Trinity One Public Policy Stream
Students in the Public Policy Stream enrol in two Trinity One seminar courses and a co-requisite:
TRN160Y - Public Policy and the Public Good
What is public policy? Is there such a thing as the public good? This seminar course examines the notion of a “public” and a central ideological issue of our time: what is the purpose of government in a liberal democratic society? Drawing on readings in philosophy and political theory, the course considers a variety of approaches to interpreting the nature of the public good and asks how policy makers should respond when competing goods (e.g., freedom and security) clash with each other. Following discussion of these topics, the course turns to ethical questions underlying a selection of major policy issues in the world today.
TRN161Y - Making Public Policy Work
The basic functions of government in Canada include keeping citizens safe, ensuring public health, fostering economic growth, and preserving the federation. What are the best ways to tackle these challenges? When is government action justified? How do we know what kinds of public policy will work and what will not? How do we assess the effectiveness of a given policy? This seminar course studies the history of responses by Canadian governments to a range of public policy problems and, in a series of case studies, examines a selection of the most important areas of federal and provincial activity today.
Co-Requisite
A first-year full credit in History, Political Science, Philosophy or Sociology; or a course taken with the permission of the Director.