ASP 324 - Public Policy Analysis Field Seminar

Credits: 3

Students directly engage Washington, D.C.-based leaders and leading institutions-governmental and non-governmental, national and international-that have a stake in a program-selected public policy debate. Students organize into small (3 or 4 person) research teams. The main team task is to write a Group Policy Report (GPR) analyzing competing economic, humanitarian and rule-of-law/national security priorities in the selected debate. The GPR is supported by field-based research which includes participation in at least 6 one-hour meetings with policy experts and 2-3 team interviews with policy professionals. Students present their GPR research findings and policy recommendations at a policy conference in a congressional committee hearing room on Capitol Hill. A follow-up assignment challenges students to clarify the underlying values they prioritized when making policy recommendations. Specifically, in writing their Public Policy Ethics Plan, each student explains the role biblical ideas and theological traditions play in (a.) how they came to understand the policy issue as a public justice issue, (b.) how they chose among competing policy prescriptions, and, by extension, (c.) what they believe about the proper role of government in society.

Corequisite(s): Available only to students participating in the BestSemester American Studies Program.