Public Affairs 5240: Race and Public Policy

Back to All Courses

This is a sample syllabus to provide general information about the course and it's requirements. Course requirements are subject to change. This syllabus does not contain all assignment or course detail and currently enrolled students should reference the syllabus provided by their instructor. For a specific syllabus, please email us a request.

Back to All Courses

Course Overview

3 Credit Hours
Modalities Available: In Person 

This course will examine the impact of public policy on Black communities in the United States with a focus on a) Policing in America b) Affirmative Action and c) Mass Incarceration. We will study the politics of policymaking in relation to the dynamics of race, gender, and class discrimination. This course will be attentive to how political managers, elected officials, policy experts, organizational processes, and community groups function in the dynamics of public decision-making regarding policies that affect black communities. We will focus on the substantive developments mentioned above, but will touch on other important matters, including welfare, education, employment, housing, crime, and the like. The course will provide an opportunity to explore the current national debate about domestic policy reforms. Finally, this course will probe these issues in the context of the managerial transformation of American society.

Requirements and Expectations

This course is an intensive reading course. Students are responsible for keeping up with the readings and being ready to discuss them each class period. The requirements for this course are: 1) every few weeks, a short exam will be given in class. No fewer than 4 exams will be given. These exams are worth 30% of your grade. Dates will be determined in class. There will be no make-up exams unless there are severe extenuating circumstances 2) each week assigned students will be asked to write a critical summary of a particular chapter or some aspect of the readings. This double-spaced typed summary should be no more than 4 pages, but no less than two pages in length. The student will then give a verbal presentation of this summary in front of the class. Simply put the student will be leading class discussion on that day. These assignments will be handed in at the beginning of the class period so that the professor may follow along while the student is presenting.

Participation is worth 15% of your grade. Class attendance is mandatory. You cannot get full credit for participation if you are absent. You are allowed two absences. A third absence will result in a reduction of a half letter grade from the student’s final grade. Four absences will result in the reduction of an entire letter grade, and so on and so on. 3) Undergraduates are required to write a minimum 10-15 research page paper (25%) about a noteworthy topic in the area of Race and Public Policy. Graduate students are required to write a 20-25 page research paper. Topics must be approved by the instructor. Late papers will be lowered a half letter grade for each day the paper is late (including weekends). Papers are due at the end of the semester, on the last day of class. Lastly, a final exam will be administered at the conclusion of the quarter, resulting in 30% of the student’s grade.

Reading materials may be required for this course. Consult your instructor's syllabus for details.