Course Overview

Political systems are more than a set of laws, institutions, political actors, or procedures. They are also the belief structure of what a society stands for, why it exists, and what it ultimately means—the foundation upon which political power is built and legitimately exercised. Yet for most citizens, politics has less to do with specific governmental policies, partisan loyalties, or steadfast ideological leanings than it does with abstract feelings and meanings about American democracy. The persistent communication and display of symbols and rituals of political meaning is central to this process. As one scholar put it, “the state is invisible; it must be personified before it can be seen, symbolized before it can be loved, imagined before it can be conceived.” This class, then, explores the ways in which America comes into being through the numerous rituals and symbols that help construct its meaning, and how such symbolizations are communicative events that create political reality. We study political phenomena such as the party nominating conventions, elections, political protests, the Statue of Liberty, the Pledge of Allegiance, foreign wars, beheadings and torture, national flags, Civil War reenactments, news broadcasts, memorials, and feature films.

Requirements:

Exams: Three essay exams. Please bring a blue examination booklet. You have 75-minutes to complete each exam (including the final), and you will answer three out of five questions, determined by your choosing. The dates for the exams are listed in the schedule below.
Critique Analysis of the film The Patriot: You are to watch the film The Patriot (a film on reserve at the library, as well as available at local video stores) and offer a 4-page (double spaced) critical reading. In a viewing critique such as this, you are making an argument. That is, you are not retelling the film’s plot, but you are picking apart certain aspects of the film for scrutiny and discussion. In a critical analysis, you are trying to examine the components of the film that give it its overall meaning. An analysis attempts to get at the larger ideological underpinnings of the film, and in doing so, you should pick out certain aspects of the film for scrutiny. Therefore, should select and discuss a single issue such as the role of family, race, gender, historical distortions, religion, violence, freedom, or evil as important themes that give this film its mythological meaning. Again, identify the major point that the film is trying to make, and discuss how the theme you have selected for discussion does the ideological work of the film (so don’t discuss “family,” for instance, just in terms of family, but of how it relates to the larger point the film is trying to make). When offering examples, you must explain how the example does what you say it does. The date the paper is due is listed in the schedule below.
Presentation: Working with another student in the class (whom you may chose or will be chosen for you), you will make a five-minute class presentation on the topic of the day. More information to follow.

Evaluation:

Exam 1 20%

Exam 2 20%

Exam 3 20%

Viewing Critique 15%

Presentation 10%

Participation 15%

Class Policies

Attendance:

I take attendance for use in your participation grade. Excused absences include only the following:

· Illness that requires medical treatment (must provided written documentation from a doctor)

· Death in immediate family (must provide obituary)

· Official college sponsored activity (must provide note from college personnel)

Documentation of the absence must be provided on the first class meeting after your return. In other words, I need some piece of paper to prove the legitimacy of your absence. It is best to contact me prior to the absence.

E-mail account activation

As a participant in this class, you are required to have an active ODU e-mail account. This is important for class communication, as well as required for you to access Blackboard and to fill out the teaching evaluations at the end of the semester.

Student Evaluations of Teaching

As a participant in this class, you are required to fill out a student evaluation of teaching performance on-line at the end of the semester.

Paper Submission and Late Papers:

Papers are due at the beginning of class (as they are designed to help you formulate your ideas prior to class discussion). Papers will be deducted one letter grade per calendar day (note: calendar day, not class day). Papers over 5 calendar days late will not be accepted under any circumstances. I do not accept papers via E-mail. You are responsible for printing your work yourself.

Blackboard Readings

A substantial amount of reading is posted in .pdf files (readable with Adobe Acrobat) in Blackboard (http://www.clt.odu.edu/bb/index.php?src=sh_index). If your computer does not have Adobe (most do), it can be downloaded for free at http://www.adobe.com.

Student Progress and Withdrawing from the Class

The last day to drop this class is Tuesday, March 13. Grades for your first exam will be returned prior to that date, so please make an informed decision about your continuance in the class.

Students with Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations are provided for students with disabilities. Students should present me with the appropriate documentation from the Office of Disability Services and contact me as soon as possible to discuss the appropriate accommodations.

Disruptive Behavior

The Office of Student Judicial Affairs has published a guide on College Classroom Conduct. In short, you should refrain from: arriving late, conversing during a lecture, answering a cell phone (or allowing it to ring by not turning it off), packing to leave before class is finished, eating in class, sleeping or studying unrelated materials in class, surfing the net, instant messaging, or text messaging on your cell phone.

Grades:

The following grade scale applies to all written work:

A = 95, A- = 92, A-/B+ = 90, B+ = 88, etc.

If you would like to discuss how to improve your grades, please come see me during office hours (I don’t discuss graded work in the hallway or after class). I also require a 24-hour pause or moratorium between the time you receive a grade and when I am willing to discuss it with you.

Writing Basics:

Remember to include or address the following items. Failure to address these will result in grade deductions.

Page numbers
Title of your work (give it some name that invites the reader to be interested, something beyond the name of the assignment)
Spell Check
Grammatical Errors

Editing:

It is highly recommended that you ask someone to edit your writing prior to submission. Every article, book, news story, etc., that you see in print is the product of several sets of eyes. Students should develop the habit of having someone mark their papers for grammatical errors or awkward syntax and phrasing. Learn to give and take criticism productively.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is one example of violating copyright law. Furthermore, there are no acceptable instances in written language of using someone else’s words without quotation marks. If you plagiarize, you will receive a hearing through the judicial affairs division of the Office of Student Services. More likely than not, you will be suspended or expelled in addition to receiving the grade of F. It is my belief that at least half of student plagiarism cases occur because students do not know what it is or how to avoid it. Please see the handout, and take it upon yourself to learn the proper means of citing someone else’s words and ideas.

Readings

The books are available for purchase in the ODU bookstore as well as through on-line retailers.

1. Blackboard Readings

2. Edelman, Murray. Constructing the Political Spectacle. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.

3. Kertzer, David I. Ritual, Politics & Power. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.

4. Lakoff, George. Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2004.

Schedule: (subject to change)

T 1/9: Class Introduction

TH 1/11: Communication That Binds

Blackboard Reading: “A Cultural Approach to Communication,” from Communication as Culture

T 1/16: The Centrality of Narrative to Political Meaning

Blackboard Reading: “Narratives and Politics,” from Prophetic Politics

TH 1/18: The Narrative of America

Blackboard Readings: From Imagined Communities and American Exceptionalism

T 1/23: Rituals, Myths, and Symbols

Read: Kertzer, chapter 1

Blackboard Reading: From I Love Paul Revere

TH 1/25: Organizations and Identity

Kertzer, ch. 2

T 1/30: Legitimacy and Mystification through Campaigns and Elections

Kertzer, ch. 3

Blackboard Reading: “The Value of Rituals,” from the New York Times

TH 2/1: Rites of Solidarity and Protest

Kertzer, ch. 4, and Kertzer pp. 131-132

T 2/6: Cognition and Emotional Attachment through Rituals

Reading: Kertzer, ch. 5

***TH 2/8: Exam #1

T 2/13: Media Rituals

Blackboard Readings: “Rethinking Media Events,” from Media Rituals

TH 2/15: Terrorism and Media

Blackboard Reading: “Political Violence as Media Event,” from Mass-Mediated Terrorism

T 2/20: News Media Coverage

Reading: Lakoff, Ch. 2

Blackboard Reading: “The Gulf War as Popular Culture and Television Drama”

TH 2/22: Political Language and Political Reality

Edelman—ch. 1 & 6

T 2/27: Metaphors We Live By

Reading: Lakoff—Ch. 1 & 4

TH 3/1: The Construction and Uses of Social Problems

Reading: Edelman, Ch. 2; Lakoff, Ch. 3

***Spring Break, March 6 & 8

T 3/13: The Construction and Uses of Political Leaders

Reading: Edelman, Ch. 3

Last day to withdraw from the class without penalty

TH 3/15: The Construction and Uses of Political Enemies

Reading: Edelman, Ch. 4

***T 3/20: Exam #2

TH 3/22: Regeneration through Violence

Blackboard Reading: “The Totem Myth,” from Blood Sacrifice and the Nation

T 3/27: The Military and Soldier as Symbol

Blackboard Reading: “Death Touchers and Border Crossers,” from Blood Sacrifice and the Nation

TH 3/29: Border Crossers in Mass Media: Truth, Myth, and Propaganda

In-Class: Watch Sgt. York, Born on the 4^th of July, Apocalypse Now Redux, Going Upriver

T 4/3: The Flag as Uniter and Divider

Blackboard Reading: “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore”

TH 4/5: Hollywood Does History

Discuss: The Patriot

Blackboard Readings: “Hubrus, But No History” and “The Nazis, er, the Redcoats are coming!”

***The Patriot Viewing Critique Due

T 4/10: Collective Remembering: History and Myth

Blackboard Reading: “Ronald Reagan and the Politics of History,” from Mickey Mouse History

TH 4/12: Memorials and Monuments

Blackboard Reading: “Memory and Identity,” from Commemorations

T 4/17: Vietnam War Memorial

No Reading

In class: Watch Maya Lin video

TH 4/19: Museums

Blackboard Reading: “Museums and Controversy”

T 4/24: Living History and Memory: Civil War Reenactors

Blackboard Reading: “Confederates in the Attic”

***TH 4/26: Exam 3 (note: exam time is 12:30 - 2:15 p.m. in Constant 1042)