This research seminar is designed to introduce students to empirical research on the
U.S. Presidency. This is a seminar course; hence class participation is expected.
Students should read all assigned material before class and be prepared to discuss
the readings in detail. This course assumes a basic familiarity with American
government and the Presidency. Students without this background should consider
reading a good overview text such as Pika and Maltese’s The Politics of the
Presidency.  Throughout the course, we will pay attention to current political and
scholarly controversies (as well as some “classics”) in terms of identifying
important research questions as well as examining and improving upon existing
research designs.  By the end of the course, you should have a better understanding
of the nature of presidential research, even though it would be impossible to cover
all facets of executive politics in a single graduate seminar.

Researching the Presidency
Presidency as an Institution
Presidential Approval
Presidential Rhetoric and Agenda-Setting
The President and Congress
The Presidency and the Judiciary
Presidential Management of the Bureaucracy
The President as Commander-in-Chief
Presidential Appointments and Party Leadership
Presidents and the Media
Evaluating Presidents and the Presidency

All academic work must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of Honesty."  
Students are responsible for informing themselves about these standards before 
performing academic work.  The penalties for academic dishonesty are severe and 
ignorance is not an acceptable defense.  Also note that the course syllabus is a 
general plan for the course and that deviations announced to the class by the 
instructor may be necessary.  (www.uga.edu/ovpi/academic_honesty/academic_honesty.htm)