Spring 2014 - 63600 - PA388K - Advanced Topics in Public Policy

Universities & National Policy

Universities have played a critical role in the emergence of the United States as a world power, and the projection of that power at home and abroad. Universities have trained powerful national actors, they have pioneered policy-relevant fields of knowledge, and they have legitimized particular modes of policy-making. This course will examine the intersection between the history of American higher education and the changes in America's global standing since the nineteenth century. How have universities helped increase the power and wealth of the United States? How have they shaped American priorities and blindspots? The course will also examine how this history should inform future higher education and national policy-making. What role should universities play in the future evolution of American government, economy, and foreign policy? How should universities govern themselves to maximize their positive impacts?