Course Description and Goals
This course is a seminar on the relationships between computer network technology and political institutions and behavior. The course will seek to:

• refine concepts and causal models of politics and advance students' familiarity with the vocabulary and methods of political science;
• focus on the effects of emerging computer and communication technologies on politics, especially in the United States;
• envision a workable, realistic future of American politics in the presence of computer technology, and propose normative directions for the development of democratic technologies;
• expose students to the practical integration of network design tools and political institutions.

Goals for students:

• Learn to apply political science theories, concepts and methods in a specific research context;
• Develop a broad understanding of network technology and the technical infrastructure of American (and, to a lesser extent, international) politics;
• Acquire and improve academic writing and web design skills (Macromedia Dreamweaver and Fireworks).

Classroom Tone
The instructor is committed to helping students enjoy the class, the materials, and the learning process. To that end, students must provide ongoing feedback on the class to the instructor and each other. A successful experience will depend greatly on students taking the initiative to propose new topics, contribute information and design rules and norms for class collaboration. Students are expected to be respectful of each other in the classroom and online as we model the real-and-ideal civil society we are studying.

Textbooks
The texts are all available in the Duke Textbook store; they are also in the Duke Libraries and online. Links are provided to the price list for each book at isbn.nu and to books' pages at Amazon.com:

Book Citation	Library	isbn.nu	Amazon
Davis, Richard. The Web of Politics: The Internet's Impact on the American Political System. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Library
Grossman, Lawrence K. The Electronic Republic: Reshaping Democracy in the Information Age. New York: Viking, 1995 (hardback), 1996 (paperback).
Kamarck, Elaine Ciulla and Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Democracy.com? Governance in a Networked World. Hollis NH: Hollis Publishing Company, 1999.

Students are advised that they may wish to budget an additional $15-30 to buy newly published books that are candidates for assigned review papers.

CourseInfo Web Site
Frequent use of the CourseInfo website is absolutely necessary. The site is located at:

https://courses.duke.edu/courses/POLSCI129S.01-F2001/

All class business will be conducted through the CourseInfo site. Students must check the site on a regular basis (preferably daily). If you have not used CourseInfo before, you should meet with the instructor immediately for a crash tutorial.

Course Calendar
The calendar is posted and is included here by reference. The calendar includes (or will include) links to all required and supplemental reading materials. It may be revised at any time along with notice to all; students may participate in making changes.

ICC Help Sessions
The instructor will attempt to schedule frequent evening help sessions in the Interactive Computer Classroom in SocSci 229.

Grading
Grading will be as follows (subject to some changes given class input during the first two weeks), for a total possible of 1,000 points; see below for detailed descriptions of assignments:

The proposed grading scale is as follows; don't let the numbers intimidate you, there will surely be plenty of A's and a couple A+'s:

Assignments & Examinations

Course Readings and Participation: Readings on the course calendar marked with an asterisk (*) are required; you will need to read this material with attention to participate in the class. Students will be asked to give brief summaries and simple analysis of the readings at each class meeting; no one is expected to be completely informed at all times, but the semester's pattern should be positive for each student to receive a high score.

Readings and sites marked with a hyphen (-) are supplemental; some will already be familiar and can be skimmed for a refresher. Unless you already have a copy, please print and at least skim each supplemental reading before class and bring it to class; the instructor will refer to these materials in class and you can use the printed copies to take notes.

Systematic Surfing: You never thought you'd be required to surf the web, but you'll have to do so for this seminar. As the class begins, you should visit slashdot.org at least three times a week and look for stories and discussions that interest you, then use those to find additional links you want to follow. Slashdot is a leading "weblog" site with a moderation system that may presage the future of direct democracy (or "meritocracy"). At the outset, surfing Slashdot as a class will provide a basis for some common ground in class, and will expose you to technical language and strange ideas; as the course progresses, we may identify alternative sites we may want to monitor as a group.

Weekly "Reviews and Replies" Discussion Board posts: Each student should contribute a minimum of three "posts" or messages to the Reviews and Replies forum. Each week's posts are worth 10 points and must be completed by Saturday at 5:00pm to receive credit. The posts should be as follows:

• One major post (worth up to 6 points) reviewing and critiquing 1) a web site with political implications or 2) a course reading or 3) a major news story or developing issue from Slashdot or another online source. Each of these 3 categories should receive a separate "subthread" for the week. Major posts should be 3-5 paragraphs in length, written in clear, correct academic style and thoroughly documented with links to sources and citations.
• Two minor posts (worth up to 2 points each) responding thoughtfully and informatively to another class member's post; also written in academic style.

  All posts MUST be correctly organized in a single weekly thread to receive credit for that week. If a thread for the new week does not yet exist, you must create one and put your major post in it.

  To ensure that you receive proper credit for your work, you should also maintain a list of links to your posts on your personal course web page. We will discuss how to do this in class.

This assignment is intended to pursue several goals: 1) to work on writing skills without too many longer assignments; 2) to practice the new technology of online discussions in a literate and civil fashion; 3) to encourage reading and discussion of course materials. In this light, forum posts should be well-written, polite and thoughtful. Humor and banter are welcome, but be careful to keep the Reviews and Replies Forum focused on class topics. Students must decide how to administer this forum and how to meet the weekly quota of messages.

Review Papers: Two five- to eight-page solo-written papers are required. Due dates are September 28 and October 24. Each paper will be followed one week later by a peer review of two other students' papers. The instructor will soon provide a list of suggested readings for review, but students may propose others. The reviews should reflect the student's role in the class project to some extent.

Class Project: The class project has three major goals:

1. Class Polity: students must discuss, constitute, organize and execute a political organization or government that encompasses rules and procedures for collaborative work, peer review and online etiquette. The Class Polity forum is the central space for this activity. The Zope server on the instructor's personal machine and an Active Server Pages site on the Political Science Department server may provide opportunities for additional inventiveness. The polity's constitution should be thoroughly documented and presented to the public as part of the project; the instructor's minimal initial proposal is posted here.
2. Public Research Site: The class will design and assemble a web site (actually a collection of sites) presenting our findings on the topics selected by the Class Polity. The Class Polity will be responsible for assigning roles in the project development and for organizing the project into a useful format. Each of three research groups will produce at least one written report of 10-20 pages. On request, the instructor will provide technical and logistical support, advice, and occasional writings.
3. Student Resumes: The class project, both as a polity and a public site, offers an opportunity for students to display their skills to prospective employers. Every item on every page of the site should properly credited, and
   

Some possible topic areas for the class project; the final topics should be more specific:

• Voting Online: How would online voting change American politics? If we embrace online voting, should we vote for the same things we do now, or more? What decision rules should we use? If Americans could vote directly on more national issues, would their political efficacy increase or decrease? Would they be more or less satisfied with government?
• Democracy-in-a-Box: What does political science suggest are the requirements for a complete democratic government or organization to be run in cyberspace? What "constitutional" functions would it have to perform? What hardware and software arrangements would be necessary, and how dependent would the success this "product" necessarily be on the characteristics of the people using it? This topic would be relatively heavy on technical research, and could take the form of a "request for proposal" to Internet technology organizations for providing the product.
• The Future of Geography and Politics: This project would evaluate the importance (or lack thereof) of town, county, state, and even national territorial boundaries in the technological future. How does CMC (computer-mediated communication) change the role of place. Is social capital a necessarily physical phenomenon, or can it exist in "pure cyberspace"?
• A Media of One: How much does Internet publishing empower the individual? Does CMC really flatten distinctions between "elites" and "masses", or does it just create new elites with new and frightening powers? What is the future of individual civil liberties and political participation in such a world?

Expected Class Workload
Here is an idea of how you can manage this workload for a typical day:

• Come to class: 70 minutes, including travel time
• Read Slashdot.org and research project work on or off-line: 60 minutes maximum
• Print, if necessary, then read assigned texts for the next class period: 120 minutes maximum
• Read forums, then post a message or two on the online forum : 50 minutes maximum.

This adds up to 300 minutes or five hours three times a week, maximum, including class time, for a maximum of fifteen hours weekly; typical requirements should be much closer to ten hours, leaving time for recreation and/or employment even with a full course load. Falling behind will obviously begin to hurt in a hurry, however. If you find that you regularly need more time to fulfill the course requirements, please talk with the instructor immediately.

Writing Focus
This class will focus on writing well; while your grades will not depend heavily on your initial writing ability, you must demonstrate effort and improvement in response to critique as the course proceeds. The instructor will provide detailed editorial comments on each paper. Grammatical errors, stylistic problems and logical faults addressed in these comments should not recur if you want to receive a good grade for the course. You are encouraged to take advantage of the services the campus Writing Studio offers. It is best to schedule an appointment early in the writing process. To do so, use the on-line appointment calendar.

Dean's Excuses
Official excuses can be obtained from the dean's office of your school. They are available only for missed written assignments and examinations, and only due to illness, representing the university (e.g. athletic competition), or for a death in the family. A list of deans is available at http://www.provost.duke.edu under the "Deans and Directors" link; for most, your dean is in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Psychological Services
If at any time you feel your state of mind is interfering with your class performance, please speak with the instructor. If you would prefer to speak with someone else, contact Duke Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 660-1000 or in 214 Page (next to the Duke Chapel).

Disabilities
Students with disabilities that may require extended exam times or other accommodations should contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at (919) 684-5917 or e-mail director Emma Swain at eswain@duke.edu. The instructor cannot alter the course requirements for any disability without certification from this office.