Woodrow Wilson wrote that Congress is “hard to see satisfactorily and appreciatively at a single view.” It is crowded, noisy, rule-bound, and full of competing ambitions. That complexity is exactly why Congress matters, and why it can be hard to understand.
In this course, we will make Congress easier to understand. We will break it down piece by piece and ask how lawmakers behave back home with constituents, inside the maze of Capitol Hill, and on the national stage. We will examine congressional rules, committees, parties, and incentives, not as abstractions but as forces that determine real outcomes: Why do some bills become law while others quietly die? Who really has power, when, and why?
By the end of the course, you should be able to read congressional news with a trained eye and understand what is going on beneath the headlines.
Classes
Class meetings combine lecture and discussion. Come prepared: you should complete each week’s readings before class, since discussion will assume familiarity with them. We will also regularly analyze breaking news from Congress, so you should follow at least one good daily news source such as Politico or Axios.
Blog
Our class blog is at http://gov101.blogspot.com. I will post videos, graphs, news stories, and supplemental material there throughout the semester. Some of this content will come up in class; the rest is there to deepen your understanding at your own pace.
You will receive an invitation to post on the blog (let me know if you don’t). I encourage you to use it to:
- Raise questions or comments about the readings before we discuss them in class;
- Extend or challenge points from class discussions;
- Share relevant news stories, data, or videos about Congress
Think of the blog as an extension of the classroom.
Grades
Your course grade will have these components:
- Two three-page papers: 15% each
- One five-page paper: 25%
- Simulation and write-up: 30%
- Participation (class and blog): 15%
The papers will develop your research, analytical, and writing skills. Writing quality matters. In grading and commenting, I will apply the principles of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. If you object, you should not take this course -- or any other course I teach.
In addition to the assigned readings, I may distribute short attachments or web links that address current events or supply background information. Your papers may draw on and analyze this material.
Participation includes both in-class and online engagement. I will call on students at random. Frequent absences or lack of preparation will affect your grade. The goal is not to catch you unprepared, but to help you develop the ability to think clearly and respond effectively under pressure—a skill that matters far beyond college.
- Check due dates for coursework. Do not plan on extensions.
- As a courtesy to your fellow students, please arrive on time, and refrain from eating in class.
- I strongly recommend that you take notes the old-fashioned way, by hand, on paper. Why? Research shows that it works better.
- Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are not victimless offenses because they hurt fellow students. Please study our Statement of Academic Integrity, which reads in part: "Each faculty member has the responsibility to report cases of academic dishonesty to the Academic Standards Committee."
- You may use AI to brainstorm, format graphs, and locate sources, but misrepresenting AI-generated content as your own original work constitutes plagiarism.
- This class welcomes viewpoint diversity. See: https://heterodoxacademy.org/library/advice-on-syllabus-language/
- Your experience in this class matters to me, and I have a particular interest in disability. If you have set up accommodations with Accessibility Services at CMC, please tell me about your approved accommodations so we can discuss your needs. You can start by forwarding your accommodation letter to me. If you have not yet set up accommodations but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability, please email Ari Martinez, Associate Director of Accessibility Services, at accessibilityservices@cmc.edu to ask questions and start the process. For general information and the Request for Accommodations form, go to the CMC Accessibility Services website.
- Roger H. Davidson, et al, Congress and Its Members, 20th ed. (Sage/CQ Press, 2026).
"[A]fter 11 years as a legislator, I have grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community — behavior that, too often, our political leaders exhibit themselves ... Additionally, recent incidents of political violence have made me reassess the frequent threats against me and my family. " -- Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME)
- Davidson, ch. 1-2
- Excerpts from Joanne B. Freeman (PO `84), The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018). ON CANVAS
How do congressional candidates emerge onto the scene? What accounts for the party balance in the House and Senate? How do incumbents hold their seats? How do members present themselves to colleagues, constituents, and the national public?
- Davidson, ch. 3, 4, 5.
- Davidson, ch. 6.
- John Boehner, On the House (New York: St. Martin's, 2021), excerpt. ON CANVAS
Who writes the bills, and how? What is the role of congressional committees?
- Davidson ch. 7-8.
How do members decide how to vote? What is the relative influence of leadership, constituency, and ideology? How the "outside game" of media politics complement the "inside game" of legislative maneuvering?
- Davidson, ch. 9, 13.
“`Bipartisan work is as basic as the American covenant, E pluribus unum, out of many, one,' Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said recently on NBC’s Meet the Press. In 2022, he ran a memorable campaign ad about his unlikely work with conservative Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on an interstate highway extension connecting military communities in their states. His tagline: `I’ll work with anyone if it means helping Georgia.'" -- Jill Lawrence
- Sarah A. Binder and Frances Lee, "Making Deals in Congress," in Nathan Persily, ed. Solutions to Political Polarization in America (Cambridge University Press; 2015), 240-261. ON CANVAS
- Russell Berman, "The Shadow Congress," The Atlantic, February 20, 2022.
- Davidson, ch. 10.
“It would appear that some nominees haven’t been vetted, and … somebody says, ‘Go with them anyways.'” -- Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA)
- Davidson, ch. 11
- Davidson, ch. 12
- Readings on congressional disciplinary action.
- Davidson, ch. 14.
- Readings on current domestic issues, TBA.
"Dear members of the Congress, representatives of both parties who also visited Kyiv, esteemed congressmen and senators from both parties who will visit Ukraine, I am sure, in the future; dear representatives of diaspora, present in this chamber, and spread across the country; dear journalists, it’s a great honor for me to be at the U.S. Congress and speak to you and all Americans." -- President Volodymyr Zelensky
Can Congress effectively check the executive branch in wartime? Do lawmakers have the expertise and information to make decisions about national and homeland security?
- Davidson, ch. 15
- Readings on current foreign policy issues, TBA.
How are the two Congresses faring in 2025?
- Davidson, ch. 16.
