Description
Over the length of this course, we will be looking at the processes of politics and government in the United States. To help you understand these processes, we will be doing a series of assignments that uses what you have learned in this class and applying it to a hypothetical policy proposal of your own creation.
To start, we will do something basic: come up with a policy that you want to implement, to reform, or to repeal.
When the Framers sat down to write the Constitution, they were working both off their own experiences and histories, but also attempting to create something new. They had to ask deep questions about what the appropriate role of government was in society, and how it wanted that government to operate. While I am not asking you to rewrite the constitution (yet), I do want you to embrace this spirit of lessons learned and experimentation.
I encourage you to think broadly and creatively about what you want to focus on. Future assignments will provide the opportunity to turn your idea into actual policy. Do not worry for now about if your policy proposal is strictly constitutional; instead try to imagine what your most ideal, but specific, government policy would be. However I would encourage you to consider two questions while thinking about your idea. First, is this something the government is capable of doing? Second, is this something the government should be doing?
You will be able to do this assignment in one of three ways. One, you can propose an entirely new policy that you would like the government to implement. Two, you can take an existing policy and propose a way that it should be reformed. Third, you can argue that a certain policy should be repealed.
For this assignment, please submit a one to two page proposal about what you would like to change about a government policy of the United States. The proposal should include (and will be graded on) the following:
- A specific subject that can be researched and analyzed.
- Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, state what the policy is trying to implement, how the policy needs to be reformed, or why the policy needs to be repealed.
- If you wish to change an existing policy, describe what that policy is, what it does, and why it needs to be changed. If you want to implement a new policy, describe why it is needed and why you think the government should be doing something. If you want to repeal a policy, explain why.
While doing this assignment, be sure to do some basic research in order to back up your arguments with data or evidence.
