Summer (1st Session) 2007 Course Description
Topics in Policy
Please note: Public Affairs undergraduate courses do not count toward any graduate degree program offered by the LBJ School. These courses are intended for students enrolled in undergraduate programs at the University.
| Section Title: |
Global Issues in Public Policy |
| Instructor(s): |
Lodis Rhodes |
| Course: |
P A 325 - Topics in Policy |
| Unique Number: |
96407 |
| Day & Time: |
Tuesdays, Thursdays, 1:00 PM - 4:45 PM |
| Room: |
SRH 3.102 |
| Waitlist Information: | For LBJ Students: UT Waitlist Information
For Non LBJ Students: LBJ School Waitlist Instructions |
| Notes: |
For students enrolled in Inman Scholar's Program Only |
Description: Tribalism at home and abroad is the major challenge of the 21st century, as it was the last one. Tribalism is difference, perceived or real, based on group membership and place. Groups are increasingly identified and defined by place ? domestic or foreign; urban or rural; inner city or suburban. Referring to place has become code for group. If we are to do better this time than last in meeting tribalism?s challenge, we?ll need to blur the boundaries that separate groups and places. Public policy can help if we use it to enhance and expand democracy?s promise.
Public policy is used to distribute benefits, costs, risks, and services. Distributions are never random. Patterns exist. We see them across individuals, groups, places, and nations. This course highlights patterns of difference in the well being of individuals, groups, and places. The differences relate specially to inequalities in matters of health, safety, and security. The course argues that public policy and practice should be evaluated for effectiveness against a standard of democratic ideals: engagement, responsiveness, fairness, justice, political debate and compromise, and efficiency.
The course uses a comparative approach to explore these claims and assertion. It lays out local and domestic cases of inequalities. It then places them within larger and similar global patterns. Natural or human events will provide the lens to view and compare patterns of inequalities. Interesting comparisons might include the role of policy in protecting human rights and civil liberties; mitigating violent conflict and risks to personal and community safety; creating income, wealth, and economic security; and controlling and using natural resources. Empirical questions in the course revolve around the effectiveness U.S. domestic and international policy in enhancing democracy, or well being, at home and abroad.
Return to Summer (1st Session) 2007 Undergraduate Course Schedule
