Summer I 2008
Why has Congress been called "the broken branch"? Is Congress on the mend? How
well is Congress doing under the new Democratic leadership? What are the
constitutional reforms of Congress suggested in recent books? Critically analyze
these reforms. Do you agree with these changes to the Constitution?
References:
Q& A: Thomas E. Mann and
Norman J. Ornstein,
"Congress as 'The Broken Branch,'" Washington Post, October 11, 2006,
A17
Ralph Brave, "Worst
Congress Ever," Newsreview.com, Interview with Norm Ornstein, author
of The Broken Branch
Norm Ornstein, "Part-Time
Congress," Washington Post, March 7, 2006, A17.
Thomas E. Mann, Molly Reynolds, Peter Hoey, "Is
Congress on the Mend?" New York Times, April 28, 2007, A27.
EReserves
John Dean, "The
Broken Branch: An Unusual Lawsuit Takes Congress to Task For Shoddy and Partisan
Lawmaking, In Which A Bill Is Unconstitutionally Being Treated as Law,"
Findlaw.com, March 10 2006.
Slate,
Politico,
Washington Post,
New York Times,
Wall Street Journal,
Dallas Morning News,
Robert Dahl, "On
the Way to the Common Good, Delegates Found Words That Still Apply," New
York Times, November 28, 2007.
Larry Sabato, "We
Need a New Constitution," Los Angeles Times, October 10, 2007.
Ezra Klein,
Review of Sabato, A More Perfect Constitution, Barnes & Noble Review,
January 10, 2008.
Phyllis Schlafly, "Bad
New Plans to Rewrite the Constitution," Eagle Forum.org, November 21, 2007.
Larry Sabato: "A More Perfect Constitution" (Walker) (Audio Rebroadcast),
The Diane Rehm Show, January 21, 2008.
Larry Sabato author of "A More Perfect Constitution" and Eric Lane and Michael
Oreskes authors of "The Genius of America," Book TV C-SPAN2 Video.
| Sep 29, 2007
... It's Time to Reshape the Constitution and
Make America a Fairer Country - The Huffington Post. www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-sabato/ |
Sanford
Levinson, Bill Moyers Journal, PBS, December 21, 2007.
Sanford Levinson,
"Students Weigh In,"
Our
Undemocratic Constitution Blog, January 17, 2008.
Is the Constitution Outdated?
Distinguished guests Larry J. Sabato, Michael Oreskes
and Eric Lane help determine whether our Constitution needs updating or greater
fidelity to its guiding principles.
www.constitutioncenter.org We the People Stories
http://amoreperfectconstitution.com/
GUIDELINES FOR ESSAYS:
Answer the question based on your synthesis of the accompanying articles,
your text, and class discussion. The
major ideas of the articles must be in the essay. Write in your own words
and cite sources as you use them.
For
essay writing guidelines
Professor
Charles King's essay "Battling the Six Evil Geniuses of Essay
Writing," PS Online, March 1998 available at
Library
Ereserves is highly recommended.
Type and bring your completed
essay to the exam in class. You will need the Mini-Essay/Scantron booklet and a number
2 pencil for the multiple-choice questions. You will also need space to answer
the bonus opportunity.
The Bonus Opportunity on the Exam is: State up to
five facts you learned for the exam but were not asked in the multiple choice
and the facts did not belong in your essay. Facts must be from the new material
not the comprehensive portion of the exam. Each fact is worth two points.