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Syllabus: August 31, 2005

U25 3382: Urban Politics and AdministrationUniversity College

Department of Political Science

Washington University in Saint Louis

Fall Semester 2005

Instructor:Joseph G. Frank (email: jgfrank@wustl.edu)

Office Hours: Immediately before or after class, but by appointment only.During the day, you might find me in SSCF (the computer lab in 100 level of Eliot Hall).

Course Information:

Location: (North) Ridgley 107Time/Day: Thursdays, 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Course Description:Among the motivating questions for this seminar are: What makes cities “tick”? How do

different racial and ethnic groups cooperate or conflict to produce public policy? What

role does personality play? Why do cities grow, and why do they decline? What impactsdo state and national policy decisions have on cities? And, how does geography matter

for urban growth? Through readings, guest speakers, lectures and independent research,

students will gain insight into urban problems and opportunities.

Required Readings:The following books are required.

o  Dennis R. Judd and Todd Swanstrom. City Politics: The Political Economy of 

Urban America (5th Edition, 2005) <Primary Course Text>

o  William Julius Wilson. When Work Disappears: the World of the New Urban

Poor . New York: Vintage Books, 1996. <Only needed for 2-3 weeks>

Also recommended, but copies of relevant selections will be provided:

o  Dennis R. Judd and Paul Kantor. American Urban Politics: The Reader (4th

Edition, 2005) <Supplemental Reader, used frequently but not every week>

Both Judd books are pricey (even in paperback!), but they are the latest editions so they

reflect a number of changes in the urban political environment in the past decade. I willprovide copies or web links to additional readings. I suggest reading a daily newspaper at

least twice a week, looking for issues related to cities and local governments.

Grading:20% Participation/Attendance

20% Brief Report on a Current Events Topic (3-5 pp.) due Sept. 22nd

! 20% In-Class Presentation (on either a current events topic or final research paper topic)

40% Final Research Paper (10-12 pp.) due Dec. 19th 

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Timeline: (subject to change) 

 Early Urban Political Development 

Sept. 1: Introduction to urban politics, syllabus, goals of the course, expectations, etc.

Sept. 8: The origins and development of cities. Reading: Ch. 1 and 2 in Judd/Swanstrom;

intro essay and Peterson (pp. 1-26) in Judd/Kantor.

Sept. 15: Political machines and reforms. Reading: Ch. 3 and 4 in Judd/Swanstrom;Riordon and Hays (pp. 82-86; and 106-126) in Judd/Kantor.

Cities and National Politics in the 20th

Century

Sept. 22: The New Deal coalition. Reading: Ch. 5 Judd/Swanstrom.

Current events report due. 

Sept. 29: Suburbanization, urban renewal, and the Great Society. Reading: Ch. 6 and 7 inJudd/Swanstrom; Fogelson and Sugrue (pp. 127-164) in Judd/Kantor.

Oct. 6: “Spatial mismatch” Part I. Reading: W.J.Wilson (Part I); John F. Kain Quarterly

 Journal of Economics 82 pp 175-197. (Available via http://www.jstor.org/)

Oct. 13: “Spatial mismatch” Part II.. Reading: W.J. Wilson (Part II).

Urban political institutions

Oct. 20: Mayors and city councils. Reading: Ch. 13 Judd/Swanstrom and excerpts from

 American Pharaoh (I’ll provide copies).

Oct. 27: Urban fiscal matters and bureaucracy. Reading: Ch. 9 and 12, Judd/Swanstrom.

Nov. 3: Metropolitan governance part I. Reading: Ch. 8 and 10 Judd/Swanstrom.

Nov. 10: Metropolitan governance part II. Reading: Ch. 11 and 14 Judd/Swanstrom.

Nov. 17: Public education in cities. Reading: excerpts from Henig/Rich Mayors in the

 Middle (2003) and Portz, Stein, Jones City Schools and City Politics (1999).

 International context – immigration, globalization, etc.

Dec. 1: Cities in the era of globalization. Reading: Ch. 15 Judd/Swanstrom; Mollenkopf 

and Rogers (pp. 187-215) in Judd/Kantor.

Dec. 8: Comparative urban politics. Reading: Sellers “Re-placing the Nation…” (2005)

and Ducci (2000) from http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/ACF1D1.pdf.

Dec. 15: Last class. Student presentations (about 20-25 min. each). No final exam.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 4:30 PM: FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE! (In my

mailbox – graduate students A-H – in Political Science Dept Office – Eliot 219)