Influencing Policy

Catalog description

In this course, students will learn how to influence active policy and legislative processes and bring their specific expertise to bear on these processes. The class will consist primarily of guest lectures and panels of experts from inside these processes as well as advocates who have successfully shifted policy outcomes. While the class will use domestic and international environmental policy as a primary lens through which to explore what effective advocacy looks like, this class is open to anyone interested in deepening their civic engagement or pursuing a long-term advocacy strategy of any kind. The 1-unit option requires only weekly attendance and posting 1-2 questions for guest speakers on a discussion forum weekly, while the 2-unit option will require students to submit one type of policy document discussed during the quarter as a final project (e.g., draft legislative testimony, a draft public comment letter, or a draft op-ed). The class is primarily intended for graduate students, but upper-level undergraduates may enroll with consent of instructor (email [email protected] with a brief description of your interest in the course and background). This class is primarily being offered for CR/NC, but students who require a letter grade may be able to obtain an exception with instructor permission.