This has been edited slightly to remove the zoom links for the class and some GW logistics.
Syllabus
Strategic Political Communication – SMPA 6204-10
Spring 2021
Monday 6:10 – 8:00p
“The world is still in want of clear-headed citizens, tempered by historical perspective, disciplined by rational thinking and moral compass, who speak well and write plainly.”
Prof. Lee Pelton, President of Emerson College
Learning Outcomes
As a result of completing this course, students will:
Have a clear understanding of elected policymaker decision making
Be able to draft a strategic campaign document for an issue or policy campaign
Logistics
Grading
Four short essays: 10% each, total of 40% (details below)
Major Paper: 50% (details below)
Participation: 10%
You are expected to meaningfully participate in the class discussions. This means doing and thinking about the readings, and paying attention to the political world around you. You should have ideas and opinions and be able to defend them as critical ideas to be explored, not puppies to be protected. You should also be prepared to speak to your issue in every class. You will not be rewarded for just talking a lot.
Issues
Each student will be asked to select an issue to track over the course of the semester. Three of your short papers and your final research paper will focus on this issue. You should be prepared to talk about your issue in every class period.
Your issue should be big enough to be worth tackling, and small enough so that you can realistically launch it later this year or early next.
Papers
No late papers will be accepted.
You will have four short essays and a final paper. The first short essay is a reflection on ethics, the other three focus on the issue you are tracking this semester. The final paper is a strategy for advancing the issue you choose. The details of the papers are in the schedule below and will be discussed in class.
Four short essays – All in Word or Google Docs – Not PDF
Essay #1 – Due Feb 1
What ethical responsibilities do you have, if any, to our political process when engaging in strategic political communication?
Your essay should be no more than 500 words, excluding title, notes, etc. I will stop reading at the 500th word.
Essay #2 – Due March 8
How is an issue framed? What are the policy implications of that framing? How can it be framed differently for your side to win?
Your essay should be memo style – To a hypothetical client who cares about the issue, from you.
Essay #3 – Due March 29
Identify at least two possible decision makers and/or policy venues for an issue, their advantages and disadvantages, and key points about each.
Your essay should be memo style – To a hypothetical client who cares about the issue, from you.
Essay #4 – Due April 19
Executive summary of your final campaign plan.
Your essay should be memo style – To a hypothetical client who cares about the issue, from you.
Final Paper
Your final paper should be a campaign plan roughly be between 12 – 18 pages. Do not stretch a good 10 page paper to hit an artificial minimum, and do not cut short a great 25 page paper. Final papers are to me by the start of the final class of the semester. The paper is worth 25% of your final grade.
Your final paper should explain what you want to accomplish and how you are going to accomplish it. The focus should be on strategy, using examples of tactics to help explain your strategic approach. You need not include a budget or detailed timeline. Your plan should clearly reflect main themes discussed in this course.
No Late Papers Will Be Accepted. If I do not accept a paper you receive a 0 on it.
Readings
Books
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Available in most decent bookstores and online
Managing to Change the World from The Management Center. Available here: http://www.managementcenter.org/our-book/
You can expect additional readings to be emailed throughout the semester.
Helpful online resources:
Overton Window – Mackinac Center – https://www.mackinac.org/7504
The Goodman Center – http://www.thegoodmancenter.com/ and Free Range Thinking – http://www.thegoodmancenter.com/resources/newsletters/
Spitfire Strategies – https://www.spitfirestrategies.com/tools/
M+R Strategic Services – https://www.mrss.com/tools/
Frameworks Institute – http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/
The Communications Network – https://www.comnetwork.org/
The Campaign Workshop – https://www.thecampaignworkshop.com/blog
The Stanford Social Innovation Review – https://ssir.org/
Campaigns & Elections – https://www.campaignsandelections.com/
The Management Center – http://www.managementcenter.org/
Ethics
You have several ethical responsibilities in this course. This is a small group, in a small space, for several hours at a time. For this adventure to work for all of us, each of us needs to do the readings and think about them. We must respect each other’s positions on the readings, and honor intellectual experiments (the “what if….” positions); that means people should be willing and able to change their minds, to defend their positions, and challenge the positions of others. Critically, one should never confuse an argument with the person making the argument – positions are not people. This means you should not attack people, only their claims and you should do so based on reasoning. Similarly, you should defend your positions as if they were ideas to be kicked around, not children to be protected.
Cheating and plagiarizing are not acceptable. They will be punished to the greatest extent permitted by The George Washington University policy. All exams, papers, and other work products are to be completed in conformance with The George Washington University Code of Academic Integrity.
Misc.
I work from the premise that you’re all adults.
I don’t take attendance, but I expect you to attend class and participate in discussions. You are responsible for everything that happens in class. If you miss a session, you should find a colleague from whom to get notes, readings, etc.
There may be guest speakers, and the schedule of readings and discussion may change.
You can call or email any time, but calling before 8am and after 10pm will likely do you more harm than good.
Schedule
Jan 11 Introduction.
The course in an hour – lecture
Jan 18 NO CLASS
Jan 25 Advocacy Ethics
Read:
“Goal Posts and Guard Rails” Elisa Massimino in Political Communication Ethics: Theory and Practice
“Civic Responsibility or Self Interest?” Dale E. Miller and Stephen E. Medvic in Shades of Gray
Feb 1 FIRST ESSAY DUE: What ethical responsibilities do you have, if any, to our political process when engaging in strategic political communication?
No Late Papers Will Be Accepted
Discuss Essays
Campaign Logistics
Discuss strategic campaign planning – the structure into which good thinking goes.
Read:
“Stop Raising Awareness Already” Ann Christiano and Annie Neimand Stanford Social Innovation Review Spring 2017
“The Back of the Envelope Guide to Communications Strategy” Ann Christiano and Anne Niemand Stanford Social Innovation Review Sept 7, 2017
“Planning to Win” and “Smart Chart 3.0” from Spitfire Strategies http://www.spitfirestrategies.com/tools/ (the other tools are also worth perusing)
“Developing Strategy” Chapter Four of the Midwest Academy book
Feb 8 It’s all warmed-over Aristotle
Read:
Aristotle’s Rhetoric Book I, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and Book II, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 available at http://rhetoric.eserver.org/aristotle/ and elsewhere.
This podcast is worth 20 minutes https://historyofphilosophy.net/aristotle-rhetoric-poetics
Feb 15 NO CLASS
Feb 22 Bears of Little Brains
Read:
“How Google Optimized Healthy Office Snacks” Zoe Chance, Ravi Dhar, Michelle Hatzis, and Michiel Bakker, Harvard Business Review March 3, 2016 https://hbr.org/2016/03/how-google-uses-behavioral-economics-to-make-its-employees-healthier (and on Blackboard)
“Everybody’s an Expert” Louis Menand The New Yorker Dec 5, 2005
“A Little Guilt, a Lot of Energy Savings – How smiley faces and peer pressure can save money—and the planet.” Mark Joseph Stern Slate March 1, 2013 https://slate.com/technology/2013/03/opower-using-smiley-faces-and-peer-pressure-to-save-the-planet.html (and on Blackboard)
“Psychologists at the Gate: A Review of Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow” Andrei Shleifer, Journal of Economic Literature 2012
March 1 Framing
Read:
“A Change of Mind or a Change of Focus: A theory of choice reversals in politics” by Bryan Jones, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Vol. 4 No. 2 (April 1994) pp 144 – 177
“Win the Debate, Not Just the Case” Linda Greenhouse, The New York Times July 14, 2002
“Media Framing of a Civil Liberties Conflict and its Effect on Tolerance” Thomas E. Nelson, Rosalee A. Clawson and Zoe M. Oxley, American Political Science Review Vol 91 No 3 1997
Peruse
Picture This: How we frame issues matters for social change, Stanford Social Innovation Review https://ssir.org/picture_this_how_we_frame_issues_matters_for_social_change#
March 8 Second Essay Due: No late papers will be accepted
How is your issue framed? What are the policy implications of that framing? How can it be framed differently for your side to win?
Narrative
“Without the frozen dog it’s not a story, it’s just history.” – Rob Roberge, Liar
Read:
“Narration as a Human Communication Paradigm: The Case of Public Moral Argument” Walter Fisher, Communication Monographs Vol 51, 1984
“How to Use Stories to Bring ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ Together” Annie Neimand & Samantha Wright, Stanford Social Innovation Review Jun. 17, 2019
“A Better World Ahead Means Shaping Emerging Narratives Now” Kristen Grimm, Stanford Social Innovation Review, June 19, 2020 https://ssir.org/articles/entry/a_better_world_ahead_means_shaping_emerging_narratives_now
“How an unassuming bureaucrat outsmarted Jamie Oliver and pulled off an honest-to-god miracle in one of America’s unhealthiest cities.” HuffPost Highline, Feb 9, 2017 https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/school-lunch/
March 15 NO CLASS
March 22 Influencing Policymakers
Read:
“How to get rich in Trump’ Washington” Nicholas Confessore New York Times Magazine Aug 30, 2017
“Lobbying as Legislative Subsidy” Richard L. Hall and Alan V. Deardorff, American Political Science Review Vol. 100 No. 1 Feb. 2006 pp 69 – 84
“Partners in Advocacy: Lobbyists and Government Officials in Washington” Christine Mahoney and Frank R. Baumgartner Journal of Politics Vol. 77 No. 1 Dec. 16 2014 pp. 202-215
“Interest Group Participation in Rule Making: A Decade of Change” Scott R. Fulong and Cornelius M. Kerwin, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Vol 15 No 3, 2005
“A Look Under the Hood: Regulatory Policy Making and the Affordable Care Act” Simon F. Haeder and Susan Webb Yackee Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Vol. 45, No. 5, October 2020
March 29 Third essay due: Decision maker/policy venue analysis
Identify at least two possible decision makers and/or policy venues for an issue, their advantages and disadvantages, and key points about each.
Your essay should be memo style – To a hypothetical client who cares about the issue, from you.
Popular Culture and Persuasion
Read:
“The Designated Driver Campaign: Why it worked” Jay Winsten, HuffPost http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-winston/designated-driver-campaig_b_405249.html
“Can Transgender TV Characters Help Bridge an Ideological Divide?” Erica L. Rosenthal and Traci Gillig, The Conversation Aug 8, 2017 https://theconversation.com/can-transgender-tv-characters-help-bridge-an-ideological-divide-81914
“Parasocial Interaction and Narrative Involvement as Predictors of Attitude Change” Stephanie G. Schartel Dunn, Western Journal of Communication, Vol 80 No 1, 2018
Peruse
Define America https://www.defineamerican.com/hollywood
April 5 Social Media
Discuss reach and impact of social media
Read:
“On Digital Disinformation and Democratic Myths” Dave Karpf, Social Science Research Council, Dec 10, 2019 https://mediawell.ssrc.org/expert-reflections/on-digital-disinformation-and-democratic-myths/
M+R Toolshed social media tools http://www.mrss.com/toolshed/ (you can also read the fundraising tools, but we will not be discussing those)
April 12 Protest
Read:
“Is there any point to protesting?” Nathan Heller The New Yorker Aug 4, 2017
“The Myth of the Silent Majority” Daniel Q. Gillion The Atlantic Sept. 2020
“Do Protests Matter? Evidence from the Tea Party Movement” Andreas Madestam et al, The Quarterly Journal of Economics 2013
“While the Whole World Watched: Rhetorical Failures of Anti-War Protest” J. Justin Gustainis and Dan F. Hahn Communication Quarterly, Voi 36, No. 3, Summer 1988
Apr 19 Fourth Essay Due: Executive Summary of your final campaign plan
Workshop Final Papers
April 26 Management
Discuss management
Read: Managing to Change the World
April 28 FINAL PAPERS DUE
NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED