5. Introduction to Public Policy
08W, 09W: 10
This course is designed as the gateway offering for students beginning to
pursue a minor in public policy through the Rockefeller Center. The term will
be divided into four main components: The Nature of Public Policy, Making
Public Policy, The Policy Players, and The Policy Game. In the concluding
section of the course, we will pursue specific policy domains—environmental
policy, education policy, health care policy, welfare policy, immigration
policy, and defense policy.
Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Shaiko.
40. Economics of Public Policymaking
08X, 09X: 2A
The course will use the basic tools of economics to analyze the most
significant current public policy issues in the United States. Given the time
constraints of the course, we will focus on the issues that are likely to be
highlighted in the 2008 presidential election. The goal is to understand both
the substance and politics of each issue. We will examine the effects of recent
policy changes and analyze the likely effects of prospective reforms,
particularly those that are likely to be embraced during the presidential
campaign. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Wheelan.
41. Writing and Speaking Public Policy
Not offered in 2007-08; may be offered in 2008-09
This course is designed for students who want to improve their writing
skills to effect real change. Students will read and write in various areas of
public policy, develop arguments, editorials, position papers, briefing memos,
as well as op ed pieces and “letters to the editor” to be submitted to the
local newspapers. Students will strengthen their understanding and practice of
argument, critique testimony, and develop and present their own oral testimony
to the class. Prerequisite: Public Policy 5. Crumbine.
42. Ethics and Public Policy (Identical to Government 60.01)
07F: 10
This course examines the nature and validity of arguments about vexing moral
issues in public policy, focusing on different frameworks for thinking about
justice and the ends of politics. Students will address the following
questions, among others: Are policies that permit torture justifiable under any
circumstances? Should economic distribution be patterned for the sake of social
justice? Should people be permitted to move freely between countries? Is
abortion wrong in theory or in practice? Prerequisite: Public Policy 5. Dist:
TMV; WCult: W. Swaine.
44. Broadcast/Electronic Journalism and Public Policy (Identical to Film
Studies 46) (Pending faculty approval)
07F: 3A
This course surveys the history of electronic journalism in the United
States, focusing on development of and changes to its fundamental relation to
the public sphere. It reviews practices of media policy and agenda-setting
within changing media ecologies. Delivering a historical and contextual
understanding of media, it concentrates on specific events affecting the impact
of the media on citizenry. Students will collaborate on projects and write
analytical papers. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Williams.
45. Introduction to Public Policy Research (formerly Public Policy 90)
07F, 08F: 10A
This course focuses on strategies for, and actual practice of, conducting
research relevant to public policy discussions. Students will learn: about
policy issues, their drivers, and finding solutions; about the Legislative
Process; and how to work collaboratively. Though open to all students
satisfying the prerequisite, this course is designed to be a core element of
the Public Policy Minor and will also serve as a training ground for
prospective applicants wishing to serve in the Rockefeller Public Policy
Research Shop during the winter and spring terms.
Prerequisite: A course employing mathematical reasoning or statistical
methods (e.g. Economics 10 or Government 10). Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Shaiko.
48. Policy Analysis and Local Governance
08W: 10A
Over 85,000 governments in the United States exist at the local level,
including counties, school districts, planning boards, city and town
governments. This course will explore the policy issues that are of primary
concern to citizens at the grassroots level in the United States—education,
public safety, land use, property taxation, the environment, recreation,
utility regulation, privatization, and more. We will examine the tools of
policy analysis, formulation, and implementation at the local level.
Prerequisite: Public Policy 5. Dist: SOC; WCult W. Burns.
81.1 American Foreign Policy Toward Asia (Identical to Government
85.05)
Not offered in 2007-08; may be offered in 2008-09
Dist: SOC or INT. Kang.
81.2 Lawyers and Public Policy (Identical to Government 81.04)
08W, 09W: 10A
Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Bohmer.
81.3 Urban Politics and Public Policymaking (Pending faculty approval)
08S: 2A
This course examines how and why cities attempt to address the problems that
face them. It investigates who makes public policy in cities and why. The
course then considers how and why these actors make policy. The final part of
this class analyzes the effects of these policies. The class focuses upon urban
education, housing, public safety, economic development, and other policy areas
of significance to urban governments, with focused attention on post-Katrina
New Orleans. Dist: SOC: WCult: W. Burns.
81.5 Poverty, the New Economy, and Employment Policy (Identical to
Sociology 39)
08W, 09W: 2A
The most obvious solution to the problem of poverty is to give someone a
job. More than four decades of employment programs have shown, however, that
this is not as easy as it sounds. Recent changes in the economy (downsizing,
globalization, technological change) make this situation even more challenging.
This course examines the past and future of employment policies as poverty
alleviation strategies. It brings together theories of poverty and employment,
an analysis of current trends in the economy, and an overview of past and
current employment programs. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Hollister.
81.7 Secrecy and Lying in Politics, Law and Society (Identical to
Anthropology 16)
08X: 10A
Dist: SOC. Eickelman.
81.8 Public Education Policy
Not offered in 2007-08; may be offered in 2008-09
This course seeks to introduce students to the practices and principles that
guide local communities. It will challenge existing strategies and develop a
fuller understanding of how differences in local decisions influence policy
options. The seminar will explore the role of citizen activism in
decision-making. It will examine state and federal roles in educational policy
and familiarize students with key policy options at the local levels. Dist:
SOC; WCult: W. Binswanger.
81.9 Politics and Markets (Identical to Government 83.02)
08W: 3A
Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Fowler.
82.1 The Policy of Crime and Punishment
Not offered in 2007-08; may be offered in 2008-09
This course will examine the criminal justice and punishment theory from
philosophical, legal, and criminological perspectives. The following questions,
among many others, will be addressed: What is the moral basis for taking the
liberty or life of another human? What theoretical and practical implications
exist in a real world adjudication system that makes some mistakes, and, in
particular, where innocent people are convicted and punished? How should
sentencing authority be divided between legislators and judges? Dist: SOC;
WCult: W. Crocker.
82.2 Economic Statecraft in International Relations (Identical to
Government 85.06)
Not offered in 2007-08; may be offered in 2008-09
Dist: SOC or INT. Mastanduno.
82.3 Rationality vs. Social Values: Bureaucratic and Organizational
Behavior (Identical to Government 81.15; formerly Public Policy 17)
Not offered in 2007-08; may be offered in 2008-09
Dist: SOC. Kasfir.
82.4 Organizations and Public Policy (Identical to Sociology 39.1)
Not offered in 2007-08; may be offered in 2008-09
Although many view the relationship between organizations and public policy
as fairly static, it is dynamic and complex. Organizations may take an active
role in forming public policy and in shaping the definition of compliance to
public policy. By focusing on topics ranging from anti-trust regulation, civil
rights employment legislation, incorporation laws, and more, emphasis is placed
on understanding the joint influence of organizations and governmental
authorities on the public policy process. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Wooten.
83.2 Economics, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy (Identical to Government
85.14)
07F: 2A
Dist: SOC; WCult: W. S. Brooks.
84.2 Health Policy Reform
08W: 2A
Students will analyze current American health-policy reform proposals,
judging their substance and devising variations and replacements. The histories
of modern issues will be reviewed and a health-policy problem list created, its
entries distributed for analysis to individual students. Projects will proceed
in parallel, with lessons learned shared at each meeting, while readings and
discussions will explicate factors shaping policy and constraining innovation.
A closing exercise will assess student proposals for complementarity and
reconcilability. Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Sprinkle.
84.4 Science and Technology Policy
08S, 09S: 10A
The course will provide an analysis of science and technology policy in the
United States. Institutionalized in what are known as “R&D budgets,”
science and technology policies have become means of confronting the
fundamental challenges to our quality of life (e.g., security, environment,
health). Federal agencies are entrusted with translating scientific research
into policy solutions that benefit society. This course examines that process
of translation—the interplay of interests through the apparatus of government
to produce “public policy.” Dist: SOC; WCult: W. O’Neal.
91. Independent Study in Public Policy
All terms: Arrange
This course offers an opportunity for a student enrolled in the Public
Policy Minor to do advanced, independent work under the direction of a faculty
member in the area of public policy. The topic under study may relate to prior
coursework in the Public Policy Minor, an off-campus internship, or a
co-curricular activity sponsored by the Rockefeller Center. All students
enrolled in Public Policy 91 in a given term should expect to meet regularly
together for classroom instruction and discussion with Rockefeller Center
faculty and staff. To enroll, a student must prepare a brief proposal that
describes the topic to be studied, its relationship to the student’s prior
public policy courses or activities, and the student’s goals for undertaking
the research. Prerequisites: Public Policy 5 and the Research Methods course
prerequisite to the Public Policy Minor.
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