PS 321, Public Policymaking

This was a two-block course that really challenged me as an environmental scientist, because of its heavy focus on policy, government, and people's reaction to the two, and how this forms a fascinating cycle. The course is very broadly about how and why policy is conceived and created in the US, with a focus towards the end on environmental issues (but also tackling things like race relations/discrimination, abortion rights, etc.). We read multiple books that tackled various policy problems (such as Cadillac Desert and Playing God In Yellowstone), but also looked at the very theoretical base of policy framework. What sticks with me most from this are the three models for the actions of individuals/groups: the Rational Actor Model (RAM), which is how most individuals are assumed by policymakers to be behave; the Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) model, which looks more at the basic behavior of organizations and institutions; and finally the "Players and Games" Model, which our class finally settled on as the most accurate description of politics and policymaking today.

In this course, we did extensive amounts of reading, and every other day we would be asked to write a short, concise reflection on that night's reading, as well. This greatly challenged my writing/synthesis style, as I tend to be quite verbose. Also, one student a day would prepare a 5-minute speech somehow related to that day's topic, which forced synthesis but also allowed a good amount of personal interpretation, creativity, and most importantly public speaking skills (which were an emphasis throughout the course). I read William Cronon's "The Trouble with Wilderness," and here is my speech.

Finally, at the end of the course, we each studied a topic of our choice, did extensive research, and then wrote a twenty-five page paper (which was later pared down to fifteen or so pages) discussing the matter. This was merely an exercise in research, analysis, and application of knowledge, and I chose to write my paper on non-point source pollution and its hazards throughout the US.