amendment (University of Notre Dame Press) pp. 19-23 Scales v. United States, 367 U.S. 203 (1991) (courts summary or syllabus) Hurley v. Irish Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, 515 U.S. 557 (1995) (syllabus) Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000) (syllabus)

Serge Schememann, U.S. Attacked; President Vows to Extract Punishment for Evil, NY Times, September 12, 2001 (reprinted from http://www.nytimes.com) NPR, Civil Liberties and the War on Terrorism: Arab and Muslim Americans Fear Discrimination, November 24, 2010 (reprinted from http://www.npr.com) ACLU, Policing Free Speech, August 11, 2010 (reprinted from http://www.aclu.org) Note: You will be assigned to read the full opinion of one of the court cases. PART II: GROUP FORMATION January 24 and 26. Competing Views on Group Formation. It is one thing to say there is a broad right to coalesce and organize for political activity; it is quite another thing to actually form groups. The dynamics of group formation are deeply contested. Some argue that group formation is natural; others argue that groups face fundamental obstacles to organizing. In this part of the class, well examine these debates and consider their implications for American politics. It Didnt All Start With Bell, LA Times, September 11, 2010 (reprinted from http:// www.latimes.com) Terry Moe, The Organization of Interests: Incentives and the Internal Dynamics of Political Interest Groups, in Kollman, editor, Readings in American Politics: Analysis and Perspectives (W.W. Norton 2010), pp. 445-457. David B. Truman, The Governmental Process (Knopf 1951) from Peter Woll, ed. American Government (Scott/Foresman: Little Brown 1990) (10th Ed.) Robert Dahl, Who Governs? reprinted in Nivola and Rosenbloom, Classic Readings in American Politics in (3d Ed. St. Martins/WORTH 1999) pp. 108-112 Jonathon Rauch, Hyperpluralism in Demosclerosis: The Silent Killer of American Government (Times Books 1995) pp. 36-62 First paper due on Thursday, January 27 at the beginning of lecture! PART III. WHAT DO INTEREST GROUPS DO? Once an interest group is formed, what does it do? Interest groups perform many tasks in American politics. In this section of the course, well take a closer look at some of the central political functions of interest groups. January 31 and February 2. Lobbying. Interest groups lobby, but what does that mean? How well do they represent their members? Is lobbying good or bad for politics?

Ken Kollman, Outside Lobbying: Public Opinion and Interest Group Strategies, in Kollman, editor, Readings in American Politics: Analysis and Perspectives (W.W. Norton 2010), pp. 458472 Dara Strolovitch, Affirmative Advocacy, in Kollman, editor, Readings in American Politics: Analysis and Perspectives (W.W. Norton 2010), pp. 473-487 R. Shep Melnick, Strange Bedfellows Make Normal Politics: An Essay, Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum, 9 (1998): 75-94 February 7 and 9. Campaign Contributions. Raising money is central to the functioning of American politicswhether we like it or not. What are the rules governing campaign finance? Who are the likely winners and losers under these rules? Is there too much or too little money in American politics? How should we think about these issues? Gordon Silverstein, Laws Allure (Cambridge University Press 2009), Chapter 6, 152-174 Citizens United v. FEC (2009) (syllabus) T.W. Famam, Conservatives Dominate Campaign Spending by Interest Groups, Washington Post, September, 2010 (reprinted from http://washingtonpost.com) Michael Luo, G.O.P. Allies Drive Ad Spending Disparity, NY Times, September 13, 2010 (reprinted from http://www.nytimes.com) Brody Mullins and John D. McKinnon, Campaigns Big Spender, WSJ Online (reprinted from http://online.wsj.com) February 14 and 16. Litigation as Policy-Making and Cause Lawyering. We tend to think of litigation as a fight among private actors, yet litigation has become a central part of the tool kit of modern interest groups. Well examine this aspect of interest group activity this week with particular emphasis on the issues of the ways in which litigation represents a mode of policy-making, how different types of lawyers use litigation as a policy-making tool, and, finally, the degree to which relying on courts may engender a political backlash. Jeb Barnes, U.S. District Courts, Litigation, and the Policy-Making Process, in Exploring Judicial Politics edited by Mark Miller (Oxford 2009) 97-104 Thomas Hilbank, You Know the Type Categories of Cause Lawyering, Law and Social Inquiry 29(3) (2004): 662-665 Alexander Hart, Con Law Expert Gordon Silverstein: Prop 8 Ruling Could Cost the Gay Rights Movement, The New Republic (http://www.tnr.com) Thomas Keck, Beyond Backlash: Assessing the Impact of Judicial Decisions on LGBT Rights, Law & Society Review 43(1) (2009): 151-185
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Libby Lewis, NRA Eyes More Targets After D.C. Gun-Ban Win, June 29, 2008 (reprinted from http://www.npr.org) Duff Wilson, Ex-Smoker Wins Against Philip Morris, NY Times, November 21, 2009 (reprinted from http://www.nytimes.com) February 21 and 23. Mobilization of Interests and Framing. Thus far, weve focused mostly on insider activities, but interest groups do more than lobby, raise money and litigate. They are also central to framing debates and paying for issue advertising that mobilize and persuade voters. How do they perform these functions? Do these outsider activities make us feel better or worse about American politics? Jack L. Walker, Mobilizing Interest Groups in America (1991), Chapter 3, pp. 41-55 Ted Brader, Striking a Responsive Chord: How Political Ads Motivate and Persuade Voters by Appealing to Emotions, American Journal of Political Science 49(2005): 388-405 February 28 and March 1. Pulling the Pieces Together This week well watch Berkeley in the 1960s, which highlights many of the themes of the class, especially the ambiguous role interest groups play in American politics. March 6. Midterm Review. March 8. Midterm. March 13 and 15. No class. Spring Break. PART IV. CASE STUDIES March 20 and 22. Civil Rights Rosenberg, The Hollow Hope (1991), Chapter 2, pp. 42-71 Michael McCann, Reform Litigation on Trial, Law & Social Inquiry 17(1992): 715-743 March 27 and 29. Gun Control Robert J. Spitzer, The Politics of Gun Control (2004), Chapter 4, pp. 73-108 PART V. TRIAL PROJECT The part of the case will be working on the culminating project: a trial of interest groups. April 3. Discussion of assignments, assignment of roles and research strategies.
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April 5, 10 and 12. Meetings with lawyer and witness teams. April 17. Opening Statements. Prosecution Case Part 1. April 19. Prosecution Case. Part 2. April 24. Defense Case Part 1. April 26. Defense Case Part 2. Closing Statements.