37 classes matched your search criteria.

Spring 2025  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (56932)

Instructor(s)
No instructor assigned
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Enrollment Status:
Open (0 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Politics is how we make collective decisions about matters of shared consequence. This course examines politics and introduces students to key concepts and skills needed for effective political analysis. The central themes of the course focus on power; institutions and organizations; discourse; and citizenship.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/56932/1253

Spring 2025  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (56958)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025
Tue 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Enrollment Status:
Open (0 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Politics is how we make collective decisions about matters of shared consequence. This course examines politics and introduces students to key concepts and skills needed for effective political analysis. The central themes of the course focus on power; institutions and organizations; discourse; and citizenship.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/56958/1253

Fall 2024  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (23053)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2024 - 12/11/2024
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Enrollment Status:
Open (0 of 50 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Politics is how we make collective decisions about matters of shared consequence. This course examines politics and introduces students to key concepts and skills needed for effective political analysis. The central themes of the course focus on power; institutions and organizations; discourse; and citizenship.
Class Notes:
MPA students are encouraged to register, but will need instructor permission (a permission number).
Class Description:
America has witnessed five significant surges of protests, organizing, and political upheaval over the past fifteen years: The Tea Party (started in 2010), Occupy Wall Street (occurred in September 2011), grassroots resistance following President Trump's election in 2016, and the demonstrations sparked by George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Each promised deep, enduring political change -- but what normative and legal impacts did they produce?

Sophisticated agents of change appreciate that there are "varieties of politics," which offer discrete and interconnected avenues. Elections, legislation, and administrative and legal accountability - along with protests and community organizing - are used by political activists and policy entrepreneurs to produce or thwart change. Each modality of politics is distinctive, varying in terms of the types of actors involved; the resources that are required; the scope of political debate; the visibility of the policy design; and their potential consequences. If political change is the objective, which variety of politics is most feasible and potentially impactful?

Time is a critical - often overlooked - dimension in politics. President Barack Obama's health reform and the conservative movement's attack on estate taxes not only produced change at one point in time but also influenced subsequent politics by generating new public expectations, interest groups, and government agencies committed to ongoing implementation. Politically astute reformers design progressive and conservative policies to secure change in the first instance and then to influence politics downstream.

Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with permission of the instructor.
Learning Objectives:
The learning objectives are to develop the skills to assess the political feasibility of proposed policy changes and to identify the tools of politics that create opportunities and mitigate vulnerabilities.
Students will learn:
- Models of change from direct citizen mobilization to elections and the legislative, executive, and judicial institutional arenas
- Political time in which policies produce altered downstream politics
- Challenges to democracy in the form of markets, erosion of democratic rules and norms, and the unexpected complexity of transparency
- The forms and challenges of political accountability
Grading:
Four five-page political feasibility papers and Final Examination
Exam Format:
Short answer and one essay drawn from questions distributed in class
Class Format:
Large and small group discussions, lectures, guests from national and state policy debates and politics
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/23053/1249
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
6 April 2023

Spring 2024  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (57223)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/16/2024 - 04/29/2024
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
Enrollment Status:
Closed (32 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Politics is how we make collective decisions about matters of shared consequence. This course examines politics and introduces students to key concepts and skills needed for effective political analysis. The central themes of the course focus on power; institutions and organizations; discourse; and citizenship.
Class Notes:
If the class is full, students should add themselves to the system's waitlist. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2024
Class Description:
Our challenge in this course is to get serious about questioning and sharpening the political perspectives we bring to bear on our work. All too often, our beliefs about politics are based on little more than civics-book platitudes, cynical clichés, and the commonsense views that prevail in our particular social circle. The purpose of this course is to unsettle such beliefs and invite students to think more critically and systematically about how to approach the political dimensions of their work. If you expect most of your future work to be technical - and therefore, "not political" - I'm especially hopeful that you will find opportunities in this course to question that assumption, as well as the politics that underlie it.
Learning Objectives:
This semester, we will work to develop a variety of political perspectives on public policy and public affairs. Toward these ends, we will organize our work around four concepts that guide any well-specified understanding of politics: power, institutions and organizations, discourse, and citizenship. We will ask how these elements of politics may be understood, how they operate in practice, why they matter, how they limit and enable political action, and how they can be engaged and navigated effectively.
Grading:
20% Class participation
80% Major Writing Assignments
- Power (20%)
- Institutions (20%)
- Political Discourse (20%)
- Democratic Citizenship (20%)
Your grade will depend, first and foremost, on the ways you engage, explain, critique, and apply ideas from our readings and class discussions.
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/57223/1243
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 February 2017

Fall 2023  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (23313)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/05/2023 - 12/13/2023
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 135
Enrollment Status:
Open (25 of 50 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Politics is how we make collective decisions about matters of shared consequence. This course examines politics and introduces students to key concepts and skills needed for effective political analysis. The central themes of the course focus on power; institutions and organizations; discourse; and citizenship.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ljacobs+PA5012+Fall2023
Class Description:
America has witnessed five significant surges of protests, organizing, and political upheaval over the past fifteen years: The Tea Party (started in 2010), Occupy Wall Street (occurred in September 2011), grassroots resistance following President Trump's election in 2016, and the demonstrations sparked by George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Each promised deep, enduring political change -- but what normative and legal impacts did they produce?

Sophisticated agents of change appreciate that there are "varieties of politics," which offer discrete and interconnected avenues. Elections, legislation, and administrative and legal accountability - along with protests and community organizing - are used by political activists and policy entrepreneurs to produce or thwart change. Each modality of politics is distinctive, varying in terms of the types of actors involved; the resources that are required; the scope of political debate; the visibility of the policy design; and their potential consequences. If political change is the objective, which variety of politics is most feasible and potentially impactful?

Time is a critical - often overlooked - dimension in politics. President Barack Obama's health reform and the conservative movement's attack on estate taxes not only produced change at one point in time but also influenced subsequent politics by generating new public expectations, interest groups, and government agencies committed to ongoing implementation. Politically astute reformers design progressive and conservative policies to secure change in the first instance and then to influence politics downstream.

Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with permission of the instructor.
Learning Objectives:
The learning objectives are to develop the skills to assess the political feasibility of proposed policy changes and to identify the tools of politics that create opportunities and mitigate vulnerabilities.
Students will learn:
- Models of change from direct citizen mobilization to elections and the legislative, executive, and judicial institutional arenas
- Political time in which policies produce altered downstream politics
- Challenges to democracy in the form of markets, erosion of democratic rules and norms, and the unexpected complexity of transparency
- The forms and challenges of political accountability
Grading:
Four five-page political feasibility papers and Final Examination
Exam Format:
Short answer and one essay drawn from questions distributed in class
Class Format:
Large and small group discussions, lectures, guests from national and state policy debates and politics
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/23313/1239
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
6 April 2023

Spring 2023  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (57600)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/17/2023 - 05/01/2023
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
Enrollment Status:
Closed (31 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Politics is how we make collective decisions about matters of shared consequence. This course examines politics and introduces students to key concepts and skills needed for effective political analysis. The central themes of the course focus on power; institutions and organizations; discourse; and citizenship.
Class Notes:
If the class is full, students should add themselves to the system's waitlist or register for 5012-2. Contact Stacey Grimes at grime004@umn.edu if questions. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2023
Class Description:
Our challenge in this course is to get serious about questioning and sharpening the political perspectives we bring to bear on our work. All too often, our beliefs about politics are based on little more than civics-book platitudes, cynical clichés, and the commonsense views that prevail in our particular social circle. The purpose of this course is to unsettle such beliefs and invite students to think more critically and systematically about how to approach the political dimensions of their work. If you expect most of your future work to be technical - and therefore, "not political" - I'm especially hopeful that you will find opportunities in this course to question that assumption, as well as the politics that underlie it.
Learning Objectives:
This semester, we will work to develop a variety of political perspectives on public policy and public affairs. Toward these ends, we will organize our work around four concepts that guide any well-specified understanding of politics: power, institutions and organizations, discourse, and citizenship. We will ask how these elements of politics may be understood, how they operate in practice, why they matter, how they limit and enable political action, and how they can be engaged and navigated effectively.
Grading:
20% Class participation
80% Major Writing Assignments
- Power (20%)
- Institutions (20%)
- Political Discourse (20%)
- Democratic Citizenship (20%)
Your grade will depend, first and foremost, on the ways you engage, explain, critique, and apply ideas from our readings and class discussions.
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/57600/1233
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 February 2017

Spring 2023  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (65654)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/17/2023 - 05/01/2023
Tue, Thu 08:15AM - 09:30AM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Enrollment Status:
Open (24 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Politics is how we make collective decisions about matters of shared consequence. This course examines politics and introduces students to key concepts and skills needed for effective political analysis. The central themes of the course focus on power; institutions and organizations; discourse; and citizenship.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?heima019+PA5012+Spring2023
Class Description:
This course aims to highlight the politics behind policy. In other words, it aims to examine the way in which actors and institutions have come together to develop, promote, and make decisions that impact a collective group of people. This semester we'll examine the ways in which politics happen - how small groups come together to fight injustice, how large corporations impede the passage of laws and policies, how political institutions and values limit the possibilities for change - both within and outside the United States. In other words, this course will take a global approach to the study of politics and public policy.


This course is designed so that you, future policy practitioner, can best understand the political mechanisms and institutions that promote and impede policy change. To do so, we'll organize this course around four main areas: power, institutions, discourse, and citizenship. We'll examine how these different aspects of politics operate, and importantly, how they impact political action across contexts--both within and outside the United States. The focus on the differences across contexts will help illuminate the challenges and opportunities for political change across a number of different policy areas.

Learning Objectives:
By focusing on global political phenomena, utilizing social science theories and methodology, and examining varied global perspectives on politics, this course aims to: 1) Increase your understanding of the different ways in which power is manifested, exerted, controlled, and manipulated in the establishment of public policy. B) Strengthen your knowledge of the ways in which both formal and informal institutions shape, limit, encourage, and prevent public policy, as well as how citizens and political actors utilize political institutions within authoritarian and democratic contexts to advance public policy goals. C) Develop knowledge regarding how discourse shapes and is shaped by public policy, how actors and institutions limit and promote discourse, and effective strategies for changing and promoting public discourse. D) Wrestle with the issue of citizenship in both democratic and authoritarian nations, and how citizenship is manifested, expressed, challenged, and limited in these contexts.

I also expect that by taking this course you will gain or improve upon certain skills, such as: A) Critically reading and understanding advanced academic texts, such as journal articles and books. B) Academic research, such as identifying sources, developing an argument, coherently supporting said argument with secondary sources, etc. C). Argumentation and persuasion, particularly with regard to a specific public policy outcome. D) Visual communication techniques, particularly in the presentation of academic work.

Grading:
You will complete a policy portfolio project on a topic of your choice. This portfolio asks you to describe the areas of power, institutions, and discourse as they apply to a topic of your choice, and your plan to change/transform these areas to achieve your desired public policy outcome. The portfolio is worth 85% of your final grade and consists of three writing assignments (each worth 20%) and a final presentation (25%).

The final aspect you will be graded on is leading class discussion and overall participation (worth 15%).
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65654/1233
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
13 January 2023

Fall 2022  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (23765)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/06/2022 - 12/14/2022
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 150
Enrollment Status:
Open (52 of 70 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Politics is how we make collective decisions about matters of shared consequence. This course examines politics and introduces students to key concepts and skills needed for effective political analysis. The central themes of the course focus on power; institutions and organizations; discourse; and citizenship.
Class Notes:
If you need a permission number, email Stacey Grimes at grime004@umn.edu. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ljacobs+PA5012+Fall2022
Class Description:
America has witnessed four massive surges of protests and political organizing over the past decade: The Tea Party (started in 2010), Occupy Wall Street (occurred in September 2011), grassroots resistance following President Trump's election in 2016, and the ongoing demonstrations sparked by George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Each promised deep, enduring political change -- but what normative and legal impacts did they produce?

Sophisticated agents of change appreciate that there are "varieties of politics," which offer discrete and interconnected avenues. Elections, legislation, and administrative and legal accountability - along with protests and community organizing - are used by political activists and policy entrepreneurs to produce or thwart change. Each modality of politics is distinctive, varying in terms of the types of actors involved; the resources that are required; the scope of political debate; the visibility of the policy design; and their potential consequences. If political change is the objective, which variety of politics is most feasible and potentially impactful?

Time is a critical - often overlooked - dimension in politics. President Barack Obama's health reform and the conservative movement's attack on estate taxes not only produced change at one point in time but also influenced subsequent politics by generating new public expectations, interest groups, and government agencies committed to ongoing implementation. Politically astute reformers design progressive and conservative policies to secure change in the first instance and then to influence politics downstream.

Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with permission of the instructor.
Grading:
Paper, Two Group Projects, Final Examination, and 5 short discussion reports.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/23765/1229
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
25 August 2020

Spring 2022  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (58983)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/18/2022 - 05/02/2022
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Enrollment Status:
Open (29 of 31 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
If the class is full; MPP/MS-STEP students should add themselves to the system's waitlist. Other students should contact Stacey Grimes at grime004@umn.edu to be placed on a manual waitlist. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2022
Class Description:
Our challenge in this course is to get serious about questioning and sharpening the political perspectives we bring to bear on our work. All too often, our beliefs about politics are based on little more than civics-book platitudes, cynical clichés, and the commonsense views that prevail in our particular social circle. The purpose of this course is to unsettle such beliefs and invite students to think more critically and systematically about how to approach the political dimensions of their work. If you expect most of your future work to be technical - and therefore, "not political" - I'm especially hopeful that you will find opportunities in this course to question that assumption, as well as the politics that underlie it.
Learning Objectives:
This semester, we will work to develop a variety of political perspectives on public policy and public affairs. Toward these ends, we will organize our work around four concepts that guide any well-specified understanding of politics: power, institutions and organizations, discourse, and citizenship. We will ask how these elements of politics may be understood, how they operate in practice, why they matter, how they limit and enable political action, and how they can be engaged and navigated effectively.
Grading:
20% Class participation
80% Major Writing Assignments
- Power (20%)
- Institutions (20%)
- Political Discourse (20%)
- Democratic Citizenship (20%)
Your grade will depend, first and foremost, on the ways you engage, explain, critique, and apply ideas from our readings and class discussions.
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/58983/1223
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 February 2017

Fall 2021  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (25791)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Partially Online
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
Major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/07/2021 - 12/15/2021
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 150
 
09/07/2021 - 12/15/2021
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
UMN ONLINE-HYB
Enrollment Status:
Open (51 of 70 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
PA 5012 will be delivered REMOTELY. It will meet synchronously online at the scheduled time. Students may use Blegen 150 to participate in this REMOTE class. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ljacobs+PA5012+Fall2021
Class Description:
America has witnessed four massive surges of protests and political organizing over the past decade: The Tea Party (started in 2010), Occupy Wall Street (occurred in September 2011), grassroots resistance following President Trump's election in 2016, and the ongoing demonstrations sparked by George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Each promised deep, enduring political change -- but what normative and legal impacts did they produce?

Sophisticated agents of change appreciate that there are "varieties of politics," which offer discrete and interconnected avenues. Elections, legislation, and administrative and legal accountability - along with protests and community organizing - are used by political activists and policy entrepreneurs to produce or thwart change. Each modality of politics is distinctive, varying in terms of the types of actors involved; the resources that are required; the scope of political debate; the visibility of the policy design; and their potential consequences. If political change is the objective, which variety of politics is most feasible and potentially impactful?

Time is a critical - often overlooked - dimension in politics. President Barack Obama's health reform and the conservative movement's attack on estate taxes not only produced change at one point in time but also influenced subsequent politics by generating new public expectations, interest groups, and government agencies committed to ongoing implementation. Politically astute reformers design progressive and conservative policies to secure change in the first instance and then to influence politics downstream.

Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with permission of the instructor.
Grading:
Paper, Two Group Projects, Final Examination, and 5 short discussion reports.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/25791/1219
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
25 August 2020

Spring 2021  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (54171)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
PA: major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy or PA PhD or Human Rights major or Development Practice major
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Open (39 of 40 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
Class will be offered REMOTELY. Class will meet synchronously-online during Spring 2021 during the scheduled time. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2021
Class Description:
Our challenge in this course is to get serious about questioning and sharpening the political perspectives we bring to bear on our work. All too often, our beliefs about politics are based on little more than civics-book platitudes, cynical clichés, and the commonsense views that prevail in our particular social circle. The purpose of this course is to unsettle such beliefs and invite students to think more critically and systematically about how to approach the political dimensions of their work. If you expect most of your future work to be technical - and therefore, "not political" - I'm especially hopeful that you will find opportunities in this course to question that assumption, as well as the politics that underlie it.
Learning Objectives:
This semester, we will work to develop a variety of political perspectives on public policy and public affairs. Toward these ends, we will organize our work around four concepts that guide any well-specified understanding of politics: power, institutions and organizations, discourse, and citizenship. We will ask how these elements of politics may be understood, how they operate in practice, why they matter, how they limit and enable political action, and how they can be engaged and navigated effectively.
Grading:
20% Class participation
80% Major Writing Assignments
- Power (20%)
- Institutions (20%)
- Political Discourse (20%)
- Democratic Citizenship (20%)
Your grade will depend, first and foremost, on the ways you engage, explain, critique, and apply ideas from our readings and class discussions.
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/54171/1213
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 February 2017

Fall 2020  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (20662)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Enrollment Requirements:
PA: major or minor in Public Policy or Science/Technology/Environmental Policy or PA PhD or Human Rights major or Development Practice major
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2020 - 12/16/2020
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Open (27 of 55 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
Remote delivery. Class will meet synchronously online on Tuesday/Thursday, 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ljacobs+PA5012+Fall2020
Class Description:
America has witnessed four massive surges of protests and political organizing over the past decade: The Tea Party (started in 2010), Occupy Wall Street (occurred in September 2011), grassroots resistance following President Trump's election in 2016, and the ongoing demonstrations sparked by George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Each promised deep, enduring political change -- but what normative and legal impacts did they produce?

Sophisticated agents of change appreciate that there are "varieties of politics," which offer discrete and interconnected avenues. Elections, legislation, and administrative and legal accountability - along with protests and community organizing - are used by political activists and policy entrepreneurs to produce or thwart change. Each modality of politics is distinctive, varying in terms of the types of actors involved; the resources that are required; the scope of political debate; the visibility of the policy design; and their potential consequences. If political change is the objective, which variety of politics is most feasible and potentially impactful?

Time is a critical - often overlooked - dimension in politics. President Barack Obama's health reform and the conservative movement's attack on estate taxes not only produced change at one point in time but also influenced subsequent politics by generating new public expectations, interest groups, and government agencies committed to ongoing implementation. Politically astute reformers design progressive and conservative policies to secure change in the first instance and then to influence politics downstream.

Who Should Take This Class?:
Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with permission of the instructor.
Grading:
Paper, Two Group Projects, Final Examination, and 5 short discussion reports.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/20662/1209
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
25 August 2020

Spring 2020  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (57598)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2020 - 05/04/2020
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 184
Enrollment Status:
Closed (30 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2020
Class Description:
Our challenge in this course is to get serious about questioning and sharpening the political perspectives we bring to bear on our work. All too often, our beliefs about politics are based on little more than civics-book platitudes, cynical clichés, and the commonsense views that prevail in our particular social circle. The purpose of this course is to unsettle such beliefs and invite students to think more critically and systematically about how to approach the political dimensions of their work. If you expect most of your future work to be technical - and therefore, "not political" - I'm especially hopeful that you will find opportunities in this course to question that assumption, as well as the politics that underlie it.
Learning Objectives:
This semester, we will work to develop a variety of political perspectives on public policy and public affairs. Toward these ends, we will organize our work around four concepts that guide any well-specified understanding of politics: power, institutions and organizations, discourse, and citizenship. We will ask how these elements of politics may be understood, how they operate in practice, why they matter, how they limit and enable political action, and how they can be engaged and navigated effectively.
Grading:
20% Class participation
80% Major Writing Assignments
- Power (20%)
- Institutions (20%)
- Political Discourse (20%)
- Democratic Citizenship (20%)
Your grade will depend, first and foremost, on the ways you engage, explain, critique, and apply ideas from our readings and class discussions.
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/57598/1203
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 February 2017

Spring 2020  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (57583)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2020 - 05/04/2020
Tue 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 415
Enrollment Status:
Open (17 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?hend0402+PA5012+Spring2020
Class Description:


About the course:


Politics is messy, complex, unpredictable, and sometimes ugly. Yet, many of us want to work in environments that are heavily influenced by politics. So how do we make sense of the political world around us? How do we navigate it? How do we understand the behavior and choices of the political actors around us? How do we make our own choices - whether it's what issues to work on, what solutions to propose, whom to align ourselves with - that lead to desired outcomes?

To understand the politics of public affairs, it can be helpful to understand what motivates people who work in and around politics. Is it party, ideology, public opinion, the laws or the Constitution, personality, or a combination of these factors? During the semester, we will examine these, and other, factors and discuss to what extent they help us understand real-world policy issues and outcomes.


About the instructor:


Henriët grew up in the Netherlands and moved to the United States in 2003 for her graduate studies in political science at the University of Minnesota. She currently works as a research and management consultant within Minnesota state government. Prior to that, Henriët worked for the Minnesota House of Representatives as a non-partisan analyst in the Fiscal Analysis Department. She also held positions as an assistant professor at St. Olaf College (MN) and Susquehanna University (PA), where she taught courses on American politics, campaigns and elections, public opinion, and research methods.

Grading:
The course grade will be based on class participation (10%), three short writing assignments (25% each), and a group presentation (15%).
Class Format:
Discussion and lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/57583/1203
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/hend0402_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
7 November 2018

Fall 2019  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (23925)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2019 - 12/11/2019
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 20
Enrollment Status:
Open (25 of 29 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?mtcurtin+PA5012+Fall2019
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/23925/1199

Fall 2019  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (32999)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2019 - 12/11/2019
Mon 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Enrollment Status:
Open (33 of 35 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?hend0402+PA5012+Fall2019
Class Description:


About the course:


Politics is messy, complex, unpredictable, and sometimes ugly. Yet, many of us want to work in environments that are heavily influenced by politics. So how do we make sense of the political world around us? How do we navigate it? How do we understand the behavior and choices of the political actors around us? How do we make our own choices - whether it's what issues to work on, what solutions to propose, whom to align ourselves with - that lead to desired outcomes?

To understand the politics of public affairs, it can be helpful to understand what motivates people who work in and around politics. Is it party, ideology, public opinion, the laws or the Constitution, personality, or a combination of these factors? During the semester, we will examine these, and other, factors and discuss to what extent they help us understand real-world policy issues and outcomes.


About the instructor:


Henriët grew up in the Netherlands and moved to the United States in 2003 for her graduate studies in political science at the University of Minnesota. She currently works as a research and management consultant within Minnesota state government. Prior to that, Henriët worked for the Minnesota House of Representatives as a non-partisan analyst in the Fiscal Analysis Department. She also held positions as an assistant professor at St. Olaf College (MN) and Susquehanna University (PA), where she taught courses on American politics, campaigns and elections, public opinion, and research methods.

Grading:
The course grade will be based on class participation (10%), three short writing assignments (25% each), and a group presentation (15%).
Class Format:
Discussion and lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/32999/1199
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/hend0402_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
7 November 2018

Spring 2019  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (64877)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2019 - 05/06/2019
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 435
Enrollment Status:
Closed (34 of 32 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2019
Class Description:
Our challenge in this course is to get serious about questioning and sharpening the political perspectives we bring to bear on our work. All too often, our beliefs about politics are based on little more than civics-book platitudes, cynical clichés, and the commonsense views that prevail in our particular social circle. The purpose of this course is to unsettle such beliefs and invite students to think more critically and systematically about how to approach the political dimensions of their work. If you expect most of your future work to be technical - and therefore, "not political" - I'm especially hopeful that you will find opportunities in this course to question that assumption, as well as the politics that underlie it.
Learning Objectives:
This semester, we will work to develop a variety of political perspectives on public policy and public affairs. Toward these ends, we will organize our work around four concepts that guide any well-specified understanding of politics: power, institutions and organizations, discourse, and citizenship. We will ask how these elements of politics may be understood, how they operate in practice, why they matter, how they limit and enable political action, and how they can be engaged and navigated effectively.
Grading:
20% Class participation
80% Major Writing Assignments
- Power (20%)
- Institutions (20%)
- Political Discourse (20%)
- Democratic Citizenship (20%)
Your grade will depend, first and foremost, on the ways you engage, explain, critique, and apply ideas from our readings and class discussions.
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/64877/1193
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 February 2017

Spring 2019  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (58255)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2019 - 05/06/2019
Tue 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Carlson School of Management L-126
Enrollment Status:
Closed (30 of 30 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?hend0402+PA5012+Spring2019
Class Description:


About the course:


Politics is messy, complex, unpredictable, and sometimes ugly. Yet, many of us want to work in environments that are heavily influenced by politics. So how do we make sense of the political world around us? How do we navigate it? How do we understand the behavior and choices of the political actors around us? How do we make our own choices - whether it's what issues to work on, what solutions to propose, whom to align ourselves with - that lead to desired outcomes?

To understand the politics of public affairs, it can be helpful to understand what motivates people who work in and around politics. Is it party, ideology, public opinion, the laws or the Constitution, personality, or a combination of these factors? During the semester, we will examine these, and other, factors and discuss to what extent they help us understand real-world policy issues and outcomes.


About the instructor:


Henriët grew up in the Netherlands and moved to the United States in 2003 for her graduate studies in political science at the University of Minnesota. She currently works as a research and management consultant within Minnesota state government. Prior to that, Henriët worked for the Minnesota House of Representatives as a non-partisan analyst in the Fiscal Analysis Department. She also held positions as an assistant professor at St. Olaf College (MN) and Susquehanna University (PA), where she taught courses on American politics, campaigns and elections, public opinion, and research methods.

Grading:
The course grade will be based on class participation (10%), three short writing assignments (25% each), and a group presentation (15%).
Class Format:
Discussion and lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/58255/1193
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/hend0402_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
7 November 2018

Fall 2018  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (24304)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Meets With:
PA 4997 Section 001
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/04/2018 - 12/12/2018
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 150
Enrollment Status:
Open (56 of 69 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
If you do not meet the Enrollment Requirements, please contact Lea Chittenden to be put on the waiting list (chit0018@umn.edu). http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ljacobs+PA5012+Fall2018
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/24304/1189
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
27 April 2017

Spring 2018  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (54957)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/16/2018 - 05/04/2018
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Carlson School of Management L-126
Enrollment Status:
Open (26 of 40 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?hend0402+PA5012+Spring2018
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/54957/1183
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/hend0402_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)

Fall 2017  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (21239)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Meets With:
PA 4997 Section 001
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/05/2017 - 12/13/2017
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hanson Hall 1-103
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
If you do not meet the Enrollment Requirements, please contact Lea Chittenden for a permission number (chit0018@umn.edu). http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ljacobs+PA5012+Fall2017
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/21239/1179
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
27 April 2017

Spring 2017  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (55293)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/17/2017 - 05/05/2017
Mon, Wed 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Carlson School of Management L-126
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2017
Class Description:
Our challenge in this course is to get serious about questioning and sharpening the political perspectives we bring to bear on our work. All too often, our beliefs about politics are based on little more than civics-book platitudes, cynical clichés, and the commonsense views that prevail in our particular social circle. The purpose of this course is to unsettle such beliefs and invite students to think more critically and systematically about how to approach the political dimensions of their work. If you expect most of your future work to be technical - and therefore, "not political" - I'm especially hopeful that you will find opportunities in this course to question that assumption, as well as the politics that underlie it.
Learning Objectives:
This semester, we will work to develop a variety of political perspectives on public policy and public affairs. Toward these ends, we will organize our work around four concepts that guide any well-specified understanding of politics: power, institutions and organizations, discourse, and citizenship. We will ask how these elements of politics may be understood, how they operate in practice, why they matter, how they limit and enable political action, and how they can be engaged and navigated effectively.
Grading:
20% Class participation
80% Major Writing Assignments
- Power (20%)
- Institutions (20%)
- Political Discourse (20%)
- Democratic Citizenship (20%)
Your grade will depend, first and foremost, on the ways you engage, explain, critique, and apply ideas from our readings and class discussions.
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/55293/1173
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 February 2017

Spring 2017  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (69383)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/17/2017 - 05/05/2017
Mon, Wed 08:15AM - 09:30AM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2017
Class Description:
Our challenge in this course is to get serious about questioning and sharpening the political perspectives we bring to bear on our work. All too often, our beliefs about politics are based on little more than civics-book platitudes, cynical clichés, and the commonsense views that prevail in our particular social circle. The purpose of this course is to unsettle such beliefs and invite students to think more critically and systematically about how to approach the political dimensions of their work. If you expect most of your future work to be technical - and therefore, "not political" - I'm especially hopeful that you will find opportunities in this course to question that assumption, as well as the politics that underlie it.
Learning Objectives:
This semester, we will work to develop a variety of political perspectives on public policy and public affairs. Toward these ends, we will organize our work around four concepts that guide any well-specified understanding of politics: power, institutions and organizations, discourse, and citizenship. We will ask how these elements of politics may be understood, how they operate in practice, why they matter, how they limit and enable political action, and how they can be engaged and navigated effectively.
Grading:
20% Class participation
80% Major Writing Assignments
- Power (20%)
- Institutions (20%)
- Political Discourse (20%)
- Democratic Citizenship (20%)
Your grade will depend, first and foremost, on the ways you engage, explain, critique, and apply ideas from our readings and class discussions.
Class Format:
Discussion and Lecture
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/69383/1173
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 February 2017

Fall 2016  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (21413)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Meets With:
PA 4490 Section 001
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/06/2016 - 12/14/2016
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hanson Hall 1-111
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role and behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
PA 5012 will also be offered in Sp17. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ljacobs+PA5012+Fall2016
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/21413/1169
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)

Spring 2016  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (47283)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/19/2016 - 04/17/2016
Tue, Thu 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 415
 
04/18/2016 - 04/23/2016
Tue, Thu 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 135
 
04/24/2016 - 05/06/2016
Tue, Thu 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 415
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections. prereq: Major or minor in public policy or [sci, tech, and environ policy] or public affairs PhD or instr consent
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jbsoss+PA5012+Spring2016
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/47283/1163
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
17 November 2015

Fall 2015  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (20603)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Meets With:
PA 4490 Section 001
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/08/2015 - 12/16/2015
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hanson Hall 1-103
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections. prereq: Major or minor in public policy or [sci, tech, and environ policy] or public affairs PhD or instr consent
Class Notes:
PA 5012 will be offered in Sp16. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ljacobs+PA5012+Fall2015
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/20603/1159
Syllabus:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)

Spring 2015  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (47114)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/20/2015 - 05/08/2015
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 415
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections. prereq: Major or minor in public policy or [sci, tech, and environ policy] or public affairs PhD or instr consent
Class Description:
The critical issues addressed in public policymaking involve political and moral choices, along with analytic and administrative aspects. What is desirable from the perspective of policy analysis and policy expertise is not always what is legislatively feasible in the face of established institutions and multiple and competing interests and values. The Politics of Public Affairs a course in which these choices?and the core values of public service and good governance informing them?are confronted directly. The purpose of this course is to illuminate the obstacles and opportunities that shape the development of public policy in the United States. Our attention to the values and choices central in policymaking will proceed in three stages. The initial weeks comprise an overview of public policy in the contemporary U.S. The second segment takes up the making of public policy, addressing how complex systems of governance actually function. Along the way we'll trace some of the principal tensions in democratic public policymaking. The third segment addresses policy-making themes and processes in terms of several specific policy areas.
Grading:
20% Midterm Exam
20% Final Exam
45% Reports/Papers
15% Class Participation
Class Format:
60% Lecture
10% Film/Video
30% Discussion
Workload:
25 Pages Writing Per Term
2 Exam(s)
2 Paper(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/47114/1153
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 April 2014

Fall 2014  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (21767)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Meets With:
PA 4490 Section 001
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/02/2014 - 12/10/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 415
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
A section of PA 5012 will be offered in Sp15.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/21767/1149
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_PA5012_Fall2020.pdf (Fall 2020)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2018.docx (Fall 2018)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/ljacobs_monda006_PA5012_Fall2015.pdf (Fall 2015)

Fall 2014  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (25963)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/02/2014 - 12/10/2014
Tue, Thu 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 415
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions, citizens, social movements, interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
A section of PA 5012 will be offered in Sp15.
Class Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/25963/1149
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 January 2014

Spring 2014  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (51841)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2014 - 05/09/2014
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Description:
The critical issues addressed in public policymaking involve political and moral choices, along with analytic and administrative aspects. What is desirable from the perspective of policy analysis and policy expertise is not always what is legislatively feasible in the face of established institutions and multiple and competing interests and values. The Politics of Public Affairs a course in which these choices?and the core values of public service and good governance informing them?are confronted directly. The purpose of this course is to illuminate the obstacles and opportunities that shape the development of public policy in the United States. Our attention to the values and choices central in policymaking will proceed in three stages. The initial weeks comprise an overview of public policy in the contemporary U.S. The second segment takes up the making of public policy, addressing how complex systems of governance actually function. Along the way we'll trace some of the principal tensions in democratic public policymaking. The third segment addresses policy-making themes and processes in terms of several specific policy areas.
Grading:
20% Midterm Exam
20% Final Exam
45% Reports/Papers
15% Class Participation
Class Format:
60% Lecture
10% Film/Video
30% Discussion
Workload:
25 Pages Writing Per Term
2 Exam(s)
2 Paper(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/51841/1143
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 April 2014

Spring 2014  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (56426)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2014 - 05/09/2014
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/56426/1143
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
21 January 2014

Fall 2013  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (28120)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2013 - 12/11/2013
Thu 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 15
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Description:
Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/28120/1139

Fall 2013  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (34160)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2013 - 12/11/2013
Tue, Thu 02:30PM - 03:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/34160/1139
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
11 December 2013

Spring 2013  |  PA 5012 Section 001: The Politics of Public Affairs (46840)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2013 - 05/10/2013
Wed 06:00PM - 08:45PM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 425
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Description:
This class will explore how political processes, institutions, and actors shape public policy in the United States. Over the course of the semester, we will consider how political institutions impact policymaking across multiple venues, how formal and informal political actors influence policy development, the emergence of issues on the political agenda, and the use of policy analysis in the policymaking process. We will explore how policies, once enacted, perpetuate or redefine relationships between groups in society and between citizens and government. The goal of the class is to highlight how features of the political system shape policy creation, implementation, and evolution, and to provide opportunities for students to engage with and learn to navigate the political dimensions of policy.
Grading:
70% Reports/Papers
10% In-class Presentations
20% Class Participation
Class Format:
40% Lecture
40% Discussion
10% Small Group Activities
10% Student Presentations
Workload:
4 Paper(s)
1 Presentation(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/46840/1133
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
22 April 2013

Spring 2013  |  PA 5012 Section 002: The Politics of Public Affairs (51624)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2013 - 05/10/2013
Tue 08:15AM - 09:30AM
UMTC, West Bank
Carlson School of Management 2-233
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
This class will be offered in a partially-online format. It will meet once per week on Tuesdays and also online.
Class Description:
What is desirable from the perspective of policy analysis and policy expertise is not always what is legislatively feasible in the face of established institutions and multiple and competing interests and values. Although the impetus for pursuing apolitical approaches to making public policy is understandable, it often rests on decision-making models that circumvent or diminish democratic processes and side step critical issues related to political power. The purpose of this course is to illuminate the obstacles and opportunities that shape the development of public policy in the United States.
Grading:
30% Reports/Papers
13% Quizzes
15% Written Homework
12% Attendance
10% In-class Presentations
20% Class Participation Other Grading Information: Quizzes consist of one question asked at the beginning of class about the week's readings.
Exam Format:
No exam.
Class Format:
20% Discussion
10% Small Group Activities
20% Student Presentations
50% Web Based
Workload:
100 Pages Reading Per Week
5 Pages Writing Per Term
1 Paper(s)
1 Presentation(s)
3 Special Project(s)
Other Workload: The online component of the course includes viewing a lecture and other videos as well as participating in discussion forums (regarding reactions to the readings and related articles).
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/51624/1133
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
22 April 2013

Spring 2013  |  PA 5012 Section 003: The Politics of Public Affairs (46839)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2013 - 05/10/2013
Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Hubert H Humphrey Center 25
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/46839/1133
Past Syllabi:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2019.pdf (Spring 2019)
http://classinfo.umn.edu/syllabi/jbsoss_PA5012_Spring2016.doc (Spring 2016)
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
22 April 2013

Spring 2013  |  PA 5012 Section 004: The Politics of Public Affairs (59492)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/22/2013 - 05/10/2013
Tue 09:45AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Carlson School of Management 2-233
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Stages of policy making from agenda setting to implementation. Role/behavior of political institutions (courts, legislatures, executives, bureaucracies) and citizens, social movements, and interest groups. Concepts of political philosophy. Theories of the state. Team taught, interdisciplinary course. Small discussion sections.
Class Notes:
This class will be offered in a partially-online format. It will meet once per week on Tuesdays and also online.
Class Description:
What is desirable from the perspective of policy analysis and policy expertise is not always what is legislatively feasible in the face of established institutions and multiple and competing interests and values. Although the impetus for pursuing apolitical approaches to making public policy is understandable, it often rests on decision-making models that circumvent or diminish democratic processes and side step critical issues related to political power. The purpose of this course is to illuminate the obstacles and opportunities that shape the development of public policy in the United States.
Grading:
30% Reports/Papers
13% Quizzes
15% Written Homework
12% Attendance
10% In-class Presentations
20% Class Participation Other Grading Information: Quizzes consist of one question asked at the beginning of class about the week's readings.
Exam Format:
No exam.
Class Format:
20% Discussion
10% Small Group Activities
20% Student Presentations
50% Web Based
Workload:
100 Pages Reading Per Week
5 Pages Writing Per Term
1 Paper(s)
1 Presentation(s)
3 Special Project(s)
Other Workload: The online component of the course includes viewing a lecture and other videos as well as participating in discussion forums (regarding reactions to the readings and related articles).
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/59492/1133
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
22 April 2013

ClassInfo Links - Public Affairs Classes

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