First 10 weeks only.

This ten-week class introduces you to some current public policy
debates facing citizens in the United States.  The class will begin
with a discussion of the nature of political conflict.  We’ll talk
about the importance of logical argumentation on matters of public
policy; we’ll also identify some reasons that logical argumentation
is not always what we hear from citizens or political elites!  Three
contemporary policy debates will be analyzed in further detail—U.S.
budgetary politics, same-sex marriage, and homeland security.  With
each issue, we will identify the roots of the debate and the
development of conflict over time.  We will consider arguments on
each side of the issue, critiquing the logic of each argument.
Finally, we will examine how American federalism, the organization
of national, state, and local government, provides multiple venues
for political conflict and decision-making.  The primary goal of the
class is to help us all become more discerning citizens and better
consumers of political information.  By taking time to understand
and critique several policy debates, we can develop skills to make
ourselves better participants in American democracy.