ISSUES IN PERSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE NUMBER ONE
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- cours - matière potentielle : education
- cours - matière potentielle : marriage
- fiche de synthèse - matière potentielle : the energy situation
- expression écrite
- evidence that the high divorce rate among baby boomers
- bedrock institution for procreation
- physicist of 50 years
- liberating energy developments
- piece of evidence for the order
- median age
- night to night
- night after night
- night night
- universe
- oil
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GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY School of Public Policy DRAFT PUBP 700: Theory and Practice in Public Policy
Michael K. Fauntroy, Ph.D. Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. and by appointment
Office: Founders Hall 268Email: fauntroy@gmu.edu (preferred) Telephone: 703.993.4987
Course Description
This course introduces students to some of the theories of public policy, emphasizing both the historical and intellectual development of the discipline and the role that theory and ethics may be expected to play in public policy. We will do that in two ways. First, we explore several theories and assess their strengths, weaknesses and applicability to public policy. Second, you will be introduced to several perspectives on the practice of policy analysis and be given an opportunity to engage in an analytical policy project that allows you to practice working in a team. Strong ethical and international components are built into the course.
Course Objectives
The objective of this course is to help you become a sophisticated policy professional with an ability to operate effectively and ethically in a political environment. While many of the applications will be U.S.based, the theories apply more broadly to policymaking elsewhere. You will be presented with a variety of ways of looking at political phenomena, conceiving of relationships, and understanding outcomes. The course seeks to heighten your sensitivity to economic and political context and your appreciation of theoretical rigor, disinterested analysis, and empirical evidence for assertions.
You will hone your skills in recognizing values, seeing multiple sides of issues, casting alternative frames to problems, understanding underlying interests, identifying stakeholders, and devising strategies for action. Finally, the course aims to enhance your proficiency in identifying and using appropriate, authoritative source material and in writing and speaking articulately, succinctly, logically, and convincingly. Upon completion of this course, you should be well underway toward becoming a policy analyst and be well prepared for the remainder of the MPP program.
Substantively, the course is divided into five sections: 1. Performing Policy Analysis, 2. Making Policy: The Role of the Analyst, 3. Strategic Advocacy and Values in Policy Making, 4. Economic Thinking and the Role of the Market in Policy Making, 5. Executing a Policy Analysis. Upon completion of this course, you should be well underway toward becoming a policy analyst and amply prepared for the remainder of the MPP program.
Learning Outcomes
1. Knowledge and understanding of policy theory and the U.S. policy process. a. Acquire a basic knowledge of the origins of public policy b. Acquire a basic understanding of the policy formulation process c. Acquire a basic understanding of how complex social questions can be addressed in an analytical fashion
2. Develop research and writing skills a. Be able to conduct graduate level research b. Be able to write clearly and persuasively at the professional level
3. Develop professional and leadership skills a. Work together in small groups with shifting leadership responsibilities b. Develop and improve professional presentation skills
Specific Skills
You will be taught and will practice developing the following skills in this class:
1. How to write and present a professional policy analysis. a. How to apply basic policy tools to policy problems. b. How to use theory in practice. c. How to identify, analyze, and critique empirical and normative concepts. d. How to develop criteria against which to assess policy options. e. How to create a strategy to achieve adoption and implementation of a recommended course of action. f. How to work in a team effectively, to use the talents of all team members, and to generate maximum participation from each team member. g. How to speak before a group forcefully and convincingly.
2. How to find, assess and use sources appropriately and to greatest effect.
3. How to write brief, clear analyses, typical of much policy work, for an audience unfamiliar with details of the topic you are addressing.
4. How to apply ethical precepts to public policy and to your professional life. a. How to identify and avoid conflictsofinterest in your work. b. How to reduce unconscious bias in your analysis of policy problems.
5. How to be a trusted policy professional.
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Student Requirements and Assessment You will be asked to work individually and in teams in order to demonstrate your facility with the theories and their appropriate use, as well as to hone your research, public presentation and writing skills. Papers and examinations are treated as pedagogical exercises to augment your learning in the course. Grades will be apportioned in the following manner: CShort Analytical Paper: 25% CClass Participation and Quizzes: 25% CGroup Policy Analysis Project: 25% Note: The group policy analysis grade is divided into two parts, the written analysis and the group presentation. There is an individual and group grade for both parts, the combination of which constitutes the total grade for each student for the policy project. CComprehensive Final Exam: 25% NotesFor this course,AandAgrades are reserved for sustainedoutstanding performance in all aspects of the course.BandB+grades are assigned to those who demonstrate mastery of the course readings and above average performance in all aspects of the course.A grade ofBis earned by one who produces a marginal quality of work, which is not quite up to graduate level standards. The grade ofCdenotes unacceptable quality for graduate level work. A few words on class participation: Class participation encompasses questions and comments that demonstrate knowledge of – though not necessarily agreement with – assigned course readings or other information that sheds light on a topic relevant to the course.Remember, professionals in public policy must be able to speak effectively in small groups and to make presentations of their work. Theonly way to learn these skills is to practice, so students are expected to contribute to discussions and will be required to present summaries of selected readings.I place a heavy emphasis on class participation.Consequently,each week’s assigned readings must be read before each class discussion. Students should also be prepared to summarize, offer critical assessments – or both – of the literature as well as the comments of classmates.It is quite possible that a student who earned an “A” or “A” on both written assignments can end up with a final grade of “B+” or “B” if he or she does not regularly participate in class discussions.
Class attendance is taken into account in evaluation for the course.While it is understandable that other requirements will occasionally conflict with class times, missing more than two class sessions will make it virtually impossible to earn a grade better than B for the course.Missing more than three sessions will make a grade of C likely.
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Academic Accommodation for a Disability
If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 7039932474.All academic accommodations must be arranged through the DRC.
GMU Honor Code
No cheating, plagiarizing, or other unprofessional conduct will be tolerated. (Please see SPP statement below.) These are defined in the University Catalog as follows:
A. Cheating encompasses the following: 1. The willful giving or receiving of an unauthorized, unfair, dishonest, or unscrupulous advantage in academic work over other students 2. The above may be accomplished by any means whatsoever, including but not limited to the following: fraud; duress; deception; theft; trick; talking; signs; gestures; copying from another student; and the unauthorized use of study aids, memoranda, books, data, or other information 3. Attempted cheating
B. Plagiarism encompasses the following: 1. Presenting as one's own the words, the work, or the opinions of someone else without proper acknowledgment 2. Borrowing the sequence of ideas, the arrangement of material, or the pattern of thought of someone else without proper acknowledgment
C. Lying encompasses the following: The willful and knowledgeable telling of an untruth, as well as any form of deceit, attempted deceit, or fraud in an oral or written statement relating to academic work. This includes but is not limited to the following: 1. Lying to administration and faculty members 2. Falsifying any university document by mutilation, addition, or deletion.
SPP Policy on Plagiarism
The profession of scholarship and the intellectual life of a university as well as the field of public policy inquiry depend fundamentally on a foundation of trust. Thus any act of plagiarism strikes at the heart of the meaning of the university and the purpose of the School of Public Policy. It constitutes a serious breach of professional ethics and it is unacceptable. Plagiarism is the use of another’s words or ideas presented as one’s own. It includes, among other things, the use of specific words, ideas, or frameworks that are the product of another’s work. Honesty and thoroughness in citing sources is essential to professional accountability and personal responsibility. Appropriate citation is necessary so that arguments, evidence, and claims can be critically examined.
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Plagiarism is wrong because of the injustice it does to the person whose ideas are stolen. But it is also wrong because it constitutes lying to one’s professional colleagues. From a prudential perspective, it is shortsighted and selfdefeating, and it can ruin a professional career. The faculty of the School of Public Policy takes plagiarism seriously and has adopted a zero tolerance policy. Any plagiarized assignment will receive an automatic grade of "F." This may lead to failure for the course, resulting in dismissal from the University. This dismissal will be noted on the student’s transcript. For foreign students who are on a universitysponsored visa (e.g. F1, J1 or J2), dismissal also results in the revocation of their visa. To help enforce the SPP policy on plagiarism, all written work submitted in partial fulfillment of course or degree requirements must be available in electronic form so that it can be compared with electronic databases, as well as submitted to commercial services to which the School subscribes. Faculty may at any time submit student’s work without prior permission from the student. Individual instructors may require that written work be submitted in electronic as well as printed form. The SPP policy on plagiarism is supplementary to the George Mason University Honor Code; it is not intended to replace it or substitute for it. Assigned Texts CEugene Bardach, A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, 3rd ed., (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2009). CSimon Blackburn, Being Good: An Introduction to Ethics, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001). CA. Lee Fritschler, and Catherine E. Rudder, Smoking and Politics: Bureaucracy Centered Policymaking, 6th ed., (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007). CAlbert Hirschman, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States, (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970). CMargaret Keck, and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1998). CCharles Lindblom, The Market System: What It Is, How It Works, and What to Make of It, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001). CGiandomenico Majone, Evidence, Argument, and Persuasion in the Policy Process, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989). CMancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971). CDeborah Stone, Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making, (New York: Norton, 2002). Read at least one national newspaper each day and look for articles relevant to class discussions. You will be called upon in class to discuss the articles you have selected.
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Course Outline and Assigned Readings
1. CourseOverview and Introduction/Performing Policy Analysis (January 26 & February 2) Required Reading–
Eugene Bardach, A Practical Guide to Policy Analysis
Recommended Reading–
2. MakingPolicy: The Role of the Analyst (February 9, 16, and 23)
3. StrategicAdvocacy and Values in Policy Making (March 1, 8, 22, and 29)
4. EconomicThinking and the Role of the Market in Policy Making (April 5, & 12)
5. PerformingPolicy Analysis (April 19, 26 & May 3)
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