Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Offers first-year students a foundation in public policy studies in both Canadian and international contexts focusing on a survey of methods and approaches in public policy. Students will develop an interdisciplinary understanding of policy analysis and policy development through weekly lectures from faculty in diverse fields such as political science, economics, public health, Indigenous studies, and urban studies. Breadth-Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

At SFU, we learn, teach, work, and live on the unceded and stolen traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples including the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səlí̓lwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Kwikwəƛəm (Kwikwetlem) Nations. I was born in India and have grown up as an immigrant-settler in the Greater Toronto Area (on the lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples). The impacts of colonialism are devastating and far reaching, and it is important for me (and us in this class) to recognize these ongoing legacies felt by Indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups. As privileged immigrants to Canada my family and I have benefitted from living on stolen and re-appropriated land. At the same time, immigrants to Canada cannot escape the discursive and material violence of colonialism particularly at the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality. I am sharing this acknowledgement as a way to invite discussion and recognize our collective commitment to reconciliation and justice in line with SFU’s commitments to truth and reconciliation. Public policy research should foreground the experiences of Indigenous peoples—a perspective often ignored by various actors who hold power and shape policy in Canada and beyond. As such, I share this acknowledgement as an invitation to Indigenous students and other members within our School to use traditional ways of knowing and being and to embrace these as important and viable research and learning methods in our course.

This course introduces students to the diverse and interdisciplinary field of public policy in two parts: First, the course explores the foundations of public policy including the role of ideas, actors, interests, and institutions. Part 1 thus focuses on basic understandings of the policy cycle, questions of power and agency in making policy, the role of various interests groups, and the intersection of history, colonialism, and equity as it relates to public policy studies. In the second part of the course, students will be exposed to a range of viewpoints, analytical techniques, methods, and research ideas that tackle the most pressing contemporary social problems. These areas of research include Canadian policy, international policy, labour policy, migration and refugee policy, Indigenous policy, environment and sustainability, housing policy, health policy, and a range of other topics which are intended to introduce students to the large variety of issues relevant to policymakers, academics, and governments in Canada and the World.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

1) Introduce students to key terms, concepts, and theories relevant to public policy.

2) Introduce students to the real-world of public policy including cutting-edge research, and actively contested topics relevant to Canada and the World.

3) Develop practical writing, reading, and presentation skills relevant for further study in public policy and in social sciences and humanities in general.

4) Introduce students to a public policy analytical lens through a review of policy documents, drafting recommendations, and evaluating policy

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING NOTES: