Instructor: Keith T. Poole

Office: Room 304D Baldwin Hall
E-Mail: [email protected]
WebSite: Course Home Page

Office Hours: By Appointment

The following texts will be used in this course:

• Daniel Hopkins and John Sides. 2015. Political Polarization in American Politics
• James A. Thurber and Antoine Yoshinaka (eds.). 2015. American Gridlock: The Sources, Character, and Impact of Political Polarization.
  
• Nolan M. McCarty, Keith T. Poole, and Howard Rosenthal. 2016. Polarized America (2nd ed.)
  

Requirements

Grades will be determined by three examinations -- two mid-semester exams and a final exam. The exams will be Multiple Choice. The midterms will be worth ¼ each and the final 1/2 of the course grade.

The Multiple Choice exams will be about 25-30 questions each for the Midterms and 40-50 questions for the final. They will be straightforward with no "tricks".

Example Test Questions First Exam
The first exam is scheduled for Friday, 28 September 2018, 2:30 - 3:20PM.
Example Test Questions Second Exam
The second exam is scheduled for Friday, 9 November 2018, 2:30 - 3:20PM.
Example Test Questions Final Exam
The Final Exam is scheduled for Wednesday, 12 December 2018, 3:30 - 5:30PM.

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Course Outline

1. Introduction: What is Political Polarization and Why Does it Matter?
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Chapter 1, Polarized America
     
   • Chapter 1, Political Polarization in American Politics
     
     
     Overview of US Political/Social Polarization (PowerPoint)
     The Position of the USA in the World 1947-2000s (PowerPoint)
     
   
   
2. How do We Measure Congressional Polarization?
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Chapter 2, Polarized America
     
   • "The Decline and Rise of Party Polarization in Congress During the Twentieth Century." Extensions, Fall 2005.
     
   • "The Roots of the Polarization of Modern U. S. Politics." Revista de Ciencia Politica, December, 2008.
     
   • Growing Apart: The Mathematical Evidence for Congress' Growing Polarization, by Jordan Ellenberg
     (Note that the links to voteview.uh.edu should be k7moa.com. The pages are still on the website.)
     
     Measuring Ideology (PowerPoint)
     House and Senate DW-NOMINATE Animation (*.mov file)
     
   
   
   
3. Party Polarization of the Voters
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Chapters 3 and 4, Polarized America
     
   • Chapters 1 to 5, American Gridlock
     
   • Chapters 2 to 9, Political Polarization in American Politics
   • "An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Police Use of Force," by Roland G. Fryer, Jr
     
     Political Polarization in American Politics -- Chapters 2 -- 9 (PowerPoint)
     American Gridlock -- Chapters 1 -- 5 (PowerPoint)
     Nationalized Local Politics (PowerPoint)
     Polarized America -- Chapters 3 and 4 (PowerPoint)
     Overview of Income Inequality (PowerPoint
     
   
   
   
   
4. Polarization in National Institutions
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Chapter 5, Polarized America
     
   • Chapters 6 to 11, American Gridlock
     
     American Gridlock -- Chapters 6 - 8 (PowerPoint)
     Polarized America -- Chapter 5 (PowerPoint)
     
     The Rise of the Robots (PowerPoint)
     Machine Learning and Polarization
     Wall Street Journal Article on the Tech Boom and Jobs, 13 October 2016 (PowerPoint)
     
     
   
   
   
   
5. Polarization in the News Media
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Chapters 12 to 15, American Gridlock
     
   • Chapters 10 to 17, Political Polarization in American Politics
   • DW-NOMINATE Movie Channel on YouTube
     American Gridlock -- Chapters 12 - 15 (PowerPoint)
     Political Polarization in American Politics -- Chapters 10 - 17 (PowerPoint)
     
     
6. The Public Policy Consequences of Political Polarization
   
   Assignment:
   
   
   • Chapter 6 and 7, Polarized America
     
   • Chapter 16, American Gridlock
     
   • Chapters 21 to 26, Political Polarization in American Politics
     
     Summary: What we know so far (PowerPoint)
     American Gridlock -- Chapter 16 (PowerPoint)
     Polarized America -- Chapters 6 and 7 (PowerPoint)
     Political Polarization in American Politics -- Chapters 21 - 26 (PowerPoint)
     
     
   
   
   

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Site Links

VOTEVIEW Blog
NOMINATE Data, Roll Call Data, and Software
Course Web Pages: University of Georgia (2010 - )
Course Web Pages: UC San Diego (2004 - 2010)
University of San Diego Law School (2005)
Course Web Pages: University of Houston (2000 - 2005)
Course Web Pages: Carnegie-Mellon University (1997 - 2000)
Analyzing Spatial Models of Choice and Judgment with R
Spatial Models of Parliamentary Voting
Recent Working Papers
Analyses of Recent Politics
About This Website
K7MOA Log Books: 1960 - 2018
Bio of Keith T. Poole
Related Links

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