MAPL 640 Advocacy in the Public Sector: Service in the Elective Branch

MAPL 640 is the first of two required segments of the Concentration, Advocacy in the Public Sector. The class prepares students who have or will have careers in the elected branches of government, at the local, regional, state or national level. Those careers can be either as elected members of councils, boards, the Legislature or Congress themselves, or as staff to those elected. Familiarizes students with three essential skills for persons interested in such careers, instruction on understanding and using public opinion measurement, instruction on best practices for those operating as staff to elected or appointed officials, and instruction on media relations in a political setting; all three skills-oriented segments will be taught by guest lecturers with outstanding credentials; the first and last three-hour periods of the class will discuss the ethical dimensions of working in the political realm. The course is always offered in the Spring Semester, to coincide with Minnesota's legislative session.