Prof. Taylor Dark
Office Phone: (075) 251-3927
E-mail: td@taylordark.com

AMERICA THE UNUSUAL?
U.S. POLITICS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE (2 units)

“Critics say that America is a lie because its reality falls so far short of its ideals. They are wrong. America is not a lie; it is a disappointment. But it can be a disappointment only because it is also a hope.”

– Samuel P. Huntington, 1983

“Whether we come from poverty or wealth . . . we are all equal in the eyes of God. But as Americans that is not enough – we must be equal in the eyes of each other.”

– President Ronald Reagan

Historians and social scientists have long pondered the question of whether America is, in some sense, an “exception” to patterns of development that have characterized the history of other nations.

Is the United States extremely different from all other countries, or is it basically very similar to other advanced industrial democracies? This question will be the focus of this course. Some answers to this question emphasize “American exceptionalism”: the idea that the US has developed in ways that are quite distinct, and thus exceptional, in comparison to other countries around the world. Other authors aren’t so sure, and suggest that the US is really just one more example of capitalist democracy, similar in fundamental ways to other countries, and understandable using the same analytical tools we would use to analyze Canada or Japan. This course examines the writings of several authors who take a strong stand behind the idea of American exceptionalism: John Kingdon, Samuel Huntington, and Seymour Martin Lipset.

Course Requirements: All students must keep up with the assigned readings, attend all class meetings, and complete two paper assignments (each of which must be 7 or more pages in length). Instructions on how to complete these assignments will be provided as the course proceeds, and may be altered depending on student interest and performance. Participation in class discussion will also have a positive impact on the final evaluation. The final grade will be calculated in the following way: 45% for each paper, and 10% for classroom participation.

The core readings will be based on selections from the textbooks listed below, but we will also read selected classic essays and articles written by professors for a scholarly audience. These selections will be distributed in class or made available for you to copy. Students will be required on a regular basis to write brief outlines and make verbal presentations to the class on parts of the assigned readings.

Books: John W. Kingdon, America the Unusual (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999).

Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword (W.W. Norton, 1996)

Samuel P. Huntington, American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony (Harvard University Press, 1983)

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week 1: Introduction: How Distinctive is America?
Course content, procedures and requirements; discussion of American politics.

Week 2: Institutional Uniqueness: Separation of Powers, Federalism, Weak Parties
Read: pp. 1 - 22, America the Unusual
Video: The War Room; The People and the Power Game: Congress and the Presidency

Week 3: American Ideology: Individualism and Equality of Opportunity
Read: pp. 22 - 41, America the Unusual
Videos: Born on the Fourth of July; Glory; The Parallax View; Billy Jack

Week 4: Assessing the Impact of Ideology on Institutions and Policies
Read: pp. 41 - 56, America the Unusual
Video: Norma Rae

Week 5: Causes: The Role of Migration, Diversity, and Localism
Read: pp. 57 - 68, America the Unusual
Video: Matewan

Week 6: Social Structure, Opportunity, and Isolation
Read: pp. 68 - 79, America the Unusual
Video: Harlan County USA

Week 7: The Concept of Path Dependence
Read: pp. 79 - 84, America the Unusual

FIRST PAPER DUE

Week 8: Outburts of “Creedal Passion”
Read: Selections from Samuel Huntington, American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony
Video: Berkeley in the Sixties; The War at Home

Week 9: A Comparison with Japan: Revolution from Above and Its Consequences
Read: pp. 211 -238, American Exceptionalism

Week 10: The Future of American Exceptionalism/Japanese Uniqueness
Read: pp. 238 -263, American Exceptionalism

Week 11: American Exceptionalism and Foreign Policy
Read: Walter Russell Mead, “The Jacksonian Tradition,” The National Interest (Winter 1999/2000)
Audio: Toby Keith, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” from Unleashed

Week 12: A Double-Edged Sword?
Read: pp. 267-292, American Exceptionalism
Video: Dirty Harry

Week 13: Should America Change?
Read: pp. 85 - 100, America the Unusual

SECOND PAPER DUE