Undergraduate Program in Public Policy
Course Descriptions
Core Courses
Hard Choices in Public Policy
SOCS 1910 (SOCS 1950 honors) / 4 credits / Fall Quarter
Instructor: Gov. Richard D. Lamm
"Hard Choices in Public Policy" is the introductory course to the Undergraduate
Program in Public Policy. It provides an opportunity to develop a more complete
knowledge of America's most intriguing policy dilemmas, including education, crime,
welfare, health care, and immigration. In addition, students are encouraged to
question what message is being delivered and by whom, what ideological viewpoint is
shaping the reporting, and whose power is being threatened--or enhanced.
Students taking "Hard Choices" can earn Social Sciences Foundational Credit
or credit toward a minor or major in public policy.
Power and Policy: The History of 20th Century American Public Policy
PPOL 3125 / 5 credits / Winter Quarter
Instructor: Richard A. Caldwell, M.A., J.D.
This course focuses on the historical development of U.S. 20th Century policy
trends and emphasizes (1) the creation of the regulatory state, beginning in
the late 1890s and accelerating through the Progressive Era; (2) the Great Depression,
the New Deal and the rise of the entitlement culture; (3) WWII, the rise of the
military-industrial state and the suburbanization of the 1950s; (4) the Civil Rights
Revolution, the New Frontier and Great Society of Kennedy and Johnson--together with
the value changes of the 1960s; (5) the Reagan Era and the conservative challenge to
big government; and (6) the policy dichotomies and uncertainties of today.
Sophomore standing or higher.
The Supreme Court and Public Policy
PPOL 2802 / 5 credits / Winter Quarter
Instructor: Richard A. Caldwell, M.A., J.D.
"The Supreme Court and Public Policy" is not an introductory course, but rather an
opportunity for motivated pre-professional students to see how law and the policy
process actually function. Specifically, this course examines the policy-making role
of the Court in such areas as civil rights, economic policy, freedom of expression,
and criminal justice, while studying the overall power of the Court to determine social
policy. Sophomore standing or higher.
Analytical and Critical Skills
PPOL 3230 / 4 credits / Fall Quarter
This course provides students with the tools necessary to analyze competing points
of view using empirical techniques and statistical inference. Case studies are drawn
from the current legislative and regulatory environment and provide students with
opportunities to construct a course of action based on the use of logically consistent
arguments and on the persuasive use of empirical data. Students also learn the history
and development of the scientific method; how to distinguish between speculation, theory,
fact and opinion; how to identify the validity of data; how to identify the intentional
obfuscation of issues; and how to evaluate one's own prejudices and vulnerability to
argument. Sophomore standing or higher.
Federal Budgetary Policy
PPOL / 5 credits / Spring Quarter
Instructor: Richard A. Caldwell, M.A., J.D.
This course teaches the basics of government fiscal planning through a simulation of
the basic parameters of the federal budget. For the purposes of this class, "Republican"
and "Democratic" teams are designated. Each side deliberates throughout the course of
the quarter and presents a specific and detailed budget that essentially rewrites the
President's most recent budget message to Congress to achieve certain policy objectives.
Primary among these objectives is deficit reduction. Sophomore standing or higher.
Elective Courses
Secrets of Public Policy: Getting Results Inside the Beltway
This exciting and innovative course-which is new to the Public Policy curriculum-will
give students an insider's view of how power and influence really work within the American
legislative and executive context. Getting what a client needs from Washington is both
an art and a professional skill. Those who know how the game works-and who understand
what's at stake-can have fantastic and highly remunerative careers as representatives
of American industries and business associations. In this course, you will learn the
ins and outs of lobbying, government relations, corporate regulatory compliance, press
relations, issue strategization, and campaign management.
Policy Conflicts in Black and White
Instructor: Sen. Peter C. Groff
For the interested and involved student, this course will present an opportunity to
examine analytically many of the critical policy issues that still divide blacks and
whites in America. These issues will include: Why do blacks and whites differ so
dramatically in terms of their perceptions of government? Why do blacks and whites
see "history" so differently? What should be the future of affirmative action? Is
continued African American progress contingent upon "redemptive liberalism" and on
interventions from the larger society? What is the responsibility of African Americans
for their own progress? How is "responsibility" defined in the white community and in
the black community? Can whites give up the idea of a "paternalistic supremacy?" Is
America destined to be a more integrated society, or a more racially divided society?
Is white racism always a "problem?" Since the Brown decision, has public policy been
a success or a failure? How should we evaluate the evolution of public policy since
the mid-1960's? Why is an open dialogue on race so painful and so difficult? Why does
such a dialogue degenerate into "politically correct" platitudes?
Evolution of African American Public Policy
Instructor: Sen. Peter C. Groff
This course will present a unique historical view of American public policy. The
course will: (1) explore the impact of African Americans on American public policy;
(2) demonstrate the importance of African American historical events on American
policy; and (3) explain how African Americans have used often extraordinary
means--both political and moral--to shape American public policy.
Leo Block Forum: Immigration and the American Future
What are the implications of U.S. immigration policy? How do we evaluate the benefits
against the costs? How do we weigh and balance the historic reasons for immigration
with the new realities of an America that is no longer an empty continent? How do we
devise an immigration policy that is both compassionate and realistic? Does America
need a "Demographic Policy"?
Medical Policy and the American Health Care System
Medical Policy is a course designed to create understanding of the medical, legal,
ethical, and public policy issues at each stage of the life cycle. The costs of the
health care delivery system are outstripping our ability to pay, yet the demand for
new medical technologies continues unabated. Questions must be answered about these
costs and demands. In many ways, the health care delivery system presents some of
our most vexing public policy dilemmas. Among the issues to be examined are: (1) the
"costs" and "benefits" of new medical technology; (2) legal, medical, and policy-related
definitions of life and death; (3) the future of the doctor-patient relationship; (4)
areas of contention between the legal and medical professions; (5) fetal and child
abuse as both medical and legal problems; (6) access to health care and rationing;
(7) national health insurance; and (8) President Bush's health policy initiatives.
This course has proven especially useful to premedical students and to students
interested in human services. Case study and Socratic dialogue.
The Public Policy of Public Finance & Money
Instructor: Richard A. Caldwell, M.A., J.D.
"In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible
from one class of citizens to give to the other," said French philosopher Voltaire.
This course, which is strongly recommended for all Public Policy majors and other
students of government and public policy, is about money--the fuel that powers American
society. The course will help students to develop a sophisticated understanding of
the American financial system, while coming to terms with the relationship between
money, markets, and government. Students will learn key concepts in public finance,
along with the operation of financial instruments like stocks, bonds, commodities
and derivatives. Students who take this course will understand monetary and fiscal
policy, taxation, exchange rates, and the vital role of credit. A central premise of
this course is that public policy is not just about "ideas"--it also concerns the
hard realities of that most alluring of interactions and motivations, monetary exchange.
The Public Policy of Wealth and Regulation: Government vs. The Market in the 21st Century
This course will focus on perhaps the most critical question in contemporary public
policy: What should be the relationship between government and the market? Among
the many issues to be explored in depth will be: To what degree is current American
prosperity a product of wise fiscal and monetary policies? Is government's huge size
(federal, state, and local government consumes more than one-third of our gross
domestic product) justified by results? Can, or should, the size and impact of
government ever be reduced? Is government now "too big to fail"? Has our economic
boom occurred because of--or in spite of--government? Should the fundamental purpose
of public policy be to assist in the creation of new wealth--or should it focus on
correcting anomalies in the market (through antitrust action, for example) and on the
redistribution of resources, based on claims of "disparity" and "inequality"? Is
regulation a help, or a hindrance, in the creation of new wealth?
The Wealth of Cities
This special course is designed for the student who wishes to understand the topic of
urban public policy in depth and to comprehend the reasons behind the current economic
revival of cities. Written-off for "dead' just a few years ago, our great cities, such
as New York, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco are undergoing a transformation. Why is
this happening and what can be done to sustain the momentum? What is the ultimate function
of the city? How is the city--and the centralized economies of scale that it represents--being
challenged by the decentralizing forces of technology and suburbanization? Are cities really
the center of the economy, or will they exist in the future primarily as centers of gentrified
living and entertainment?
Biomedical Ethics and Health Policy
This course will look at some of the new areas that are emerging in the field of
Biomedical Ethics. We will look particularly at the conflict between existing Biomedical
Ethics and the allocation of resources by health plans and state governments. Third party
payers, public and private, are increasing their review of doctors' decisions to include
not only medical wisdom, but fiscal wisdom as well. We will examine whether it is necessary
to redraw the map of medical ethics.
The Public Policy of Law and Order
This course will be focused on the revolution currently under way in law enforcement
and criminal justice, which is based on the "broken windows" theory of criminologist
James Q. Wilson. In direct contrast to "environmental" and "sociological" theories of
law enforcement, the new thinking in policing emphasizes enforcing the law. Special
emphasis will be placed on the successes recorded by the New York City Police Department
and the implementation of computerized statistical methodology. Who has priority--society
or the criminal? Can police be deployed to protect the community, while observing the
constitution? Should the juvenile code be revised or repealed? What should be done with
recidivists? Why are prisons a good investment? Is the first duty of government the
maintenance of law and order?
