In this course, we will examine the politics involved in American public policymaking, the factor often ignored by those who sought more rational ways of creating policy in decades past. This, we shall see, is at least partially a result of the checks and balances, and separation of powers, created by the US Constitution. Institutional rules and tradition, and the increasing of the power of the presidency over the 20th Century, also have had significant effects. However, policy may also now come from, or be sparked by, the actions of federal and state administrative agencies, institutions of a sort that did not exist at the nation's founding. Policy is also more affected now by interest group lobbying, mass media and research conducted by independent centers and universities.

Research Interests

Urban Politics and Policy, American Public/Social Policy, Community Development, and Civic Engagement.

Curriculum Vitae