6:00pm
Announcements
Jib Jab
7:00pm
Break (do democracy in arranging the classroom seating)
7:15pm
Syllabus
7:45pm
Lecture- Why democracy?
Why is it important to have a class about doing democracy in an MPA program? Because, thoughts are things. As you continue to define and formulate your conceptualizations of democracy, you will draw those interpretations of democracy towards your daily lived reality. In public administration, this can be an amazingly powerful, revealing, and useful process. For example, if we were to reconceptualize democracy into something not homosapien centric, then we could recognize democracy as including others members/actors such as animals, air, water, plants, etc. Thoughts are things. Ideologies translate into realities.
There are three key points you need to explore with yourself:
1) Define that from which your definitions of democracy arise. Does your definition of democracy come from a belief system? (ex. religion: teachings of Muhammad, Christ, Abraham, David, etc.) Religions may inform what you believe it means to be democratic or undemocratic and what you believe is human nature or not. Does your definition of democracy come from an idea? Does it come from a feeling? (ex. patriotism, nationalism) Does it come from an emotion? (ex. fear of standing alone rather than with many) Does it come from experience? (ex. freedom, oppression) Does it come from principles? (ex. choice, shared power)
2) Define how you use the term "democracy." Are you talking about concepts of government (structures/institutions) or governance (processes, laws, policies, human actions)?
3) Who and what are you excluding and including in your definition/understanding of democracy?
8:30pm
Workshops
Word associations towards politcal ideologies (democracy, leberalism, conservatism, socialism, communism, facism)- what are the connections and disconnects? These are just ideas until human actions transform them into the world of realities. If we were to alter our thinking towards each ideology, how might they change from concept to tangible form and function?
Apply the Bardach reading and 8 steps of policy analysis to the topic of immigration. Try to figure out which political ideology (or combination of ideologies) might best address this social issue. Remember, we can adjectivize these ideolgies by placing clarification/descriptive terms in front of them (ex. liberal democracy, conservative socialism, etc.)
8:45pm
Film clip: 1978 version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" shown to demostrate the viseral fear towards communism
9:00pm
Break & move into seminar