Syllabus
Scholarly Foundations of Politics and Administration
RPAD 702
π¨βπ«: Stephen Holt, Ph.D.
π
: Tuesdays, 4:30 pm - 8:10 pm, Husted 013
π§: sbholt@albany.edu
π«: Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm or by appointment - book here; in-person in Milne 324 or online in GatherTown.1
βοΈ: 518-442-3309
Course Description
This course explores the complex interplay between democracy, politics, and administration in the United States. Our aim is to begin developing an understanding of the contemporary role public organizations play in the political process and broader democratic context. To this end, we will examine the major intellectual and constitutional origins and subsequent evolution of American government and public administration. We will also explore various theories that (1) inform our understanding of the roles and responsibilities of modern public organizations and administrators, and (2) explain current governance arrangements.
By the end of this course, students should have:
- Gained a basic understanding of the central debates surrounding the legal, political, and civil/social dimensions of U.S. public administration,
- Acquired the knowledge necessary to think critically about the role of U.S. public administration in the political process and contemporary society, and
- Learned how to apply various theoretical lenses when tackling political-administrative issues.
Required Text
Throughout the course, students will be expected to read several books. You can find the complete list of required and recommended books here. The rest will be shared by Zotero.
Required Software
Zotero - Zotero is a free platform for organizing and sharing academic work and it is how readings will be distributed to the class. You can download the app here. I suggest also downloading the browser connector for whatever browser you use - it helps save a dramatic amount of time when conducting a literature review. During the first week of classes you will receive an invitation to join the class Zotero library. If you do not receive one, please email the professor. I provide an introduction to Zotero and the features most applicable to this class in the embedded video below.
There are a variety of citation organizer software options out there for researchers to use and, having experimented with most of them, Zotero is by far the best. It is free; Open Source; designed and developed by researchers; and governed as a non-profit to protect the integrity and accessibility of the software.
When you receive an announcement that the group invitations for the class library have been sent, go to the Zotero.org website, login to your account, and click the groups tab. You should see RPAD 500 with a red button that says join. Click join. In the Zotero app, click the green refresh circle in the top right and the class library should appear.
Assingments
Overview
The following assignments will form the basis of your grade in this course:
- Final Paper (70% of final grade)
- Paper proposal (15% of final grade)
- Discussion leader (10% of final grade)
- Participation (5% of final grade)
All assignments will be turned in via Brightspace.
Final Paper
Students will be required to prepare a literature review in response to a broad question about a long-standing topic in the field of public administration or public policy. A bank of questions will be provided and students will select one. They will prepare a summary of the history of the topic, describe key debates, summarize key literature, trace how the understanding of the topic has evolved over time, and summarize the current state of understanding of the topic today. When discussing literature, students will also describe the data and designs used in the literature and identify gaps given the rigor of extant research.
A full manuscript should follow the format of an academic journal article without empirical analysis: introduction, background and theory, and conclusion.
Formatting. There is no length requirement, but papers should be 20-30 pages excluding any tables, figures, and references. Students should use APA formatting for their citations.
Late assignments. Late work will not be accepted and students who turn in work late will receive no credit.
Discussion Leaders
Each week, students will be assigned a reading to summarize and lead the class discussion concerning that reading. When leading discussion for a reading, students should prepare one-page, single-spaced summaries of the reading and a short slide deck to verbally summarize the reading in a class presentation. The summary and presentation should identify points the student found interesting, and identify potential issues, limitations, or gaps in the ideas presented in the readings. The summaries are to be emailed to the professor the day before class. The professor will post the summaries to Brightspace to facilitate notes sharing across the class.
If all students take good, useful notes, this will be a highly valuable resource for recalling, retaining, and studying the core ideas and concepts covered in the class. They can also be shared for aiding one another in preparing a literature review.
Participation
A big part of learning comes from class discussion and participation in class activities. You can do neither if you do not attend class. Attendance will be tracked and points will be subtracted for absences not cleared with me ahead of time. In addition to attendance, sustained and regular contributions to class discussion will be factored into the class participation grade for the semester. Note that while participation only affects 5% of your final grade, it can mean a difference of a full letter in the grade you receive. In education, as with most things in life, what you get out of an act is a function of what you put into that act. Consider this my small way of nudging you towards getting all you can out of this class.
Course Schedule
Key:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| π¨βπ«: | Lecture |
| π : | Paper Assignment Deadline |
| π: | Reading is from required text (by author last name) |
| π: | Reading is from an article/chapter on Zotero (by author last name) |
| Date | Topic | Assignments | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/22 | Intro to course | ||
| 8/29 | Theory and Craft in Public Administration | π Whetten π Sutton and Staw π Merton π Bozeman π Dubnick π Kelman et al. π Davis and Stazyk π Denhardt |
|
| 9/5 | The Study of Politics and Administration | π Sandel π Dewey π Durant π Goodnow π March and Olsen (1989) π Wilson π Friedrich π Finer π Long |
|
| 9/12 | The Constitutional Basis of Public Administration, Part I | π Skowronek π Rohr π Bartelli and Lynn π Peterson π Resh π Feeley and Rubin |
|
| 9/19 | The Constitutional Basis of Public Administration, Part II | π Rosenbloom π OβToole π Heady π Green π Moe and Gilmour π Wise and OβLeary π Catlaw |
|
| 9/26 | Democracy and Public Administration | π Redford π Yates π Putnam π Borins π Waldo π Golembiewski π Kirlin π Denhardt & Denhardt (2000) |
|
| 10/3 | Organized Interests and the Political Economy | π Downs π Olson π Niskanen π Lowi π Moe (1980) π Rourke π Einstein, Glick, & Palmer |
|
| 10/10 | Fall Break | ||
| 10/17 | Public Organizations: Role, Responsibility, and Power, Part I | π West π Ostrom π Goodsell π Moe (1989) |
|
| 10/24 | Public Organizations: Role, Responsibility, and Power, Part II | π | π Aberbach & Rockman π Brehm & Gates π Carpenter π Peters π Herd & Moynihan |
| 10/31 | Political Control of the Bureaucracy | π McCubbins, Noll, & Weingast (1987) π Calvert, McCubbins, & Weingast (1989) π Wood & Cook π Banks & Weingast π Moe (1995) π Waterman, Rouse, & Wright π Balla π Huber, Shipman, & Pfahler π Moe (2006) |
|
| 11/7 | The βPublicβ in Public Administration | π Kettle π Meier & OβToole π Appleby π Mintzberg π Box et al. π Adams π Bingham, Nabatchi, & Oβ Leary π Boyte π Berry π Bradbury & Kellough |
|
| 11/14 | What is Public? What is Private? | π | π Seidman π Moore π Bozeman (2007) π Frederickson (2010) π Stone & Ostrower |
| 11/21 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| 11/28 | Public Administrators as Public Servants | π | π Mosher π Frederickson (1997) π Rohr (2002) π Light π Perry & Wise π Stivers π DiIulio & DiIulio π Stever |
| 12/9 | Final Paper Turn-In | π |
Final Paper Assignments
Outline
To ensure students are on track, students are required to submit a two-page summary of their proposed paper by October 24th at midnight via Brightspace. The summary should include: a clear summary of the theories that will be drawn from in guiding the response to the chosen question, the thesis statement (and its corollaries) that will guide and organize the response, and a preliminary list of the literature that will inform the paper. I will not accept late submissions of summaries. I will return summaries with feedback within 7 days after submission.
First Draft Due
The first draft of the final paper will be submitted on November 14th by midnight through Brightspace. Note that this is two weeks before the final class. Each student will have two peer reviewers assigned to their papers. Reviewers will prepare referee reports for the author, which will be shared directly with authors and submitted to Brightspace.
Reviews Due
Submit directly to author and on Brightspace. Use referee reports to integrate feedback and prepare a response to each point raised by the peer reviewers. The response document will be submitted alongside final papers.
Final Paper Due
Submit final paper and response to reviewers document on Brightspace.
Class Policies
- Public policy is a professional field; therefore, I emphasize professional skills in the classroom and assignments. Professional skills are punctuality, adhering to deadlines, and preparedness.
- After the first week, readings for each week should be completed by the Tuesday of that week (that is, BEFORE CLASS!). While much of the class reading comes from the text, I will cover other material in my lectures. You will be responsible for knowing this material too!
- A large body of well-designed research has demonstrated the detrimental effects of laptops on learning in a lecture/discussion based environment. Please be courteous and do not use your computers for anything other than class related work (taking notes and so on). Cellular phones are not to be used during class time!
- Letters of recommendation. If you are a hard working student and serious about a career in public service, I will be a dedicated advocate for you on the job market and will happily write letters of recommendation on your behalf. There is, however, one condition and one recommendation. The condition: I will not write a letter of recommendation for your while you are in my class. This is because to write a good faith, sincere, and thoughtful recommendation, I will need to be able to consider your work as a whole, and while the class is on-going, my assessment of you will be incomplete. After the semester is over, I am happy to help in any way I can, including writing letters. The recommendation: Make an appointment to visit my office hours at least once over the course of the semester to talk informally about your goals, career interests, and other professional ambitions so I can get a better sense of who you are as individuals. The better I know you, the more effective I can be at writing letters on your behalf and thinking of you when opportunities arise.
- Attend/participate in class! Again, class participation is 10% of your grade, and you canβt participate if youβre not in class or watching the class videos. If you DO need to miss class (emergencies, sickness, etc.), please contact me as soon as possible and let me know. It will be your responsibility to notify me and to get any notes/materials from other students.
- Cell phones: we all have them, and they can be quite distracting. I ask that you please be courteous and silence your cell phone and leave it out of sight (in a pocket/purse/bag) during class.
- Feel free to eat and drink in class. I only ask that you do so quietly and in a manner that does not disrupt class.
- All assignments and non-textbook readings will be posted to the class Zotero Library. I will email any announcements or updates to the class and also post them in the Brightspace. Report any trouble accessing anything on the Brightspace as soon as you encounter the problem.
- I have a strict open door policy. If there is anything about the course, the assignments, the grading, the material, class, or anything related to public administration/policy or statistics broadly that you would like to discuss, do not hesitate to visit me during office hours or email me. I can respond via email, schedule a phone call, or schedule a separate meeting. I am here to help, so please do not hesitate to reach out to me. (But please be respectful of my time!)
- HAVE FUN! Public administration/policy is a broad topic that explores big, important questions that affect everyone. Discussing these topics should be as fun and interesting as it is challenging.
- The table below lays out the grading scale that will be used in assigning final course grades.
- Students with special physical and/or learning needs will be accommodated. Please notify the Disabilities Office and me as soon as possible so that reasonable accommodations can be made.
Throughout the semester, I may add or subtract readings as needed to adjust the course according to your progress, engagement, and interests.
Table. Grade Scale Used for Calculating Class Grades
| Percent | Grade | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 93-100 | A | 4.0 |
| 90-92 | A- | 3.7 |
| 87-89 | B+ | 3.3 |
| 83-86 | B | 3.0 |
| 80-82 | B- | 2.7 |
| 77-79 | C+ | 2.3 |
| 73-76 | C | 2.0 |
| 70-72 | C- | 1.7 |
| 67-69 | D+ | 1.3 |
| 63-66 | D | 1.0 |
| 60-62 | D- | 0.7 |
| < 60 | F | 0.0 |
The percent refers to the percent of available weighted points earned. Each assignment is weighted by the proportion of the final grade made up by the assignment itself, as described above.
Academic integrity
Academic honesty is something your professor takes very seriously. Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. Students are required to be familiar with the universityβs academic honesty policies; ignorance is not an excuse for dishonest behavior. In all cases of cheating, a Violation of Academic Integrity Report will be submitted to the Dean of Graduate Studies to be placed in your university file, with copies provided to you, the department head, and the Dean of Rockefeller College. Additional penalties may include some combination of the following: revision and re-submission of the assignment, reduction of the grade or failure of the assignment, reduction of the course grade or failure of the course, filing of a case with the Office of Conflict Resolution and Civic Responsibility, suspension, or expulsion. For a more detailed description of the universityβs academic honesty policies, visit the site.
By now, we are all aware of the technological advances in generative large language models (LLMs) trained on large quantities of written language scraped from around the internet. The University policy considers the use of ChatGPT and other generative LLMs to produce classwork without explicit permission from the instructor an act of plagiarism. I do not permit the use of ChatGPT or other generative LLMs in this course. First, generative LLMs can at times invent fictional sources, recombine information that is confidently stated but ultimately incorrect, and can produce generally mediocre and formulaic writing. Such events make the output unreliable - particularly for people aiming to be professionals working in the institutions that govern our society. Second, and more importantly, grappling with complicated trade-offs, collecting and synthesizing complex information thoughtfully, and going through the process of articulating your decisions and the knowledge base that inform them is a large part of an effective professional career. Learning in general is an arduous process that involves practice, trial and error, and confronting your current limits before finding ways to overcome them. In short, learning is work and the process by which that work occurs is often reading and writing, poorly at first and much better over time. I do think that, properly understood, LLMs can be a useful tool in managing routine tasks in which you have mastered the background, can detect and correct errors, and can use such tools effectively. However, early in your careers and in your academic lives, the very purpose of being in a graduate program is to have opportunities to learn new things (or old things in new ways) and using an LLM to do the work involved in learning will only cheat you of opportunities to learn, grow, and develop deeper and more lasting skills. Finally, and more practically, if you are caught using LLMs to produce the work assigned in this class, the work will be given a 0 and you will be cited for plagiarism.
Students with Disabilities
We are committed to providing an accessible learning environment for all students. This includes students with physical, sensory, medical, cognitive, learning, mental health, and other disabilities. If you have, or think you may have a disability, please contact Disability Access and Inclusion Student Services (DAISS) by emailing daiss@albany.edu or calling 518 -442-5501. DAISS staff will explain the documentation and registration process, and set you up with an appointment. Once you have completed registration, you will be provided with a letter to inform your instructors that you are a student with a disability registered with DAISS, and which lists the recommended reasonable accommodations for your courses.
Counseling Center
The Counseling Center (518-442-5800; 400 Patroon Creek Blvd, Suite 104) offers counseling and consultations regarding personal concerns, self-help information, and connections to off-campus resources. More information can be found at their site.
Library Assistance
SUNY-Albany offers a great collection available in several different media. Access to research help and library tutorials can be found online at the libraryβs site.
For information about SUNY-Albanyβs Dewey Graduate Library, which is located on the Downtown Campus, visit their site.
Writing Center
The university offers a number of services for students who need assistance with writing and research projects. Support is available in the Writing Center (518-442-4061; 140 HU) and at the University Library. Information about the Writing Center can be found at their site.
Title IX and Sexual Violence Prevention
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs and activities. The SUNY-wide Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Policies prohibit offenses defined as sexual harassment, sexual assault, intimate partner violence (dating or domestic violence), sexual exploitation, and stalking. The SUNY-wide Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Policies apply to the entire University at Albany community, including students, faculty, and staff of all gender identities. The University at Albany provides a variety of resources for support and advocacy to assist individuals who have experienced sexual offenses.
Confidential support and guidance can be found through the Counseling Center (518-442-5800, or online), the University Health Center (518-442-5454, or online), and the Interfaith Center (518-489-8573, or online). Individuals at these locations will not report crimes to law enforcement or university officials without permission, except for in extreme circumstances, such as a health and/or safety emergency. Additionally, the Advocates at the University at Albanyβs Advocacy Center for Sexual Violence are available to assist students without sharing information that could identify them (518-442-CARE, or online).
Sexual offenses can be reported non-confidentially to the Title IX Coordinator within The Office for Equity and Compliance (518-442-3800, or online, Building 25, Room 117) and/or the University Police Department (518-442-3131, or online).
PLEASE NOTE: Faculty members are considered βresponsible employeesβ at the University at Albany, meaning that they are required to report all known relevant details about a complaint of sexual violence to the Universityβs Title IX Coordinator, including names of anyone involved or present, date, time, and location.
In case of an emergency, please call 911.
Incomplete Grade Policy
A tentative grade given only when the student has nearly completed the course but due to circumstances beyond the studentβs control the work is not completed on schedule. The date for the completion of the work is specified by the instructor. The date stipulated will not be later than one month before the end of the session following that in which the Incomplete is received. The grade I is automatically changed to E or U unless work is completed as agreed between the student and the instructor.
Absence due to religious observance
Students are excused, without penalty, to be absent because of religious beliefs, and will be provided equivalent opportunities for make-up examinations, study, or work requirements missed because of such absences. Students should notify the instructor of record in a timely manner, and the instructor will work directly with students to accommodate religious observances. Online courses will not schedule any assignment deadlines on religious holidays.
Footnotes
Password is RockCollege. Feel free to also use as a meeting spot with your groups - the rooms are private meeting rooms (this will make sense when you use it) and the space itself has a 25 person capacity.β©οΈ