Syllabus

Power and Politics in the City
Fall 2007
Political Science Course # PS 263 01

Course Description

This course will examine the policy issues and politics that face urban areas, with particular attention paid to the specific city that surrounds us: New York. We will begin by evaluating different theoretical perspectives on who holds power in cities and why. We also examine the crucial role of race and ethnicity within urban power structures. Next, we will survey some important episodes from the historical development of cities, including the rise of urban machines and the progressive reform movements that attempted to defeat them. Then we will turn to an examination of urban political economy, including fiscal crises and globalization. Finally, we will situate urban politics within broader political contexts of regional and national politics, including a look at how cities like New York confront terrorism.

You have chosen to study city politics while you are located in what is often described as the quintessential city. Therefore, in the last few weeks of the course we will attempt to take advantage of our proximity and examine three policy issues taken from contemporary New York City politics. These issues will be selected early in the semester based on student input; in effect, you will be able to decide what we study.

Required Texts

Students are encouraged to purchase the following book:

The Urban Politics Reader
Elizabeth A Strom, John H Mollenkopf (eds)
Routledge Urban Reader Series (2006)
ISBN: 9780415319966

This book is available from Shakespeare and Company (939 Lexington Avenue, at 69th Street). You may be able to find a less expensive used copy online. If you purchase online or elsewhere, however, make sure that you can get the book in a timely fashion.

Additional readings will be assigned throughout the semester through the use of handouts, library access, and online links at the course website.

Course Requirements

• Come to class prepared. Complete all required readings beforehand, and bring your textbooks to class.
  

• Participate. Attend class regularly and on time—you cannot participate if you are not present—and join your colleagues in critical analysis of the assigned readings. In order to encourage participation, you will be asked to complete the following assignment:
  

• Summaries. Write seven (7) one-page summaries of assigned readings throughout the course of the semester. Guidelines for summary writing will be distributed during class. In general, you can submit summaries whenever you would like, with the following restriction: one summary must be completed in September, with an additional one (two in total) due by the mid-term exam. Still, I encourage you to WRITE YOUR SUMMARIES EARLY – do not wait until the end of the semester, or you may run out of time to complete your required seven.
  

• Complete all other written assignments:
  

• Exams. You will be given two examinations throughout the course, a mid-term and a final. The final exam focuses primarily on material covered in the second half of the course, but may build upon and refer to material discussed earlier. Exams will consist of brief essay questions, with the questions distributed in advance. Exams will be based on the required readings and on classroom discussions.
  

• Papers. Two papers will be due during the semester: a short, 3-5 page response paper assigned early in the semester; and a 7-8 page research paper, with final draft due on the last day of class. Details for each assignment, including deadlines and instructions, will be distributed in class during the semester.

Grading

Your grade will be based on your written work and your class participation. Course requirements will be weighted as follows when calculating your grade:

Papers: 40%
The short paper will be worth 15% of your overall course grade, and the longer research paper worth 25% (15+25=40%). Grading criteria will be included when the paper assignments are distributed. A one letter grade penalty will be imposed upon late papers without valid documentation (e.g., medical emergency).

Exams: 40%
Of the two exams, your lowest grade will be worth 15%, while your highest will be worth 25%. Make-up exams will be given only when proper documentation for the absence is provided.

Participation: 20%
Submission of all required summaries establishes a base participation grade of B. Failure to submit a summary will lower this grade by one-third of a letter grade (e.g., B to B-). Excessive lateness or absences may lead to further reductions, while frequent and thoughtful contributions to class discussion will have the opposite effect.

Incomplete grades will be assigned only for a valid and documented cause, for a length of time specified by the instructor when the documentation is accepted.

Academic Integrity

Students should be aware of the college’s policies regarding cheating, plagiarism and any other kind of academic misconduct as outlined in the MMC Academic Honesty Policy. These policies will be discussed briefly during the first class. Students who have questions or concerns about their written work should discuss these with the instructor before submitting any assignments.

Special Needs

Any student who is learning disabled, whose primary language is other than English, or who has other special needs and may thus require special accommodations should notify me immediately.

Course Schedule (subject to change)

Below are scheduled readings assigned for the semester. Please note that these assignments may need to be changed as the semester progresses; any changes will be posted on the course website. All readings can be found in the Urban Politics Reader unless otherwise noted.

Tuesday, September 4
Introduction

Thursday, September 6
Urban Politics: An Overview
• Wyly et al., A Top 10 List of Things to Know About American Cities

POWER AND POLITICS

Tuesday, September 11
The Community Power Debate
• Dahl, Who Governs?

Thursday, September 13
Urban Interests
• Peterson, The Interests of the Limited City

Tuesday, September 18
Urban Regimes
• Stone, Looking Back to Look Forward: Reflections on Urban Regime Analysis
• Strom, In Search of the Growth Coalition: American Urban Theories and the Redevelopment of Berlin

Thursday, September 20
Race, Ethnicity and Gender
• Browning, et al, Has Political Incorporation Been Achieved? Is It Enough?
• Reed, Demobilization in the New Black Political Regime: Ideological Capitulation and Radical Failure in the Post-Segregation Era

Tuesday, September 25
Race, Ethnicity and Gender (cont.)
• Gurwitt, Black, White and Blurred
• Jones-Correa, Wanting In: Latin American Immigrant Women and the Turn to Electoral Politics

Thursday, September 27
Urban Planning and Ethnic Division
• Bollens, Ethnic Stability and Urban Reconstruction: Policy Dilemmas in Polarized Cities

CITY HISTORY

Tuesday, October 2
Urban Machines
• Plunkitt of Tammany Hall (available on course website)
• Groker, Tammany Hall and the Democracy
• Rakove, The Ward Organizations

Thursday, October 4
Progressive Urban Reform
• Hays, The Politics of Reform in Municipal Government in the Progressive Era (handout)
• Bridges and Kronick, Writing the Rules to Win the Game: The Middle-Class Regimes of Municipal Reformers

Tuesday, October 9
Postwar Economic Development
• Mollenkopf, The Postwar Politics of Urban Development

Thursday, October 11
Community Empowerment
• Dreier, Community Empowerment Strategies: The Limits and Potential of Organizing in Low Income Neighborhoods
• O’Connor, Swimming against the Tide: A Brief History of Federal Policy in Poor Communities
Exam Review

Tuesday, October 16
NO CLASS – FACULTY WORKSHOP

Thursday, October 18
Mid-term Examination

URBAN POLITICAL ECONOMY

Tuesday, October 23
Fiscal Crises
• Shefter, The Political Economy of Urban Fiscal Crises

Thursday, October 25
The Global City
• Sassen, Overview and Economic Restructuring as Class and Spatial Polarization
• Solnit, Detroit Arcadia (available on the course website)

Tuesday, October 30
NO CLASS – ADVISEMENT DAY

Thursday, November 1
New Public Management
• Weikart, The Giuliani Administration and the New Public Management in New York City (handout)

CITIES, STATES, NATIONS

Tuesday, November 6
National Urban Policy
• Sauerkopf and Swanstrom, The Urban Electorate in Presidential Elections
• Bissinger, Urban Sacrifice

Thursday, November 8
Regionalism
• Dreier, et al, Regionalisms Old and New

Tuesday, November 13
Cities and Terrorism
• Eisinger, The American City in the Age of Terror
• Davis, Fortress LA (handout)

Thursday, November 15
Exam Review

Tuesday, November 20
Final Examination

Thursday, November 22
NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING BREAK

Tuesday, November 27
Policy Issue 1

Thursday, November 29
Policy Issue 1 (cont.)

Tuesday, December 4
Policy Issue 2

Thursday, December 6
Policy Issue 2 (cont.)

Tuesday, December 11
Policy Issue 3

Thursday, December 13
Policy Issue 3 (cont.)

Tuesday, December 18
Wrap-Up/Conclusions