FYS 1085 US POLITICS & PUBLIC SERVICE

Ineffective. Corrupt. Self-interested. Polarized. Popular perceptions of U.S. politicians and politics are incredibly negative. Still, surveys indicate that vast numbers of those working for the government are dedicated to serving the public. What does “public service” mean to them? What can and should we learn from them as decision-makers? How can we, as “outsiders,” engage more productively with government? To gain these insights (and many more), this First Year Seminar will host a series of public conversations with political insiders, many of them Connecticut College alumni. Students will organize, lead, and participate in these conversations; class discussions and written statements will analyze the dialogues. Past seminar conversations have been conducted with staff members from the offices of U.S. Representative Joseph Courtney and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, with White House Office and U.S. State Department staff members, and with administrative and superior court judges. This First Year Seminar integrates academic and advocacy publications, practitioner writings and conversations, and student written and spoken analyses.