POS 470-480

Internship Seminar

Professor Ronald Schmidt 126 Bedford St.

Spring 2005 780-4581

Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30-5 or by appointment

What does it mean to be democratic actors? The greek roots of the word mean “rule by the people,” but this only creates more questions: Who are “the people”? Who decides who belongs? What kind of rule? The political science department internship program allows students to explore these questions, enabling them to play a part in the activities of democratic public and private organizations. Students will be expected to participate in the work of the offices in which they have been placed and to research and write about that work, serving as democratic actors and scholars of the democratic process.

Students must work at least sixteen hours a week at their internship, keep a journal on their work, participate in and report on a project at their office, and participate in the six meetings of our seminar. Course readings are in the Internship Program packet. Students will also be graded by their supervisor at the site of their internship. Grades will be decided as follows:

Supervisor’s grade: 20%

Journal: 20%

Papers (2-3 pages): 20%

Research Project (10 pages or more) – May 4: 40%

A note to participants: It is inevitable that you will be exposed to information that could be of use to opponents of the public officials with whom you are working. Since these officials have taken you into their confidence, it is necessary that you treat sensitive information with the utmost discretion. We will be discussing some delicate material during the seminars. Your commitment to complete confidentiality in regard to this material is required. You may not undertake an internship without making this solemn commitment to your supervisor, to your fellow interns, to USM’s Political Science Internship Program and to yourself.

Should you need services or accommodations due to a disability to fully participate in the class, please speak with me or contact the office of Academic Support for Students with Disabilities, LB 242.

Internship Seminar

Assignments

January 19:

Course Introduction. Roundtable discussion of the internships, and the course objectives, including the requirements of the journal and the semester research project.

January 26:

What does it mean to be a democratic actor in your office?

Reading: The Declaration of Independence (Jefferson et al)

Federalist 10 (Madison)

“Homer’s Contest” (Nietzsche)

Short Paper Due: What are the primary goals of your office? What is your role in its effort? Paper should include an evaluation of those goals, a critique of your office’s operations, and suggestions for improving its operations, as well as an evaluation of the task and maintenance role of your office supervisor. The paper must be typed and double-spaced.

February 16:

How will you provide a scholarly examination of the work of your office?

Reading: “The Strenuous Life of the Tammany District Leader” (Plunkitt, Riordan)

“The President Attends to Some Task Needs” (Mandlebaum)

Research Proposal Due: What will your research project be? It must be applied research, sufficiently useful to your office to be done on office time.

March 23:

A roundtable discussion of organizational culture, with particular attention to the formal and informal norms governing behavior in your office.

Reading: “Organizational Culture” (Coogan)

“On Being Sane in Insane Places” (Rosenhan)

“Three Presidential Approaches to Administration” (Koenig)

Short Paper Due: Describe an informal norm, the function it performs, and the sanctions invoked for its violation. This norm may be observed either in your office or in an office or agency with which you regularly come in contact.

April 20:

A roundtable discussion of the policy-making process.

Reading: Congress and the Presidency (Polsby)

Ethics for Bureaucrats (Rohr)

Short Paper Due: Describe a procedure by which a policy decision was made in your office. What were the politics of the decision? Was the decision ethical? Who were the actors? How important were the coalition-building skills of the actors? What were their decision-making habits? Their values? Their assumptions? (You may or may not be able to observe the decision making process directly. If you haven’t observed it, you must interview those who have participated in it.)

May 4:

Presentation and analysis of the semester projects.

Final Paper Due