Public administration is inherently an interdisciplinary field, prominently incorporating theory and methods from economics, political science, and sociology. Less obviously, however, MPA curricula include historical treatments of particular policy arenas, institutions, the administrative state, and the professions of policy analyst and public management. In addition, the case method that figures prominently in MPA pedagogy and the research MPA students perform depend on doing history. Yet, history as a scholarly endeavor is rarely included in basic courses, much less instruction in research methods. This essay explores the use of history in MPA curricula and how MPA students might acquire a deeper appreciation of history and how historians ply their craft.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AltmanS.ShactmanD. (2011). Power, politics, and universal health care. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
2.
A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform, A report to the nation and the Secretary of Education United States Department of Education by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983, April). Retrieved from http://datacenter.spps.org/uploads/sotw_a_nation_at_risk_1983.pdf
3.
ArnoldJ. (2000). History: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4.
Historical Thinking as a Skill in PA Graduate Education
5.
CarbonnierG. (2012). International development policy: Aid, emerging economies and global policies. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
6.
DrorY. (1986). Policymaking under adversity. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
7.
DunnW. N. (2011). Public policy analysis. New York: Pearson.
8.
EltonG. R. (2002). The practice of history. London: Blackwell Publishers.
9.
EvansR. J. (2000). In defense of history. New York: W.W. Norton.
10.
FisherW. R. (1984). Narration as a human communication paradigm: The case of public moral argument.Communication Monographs, 51, 1–22.
11.
FogelR. W.EngermanS. L. (1999). Time on the cross: The economics of American Negro slavery. New York: W.W. Norton.
12.
FollettM. P. (1930). The creative experience. New York: Longmans, Green and Company.
GadamerH. G. (1981). Reason in the age of science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
15.
GoodnowF. J. (1900). Politics and administration. New York: Macmillan.
16.
GuessG. M.FarnhamP. G. (2012). Cases in policy analysis. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
17.
GulickL. H. (1936). Notes on the theory of organization. In GulickL.UrwickL., Papers on the science of administration (pp. 3–35). New York: Institute of Public Administration.
18.
HallD. E. (2011). Administrative law: Bureaucracy and democracy. New York: Prentice-Hall.
19.
HeideggerM. (1949). Existence and being. Chicago: Henry Regnery.
20.
HeinemanR. A.BluhmW. T.PetersonS. A.KearnyE. N. (2002). The world of the policy analyst: Rationality, values, and politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
21.
HenryN. (2013). Public administration and public affairs. New York: Pearson.
22.
KettlD. F.FesslerJ. W. (2009). The politics of the administrative process. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
23.
KerwinC. M. (2010). Rulemaking: How government agencies write law and make
24.
LowiT. J. (1969). The end of liberalism: The second republic of the United States. New York: W.W. Norton.
25.
MarchJ. G.SimonH. A. (1958). Organizations. New York: Wiley & Sons.
26.
McGuinnP. J. (2006). No Child Left Behind and the transformation of federal education policy, 1965–2005. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press.
27.
Morstein MarxF.. (1946). The elements of public administration. New York: Prentice-Hall.
28.
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Report). (1967). Retrieved from http://www.blackpast.org/primary/national-advisorycommission-civil-disorders-kerner-report-1967
29.
Network of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). (2012). NASPAA core competencies. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/rockefeller/welcomeweek/ww2012/2012revisons/additions/Core%20Competencies%20presentation.pdf
30.
PiersonP. (2004). Politics in time: History, institutions, and social analysis. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
31.
RAND Corporation. (n.d.). History and mission. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/about/history.html
32.
RicoeurP. (1976). Interpretation and theory: Discourse and the surplus of meaning. Fort Worth, TX: Texas Christian University Press.
33.
RooseveltF. D. (1932, September 23). Commonwealth Club address. Speech given to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco.
34.
RosenbaumW. A. (2008). Environmental politics and policy. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
35.
RossiterC.. (1961). The federalist. New York: New American Library.
36.
SabatierP. A.Jenkins-SmithH. C.. (1993). Policy change and learning: An advocacy coalition approach. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
37.
SimonH. (1947). A comment on “The Science of Administration.”Public Administration Review, 7, 200–203.
38.
SkowronekS. (1982.)Building a new American state. New York: Cambridge University Press.
39.
StarlingG. (1998). Managing the public sector. New York: Harcourt Brace.
40.
StoneD. (1988). Policy paradox: The art of political decision making. New York: W.W. Norton.
41.
ThompsonJ. D. (1967). Organizations in action: Social science bases of administrative theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
42.
Van RiperP. (1983). The American administrative state: Wilson and the founders—an unorthodox view.Public Administration Review, 43(6), 477–490.
43.
WaldoD. (1948). The administrative state. New York: Ronald Press.
44.
WilsonW. (1887). The study of administration.Political Science Quarterly, 2(2), 197–222.
