Provisionally approved Fall 2002 July 2002

CAPSTONE:  PUBLIC ADVOCACY

Level IV

RATIONALE:  Being able to advocate positions logically and persuasively in a range of public arenas is essential for effective participation in the world of public and community service, be it as a professional, an involved citizen, or a community activist.  Even in an informal setting, one should be able to present concisely his or her position in a succinct and forceful manner.  However, in order to make sure our positions are heard, we must, for example, be able to publicly and formally debate and explain our viewpoint, write compelling opinion pieces for the media, testify with conviction at public hearings, and develop strong position papers which advance the agendas of groups and organizations with which we work.  Work at earlier levels of the curriculum builds the skills involved in understanding, constructing, analyzing, and evaluating arguments.  It also builds the knowledge base required for analyzing the structure of political systems and identifying potential leverage points or possible ways of influencing those systems.  In work on the Public Advocacy capstone competency, students will be asked to demonstrate their ability to pull together all these skills and understandings by applying them to the development and delivery of an argument about a controversial, “real-world” problem, issue, or policy.  The culmination of work on this capstone competency is an advocacy presentation of professional quality to an audience actively engaged with the policy issue.

COMPETENCY:  Can construct a comprehensive, reasoned argument about a controversial problem, issue, or policy and make that argument in an advocacy presentation to a relevant audience which is engaged in consideration of the issue.

CRITERIA:

1.      Identify a contested public policy issue and explain its significance.

2.      Research the range of positions currently being contested and demonstrate an understanding of the terms of the debate.

3.      Examine the historical context of the debate, describe how the arguments have changed over time, and assess how interpretations or distortions of the past and the present influence discussions of the issue.  Include discussion of how the media has influenced the portrayal of the issue on both sides of the topic.

4.      Construct an argument which expresses your own position.  This argument should present convincing reasons and evidence for your own position as well as convincing rebuttals of the major arguments for opposing views.  Thus, it should demonstrate a full understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments on both sides of the issue.

5.      Design an advocacy presentation for a relevant audience outside the College.  This presentation should be aimed at influencing their viewpoints or positions on the issue and must be appropriate to the audience in content, form, and style.  Preparation for the presentation should include development of a plan for assessing its impact on the audience.

6.      Make the presentation and defend your position in responses to questions and comments.

7.      Assess the effectiveness of the presentation and make recommendations for improving it.

STANDARDS:

1.      The public policy issue must be one which is currently being debated.  The topic must be approved by an evaluator.

2.      For Criterion 2, discussion of the range of positions should include identification of who is likely to support and who is likely to oppose each position, including an exploration of mainstream and alternative media coverage of the issue.  Explanation of the reasons why specific individuals or groups take particular positions should include consideration of who benefits, who loses, and what interests are served by each of the positions in the debate.

3.      For Criterion 3, the scope and origins of the debate should be introduced by such sources as books, articles, official documents, and reports.  Sources selected must be justified in terms of comprehensiveness, accuracy, and influence among experts or professionals in the policy area.  A bibliography of sources must be submitted and approved by an evaluator.  The discussion of the treatment and influence of the media should incorporate information regarding any change in coverage occurring over time and the reasons for such changes.

4.      For Criterion 4, the argument must be well-organized and all reasons must be supported with adequate evidence.  The argument should be logical, coherent, and comprehensive—that is, it should address all of the major points being contested.  Strong versions of opposing arguments should be presented and refuted.  The argument must be presented in outline form as well as in a position paper.  The evaluator must assess the adequacy of the argument and indicate that Criterion 4 has been successfully addressed before development of the presentation.

5.      The audience in Criterion 5 should be approved by an evaluator prior to the presentation.  It should contain a minimum of ten members. Prior to the evaluation an assessment must be done as to their positions and their prior involvement with the issue. If the audience/group has a position on the subject;  such information should be utilized in specific strategies for influencing the audience.  If the audience does not appear to have a position, an assessment must be done to investigate how the media (e.g., television, newspapers) has portrayed the issue, thus possibly affecting the viewpoint of the public at large.  The above information must be submitted in advance to an evaluator to assess the readiness of the student for the actual presentation.  The evaluator must approve of the preparation before the presentation is scheduled.

6.      Individual formal presentations in Criterion 6 must be at least 10 minutes.  They should be well-organized with a clear, attention-getting introduction, a well-organized and well-developed body, and a memorable conclusion.  The presentation should include effective use of handouts or other audio-visual aids.  Responses in the question-and-answer period should demonstrate an ability to respond to challenges and to refute major opposing points.  The entire presentation must be documented through videotape, CD ROM, or other electronic means.

7.      The effectiveness of the presentation should be assessed both through self-evaluation and through audience response.  Assessments by a sample of audience members of both the quality of the presentation and its impact on their thinking must be submitted.

EXAMPLES OF DEMONSTRATION:

1.      CPCS Collaborative Project:  A group of students, working in an environmental justice project at CPCS, study the historic land use policies within the City of Boston and the negative effects on Chinatown.  With the background information they research a series of new commercial building proposals and develop analyses of the impacts of these proposed projects.  The group organizes a community forum in which they present their findings and advocate for greater community resistance to commercial development.

2.      Independent Learning:  A student works independently with an outside advocacy group on welfare reform issues at the Massachusetts State House.  In developing his argument, he makes use of a variety of resources such as historical literature and studies relating to welfare usage.  This demonstration takes place via his written and oral testimony before a legislative subcommittee debating appropriations for welfare reform.