Public Policy Program’s Spring 2023 Core Courses

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, 1:00-2:15pm 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, 11:30am-2:20pm with Basil Smikle

Public Policy Program’s Spring 2023 Electives

ASIAN 330.12: Asian American Communities & Public Policy
This course will count towards the following concentrations: Urban Policy, Health Policy, Environmental Policy, Immigration Policy, Social Welfare Policy
This course provides a perspective of the Asian American movement through a historical and comparative lens. Our inquiry will be situated in the interplay among colonialism, slavery, trade & western liberalism. Through case studies and guest speakers, we will examine how the Asian American community has advocated for specific policy choices. Fulfills: P&D Group B.
Friday, 7:00-9:50pm with Chris Kwok

POLSC 317.34: LGBTQ Policy and Politics
This course will count towards the following concentrations: Media Policy, Law and Public Policy, LGBTQ+ Policy, Social Welfare Policy
This course traces the development of LGBTQ rights and politics in America. Its focus will be on how past fights for LGBTQ identity and equality have framed the current policy and legal battles in state legislatures, the Congress, and the courts. The course will examine institutional and non-institutional approaches taken by queer activists over the decades on a number of topics including employment, public accommodations, healthcare access, and immigration. There are no formal prerequisites for this class, although a basic knowledge of American politics and social organization will be assumed.  This is an interdisciplinary course that will examine key lawsuits and policies that delve into LGBTQ rights issues and engage with queer activist critiques of using institutional avenues to accomplish social change.  Consequently, this course will explore the following questions: can the law be used effectively to accomplish social change in a queer context? How does queer history shape and frame our understandings of identity and modern activism? What are the limits of traditional approaches in movements for social change?  How have American racial justice struggles shaped queer activism?
Monday, 10:00am-12:45pm with Cyril Ghosh

GEOG 383.11: Health Equity in the U.S.
This course will count towards the following concentrations: Urban Policy, Health Policy, Environmental Policy, Immigration Policy, LGBTQ+ Policy, Social Welfare Policy
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, 10:00am-12:45pm with Ramanathan Raju, MD, Senior Vice President and Community Health Investment Officer, Northwell Health

URBS 403.1O: Research Practicum: Poverty and Inequality in the U.S.
This course will count towards all Public Policy Certificate concentrations OR the quantitative requirement for Minor.
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?
Thursday, 4:00-6:45pm with Eri Noguchi, Chief Program Officer, Association to Benefit Children

PH 400.37: Aging Policy and Politics
This course will count towards the following concentrations: Urban Policy, Social Welfare Policy, Health Policy, Law and Public Policy
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.
Thursday 10:00am-12:45 PM with Ruth Finkelstein, Executive Director, Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging & Professor, Urban Public Health, Hunter College