Adam R Brown

Thanks to Boyd for sending me this link. You can watch the entire movie here:

Mr Smith Goes to Washington 

If there's a problem with your assignment, let me know. Remember that asst 3 (district profile) is due tomorrow afternoon.

After each lecture, I will post my slides online. You can find a "lecture slides" link near the top of the right-hand sidebar.

Because half the class could not attend today, I am also making my lecture notes available for download. I don't typically do that. You'll find them with the lecture slides. As you read the notes, you'll see that there are a few comments to myself in there, but for the most part the notes should be intelligible.

If you couldn't attend today, I strongly suggest downloading the lecture notes and reading them carefully as soon as you can. They deal with material that is central to this course. If you read these notes after reading Mayhew and Fenno, you'll have a very clear idea of some critical course concepts. If you have any questions about today's material, visit with me.

See you Friday!

Just a reminder: Non-interns need to attend today (Monday). No class on Wednesday. Everybody attends Friday, including interns.

Remember that the first meeting of PlSc 315 will be on Monday (except the interns). Please review the syllabus and work on reading the Fenno/Mayhew books.

Our second block Congress class begins a week from Friday (on Feb 26th), at least according to the official BYU schedule.

We will not meet on Feb 26th, but we WILL meet the following Monday, March 1st (unless you're currently an intern in my 399r class). That's a change as of today.

If you haven't already, please read through the syllabus. We will have an unusual meeting schedule for the first two weeks that you need to be aware of.

Please purchase the Mayhew and Fenno books and start reading them. You need to finish both books by March 10th. That's only three weeks from today, so don't delay.

Our exams and term papers will require a thorough familiarity with these two books. If you have any questions or confusion about them, please visit me and chat. If you look in the syllabus under Feb 26th, you'll see some suggestions as to what to look for in these books.

See you all soon!

I just checked the roster. Roughly 2/3 of those enrolled in our second-block Congress class (PlSc 315) are currently interns in the Utah legislature. Because the legislative internship lasts until March 11th (two weeks after second block starts), this class will be a little funny. Most (but not all) of our meetings prior to March 11th will be canceled. In lieu of those lectures, you will do a couple things on your own prior to March 11th (read two books, watch two good movies).

The PlSc 315 syllabus is now available on the course website. (No, I do not use Blackboard.) If you're reading this announcement by email and not on the PlSc 315 website, look for a link to the website at the beginning of this email. After you've found the PlSc 315 website, you'll see a link to the syllabus off to the right.

Even though the course won't start for a while, take a look at the syllabus. And some time in the next 2 months, pick up copies of the Fenno and Mayhew books and read them. I'll try to remember to send out a reminder sometime in February.

In the meantime, please stop by, call, or email if you have any questions.

Congratulations; you have successfully located the course website. You're off to a good start this semester! I will periodically post announcements to this site. The most recent announcement will always appear at the top.

Take note of the resources available to the right.