FALL 2016 SYLLABUS: English for Sophomore Public Administration Majors
Meeting Time & Location: Wednesdays from 1:30-3PM, Rm. 4
Instructor: Mr. Julian Lee 李立安 Class Website: www.omnifoo.info/pages/IRPAF16.html
Office: 4th floor, Rm 401
Email: omniscientfool@tom.com
Jump to: Grading Class Schedule Midterm
OVERVIEW: The major goal of this class will be to raise students' comfort and confidence in oral English, but there will still be some readings and lecture from the instructor. Content will explore comparative concepts of governance, especially what makes for "good governance" as opposed to "corruption." In some ways it will resemble an introductory comparative politics class (in topics of regime types, political participation, and the role of the state) in an American university, in others a high school civics/goverment class (as when explaining the branches of U.S. government and the rights & duties of citizenship), but elements of policy studies and political theory will also appear. At least one class will focus on the U.S. election of 2016. As this is an EFL class, considerable attention will be paid to explaining basic concepts and providing opportunities for students to practice listening & speaking. Students can also expect to expand their English vocabularies for discussing matters of importance to PA, through the use of a customized English-Chinese Glossary of Public Administration. 讲课的语言是英语。 听/看不懂英语的学生千万要提前安排助学办法。
EXAMS: There will be a 1-on-1 oral midterm and final exam with the instructor in this class. Instructions for the exams, including all questions to be asked, will be given in advance. The exams will last less than ten minutes for each student.
GRADING: The oral exams will be the main component of students' final grades for this course, with attendance and participation making up the daily grades.
RECOMMENDED AMERICAN NEWS WEBSITES IN ENGLISH: General & Easy to Read - Washington Post ...(Left-Wing/Liberal) - CommonDreams ...(Right-Wing/Conservative) - National Review (There are lots more of each, and you're encouraged to explore! Many are unfortunately not accessible from China.) Any time you read something interesting about the U.S. election in Chinese or English, please bring a copy of it or a link to the article so we can discuss it in class.
Care to see what Julian's other classes are doing? Visit the NENU landing page for his reading, writing, public administration, and IR theory courses. All classes should have received a copy of EFL student guides to Western music and Western movies. Feel free to share and distribute them.
In Fall 2016, all students interested in the 2016 U.S. elections are invited to attend the Junior PA class on Thursdays at 3:30PM in Classroom 10. The class will focus on listening and speaking with debates and discussion of issues in U.S. media related to the elections. It will have little or no homework and no exams.
RECOMMENDED FILMS RELEVANT TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: DOCUMENTARY - Commanding Heights; Inside Job; Petition 上访; The Unforeseen; 036 (Spanish Short Film). FICTION - American Splendor; Brazil; Idiocracy; Police, Adjective; Stranger Than Fiction; Zootopia
Every effort will be made to present class materials in a fair manner which does not unconciously or excessively privilege Western thought and theories over Chinese and other approaches. However, given the instructor's training in a U.S. university, the majority of the material will be presented as closely as possible to an "Intro to IR" class in the USA. Anyone wishing to object officially, of course, has the option of reporting the instructor to the hotline reported below:
http://jlrbszb.chinajilin.com.cn/html/2015-11/01/content_176708.htm
It is hoped that will not be necessary, and we can use this class to learn and discuss collegially how China and the U.S. view international politics!
WEEK 1 (9-7): Instructor returns from USA on Sept. 7th, so it is unlikely we will have class this week.
WEEK 2 (9-14): CLASS INTRODUCTION: Read syllabus together, distribute English-Chinese Glossary of Public Administration. Assign & discuss Western names, concepts like one's full name, initials, surname, etc. Name song? 7-up Stand Up game?
WEEK 3 (9-21): Self-introductions, travel & comparisons.
WEEK 4 (9-28): Comparisons: China & the USA
WEEK 5 (10-5): NATIONAL WEEK...NO CLASS? 10-9 SUN. Studying politics & public administration in a U.S. university. Instructor presents on college life in the USA. See also this account of Chinese students at the University of WI, the instructor's home state.
WEEK 6 (10-12): Intro to Public Administration concepts. RECOMMENDED READINGS: Students should familiarize themselves with the foundational public administration concepts of policy implementation, states, regimes, governments, administrations, legitimacy, authority, etc. Wikipedia's entry on Max Weber is a good place to start and probably may be read in Chinese.
WEEK 7 (10-19): Introduce controversial policy proposals and statements from 2016 U.S. presidential candidates.
WEEK 8 (10-26): Agreeing & Disagreeing (based on handout). In groups of 2-4, students write and perform dialogs on topics about which they disagree, using at least ten sentences and five expressions from the handouts.
WEEK 9 (11-2): VOCABULARY GAME
WEEK 10 (11-9): Post-election class. Sign up for miderm oral exams. MIDTERM REVIEW GAME
Sat., Nov. 12th, 9AM: Big English & Politics Competition, Round 1. Competing in teams of five from 班 in 政法学院= Scrabble (一楼大厅) & Wordjong Tournament (第五教室). Top 8 teams advance to Round 2. Teams not advancing are awarded notebooks and Russian candy.
WEEK 11 (11-16): Midterm Oral Exams 1-3:30PM
Sun., Nov. 20th, 5:30PM: Big English & Politics Competition, Round 2. Game show (like Review Game) format. 1st Place Prize: 1000 yuan & others, 2nd Place Prize: 500 yuan & others, 3rd Place Prize: 300 yuan & others, 4th Place Prize: TBA, 5th Place Prize: TBA, 6-8th Place Prize: Notebook, CD, & Russian candy.
WEEK 12 (11-23): What makes an organization public or private? Discuss ownership, funding, and "the bottom line" of different organizations. Compare for-profit enterprises and non-profit organizations, privately owned/publicly traded corporations and SOEs, government agencies and programs. With cards and examples, mix and match different kinds of organizations. REQUIRED READING FOR 11-30: http://graphics.latimes.com/china-economy/#nt=oft01a-1la1 RECOMMENDED READING: How did Russia become an oligarchy? Wikipedia on Privatization in Russia Dresen's summary of The Piratization of Russia: Russian Reform Goes Awry
WEEK 13 (11-30): Discuss LA Times article on Changchun (REQUIRED READING from WEEK 12, 11-23)
WEEK 14 (12-7): With references to previous week's reading, introduce basic economic systems: planned/command; mixed/transitional; (regulated) market; (laissez-faire) free market; capitalist.
WEEK 15 (12-14): Introduce topic of corruption, including its definition, measurement, and comparative levels around the world. Talk about and show examples of world currencies.
WEEK 16 (12-21): VOCABULARY GAME
WEEK 17 (12-28): FINAL REVIEW GAME
WEEK 18: Final Oral Exams Wed., Jan. 4th, 2PM, in the order of the student roster.