The fourth cycle will begin April 13 - the last cycle of your academic journey in the internship.  You may sign-up for your desired class Wednesday, March 29 at 1:00 on Moodle.  The instructions are as follows:

Cycle Four

 

Please rank your preference for each course:  1 entails the most preferred and 3 entails the least preferred.  If you cannot decide between two (or three) classes, you may rank two (or three) classes equally (use any number).  Your seat in the class will be based on your ranking and on a first-come-first-serve basis.  If the class is full, we will place you in your second preferred class or third preferred class. Sign up on Moodle, go to “Resources, Grades, and Paper Assignments.” 

https://intern.nyassembly.gov/mod/quiz/view.php?id=1307

 

Below are the descriptions of each three-week class (the fourth cycle) 

 

Philosophical Foundations of the Left and the Right

 in American Politics

Professor Nishiyama

This course will equip you with some of the philosophical arguments for and against both conservativism and progressivism.  We will consider the economic arguments of what I call the Old Left and the Old Right and the social arguments of the New Left and the New Right.  We will see how the tensions are not only between the left and the right but also between the old and the new.   I hope to explore many questions.  Was the US Constitution written by elites for elites?  Have the Capitalists beat Marx at his own game by giving the masses what they want—the suburban life?  Is democratic socialism inevitable in the US?  Were the sixties and the New Left just a revolution of the privilege? Will socialism lead to serfdom? Is the American terrorist group, the Weather Underground, the politest terrorists in history?  Were the New Left and the New Right fighting against the same enemy—namely complacency, and what does art have to do with their struggles?  How had a woman defeat the ERA?  Is there an invisible power elite who dominates all aspect of American life? Does the physiology of the brain differ between conservatives and progressives—between Rand Paul and Berny Sanders (no, I am serious)?

On the left we will explore the ideas of Charles Beard, Henry George, Herbert Croly, John Dewey, C, Wright Mills, Herbert Marcuse, and the New Left, and on the right, Edmund Burke, Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Leo Strauss, Robert Nozick, and Allen Bloom.  If time permits, we will finish by exploring the post-modern turn of Jean-François Lyotard and the post-structural turn of Jacques Derrida.  I invite you to explore these intriguing ideas, and do not worry, there are no quizzes and no mathematical models, just a whole lot of friendly theory topped with a deep layer of history.  I will see you in class!

Times: If 24 or more interns request my class, I will hold two sections 9:30 to 11:00 and 2:00 to 3:30 and interns can choose whichever class they would like to attend.  If less than 24 interns request my class, the class will be held from 2:00 to 3:30.

 

Race and Incarceration in America

Professor Ledford

We are (again) in a particular time of turmoil in the US, and race is at the center of so much of that conflict, disagreement, and violence.  Race has been a central formative force in American history whose categories and meanings have constantly shifted and been contested.  This cycle is designed to interrogate the invention and development of race in America as a central nodule in the power structure and discover the ways it has been deployed, especially as it relates to the control, surveillance and incarceration of the black body, as well as other communities of color.  We will begin with a brief historical analysis of American slavery followed by a careful unpacking of the social and historical construction of race and the work it performs.  We will then embark on a philosophical exploration of the relationship between the power order and what this means for how we determine what constitutes “punishment.”  The final section of the course will turn more explicitly to the use of the prison and techniques of surveillance to define, police, and terrorize communities of color.

 

Perspectives on Policymaking in New York

Professor Boyd

I am really excited about this. Each class in this set will provide students with an opportunity to hear from and discuss policymaking in New York with two guest experts who were deeply involved in advocating for, developing, negotiating, or implementing a particular policy at the state or local level. Our guest experts will talk about their perspectives on policymaking in New York and about the policy in question. After their introductory remarks they may have some back and forth among themselves, and then we’ll open it up for questions and discussion. Each class will have background readings of 20+/- pages that will help you to ask good questions. We’ll have the physical space arranged so that it is conducive to conversation.

The three classes are:

·         April 20: The City of Albany Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program; Dr. Alice Green and Bob Ward

·         April 27: The Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP); Kristin Brown and Kirsten Keefe

·         May 4: The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA); Peter Iwanowicz and Anne Reynolds

Please see the Cycle 4 section of my Moodle page for details on the three classes.

Update - proper link: https://intern.nyassembly.gov/course/view.php?id=28&section=1

The classes will be held in LOB Room 711A, from 12:30 pm to 1:55 pm on April 20, April 27, and May 4.

(Edited by Don Boyd - original submission Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 6:25 PM)