SPRING 2021 COURSES AT THE BIDEN INSTITUTE

Spring 2021 Courses at the Biden Institute

Visiting practitioners will teach three courses: An introduction to Washington, D.C., Healthcare Policy, and Civil Rights policy. Courses will include lectures and visits from senior practitioners from various backgrounds and perspectives. These classes were developed in direct response to our survey asking students to identify the issues they are most passionate about.

All courses meet on Thursday evenings from 4pm-7pm. Each course meets four times during the semester.

Any questions about the courses can be directed to Madinah Wilson-Anton (madinahw@udel.edu)

Continue reading below for complete course descriptions.

Course Number: SPPA 400-010 (UG)  600-010 (GRAD)

Credits: 1

Max Enrollment: 40

SPPA400/600-010 Introduction to D.C.

This course brings students into the inner workings of Washington, DC, for an immersive study of the governmental, political, and media forces — and the relationships between them — that translate power into policy at the highest level. Through conversations with leading DC practitioners across a broad spectrum of roles, students will gain critical skills and insight, and learn how to navigate Washington’s web of connections and roadblocks in order to succeed in an array of different DC careers. Guest speakers will include senior staff from the White House, Capitol Hill, and federal agencies, leading journalists, policy makers from think tanks across the political spectrum, and leaders in the non-profit community.

Undergraduate sign-up: 

Course Link for Undergraduates

Graduate sign-up: 

Course Link for Graduates

Course Number: SPPA 400-011 (UG) SPPA 600-011 (GRAD)

Credits: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

SPPA400/600-011 Health Policy – Vaccines

The development, testing, approval, and eventual distribution of a coronavirus vaccine has become an issue of paramount importance for our entire nation and the world this year, as hundreds of millions turn their eyes to the scientists and regulators charged with stemming the tide of the pandemic. At the moment we most need transparency and trust in vaccines, however, a tide of skepticism, scrutiny, and anti-science rhetoric has eroded public trust in the very concept of vaccination. This course explores the full breadth of policy issues surrounding vaccines — from their creation to their adoption to how public perception impacts their effectiveness. Students will learn about the role vaccines play in disease control, the process of creating new vaccines, and how to best ensure that these medical breakthroughs are positioned to serve humanity in the future.​

Undergraduate sign-up:​​

Course Link for Undergraduates

Graduate sign-up: 

Course Link for Graduates

Course Number: SPPA 400-012 (UG) SPPA 600-012 (GRAD)

Credits: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

SPPA400/600-012 Protest to Policy – Advancing civil rights through public policy

The 19th Amendment. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Title IX. The Americans With Disabilities Act. Marriage Equality. Black Lives Matter. Throughout American history, popular protests have been a key driver of policy progress when it comes to advancing civil rights. This course explores the critical role that protest movements play in bringing about durable change in the policy arena — examining when and how they succeed, and why they sometimes fall short of their aims. Students will hear from a diverse lineup of successful civil rights advocates representing a range of movements and issues about the methods they used both in the streets and in the halls of power to achieve their policy goals.

Undergraduate sign-up: 

Course Link for Undergraduates​

Graduate sign-up: 

Course Link for Graduates​