Revised Syllabi- Winnebago Sustainability Project
I have altered two different courses for the Winnebago Sustainability Project. PA
391/591 was adjusted in some minor ways since the last time I taught it six years ago but
PS 366 was completely redesigned from another perspective to the point that it is an
entirely new curse:
1) Theme- Previous Political Science courses on the environment and urban
politics had either advocated growth or favored balanced growth as a public
policy objective. This suggests that growth and environmental protection
represent equally legitimate objectives. Taking issue with these positions, the
new courses will show that further growth is unsustainable, and that public
management must focus on ensuring ecological sustainability. These two
courses will cover the gamut of government activities from pollution
regulation to zoning in order to assess where we stand now in terms of
sustainability and what ecological measures will be needed to allow future
generations and the environment they depend on to survive.
2) Topics and Assignments- While most of the topics covered in older versions of
these two courses have been maintained, each topic will be viewed from the
perspective of sustainability. Every topic will focus on what government and
community organizations can do to direct appropriate environmental action.
Lectures and reading assignments will focus on how governments can pursue
sustainability at many levels and how they can integrate the concerns for
economic development, the environment and quality of life across all activities.
Both courses will have a service-learning component assignment in addition to
the tests, papers and research projects that will force students to become actively
involved in resolving an environmental problem facing the local community.
Public Administration 81-391/591: Environment and Energy Management
Old Course Description
This course will introduce Public Administration students to the growing fields of
environmental protection and energy conservation. Students will learn the policy options
and basic skills related to managing the environment in order to develop and supervise
energy conservation programs for units of government and small organizations at the
national as well as the state and local level.
New Course Description
This course will introduce students to the growing fields of environmental policy and
energy management. It will examine the development of the environment as a major
political issue as well as provide background materials, theoretical perspectives and
conceptual schema covering ecological concerns. We will discuss and debate specific
environmental controversies such as air pollution, water quality, waste disposal,
land use, resource management and many other contentious issues. We will then
attempt to determine which strategic programs and social responses are best suited
for resolving the multiple problems created by these issues in the local, national and
international arena. Finally, we will propose and project a comprehensive
agenda with clear action items directed at the development of a more
sustainable future both locally and globally.
Political Science 84-366: Politics of Urban Growth
Old Course Description
Examination of the issues of growth and development that are paramount in cities of all
sizes. It explores the question of why cities view growth and development as the top
priority, the institutions and actors who play important roles in the developmental policy
arena, developmental strategies, and the broad political, economic, and environmental
contexts of growth and development.
New Course Description
Cities are "where the action is" in American society. Whether the social problem is
environment, poverty, decay, housing, transit, crime, education, or crisis, the city is the
setting. In this course students will reflect on urban problems and policies from a political
point of view, informed by the theoretical understanding that sustainable development
provides. The Politics of Urban Growth will compel students to understand the
dilemmas of public policy and governance facing the environment of urban America
and learn how social disparities, unmanaged growth and ecosystem deterioration threaten
the future of our cities. It will provide an in-depth survey of the evolving condition of
our cities, a clear presentation of competing perspectives on the nature of our major
urban problems, and an evaluation of possible sustainable solutions.
Jim Simmons
Political Science