Historical Methods in Public Policy
This course introduces the use of historical analysis as a tool for understanding and informing public policy. Students examine how historical narratives, data, and case studies provide context for contemporary policy challenges and decisionmaking. The course covers methods for sourcing, interpreting, and integrating historical evidence into policy research and analysis. Through applied exercises and examples from multiple policy domains, students learn to assess how past events shape institutional behavior and policy outcomes. By the end, they are able to employ historical reasoning to strengthen policy design, evaluation, and communication.
