Sophomore College
The Stanford Sophomore College provides rising second-year students with an opportunity for intensive, research-based study with senior faculty in a range of subjects and disciplines. Every September, the Center sponsors a Sophomore College course on the North American West.
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2007: The Federal Government and the West
Taught by: David M. Kennedy, David Brady, and Tammy Frisby, and Roger Noll
This course addresses the historical development and current status of the relationship between the U.S. federal government and the American West. It will focus on the ways in which the federal government's enormous landholdings in the West and the dependence of major sectors of the western economy on federal funds and institutions have created a peculiar relationship between the federal government and western states. We will begin by examining the history of federal involvement with the West, from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Civil War-Era Pacific Railroad Act down to the enormous reclamation projects of the New Deal and post-World War II periods and the Interstate Highway Act of 1956. We will then use this historical background to help us understand the contemporary relationship in a number of policy areas: land ownership and natural resource management, agriculture, water, energy, and environmental quality. The course will consider not only the influence of the federal government on the West but also how the politics and economies of western states have shaped federal policies that affect the nation. The seminar will meet on the Stanford campus and then move to Washington, D.C. for discussion with elected officials and other policy makers. Students will form 3 to 4 research teams, and each team's final work product will be a formal presentation analyzing a key issue in the relationship between the federal government and the West.
2007 student final projects will be posted on this site in late fall.
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2006: What’s the Matter with California?
Taught by: David M. Kennedy, David Brady, Roger Noll
This course addresses the historical origins, evolution, and current status of California's political system. It will focus especially on the question of why the same political institutions that gave rise to a state widely regarded as exceptionally well governed up through the 1970s now support a governance structure that is so conspicuously dysfunctional. Chronic budget volatility, legislative paralysis, growing reliance on the initiative process to make law, deteriorating educational, transportation, and energy infrastructures, demographic and economic transformations unaccompanied by commensurate political adaptations, and the repeated failure of efforts to effect political change all suggest that California's political structure is in crisis. We will examine the legacy of direct-democracy devices like the initiative, referendum, and recall; the nature of the executive and legislative branches of state government; changing characteristics of the electorate; the role of political parties; and the politics of redistricting, education, transportation, energy, and the environment. The seminar will meet on the Stanford campus and then move to Sacramento for discussion with policy-makers and elected officials. Students will be expected to submit final reports of 8-12 pages analyzing one of the key issues.
2006 Student Final Projects (PowerPoint)
Education
L.A. Cities/Suburbs
The Legislature
State-Local Relations
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2005: Spinning the West
Taught by: Richard White
Taking place in Washington DC, this course explored imagery and mythmaking associated with the American West, exploring national museums, federal agencies, and policymaking bodies.
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For more about the Sophomore College program, and information on how to apply for future years, please see the Freshman and Sophomore Programs website
