POLI 6210 - Seminar on Urban Political SystemsSpring 2008Wednesday, 6 p.m.-8:40 p.m.Liberal Arts 312

Instructor:Dr. Ray MikellLiberal Arts 331Phone: 280-6463E-Mail: rmikell@uno.edu

Hours: 9-10:30 a.m., 1:30-3 p.m., MW; 1-4 TTh and by appointmentDescription:

The study of political science in the United States began with examinations of urban government. Morespecifically, the study began with research into the urban political machines that dominated Americanpolitics at the turn of the 20th Century. A century later, the study of urban government is more relevant thanever, in no small part due to the focus on New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The media focused on poverty and racial discrimination, but many connected issues have found their wayto the surface locally in the months since. These issues include including affordable housing, environmentalsustainability, public education reform, economic development, debate regarding the use of public housingand the like. In recent months, crime prevention and abatement has become a central issue. None of these issues, however, are particularly new issues to those who study urban politics and policy.

All the above issues, then, will be examined in depth as part of this course. We will consider what hashappened in New Orleans, and keep up with the debate regarding them. Trips into the field–that is, onto thestreets and into the governmental institutions of the city, both as a class and individually–will be encouraged.

But by the end of the semester your understanding of these issues should be tremendously deepened, givenan understanding of just how extensively urban issues such as those listed above have preoccupied those inurban studies-related disciplines.

As the course title implies, special attention will be given to the institutional structure and environment inwhich American urban governments operate. Also, the political variables or factors affecting urbangovernance in the United States will be greatly stressed. It will be demonstrated, however, that little changein urban America can really occur without an understanding such inherently political matters.

GRADINGShort paper assignments - 45 percentThere will be no exams in this course. There will, however, be continual short paper assignments related tothe reading material, and one to two page summaries/precises required for books. The reading material listed below is organized as follows:

Selections and journal articles: To be read by all.

Books: Every student in the class will be required to read at least two books over the semester, the earlierthe better, so you can prepare to discuss them later in the semester. They will be discussed in the order listed.

Please e-mail me as soon as possible with your top choices, and I will make assignments accordingly. It maynot be possible to cover all the books this semester, by the way, but at this point I do not see why not.Important: You must be prepared to discuss the material with your fellow students. You should think of yourreport as you would, say, a 20 to 30 minute conference presentation. Be prepared to answer questions.

Direct observation reports: Attendance at government meetings and urban politics and policy-oriented events(they are more numerous in New Orleans at the moment than you might imagine) will be encouraged, andoccasionally required. I will let you know more about this as the semester goes by, given that I cannot knowthe schedules of these events months in advance.

Research paper - 40 percentI will have the highest of expectations for a research paper, which will making up nearly half your gradeoutside of class participation. The paper may deal with any of the topics covered in this class–that is, youhave as broad an array of topics to be discussed as possible, within the course context. The latter must be stressed, however: If you come to me with a paper on, say, the global economy and its affect on the Maori of urban New Zealand’s voting preferences, you can forget passing this class!

Class participation and attendance – 15 percentPlease do not be shy! In any graduate seminar, participation should be active and sustained. The articles andbooks we will be discussing in this class have more relevance than is typical, however, to the world justoutside your doorstep. So you will likely have something to say, I would hope.

OTHER ESSENTIALSAcademic Dishonesty:This will not be tolerated. You will get more out of this class, and any class and of life by doing your ownwork. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, falsifying identity oracademic records, and being an accessory to acts of academic dishonesty. Ignorance about what counts asplagiarism will not be an acceptable excuse. Any infractions will be reported and penalized in accordancewith the UNO Judicial Code. See the UNO Judicial Code for further information about academic dishonestyand penalties for infractions.

Assistance:I keep regular office hours, and consider myself to be very accessible. Moreover, I regularly check andanswer e-mail. If you are unsure about a question, or the direction of an essay you are writing, please feelfree to ask. I may not respond immediately, but will within a week's time. If your question needsimmediate attention, please note as much, but be absolutely sure it is indeed urgent before doing so.

Disability access:It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations tostudents who have disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or to meetcourse requirements. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact their instructors and/or theOffice of Disability Services to discuss their individual needs for accommodations.

READING LISTGovernmental systems: Institutions and institutional effectsSelections from:Kweit, R.W. and Kweit, M.G. (1999). People and politics in urban America (Second Edition). New York:Garland Publishing.Judge, D.; Stoker, G. and Wolman, H. (1995). Theories of urban politics. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SagePublications.

A New Orleans primerSelections from:Colton, C. (2004). An unnatural metropolis: Wresting New Orleans from nature. Baton Rouge La: LouisianaState University Press .Lewis, Pierce F. (2003). New Orleans: The making of an urban landscape. Santa Fe, NM: American Places.

Urban regimes, urban power:Selections fromDahl, R. (1963). Who governs? Democracy and power in the American city. New Haven CT: Yale UniversityPress.Hunter, Floyd (1969). Community power structure: A study of decision makers (third edition). Chapel HillNC: University of North Carolina Press.Peterson, P. (1981). City limits. Chicago IL: University Of Chicago PressStone, C.N. (1989). Regime politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946-1988. Lawrence KS: University Press ofKansas.Journal article:Moltoch, H. (1976). The city as a growth machine. The American Journal of Sociology 82, 309-331.Mossberger, K. and Stoker, G. (2001). The Evolution of urban regime theory: The challenge of conceptualization. Urban Affairs Review 46 (6), 810-35.Burns, P. and Thomas, M.O. (2006). The failure of the nonregime: How Katrina exposed New Orleans as a regimeless city. Urban Affairs Review 41 (4), 517-27.

Recovering from disaster, sustainabilityAssigned books:Birch, E.L. and Watcher, S.M. (2006). Rebuilding urban places after disaster: Lessons from HurricaneKatrina.Vale, L.J. and Campanella, T.J. (2006). The resilient city: How modern cities recover from disaster. OxfordUK: Oxford University Press.

Race in urban American politics:Assigned books:Liu, B. and Vanderleeuw, J.M. (2007). Race rules: Electoral politics in New Orleans, 1965-2006. Lanham MD: Lexington Books.Burns, P.F. (2006) Electoral politics is not enough: racial and ethnic minorities and urban politics. Albany NY: State University of New York Press.Orr, M. (1999). Black social capital: The politics of school reform in Baltimore, 1986-1998. Lawrence KS:University Press of Kansas.Kruse, K.M. (2005). White flight: Atlanta and the making of modern conservatism. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.Journal articles:Putnam, R. (2007). E pluribus unum: Diversity and community in the Twenty-first Century; The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture. Scandinavian Political Studies 30 ( 2), 137-74

Urban public policySelections from:Dahl, R. (1963). Who governs? Democracy and power in the American city. New Haven CT: Yale UniversityPress.Assigned books:Freeman, Lance (2006) There goes the hood: Views of gentrification from the ground up. Philadelphia PA:Temple University Press.Sidney, M.S. (2003). Unfair housing: How national policy shapes community action. Lawrence, Kansas:University of Kansas Press.Stone, C.N.,; Henig, J.R.; Jones, B.D.; and Pierannunzi, C. (2001). Building civic capacity: The politics ofreforming urban schools. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press.Rae, D. (2005). City: Urbanism and its end. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.

Poverty and the “underclass”Assigned books:

Venkatesh, S.A. (2006) Off the books: The underground economy of the urban poor (Hardcover). CambridgeMA: Harvard University Press.Wilson, W.J. (1996). When work disappears: The world of the new urban poor. New York: Random House.Vigdor, J.L (2007). The Katrina effect: Was there a bright side to the evacuation of Greater New Orleans? National Bureau for Economic Research, Working Paper 13022. Available at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w13022