Department: School of Humanities & Sciences

Code Name Description
SIW103 Economic Policy This course will explore how economic policy works (or does not) in a variety of areas related to the federal government. The course will explore both the analysis of policies as well as the political feasibility of enacting rules and implementing p...
SIW104 Congressional Oversight and the Press Who keeps watch of the federal government and its activities as they grow more complex at home and abroad? This seminar will look at oversight, or the lack of it, by the Executive Branch itself, by Congress, the Courts, outside groups, and the media,...
SIW105 Education Policy This seminar has three primary goals: 1) introduce today's major education policy issues; 2) investigate the ways education policy questions are addressed at the federal level, and by implication, the state and local levels; and 3) develop skills to...
SIW106 Criminal Justice Policy This class is designed to offer students a chance to explore how criminal justice policies and laws come into being, are executed, and end up changing. Through a different topic focus each week, students will grasp the actors that affect criminal jus...
SIW107 Civil Rights Law This course analyzes the major civil rights laws that Congress has enacted since the 1960s, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Housing Act, the Public Accommodations ACt, the AGe Discriminatio...
SIW119 U. S. and Europe: Cooperation or Competition? How are Brexit, Trump, Merkel and Macron reshaping the key relationship between the US and Europe? At a time of rising international threats from Russia, China, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as the challenges of populism, Euro-Skepticism, and...
SIW121 Inside Modern Campaigns: How Elections are Won and Lost Politics is as much art as science. Washington Post columnist James Hohmann will pull back the curtain on how the nature of campaigns, along with media coverage of American politics, is changing. During this exclusive seminar, students will engage di...
SIW123 Navigating Divided Government Navigating divided government: As Republicans take control of the House in 2023, the Biden administration faces a raft of investigations and the president will turn his focus more toward executive actions than legislative achievements. He also needs...
SIW129 Women's, Maternal, and Children's Health No Description Set
SIW131 Presidential Transitions in an Era of Polarization and the Covid-19 Pandemic Presidential Transitions in an Era of Polarization and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Challenges to Governing, Policy-Making and Ethical Decision-Making. This seminar will explore the intertwining of several key challenges inherit in all transitions, while a...
SIW133 The Making of U.S. Foreign Policy in Today's World This course will examine the process through which U.S. foreign policy is made and how decisions and outcomes are reached. Through this examination, students will gain a deeper understanding of the role of various executive branch agencies and how t...
SIW139 Purposeful Advocacy - Changing Public Policy for Good: A Policy Maker/Advocate's Perspective No Description Set
SIW142 US Health Care Policy and Economics This course provides an overview of the U.S. health care system and engages students in critically examining health policy issues. In addition to being one of the most important "goods" consumed, health care spending accounts for almost 20% of total...
SIW156 Washington Policymaking: A USER'S GUIDE Whiplash! Since 2016, there have been three different Presidential Administrations, and a Congress that was unified (Republican), divided, unified (Democratic), and now divided again. There's been an explosion of major legislation (both partisan and...
SIW157 International Law No Description Set
SIW158 Valley Meets Mission: Purposeful Entrepreneurial Ventures with Government Many of today's societal problems - cybersecurity, climate change, Covid-19, food insecurity - require effective collaboration between government and entrepreneurial ventures to combine scale, technology, and innovation. In each class, students will...
SIW159 Purposeful Advocacy: The Making of Monuments Purposeful Advocacy provides a practitioner's insights regarding ongoing climate, conservation and resource debates, as well as other contemporary political events (e.g., Build Back Better, the Bipartisan Infrastructure deal implementation, the Janua...
SIW160 Politics and Policy in an Era of Polarization This seminar will explore the intertwining of key challenges to governing, inherent in the American political system, along with the effects of our polarized politics and the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing upon an array of disciplines and approaches, ou...
SIW162 Guns in America: Challenges for Communities, Public Health and Legislation No Description Set
SIW172 Wellness: Investing in Your Personal Capital In this course, we will explore stress & resilience along with a number of strategies including mindfulness, gratitude, self-care, yoga, reflection, and connection. Students will learn ways to improve resilience and well-being by investing time, spac...
SIW185 Modern America in Historical Perspective No Description Set
SIW190 Directed Readings No Description Set
SIW245 Art, Business & the Law This course examines art at the intersection of business and the law from a number of different angles, focusing on how the issues raised by particular case studies, whether legal, ethical and/or financial, impact our understanding of how works of ar...