Course Syllabus

V536
Syllabus

Welcome to SPEA-V540: Law & Public Affairs (Section 31489). Tara Ali is the instructor for this course. The full syllabus and an outline of what we will do in each class are available under the Modules tab in Canvas. The schedule on Canvas is subject to limited change.

Class Meetings: Days, Times, and Location

This class will be delivered in person. We will meet in O’Neill PV A201 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:10 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. 

Course Description

Explanation of law in society and its influence on public-sector operations. Topics include legal reasoning, statutory interpretation, the rule of law, supremacy and preemption, selected aspects of constitutional liberties and administrative law, and an examination of ethics in public affairs.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Differentiate among the types of lawmaking powers that different levels of government (federal, state, local) and different branches within a given level (legislative, executive, judicial) may exercise with respect to a public policy problem;

2. Identify the circumstances under which individual constitutional liberties constrain legislative or executive action to address a public policy challenge;

3. Apply concepts of sovereign immunity to determine when government actors and agencies may be sued and the types of remedies available;

4. Execute legal reasoning;

5. Interpret law in accordance with principles of statutory construction;

6. Explain various means of gaining access to government information and supplying input to government decision-making;

7. Apply key concepts of administrative law to identify potential concerns with whether agency action is legally valid;

8. Explain the concept of the rule of law;

9. Identify key ethical principles and the basic ethical requirements of public service.

Course Materials/Modules 

There is no textbook for this course. The Modules tab on Canvas contains all readings and other prep materials (either as files or hyperlinks). You will need to have access to a computer, tablet, or other device that will work for completing the course assignments, quizzes, and exams and for accessing and utilizing Nexis Uni (available through IUCAT).

Grading Scale