Introduction

This assignment is designed to arouse student’s interest in American government through a literary form that they are more familiar with than they are with nonfiction textbook materials. Students are often better able to work with a sequential storyline than with more analytical approaches to acquiring knowledge. Consequently, I developed this political novel assignment in order to make use of the “story” approach as a means of bringing students closer to more analytical thinking.

I developed the assignment for a summer session Introductory American Politics course at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This enabled me to grade a reasonable number of papers in a relatively short period of time while experimenting with a smaller number of students.

While it was originally developed for a political science course, the assignment is also quite applicable to history courses seeking some emphasis on analytical elements of historical phenomena. In history, instructors might choose to select novels for the particular period being covered. Also, the analytical elements students are expected to extract from the book certainly should reflect what is expected in that particular history course. I believe that this assignment can tap both student and instructor creativity. It did so in my case and will be repeated again in my summer 1999 class.

I do wish to acknowledge the help of many in developing the assignment. First, Professor Sylvia Sipress, my wife and also a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, was one of the first in our discipline to use literary sources in her teaching (she used such sources in her Politics and Culture course). Her success and advice motivated me to try a variation of her approach in my Introductory American Politics course. I also wish to thank the many subscribers to the Teaching Politics and the Political Science Research and Teaching Listservs (under the auspices of H-Net) who suggested a number of appropriate novels. Finally, I want to thank the American Political Science Association, which is including the assignment in its American Government Syllabi Project, for permission to disseminate it to historians through the OAH Magazine of History.

Mort Sipress is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. His teaching specialties are electoral politics, political parties, the presidency, methodology, public opinion and political behavior. His research includes the use of technology in teaching, elections and voting in Wisconsin, and government budgeting in Wisconsin. Sipress is an active participant on the H-Pol listserv and is a member of the Executive Council of the Computer and Multimedia Section of the American Political Science Association.

American National Politics Paper

It should be useful and fun to use fiction as a point of departure for analyzing the factual description of American politics that is attempted in our textbook and in class. To do this, pick a political novel that is applicable to American politics. A list of possibilities accompanies this assignment. If you wish to choose a different novel, then please see me to make sure that it is appropriate for the assignment.

In choosing a novel, give it a quick skim to make sure that it is one you can work with. Once you have selected and carefully read your choice, write a paper in 750 to 2000 words. The paper must apply the novel to materials from the textbook and class materials. It must be legible, written clearly, written in good grammatical English, and with correct spelling. This means that you must proofread and revise your paper before handing it in. Make sure that you leave enough time for the revision process.

The paper should deal with the following:

1. First, briefly summarize the novel’s plot and the political themes in the book. (This should be no more than one-fourth of your paper.)
2. Next, identify and explain the parts of the textbook and lectures that are relevant to the political themes. Those parts can include one or more of the following subjects:
   1. American political culture. H. Political processes for getting into power.
   2. The American creed. I. Political processes for making public policy.
   3. Constitutionalism. J. Political institutions and how they work.
   4. Democracy. K. Public opinion.
   5. Civil liberties. L. Political socialization.
   6. Civil rights. M. The exercise of political influence.
   7. Political ideology and frames of reference.
3. Explain the degree to which the political elements of the novel accurately and inaccurately depict politics using the text and class materials as your basis for realism.

Please do not waste your money on any folders for the paper. A staple or paper clip is all that is needed (the folders are a real nuisance). Also, be sure to keep a duplicate copy of the paper in the event that a dog, cat, or thief destroys it or in the unlikely event that it is misplaced.

If you prepare your paper on a computer, by all means use the spell checker to help you find errors. However, you still need to proofread the paper because these checkers do not catch all mistakes, and they do not detect unclear writing.

If you handwrite your paper, make sure that it is legible. Unreadable papers will be returned for rewriting.

Badly written papers in terms of clarity, grammar, and spelling will be downgraded.

Your work, of course, must be your own. Any plagiarism (passing off someone else’s work as your own) or other cheating will mean an automatic “F” (zero points) on this assignment. If you paraphrase, quote something or someone, or present a specific fact from a specific source, then be sure to document this with appropriate references.

Try to get an early start on the paper so that there will be time for consultation with me if you run into problems. You will find it useful to do some reading ahead in the textbook. Again, please do not hesitate to see me if you do run into problems, but remember that late starters who suddenly run into complications or the need for clarification are likely to find my help less useful.

Below is a list of possible novels from which you can choose. Be aware that some may not be available in the school library, but you certainly may explore the public library, Border's, and other new and used bookstores.

Adams, Henry.................................................Democracy

Anonymous (really Joe Kline)...................Primary Colors

Baker, Russell....................................Our Next President

Beinhart, Larry.........................................American Hero

Bellamy, Edward..................................Looking Backward

Brammer, Billy Lee........................................A Gay Place

Brown, Rosellen..............................................Civil Wars

Burdick, Eugene....................................The Ninth Wave

Callenbach, Ernest...............................................Ecotopia

Callenbach, Ernest..............................Ecotopia Emerging

Crichton, Michael...............................................Airframe

Denker, H....................................Judge Spencer Dissents

Doctorow, E.L......................................................Ragtime

Doctorow, E.L...................................The Book of Daniel

Drury, Allen.....................................Advise and Consent

Eckert, Fred C.....................Hank Harrison for President

Ellison, Ralph..............................................Invisible Man

Erdrich, Louise..........................................Love Medicine

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins...................................Herland

Granger, Bill........................................The Shattered Eye

Granger, Bill..........................................................Schism

Greene, Melissa Fay........................Praying for Sheetrock

Greenfield, Jeff.................................The People’s Choice

Halberstam, Michael.....................The Wanting of Levine

Herbert, Frank.........................................................Dune

Howells, William Dean............The Rise of Silas Lapham

Huxley, Aldous....................................Brave New World

Irving, John......................The World According to Garp

Just, Ward.....................................................Echo House

Kelley, William Melvin..................A Different Drummer

Kennedy, William...............Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game

Kingsolver, Barbara...................................Pigs in Heaven

Knebel, Fletcher.................................Seven Days in May

Knebel, Fletcher.............................Night of Camp David

Lee, Harper....................................To Kill a Mockingbird

LeGuin, Ursula.....................................The Dispossessed

Lehrer, James.....................................................Short List

Lehrer, James........................................Crown Oklahoma

Lewis, Sinclair.......................................................Babbitt

Lewis, Sinclair................................It Can’t Happen Here

Lyons, Nan & Ivan......The President is Coming for Lunch

Morrison, Toni...................................................Tar Baby

Murphy, Walter.........................................Vicar of Christ

O’Connor, Edwin..................................The Last Hurrah

Orwell, George..........................................................1984

Pearson, Drew.............................................The President

Pearson, Drew................................................The Senator

Rand, Ayn............................................The Fountainhead

Robbins, Tom.....................Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Shreve, Susan Richards......Daughters of the New World

Sinclair, Upton................................................The Jungle

Sohmer, Steve................................................Favorite Son

Steinbeck, John....................................In Dubious Battle

Steinbeck, John......................................Grapes of Wrath

Thompson, Hunter.................. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, 1972

Twain, Mark.....................................Connecticut Yankee

Vidal, Gore...........................................................Empire

Vonnegut, Kurt..............................................Player Piano

Walker, Alice........................................The Color Purple

Wallace, Irving...................................................The Man

Warren, Robert Penn.........................All the King’s Men

Wicker, Tom...........................................Facing the Lions

Wright, Richard...............................................Native Son

Wright, Richard................................................Black Boy