GOVT 3071

Introduction to Public Policy

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

Public policy is shaped by many forces. This course will enhance your ability to understand those forces and the policies that they produce. It will provide you with tools for thinking about, assessing, and evaluating those policies. And it will introduce you to the substantive core of several major issues in America today. The course will have three segments. In the first, we will examine the relevant institutions, interests, and ideologies which operate in the policy arena and the debates about the impact of these forces which engage students of the policy process. In the second, we will consider two different lenses through which we might peer to evaluate policies. In the third, we will discuss the main lines of debate in contemporary American politics concerning four substantive issues: crime and punishment, education, the economy and foreign trade, and foreign policy. The course will meet four days a week for one hour. Based on assigned readings, the class sessions will mix lectures, discussions, group activities, and guest speakers.

When Offered Summer.

Distribution Category (SBA-AS)

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