MEMORANDUM
To:
Gary Griffith
From:
Wm. Feagin, Jr
Date:
March 30, 1999
Re:
New Courses
I have attached descriptions of ideas I have for two new courses:
GOVT 2305: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
GOVT #### or ECON ####: Experiments in Social Decision-Making
Let me know if you have any questions.
Wm.
Temple College
Curriculum Proposal
COURSE NUMBER: GOVT 2305
COURSE TITLE: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights*
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE: The course would focus on the role of judicial
interpretation of provisions of the U.S. and state constitutions related to free
speech, free press, peaceable assembly, free worship, criminal due process,
right to privacy, equal protection of the laws, integration, and affirmative action.
Additionally, attention would be given to legislation passed by Congress and
state legislatures, executive orders, administrative rules and regulations, and
state referenda and initiatives dealing with civil liberties and civil rights.
The course might also include a study of civil liberties and civil rights in other
countries to provide students with a comparative context.
JUSTIFICATION: Legislative requirements for a Bachelor’s degree in Texas
include 6 hours of Political Science (Government). Three hours must be in a
course that deals with the U.S. and Texas constitutions. At most colleges and
universities in Texas the basic survey courses (GOVT 2301 and GOVT 2302)
are offered so that students may fulfill these requirements.
GOVT 2301, State and Federal Government Processes, covers a wide range of
topics, including the origins and development of the U.S. and Texas
constitutions, federalism, intergovernmental relations, forms of local government,
political parties, interest groups, public opinion, campaigns and elections.
GOVT 2302, Forms of State and Federal Government, surveys the institutions of
American national government (i.e., Congress, the Presidency, the
Bureaucracies, the Courts) and Texas state government (i.e., the state
legislature, the plural executive branch, the state judiciary). Cursory attention is
given to selected problems making in public policy (i.e., civil liberties and civil
rights, tax policy, welfare policy, regulation, budgeting, monetary and fiscal
policy, etc.).
While the overwhelming majority of students who obtain bachelor’s degrees
complete these two courses, many students find the limitations of the survey
courses unpalatable. Some colleges and universities provide options to students
who wish to take a more focused course in lieu of GOVT 2302.
This proposed course would give students the opportunity to study civil liberties
and civil rights issues in more detail than the GOVT 2302 course permits.
However, given the design of the course, students would also learn something
about the judicial decision-making, legislative, and administrative rule-making
processes of the national and state governments, as they relate to civil liberties
and civil rights. Therefore, much of the subject matter of GOVT 2302 would be
incorporated into the proposed course.
DEMAND: Informal surveys indicate that a substantial number of students would
be interested in taking this proposed course, provided they can receive transfer
credit. More formal surveys can be administered if necessary.
*Alternative course: Temple College should also consider a course that deals
with other basic constitutional principles. In addition to civil liberties and civil
rights, this course could examine separation of powers, federalism, judicial
review, property rights, public law, etc. As with the course dealing strictly with
civil liberties and civil rights, the emphasis in this course would be on the role of
the courts in defining these constitutional principles. However, discussions of the
roles of the other branches of government, both at the national and state levels,
could be included at the discretion of the instructor.
Temple College
Curriculum Proposal
COURSE NUMBER: GOVT #### or ECON #### (To be determined.)
COURSE TITLE: Experiments in Social Decision-Making
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE: The course would use an “experimental” approach
in which students participate in decision-making scenarios involving public policy
issues and then conduct simple statistical and graphical analyses of the
outcomes. In other words, students act as both the subjects of the experiments
and the scientists conducting the experiments. The approach subtly introduces
students to basic principles and theories of public decision-making. Specific
topics covered include, but are not limited to:
1. How are the burdens of taxes distributed?
2. Does prohibition work?
3. Does government regulation control pollution?
4. Do taxes on cigarettes decrease consumption?
5. Why does government subsidize the production of certain goods and services?
6. Why must government provide other public goods/services?
7. Are monopolies inherently bad?
8. Why does government enact price floors or price ceilings?
9. Does increasing the minimum wage result in lost jobs?
10. Does welfare discourage work?
11. Are protective tariffs good for the economy?
12. How do we address the problems of adverse selection and moral hazard?
JUSTIFICATION: There are several reasons for offering this course under both a
GOVT and an ECON number.
[1] Legislative requirements for a Bachelor’s degree in Texas include 6 hours
of Political Science (Government). Three hours must be in a course that deals
with the U.S. and Texas constitutions. At most colleges and universities in
Texas the basic survey courses (GOVT 2301 and GOVT 2302) are offered so
that students may fulfill these requirements.
GOVT 2301, State and Federal Government Processes, covers a wide range
of topics, including the origins and development of the U.S. and Texas
constitutions, federalism, intergovernmental relations, forms of local
government, political parties, interest groups, public opinion, campaigns and
elections.
GOVT 2302, Forms of State and Federal Government, surveys the institutions
of American national government (i.e., Congress, the Presidency, the
Bureaucracies, the Courts) and Texas state government (i.e., the state
legislature, the plural executive branch, the state judiciary). Cursory attention
is given to selected problems making in public policy (i.e., civil liberties and
civil rights, tax policy, welfare policy, regulation, budgeting, monetary and
fiscal policy, etc.).
While the overwhelming majority of students who obtain bachelor’s degrees
complete these two courses, many students find the limitations of the survey
courses unpalatable. Some colleges and universities provide options to
students who wish to take a more focused course in lieu of GOVT 2302.
This proposed course would give students the opportunity to study the specific
policy issues (indicated in the above course description) in more detail than
the GOVT 2302 course permits. However, given the design of the course,
students would also learn something about the judicial decision-making,
legislative, and administrative rule-making processes of the national and state
governments, as they relate to these policy issues. Therefore, much of the
subject matter of GOVT 2302 would be incorporated into the proposed course.
[2] Many students’ degree plans require that they take one or more courses in
Economics. Temple College offers the basic survey courses: ECON 2301 and
ECON 2302.
ECON 2301, Principles of Economics (MACRO), emphasizes aggregate
economic analysis, determinants of national income and business cycles,
money and banking, fiscal and monetary policy, inflation and unemployment,
and economic growth.
ECON 2302, Principles of Economics (MICRO), introduces economic
principles underlying marketplace economics, particularly supply and demand,
but also including consideration of market models, poverty, labor markets and
wages, international trade, public finance, and public choice.
Students could take the proposed course in lieu of ECON 2302 (MICRO).
Many students find the Microeconomics course too mathematically rigorous
and too regimented. The purpose of the experimental approach is to
introduce students to basic microeconomic principles without intimidating
them. The approach presents the formal microeconomic models (i.e.,
competitive equilibrium model) only after they have observed the practical
implications of the model.
Although the course employs methods of economic analysis to public policy
problems, because the course deals with issues that, in the real world, are
decided in the political arena, this course is suitable for GOVT students as
well.
[3] The “experimental” approach works best when there are twenty or more
students enrolled in the course. It is more likely that this minimum enrollment
requirement can be met if students can obtain transfer credit for either GOVT
or ECON.
DEMAND: Informal surveys indicate that a substantial number of students would
be interested in taking this proposed course, provided they can receive transfer
credit. More formal surveys can be administered if necessary.