This is an opportunity to explore the broad conditions that shape legislation. We will examine models, evidence and debates about the sources, causal connections and impacts of evolving systems of law, regulation, governance and a broad array of community response. Each student will be learning through work as an intern with a legislator and her or his staff. This will involve intensive staff-apprenticeship activities, especially legislative research and draft development, bill-tracking and constituent correspondence.

Students apply to become interns for the 2014 Washington State Legislative session in the fall of 2013. Information sessions will be held in early October. The Academic Advising Office will inform students about the process, with applications due mid-to-late October. Applications are available online through www.leg.wa.gov/internships . Two copies of the complete application, including personal essay; a letter of reference from faculty (discussing research and writing skills), and a personal (character, work-habits) reference are due to the Office of Academic Advising, Olympia campus http://www.leg.wa.gov/INTERNSHIPS/Pages/default.aspx Students will interview and and be informed of acceptance by late November.

Each student accepted as an intern will develop an internship learning contract, profiling legislative responsibilities and linkages to academic development.

In regular in-capitol seminars, each student intern will translate her or his activities in the Legislature into analytic and reflective writing about the challenges, learning and implications of the work. Students will make presentations about their learning and participate in various workshops. Each intern will keep a portfolio of activities completed at the capitol, to be submitted to their field supervisor and faculty sponsor on a regular basis. Interns will complete a minimum of four short essays, with cited references to listed resource materials related to legislative work. Drawing broadly from the social sciences, we will explore relationships between elected officials, legislative staff, registered lobbyists, non-governmental organizations, citizen activists and district constituents. Students will learn through a range of approaches - responsibilities in an 8:00-5:00 work-week, guest presentations, seminars, workshops on budget, media panels and job-shadowing of regional officials and activists of choice. Interns will participate in a final mock hearing floor debate on current legislative issues.

The 2014 session will involve student-interns for winter quarters and varied continued capitol-based research and policy-making actvities for spring quarter. Each quarter will comprise a different 16-credit contract. In spring, students can develop an 8-credit Legislative Internship Contract, augmented by another 8-credit project or program involving specific post-session research and writing. Student performance will be evaluated by the faculty sponsor, field supervisors and legislative office staff.