Date of Award
Fall 12-7-2022
Degree Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)
Department
English
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Christopher Palmer
Co-Chair
Keaton Lamle
Abstract
This capstone investigates how the methodologies of the humanities can inform the creation and analysis of public policy. Since the mid-twentieth century, public policy has increasingly turned away from humanistic questions and toward technical questions. The result has been a public policy regime that focuses too much on manipulable variables and not on the humans that the policies are impacting. By applying humanistic methodologies to public policy, we are more likely to appreciate the inarticulable elements of human social organization and therefore devise public policy that is less harmful and more humble.