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Spring 2020 Courses — Public Policy Program

PUPOL 100: Introduction to Public Policy

PUPOL 100 is an interdisciplinary course designed to introduce students to basic concepts in policy studies. It is taught by faculty from different disciplines. It will acquaint students with public policy as a field of study, the basic elements of the policy-making process, and a variety of approaches for applying distinct modes of analysis (political, economic, demographic, statistical, qualitative, normative). In addition to a textbook and select articles that have defined the field, the course uses practical case studies that address a range of policy problems. This course is open to students who declare the Public Policy Minor.

Monday/Thursday 1:10-2:25pm (Roosevelt House Room 304) with Joyce Miller

 

PUPOL 400: Public Policy Capstone Seminar

Roosevelt House’s Public Policy Capstone course serves as the culminating educational experience for students pursuing the 18-credit Public Policy Minor and/or 27-credit certificate. During this semester-long seminar, each student develops a substantive project that integrates the practical skills and topical knowledge learned in the Public Policy Program. The Capstone presents students the opportunity to go in-depth with real-world policy questions and ideas, with the aim of discovering, developing, and refining individual policy interests and goals.

Wednesday, 10:10-1:00pm (Roosevelt House Room 304) with Shyama Venkateswar, Director, Public Policy Program and Distinguished Lecturer, Hunter College, and Robin Templeton

 

GEOG38311: Health Equity in the United States: Policies and Politics

This course will explore how to transform the current federal, state, and local regulatory and operational framework from one that focuses on “sick care” to one that keeps patients and their communities healthy. The emphasis will be on integrating the “social context,” i.e. social determinants of health into care delivery, and developing policies that blend public health, health care, and human services to address the whole patient. The course will also consider how best to align incentives for patients, payers (commercial and government), care providers, community-based organizations, and pharmaceutical companies. Case studies will examine vulnerable communities, including those who are homeless, involved in the criminal justice system, and undocumented immigrants.

Wednesday, 9:10-12:00pm (Roosevelt House Room 204) with Ram Raju, MD, Senior Vice President and Community Health Investment Officer, Northwell Health

 

URBS403.1O: Research Practicum: Income Inequality and Poverty in New York City and the United States

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop their ability to conduct data analysis. Prerequisites for the course are introductory courses in micro-economics and statistics. Students will learn how to work with large micro-data sets using SPSS or STATA. Students will also further their expertise in statistical methods. In addition to these “nuts and bolts” skills, students will grapple with the challenges of interpreting the results of data analysis. What can a researcher responsibly claim his or her analysis has established?

Tuesday, 4:10-7:00pm (Lab HN-1001F) with Eri Noguchi, Chief Program Officer, Association to Benefit Children

 

MEDIA399.19: Changing Media Landscape: United States Policy and Politics

The splintering of the Old Guard media establishment, the ascent of social and non-traditional media platforms, and the ever-changing, 24/7 news cycle has fundamentally transformed the American political landscape and the way Americans digest and analyze the news. This course will serve as an introduction to these dramatic shifts that have reshaped American politics and how public officials communicate and implement policy. Using key moments since 9/11 as the narrative framework for the course, from Hurricane Katrina and the financial crisis to Obamacare and the election of President Trump, the course will survey and analyze the media’s impact on American politics. The course will also examine the fundamental question: what’s next? This course will focus on critical thinking about the state of our Democracy and which technologies and communications tools will play a central role in the upcoming political and policy debates.

Monday, 4:10-7:00pm (Roosevelt House Room 204) with Rob O’Donnell, Founder, 38 Paces

 

SOC 325.87/POLSCI 317.16: The Queer Decades: History, Activism and Policy (cross-listed with POLSCI 317.16: Law and Public Policy: LGBT Rights)

This course will trace the progress of LGBTQ rights in America, from 1950 to the present. Its focus will be on how to use past fights for LGBTQ identity and equality to frame the current policy battles in state legislatures, the Congress and the courts. It will include some crucial cultural events which helped to propel political changes.

Wednesday, 3:10-6:00pm (Roosevelt House Room 304) co-taught by  Erin Mayo-Adam, Dept. of Political Science, Hunter College, and Charles Kaiser, Acting Director, LGBTQ Policy Center, Hunter College

 

URBS 403.30: Education, Politics, and Race

Regardless of someone’s particular area of interest, it is imperative for them to understand the socio-political phenomena that influence American society. This course will specifically provide students with a richer understanding of the ways that education, politics and race collaboratively influence the political realities of New York State. Students will explore how education influences democracy and discover how to expand the educational experiences of New York’s citizenry. Our discussions will incorporate numerous aspects of political theory to help students become more adept civic agents. Furthermore, this course will investigate how matters of race silently, yet profoundly, impact legislative activity. Our curriculum will include an overview of the evolution of New York State’s educational system, reflections on our state’s major political movements and a deliberation on race relations within New York State throughout the 20th century.  H. Carl McCall will use experiences from his fifty year career in public service to anchor this class’ dialogues. Lectures will also include in-person contributions from several contemporary societal influencers throughout the term.

Tuesday 3:10-5:00pm (SDR Library – Roosevelt House Room 202) with Carl McCall, former New York State Comptroller and most recently the Chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees, and currently Hunter College Roosevelt House Leader-in-Residence for the 2019-2020, and Catherine Voulgarides, School of Education, Hunter College

 

PUPOL 40N01: Aging Policy and Politics

This course will focus both on the politics of aging, including current generational conflicts, and on aging policy, with an emphasis on aspects of urban life that should be considered part of aging policy, but are not. We think of growing old as an individual, immutable process, striking some earlier and others later according to biological luck.  But, by examining multiple kinds of evidence, we will see that the experience of aging is different in different neighborhoods, different times, and for different groups of people – leading us directly to policy causes and solutions. We will discover the significant limitations of what is currently deemed “aging policy” and begin to derive a more appropriate policy framework. This is a seminar course for upper-level undergraduate students who can interpret quantitative and qualitative data. A final project is required, including both a written paper and a presentation to the class consisting of one of the following: draft legislation; candidate’s platform; mapping; video; photography; oral history; structured learning experience; or academic poster.

Wednesday 3:10-6:00pm (SDR Library – Roosevelt House Room 202) with Professor Ruth Finkelstein, Executive Director, Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging & Professor, Urban Public Health, Hunter College