Classes at CEU officially started this week, though the undergraduate students in the Bard/CEU program were treated to the inaugural session of a mandatory course on Central European History last Friday. The second session of that class was held yesterday evening (it's currently scheduled to run Mondays and Thursdays, 19.30-21.10), and the initial sessions of the Policy Process, Policy Analysis, and Public Sector Management and Public International Law were held this afternoon (Policy Process is generally held Tuesdays and Thursdays, 13.30-15.10; Public International Law is scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays, 15.30-17.10).
Policy Process was straightforward enough, with a presentation of the basic outline of the course, including topics to be covered and expectations of the cohort; personal introductions from the professor, the teaching assistant, and all of the students; an examination of some basic definitions of public policy, polity, politics, and the interaction of the three; and a review of the syllabus.
The expectations of the course are quite simple: (1) one in-class presentation on one of the required readings for the class; (2) acting as discussant during another student's presentation, analyzing the quality of the presentation with respect to both structure and content; (3) a short written exam covering major principles examined throughout the course; (4) a short, six-to-eight-page policy brief; and, naturally (5) class participation. Readings for presentations will be selected on Tuesday (I hope to present either a reading on the structure of decision-making in the policy process and the importance of veto players in that process as they pertain to health policy in three European countries, or a reading on direct democracy). A topic for the policy brief must be selected by October 14.
The presentation of all the above did unfortunately suffer from the Professor Alex Fischer's lecturing style, which consisted of him reading from detailed PowerPoint slides he had prepared. There was an consequent lack of discussion and a feeling, for me at least, that I wasn't engaging with the material as fully as I could.
In Public International Law, however, Professor Boldiszar Nagy engaged students from the start, interjecting into introductions information about Budapest and Hungary that each student might find relevant: given my interest in public health, he directed me to several Hungarian journals that have recently examined national health care reform; for students who mentioned an extracurricular interest in music, he suggested a few concert halls with especially good programs; to the cinéastes in the group he provided the names of a number of small art houses throughout the city. After introductions, he moved directly into the assigned reading for the day, leading a discussion that covered definitions of law and international law and the distinctions between municipal and international law. The course requirements, a short mid-term exam, a short presentation on an issue of international law relevant to current affairs, and a take-home final exam, were covered in the class introduction last week.
On Friday, the first session of my class on Freedom of Information will be held. Next Friday, the first session of International Policy Practice will be held. Also, my course in basic Hungarian begins next Tuesday.
Policy Process was straightforward enough, with a presentation of the basic outline of the course, including topics to be covered and expectations of the cohort; personal introductions from the professor, the teaching assistant, and all of the students; an examination of some basic definitions of public policy, polity, politics, and the interaction of the three; and a review of the syllabus.
The expectations of the course are quite simple: (1) one in-class presentation on one of the required readings for the class; (2) acting as discussant during another student's presentation, analyzing the quality of the presentation with respect to both structure and content; (3) a short written exam covering major principles examined throughout the course; (4) a short, six-to-eight-page policy brief; and, naturally (5) class participation. Readings for presentations will be selected on Tuesday (I hope to present either a reading on the structure of decision-making in the policy process and the importance of veto players in that process as they pertain to health policy in three European countries, or a reading on direct democracy). A topic for the policy brief must be selected by October 14.
The presentation of all the above did unfortunately suffer from the Professor Alex Fischer's lecturing style, which consisted of him reading from detailed PowerPoint slides he had prepared. There was an consequent lack of discussion and a feeling, for me at least, that I wasn't engaging with the material as fully as I could.
In Public International Law, however, Professor Boldiszar Nagy engaged students from the start, interjecting into introductions information about Budapest and Hungary that each student might find relevant: given my interest in public health, he directed me to several Hungarian journals that have recently examined national health care reform; for students who mentioned an extracurricular interest in music, he suggested a few concert halls with especially good programs; to the cinéastes in the group he provided the names of a number of small art houses throughout the city. After introductions, he moved directly into the assigned reading for the day, leading a discussion that covered definitions of law and international law and the distinctions between municipal and international law. The course requirements, a short mid-term exam, a short presentation on an issue of international law relevant to current affairs, and a take-home final exam, were covered in the class introduction last week.
On Friday, the first session of my class on Freedom of Information will be held. Next Friday, the first session of International Policy Practice will be held. Also, my course in basic Hungarian begins next Tuesday.
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