SYLLABUS

PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION OF COURSE

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts in local government and urban/metropolitan administration and policy. The history of the city and county administration in the U.S., power relations in urban areas, and the legal/structural bases of urban administration and policy will be discussed in the class. The social and historical context of the Atlanta metropolitan area will be the specific focus of the discussions.

TEXTBOOKS AND READING MATERIALS

Required Texts

Ross, B. H., & Levine, M. A. (1996).
Urban Politics: Power In Metropolitan America (5th ed.).
Itasca, Illinois: F. E. Peacock Publishers.

Rutheiser, Charles (1996).
Imagineering Atlanta: The Politics Of Place In The City Of Dreams.
New York: Verso.

[Editor's Note: See also the following reviews for Rutheiser's book:
Review by Paul Tullis (Salon.com: 5 July 1996) at http://www.salon.com/sneaks/sneakpeeks960705.html
Review, "Atlanta on Their Minds," by Brad Wieners (San Francisco Bay Guardian: 27 March 1996) at http://www.sfbg.com/lit/reviews/atlanta.html]

Rusk, David (1999).
Inside Game Outside Game: Winning Strategies For Saving Urban America.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

[Editor's Note: See also the following review of Rusk's book:
Review, "Changing Rules of Regional Development?" by Roland V. Anglin (Shelterforce Online, National Housing Institute: January/February, 2000) at http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/books/109a.html]

Recommended Texts

Orfield, Myron (1997).
Metropolitics: A Regional Agenda For Community And Stability.
Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Pomeranz, G. M. (1996).
Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn: A Saga Of Race And Family.
New York: Penguin Books.

Stone, C. N. (1989).
Regime politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946-1988.
Lawrence, KS: The University Press of Kansas.

Wolfe, T. (1998).
A Man In Full.
New York: Bantam Books.

Reference Book and Information Sources

Hepburn, M. A. (1991).
Local Government In Georgia (2nd Ed.).
Athens, GA: Carl Vinston Institute of Government, the University of Georgia Press.

The Constitution of the State of Georgia
(Available at http://www.sos.state.ga.us)

The weekly "Horizon" supplements of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution
(Available at http://www.ajc.com)

ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION

Class Presentations and Chapter Reviews of the Ross & Levine Book
Each student will select a chapter of the Ross and Levine book and present it in the class. All students should read assigned chapters before coming to class. Student will also write reviews of the chapters they presented . In their chapter reviews, students should summarize the knowledge content of the chapters they have presented in the class and discuss the implications of the chapter content for the Atlanta metropolitan area. The instructor's evaluations of the papers will be based mainly on the accuracy of the knowledge content and coherence of presentation. The length of chapter reviews should not exceed 5 pages (double-spaced).

Class Discussions and Essays on the Rutheiser Book
The contents of the Rutheiser book will be discussed in the class. Students should read the assigned chapters (see the schedule below) before coming to class. Students should also write an essay on one or more issues discussed in the Rutheiser book (e.g., race relations, the power of the business class, the "imagineering" tradition, city boosterism, the Olympic Games of 1996, Atlanta as a "world-class city," suburbanization, etc.) and their relevancy and implications for today's and /or tomorrow's Atlanta. The length of the essays should not exceed 5 pages (double-spaced).

Class Presentations and Essays on the Rusk Book
The first and third parts of the Rusk book will be discussed in the class (see the schedule below). Students should read the assigned chapters before coming to class. Students will also make class presentations on the four metropolitan areas discussed in the second part of the book and the relevancy of the policies implemented in those areas for metro Atlanta. Students should conduct additional research for their presentations.

In their essays on the Rusk book, students should discuss the relevancy of

1. Rusk's solution strategies (regional land use planning, regional fair-share affordable housing, and regional revenue sharing) and/or
2. the policies implemented in the four metropolitan areas (Part II of the book) for the Atlanta metropolitan area.

1. the Constitution of the State of Georgia and
2. the legal and political developments in the last two years, particularly the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

Bonus Points
Students who choose to read Tom Wolfe's novel A Man in Full (1998) can get 10 bonus points (additional 10% of the total grade), to be included in the calculation of their final grades, if they answer the following questions satisfactorily:

1. Who is the "man in full"?  Why?
2. What is "the Atlanta way"?  Explain.

Writing Style
For all their papers, students should use either the Turabian style guidelines [Turabian, K. L. (1996). A Manual For Writers Of Term Papers, Theses, And Dissertations (6th ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press] or the American Psychological Association Style Guidelines [Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (4th ed.). (1994). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association].

To promote academic integrity among Kennesaw State University students and ensure that students understand the expectations of their professors, all faculty members shall integrate the following statement, under the heading "Academic Integrity ," into their class syllabus:

"Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an "informal" resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement."

SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

Introduction
August 22

Class presentations of Ross & Levine, chapters 1 & 2
August 29

Class presentations of Ross & Levine, chapters 3 & 4
September 5

Class presentations of Ross & Levine, chapters 5 & 6
September 12

Class presentations of Ross & Levine, chapters 7 & 8
September 19

Class presentations of Ross & Levine, chapters 9 & 10
September 26

Class presentations of Ross & Levine, chapters 11 & 12
October 3

Class presentations of Ross & Levine, chapters 13, 14, & 15
October 10

Class discussions of Rutheiser, Introduction & chapter 1
ROSS & LEVINE CHAPTER REVIEW IS DUE.
October 17

Class discussions of Rutheiser, chapters 2 & 3
October 24

Class discussions of Rutheiser, chapters 4 & 5
October 31

Class discussions of Rusk, chapters 1, 2, 3, & 4
RUTHEISER ESSAY IS DUE.
November 7

Class discussions of Rusk, chapters 5, 6, & 7
November 14

Class presentations of Rusk, chapters 8 & 9
November 21

Class presentations of Rusk, chapters 10, 11
November 28

Class discussions of Rusk, chapters 12, 13, & 14
December 5

RUSK ESSAY IS DUE.
December 12

(Bring, mail, e-mail, or fax your paper until 5:00 p.m. today.
If you want your graded paper returned to you, provide a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage.)