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GVB 290: American Public Policy

9/6, 9/11, 9/18, 9/25, 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, 11/27, 12/4, 12/11

 

Sept 6 

Sept 11

Introduction

 

 

 What do we owe each other?

Objective: Develop a defensible position on the role of government.

Lester F. Ward, "Plutocracy or Paternalism" in The Annals of America, vol. 12 (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1968), 29-32. Excerpts, originally published in Forum (November 1895).
William Graham Sumner, "What Social Classes Do Not Owe Each Other" in Annals 10: 594-601. Excerpts from What Social Classes Owe to Each Other (New York: 1883).

Short paper due.

 

Sept 18

Sept 25
History of American Public Policy

Objective: Understand the changing roles of government over American history.

 Problems of Policymaking

Objective: Understand the problems of policy analysis.

Lindblom and Woodhouse, 1-32.

Short paper due.

 

Oct 2             Exam 1

Oct 9
Policy Institutions

Objective: Understand the roles of elections, elected officials, bureaucrats, and interest groups in policy-making.

Lindblom and Woodhouse, 33-88.
Additional reading TBA.
 Democracy versus the Market

Objective: Develop a defensible position on the relative merits of markets and governments.

Lindblom and Woodhouse, 89-124.
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, "Democracy and Capitalism" in Stella Z. Theodoulou and Matthew A. Cahn, eds., Public Policy: The Essential Readings (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995), 368-372. Chapter 1 of Democracy and Capitalism (New York: Basic Books, 1986).
Milton Friedman, "Capitalism and Freedom" in Theodoulou and Cahn, eds., Public Policy 372-376. Excerpt from Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982).

Short paper due.

 

Oct 16

Oct 23
Experts versus the Public

Objective: Develop a defensible position on the relative merits of experts and the public as decision makers.

Lindblom and Woodhouse, 125-150.
John Dewey, "The Public and Its Problems," in Philip Green, ed., Democracy (Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1994), 120-125. Excerpts from The Public and Its Problems (Denver: Alan Swallow, n. d.).
Walter Lippmann, The Phantom Public (New York: Harcourt, Brace, [c1925]), 63-74, 143-151.

Short paper due.

 Monetary Policy

Objective: Understand the role of the Federal Reserve in economic policy-making.

TBA

 

Oct 30          Exam 2

Nov 6

Policy Debates Begin

Objective: Present a compelling argument about a public policy.

Selections from Issues for Debate in American Public Policy TBA

 

Policy Debates Continue

Objective: Present a compelling argument about a public policy.

Selections from Issues for Debate in American Public Policy TBA

 

Nov 13

Nov 20

Policy Debates Continue

Objective: Present a compelling argument about a public policy.

Selections from Issues for Debate in American Public Policy TBA

Policy Debates Continue

Objective: Present a compelling argument about a public policy.

Selections from Issues for Debate in American Public Policy TBA

 

Nov 27

Dec 4

Policy Debates Continue

Objective: Present a compelling argument about a public policy.

Selections from Issues for Debate in American Public Policy TBA

Policy Debates Continue

Objective: Present a compelling argument about a public policy.

Selections from Issues for Debate in American Public Policy TBA

 

Dec 11

  

Policy Debates Continue

Objective: Present a compelling argument about a public policy.

Selections from Issues for Debate in American Public Policy TBA