Lesson Report:
**Title: Tracing Policy Failure Through the Five‑Stage Cycle: Bishkek Bus Lanes & Problem Statements**
In this session students continued working with their bus lane homework to reconstruct the full life cycle of the Bishkek bus lane policy and locate where and why it failed. The class moved step‑by‑step through the five‑stage policy cycle, tied each stage to specific dates and actors, and then used that analysis to begin drafting concise, evidence‑based problem statements. In the last part of class, students shifted to a new case—the electricity shortage—to begin mapping competing causal explanations in preparation for next week’s focus on political language and problem framing.
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## Attendance
– No students were explicitly marked absent for **this** session in the transcript.
– **1 new student** was welcomed and identified as having missed previous meetings pending documentation (“graphicsâ€�) to avoid past absences.
– One remote student (Khadija) participated online; her physical absence from other classes was mentioned but not tied to this specific session.
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## Topics Covered (Chronological, with Thematic Activities)
### 1. Framing the Day: Continuing Bus Lane Homework via the Policy Cycle
– The instructor opened by stating that the class would **continue working directly with the homework**: short articles students had collected and written about the Bishkek bus lane policy.
– Objective for the session:
– Use these homework articles to **map the bus lane policy onto the five‑stage policy cycle** (agenda setting, formulation, adoption, implementation, review).
– Develop and defend arguments about **where in the cycle the policy “diedâ€� or failed**.
– Students were asked to:
– Take out their homework.
– Be prepared to **present evidence‑based arguments** about:
– At which stage the policy failed.
– Why they believe the policy effectively “diedâ€� at that stage.
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### 2. Reconstructing the Timeline: Agenda Setting for the Bus Lanes
**Activity: Class discussion to build a shared timeline from student‑found sources**
– The instructor began with a broad question: **“What happened?â€�**
– Students were asked to move beyond the rough overview from the previous session and reconstruct a **more accurate timeline** of key events around the bus lanes.
**Concept review: Agenda setting stage**
– Instructor prompted: *“What is the agenda setting part of the cycle?â€�*
– Students identified agenda setting as **getting the attention of people with power**.
– Clarifications:
– Awareness by ordinary citizens is **important but insufficient**; what matters for agenda setting is:
1. People with decision‑making power **know** there is a problem.
2. They **accept it as a problem worth time and resources** and as something they can feasibly address.
– Agenda setting, therefore, pertains both to:
– Framing of the **problem** (e.g., traffic congestion).
– Introduction/consideration of **possible solutions** (e.g., bus lanes).
**Applying agenda setting to the bus lane case**
– Students first identified 2023 as the year of **implementation**, but instructor pushed further:
– When did the policy first come to life in the agenda‑setting sense?
– Student evidence:
– One student cited **media coverage (e.g., Fox-type media, press reports)**, indicating:
– Agenda‑setting activity around bus lane implementation in **August–October 2023**, focusing on specific areas of Bishkek.
– Another student reported:
– Their article, published in **May 2022**, discussed **traffic problems** and broader road/transport issues.
– At that time, authorities (e.g., “the emirate ship,â€� likely mistranscription of “mayoral officeâ€� or similar) were not waking up worrying “there are no bus lanes,â€� but were focused on **traffic congestion** as the core problem.
– This aligns with the instructor’s emphasis: the **problem** on the agenda is traffic, not the absence of bus lanes.
– Another contribution mentioned:
– The **bus lane idea had been proposed as early as 2019** by a specific executive to a CEO‑type figure.
– It apparently **sat dormant for some time**, suggesting:
– Good policy ideas can “sit on a shelfâ€� until a crisis (e.g., severe traffic jams in 2023) forces rapid adoption.
– Instructor synthesis:
– Articles about **traffic as a problem** around **May 2022** mark agenda setting for the **problem**.
– Later, in **summer–early fall 2023**, when articles suggest bus lanes are being “consideredâ€� or “in progress,â€� we see agenda setting for the **solution**.
– The instructor highlighted:
– Agenda setting = **both** problem recognition **and** solution emergence.
– The bus lane concept appears to have **preceded** the crisis (2019 idea), then was revived when traffic reached “crisisâ€� levels in 2023.
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### 3. Moving Through the Cycle: Formulation, Adoption, Implementation, Review
#### 3.1. Formulation: Designing the Solution
**Concept review**
– Instructor asked: *“Who remembers what the formulation stage is?â€�*
– Student: “Designing the solution.â€�
– The class reaffirmed:
– **Problem**: severe traffic congestion in Bishkek.
– **Formulation**: stage where government and experts consider various ways to address that congestion.
**Evidence and discussion**
– One student reported that:
– Bishkek City Hall/transport authorities had been **looking at global practices**, citing a statistic that bus lanes can reduce bus travel time by **10–35%**.
– Source: a **magazine on environmentbus.com** referencing cases from **2014–2025** in other countries.
– The instructor noted:
– That global comparison is relevant only if there is **local evidence** that Bishkek authorities consulted such materials.
– The key window of interest: **after May 2022 but before bus lanes were officially confirmed**.
– Several students mentioned **difficulty finding clear, official formulation‑stage documents**:
– There appeared to be **no “comprehensiveâ€� specification** of the bus lane policy in publicly available sources.
– Instructor accepted that as an empirical gap for now.
– Another student added:
– In **2019**, an executive proposed **dedicated bus lanes**, but it was among several options and not immediately adopted.
– This reinforced the “shelf policyâ€� theme.
– Additional complexity:
– Around **2023–2024**, **car‑oriented projects** were also being pursued:
– Widening roads.
– Increasing speed limits in some areas.
– Instructor flagged this as **contradictory** to a public‑transport‑first strategy and suggested this might fit better into **review/reformulation** rather than initial formulation.
#### 3.2. Adoption: Who Made the Decision?
**Concept clarification**
– The instructor initially blurred adoption and implementation and then corrected:
– **Adoption** = **formal decision/vote/approval** to pursue the policy.
– **Implementation** = the **operationalization** of that decision (physical and administrative work).
– Students were asked:
– *“Who adopted the bus lane policy? Who had actual authority?â€�*
**Actors identified**
– One student cited:
– A **“Commission of the Headquarters for the Development of Road Transportâ€�** as involved in the decision.
– Instructor discussion:
– Asked what a **commission (komissiya)** is in practice:
– A group that **discusses**, deliberates, and then **approves or recommends** an action.
– Emphasized that:
– The commission itself has limited independent power; its decisions become meaningful only when endorsed by a **higher authority**.
– Class consensus:
– At the city level, the **mayor** appears to be the ultimate decision‑maker.
– The commission likely **recommended** the bus lanes to the mayor, who then **formally adopted** the policy.
– Some confusion remained about:
– Whether the **Ministry/Department of Transportation** involved was a **national** or **city** body.
– Instructor noted:
– Ministry of Transportation is likely a **national** organ.
– Bus lanes appear to have been a **Bishkek city policy**, suggesting:
– Some interplay between **city commissions** and **national transportation agencies**.
#### 3.3. Implementation: When Did It Actually Happen?
**Concept review**
– Instructor asked: *“How do we know implementation has started or finished?â€�*
– Students identified:
– When **physical changes** occur (crews on the road, asphalt work, painting bus lane markings).
– Evidence students brought:
– An article from **August 2023** reported that:
– Bus lanes would **appear in September 2023**.
– Implementation was thus:
– **Visible and concrete**—an unusually easy stage to date because:
– The bus lanes could be **seen on the ground**.
– Instructor emphasized:
– Implementation = **turning words on paper into observable changes**.
– For this case, **September 2023** marks the main implementation moment.
#### 3.4. Review (Evaluation): Did It Work? Should It Continue?
**Concept review**
– Instructor clarified that:
– The policy cycle does **not** require review to start at any fixed interval after implementation.
– **Review begins when people (public, officials, media) start questioning**:
– Whether the policy is achieving its intended outcomes.
– Whether it should be modified or scrapped.
**Evidence and discussion**
– Students’ recollections:
– Complaints on **social media** began **within a week** of implementation.
– Within about **a month**, news agencies started quoting **officials questioning**:
– The effectiveness of bus lanes.
– Whether and where they should continue.
– One student cited a specific article:
– The **Ministry of Transportation** temporarily **canceled bus lanes** due to:
– Poor road quality.
– Buses being forced to run on **damaged, substandard surfaces**.
– Date: **July 2024**.
– This shows:
– Formal acknowledgement by national authorities that the implementation **was not working as intended**.
– Another student referenced a **2021 article (16 Sept 2021)**:
– Bishkek had previously **experimented with other congestion solutions**:
– Improving traffic light regulation.
– Creating new roads.
– Better drainage and road maintenance.
– Result: **most attempts had failed** to significantly reduce traffic jams.
– Authorities claimed they would **learn from past mistakes** and make a “new systemâ€� more effective.
– Instructor noted:
– The article was vague about which “authoritiesâ€� made those commitments.
– Current status:
– One student argued:
– The policy is still in **Stage 4 (implementation)** because articles from “a month or two agoâ€� report **new bus lanes being built on additional streets**.
– Instructor nuance:
– Review has **already been happening** (complaints, cancellations).
– But the policy has **cycled back** from review to **re‑implementation**, indicating:
– The policy is **not dead**.
– It is **oscillating between review and implementation**, with selective expansion and modification.
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### 4. Identifying the Point of Failure in the Policy Cycle
**Core analytical task**
– Instructor reframed the policy cycle analysis into a causal question:
– We generally agree: **bus lanes did not solve the traffic problem**.
– Therefore, **where along the cycle did critical failure occur?**
**Student arguments**
1. **Failure in the Formulation Stage (Main emerging consensus)**
– Student claim:
– The policy failed at **Stage 2: formulation**, during the **design of the solution**, because:
– It **did not account for local conditions**:
– Poor road quality.
– Drivers’ likely misuse of the bus lanes (entering without enforcement/punishment).
– Interaction with existing patterns like **school‑time congestion** and increasing car ownership.
– The solution was essentially **imported from other countries** without sufficient adaptation.
– Another student elaborated:
– Authorities likely **knew** drivers would try to use the bus lanes; this is a **known problem worldwide** with dedicated lanes.
– However, they **did not pair** the bus lane policy with:
– Stronger **enforcement mechanisms** (e.g., higher fines, consistent ticketing).
– **Service improvements** (e.g., more frequent buses, better scheduling) to make bus use attractive.
– So, they implemented **only one narrow part of a multi‑part solution**, leading to predictable misuse and public backlash.
2. **The Role of Rushed Decision‑Making and External Pressure**
– Several students argued:
– The policy appeared **rushed in its formulation and initial implementation**.
– Possible reasons:
– **External pressure from donors, development banks, or NGOs** who prefer “visibleâ€� transport reforms (e.g., bus lanes).
– Political/diplomatic pressure to **show quick results** rather than carefully building a coherent mobility strategy.
– Accumulation of different transport problems (traffic jams, bus accidents, school transport safety issues) led decision‑makers to **“close the topicâ€� quickly** with an apparently modern solution.
– One student specifically characterized the bus lanes as:
– A **“donor‑driven solutionâ€�** more than a citizen‑driven one.
– Authorities did not adequately **factor in public preferences and everyday realities**.
3. **Complexity of the Underlying Problem**
– The instructor and students noted:
– **Traffic congestion** is a multi‑causal, complex problem:
– Rising private vehicle ownership.
– Inadequate road quality and maintenance.
– Poorly regulated existing public transport.
– A single, quickly rolled‑out bus lane program was unlikely to address **structural causes**.
– Instructor framed the class’ reasoning as a **causal chain**:
1. Policy failed to reduce traffic →
2. Because the solution design **did not fit Bishkek’s context** →
3. Because decision‑makers faced **time and political pressure** and **imported models** rather than building a robust, integrated package.
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### 5. Introducing the Problem Statement Assignment
**Objective**
– Transition from descriptive analysis (“what happened?â€�) to **structured analytical writing**: crafting a **short problem statement**.
– Students were asked to **begin drafting in class** and then complete and submit it as homework.
**Required structure of the problem statement paragraph (≈5–6 sentences)**
1. **Statement of the problem itself**
– Clearly define the **underlying issue** the bus lane policy was meant to address.
– Instructor pushed students to:
– Avoid vague phrases like “traffic was really bad.â€�
– Use **measurable or precise descriptions** where possible (e.g., travel times, congestion patterns, school‑hour bottlenecks, accident rates, etc.), even if they must approximate based on available reports.
2. **Stage of failure within the policy cycle**
– Students must choose and defend a specific stage where failure occurred (e.g., **formulation**, adoption, implementation, or review).
– They must **justify** this choice:
– Show how the evidence they gathered (news articles, official statements, timelines) indicates **that particular stage** was where things went wrong.
3. **Explanation of why the failure occurred**
– Move from **“whereâ€�** to **“whyâ€�**:
– What **circumstances or factors** led to failure at that stage?
– Examples based on class discussion:
– Rushed design under external/political pressure.
– Failure to adapt a global model to **Bishkek’s road quality, enforcement capacity, and driving culture**.
– Lack of complementary measures (e.g., enforcement, bus frequency, integrated planning).
**Constraints and expectations**
– Length: **≈5 sentences**, maximum **6**.
– Evidence:
– Use **concrete evidence** from:
– The articles collected as homework.
– Any additional sources students might now consult.
– Originality:
– Instructor explicitly instructed **not to use ChatGPT** or similar tools to write the paragraph.
– Work must be **student‑written**; the goal is to see their current reasoning, not polished analysis.
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### 6. Transition to a New Policy Problem: Electricity Shortages
**Activity: Group work on competing causal explanations**
– With ~10 minutes left, the instructor pivoted to a **new example policy problem** to build on the problem‑statement framework: **electricity shortages** and nighttime power conservation (e.g., streetlights being turned off after 10 p.m.).
– Students were assigned to **small groups (mostly of three, one group of four)**; the remote student will be attached to a group next week.
**Task instructions**
– Each group was asked to:
– Use any publicly available sources (news sites, social media posts, TikTok videos, comment sections, etc.).
– Compile a **list of different arguments people make about why the electricity shortage exists**:
– Who or what is blamed?
– What causal stories are being told (e.g., mismanagement, corruption, regional exports, old infrastructure, climate, etc.)?
– Emphasis:
– Do **not** just record your own views.
– Build a **“libraryâ€� of arguments** circulating in public discourse.
– Target: **4–5 distinct causal arguments per group.**
– The instructor clarified:
– It does not matter whether the argument comes from an official report or a random social media comment.
– The aim is to map **competing causal narratives** as preparation for next week’s work on **political language and problem framing**.
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### 7. Homework, Logistics, and Next Steps
**Homework for this course**
1. **Submit the problem statement paragraph (bus lanes)**
– Upload to **eCourse**:
– Use the dedicated submission page that will be or has been created.
– It can be in its current draft form; perfection is **not** expected.
– Requirements:
– Approx. **5 sentences**, following the structure discussed.
– Must be **written by the student**, not AI‑generated.
2. **Reading assignment**
– First reading for the semester:
– A short excerpt (~5 pages) from **Deborah Stone, _The Art of Political Decision Making_**.
– Focus of the reading:
– How political actors use **language and framing** to define what counts as a **“policy problemâ€�** vs. mere **“conditionsâ€�**.
– Students must read this **before Tuesday’s class**.
**Next class focus**
– The instructor previewed that the next session will:
– Explore **political language and problem framing**.
– Connect to the prior discussion that **policy power lies in defining what is or is not a “problemâ€�.**
– Use the electricity shortage and other examples to analyze how:
– Actors with power **shape our perception** of problems.
– Language can **manipulate or enlighten** public understanding, sometimes for good, sometimes not.
**Other logistics**
– Students not yet on **eCourse** (e.g., Aziret) must:
– Enroll using the course key.
– Email the instructor if the key is needed.
– The instructor also briefly addressed a separate course (“Politics of Truthâ€�) at a student’s request:
– Acknowledged uncertainty about that course’s current assignment.
– Asked the student to **email** them.
– Promised to post any clarifications/assignments on **that course’s eCourse** page.
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## Actionable Items for the Instructor
### High Priority (Before Next Class)
– **Collect and review problem statement paragraphs**
– Verify that:
– All enrolled students submit a paragraph via eCourse.
– Paragraphs follow the requested structure (problem definition, stage of failure, causal explanation).
– Writing appears to be **student‑generated** (flag any likely AI‑written submissions for follow‑up).
– Note common misunderstandings (e.g., confusion between stages, weak causal links) to address in the next class.
– **Ensure all students are properly enrolled on eCourse**
– Confirm that:
– The new in‑person student and the student mentioned (Aziret) are now enrolled.
– If necessary, **send a reminder with enrollment key**.
– **Follow up with the new student about absence documentation**
– Remind the new student to provide the requested **“graphicsâ€� / documentation** for past sessions so prior absences can be corrected.
### Medium Priority (For Upcoming Sessions on Bus Lanes)
– **Clarify institutional details of the bus lane policy**
– Independently verify:
– The **exact name and legal status** of the “Commission of the Headquarters for the Development of Road Transport.â€�
– Whether the **Department/Ministry of Transportation** involved was acting in a **national** or **city** capacity.
– Whether Bishkek has a **city legislative body** that votes on transport policies, or whether decisions are primarily **mayor + commissions**.
– Use this to refine future discussions about **who has power at which stage** of the cycle.
– **Encourage and possibly structure additional evidence‑gathering**
– Ask students in a future class to:
– Firm up **exact dates** for key events in:
– Agenda setting (first problem‑framing articles about traffic).
– Formulation (evidence of comparative policy analysis, local design work).
– Adoption (date of formal decision by the mayor/commission).
– Review (first official statements reconsidering the lanes, July 2024 cancellation).
– Consider assigning a **short, low‑stakes task** to fill in missing timeline gaps.
### Lower Priority (Over the Next 1–2 Weeks)
– **Integrate electricity‑shortage group work**
– Next class:
– Have each group **present or submit** its list of public arguments about the electricity shortage.
– Attach the remote student (Khadija) to one of the existing groups and share the group’s compiled list with her.
– Use these lists to:
– Illustrate **competing causal narratives**.
– Transition into the Deborah Stone reading on **political symbols and problem construction**.
– **Follow up on “Politics of Truthâ€� course logistics**
– Although a different course, to close the loop from this session:
– Review that syllabus and current plan.
– Send an **email and/or eCourse announcement** clarifying any pending assignments and readings for that course.
– This will relieve confusion expressed by the remote student.
These notes should allow you to quickly reconstruct the flow of this session, see where students are in their understanding of the policy cycle, and plan both targeted feedback on their problem statements and next steps for deepening the analysis of policy framing and failure.
Homework Instructions:
ASSIGNMENT #1: Bus Lane Policy Problem Statement Paragraph
You will formalize the short problem-statement paragraph you began in class about the Bishkek bus lane policy. This assignment helps you practice identifying a policy problem, locating the stage of failure in the five-stage policy cycle, and explaining why that failure occurred, using evidence from your bus-lane articles and our discussion.
Instructions:
1. **Retrieve your in-class draft.**
– Use the paragraph you started in class about the Bishkek bus lane policy and its failure in the policy cycle.
– If you only have fragments/notes, that is fine—start from those.
2. **Structure the paragraph around the three required components.**
Your paragraph should be about **5 sentences (maximum 6)** and must include:
1) **Statement of the problem**
2) **Stage of failure in the policy cycle**
3) **Explanation of *why* the failure occurred**
3. **Sentence 1–2: Clearly state the policy problem in measurable terms.**
– Describe the underlying issue that the bus lanes were meant to solve (the *traffic problem in Bishkek*), not just “bus lanes failed.â€�
– Avoid vague phrases like “traffic was really bad.â€� Instead, try to express the problem in more concrete or precise language, for example by referring to:
– congestion in specific corridors or times (e.g., rush hour, school times),
– delays for public transport users,
– or other concrete indicators you found in your articles.
– Use your own wording to show you understand the nature of the problem the policy was targeting.
4. **Sentence 2–3: Identify the stage of the policy cycle where you argue the failure occurred.**
– Explicitly name **which stage** you believe the bus lane policy failed at:
– Agenda setting
– Formulation (design of the solution)
– Adoption
– Implementation
– Review
– Use the concepts from class:
– Recall how we discussed that many of you see the failure in **formulation**, because the design didn’t fully account for Bishkek’s local realities (road quality, driver behavior, enforcement, etc.), and that decisions seemed rushed and copied from other contexts.
– Alternatively, if you are convinced by a different stage (e.g., implementation or review), you may argue that—but you must justify it.
5. **Sentence 3–5(6): Explain *why* the failure happened, using evidence.**
– Answer: **Why did the failure occur at that particular stage?**
– Draw directly on the evidence you gathered for the earlier homework about bus lanes and from what was discussed in class:
– Articles about poor road quality and how buses and cars shared damaged lanes.
– Reports that show the idea may have been “rushed,â€� possibly influenced by donors, external pressure, or desire to “close the topicâ€� quickly.
– Evidence that other supportive measures (e.g., stricter enforcement, better public transport frequency, complementary policies) were not adopted with the bus lanes.
– Make a short causal argument, for example (but in your own words):
– “Because decision-makers rushed the design and copied solutions from abroad without adjusting them to Bishkek’s conditions, they adopted an incomplete policy that could not realistically reduce congestion.â€�
– Reference at least **one specific piece of evidence** from your articles (date, source, or key detail) to support your claim, even briefly (e.g., “An article from [source] on [month/year] shows that…â€�).
6. **Ensure the paragraph is your own work (no AI writing).**
– The professor explicitly stated that this paragraph must be written by you and **not** by ChatGPT or similar tools.
– You may, of course, use your notes, articles, and our class discussion, but the wording, structure, and argument must be your own.
7. **Type and submit your paragraph.**
– Type your final version (no need to be “perfect,â€� but it should be coherent and complete).
– Give it a simple heading such as “Bus Lane Policy Problem Statement.â€�
– Upload your paragraph to the submission page for this task on the course site as directed in class.
– Submit it as soon as you can, and no later than the start of our next class meeting.
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ASSIGNMENT #2: Reading – Deborah Stone on Political Language and Policy Problems
You will read a short excerpt (about five pages) from Deborah Stone’s *The Art of Political Decision Making*. This reading prepares you for next week’s discussion of **political language**—how actors with power use language to define which conditions count as “policy problems,� and how this relates to the kinds of arguments we just made about the bus lanes and other issues (like the electricity shortage).
Instructions:
1. **Locate the assigned reading on the course site.**
– Find the PDF or file titled something like **“Deborah Stone – The Art of Political Decision Making (excerpt)â€�** or similar, posted for next week’s class.
– Confirm that the excerpt is approximately **five pages** long.
2. **Read the entire excerpt carefully before our next class.**
– Plan at least one focused reading session (20–30 minutes) where you can read without distraction.
– Read from start to finish once to get the overall argument, then, if possible, skim it a second time more selectively for key points.
3. **As you read, focus on how Stone talks about:**
– The difference between **conditions** and **policy problems** (recall: we already discussed that power lies in deciding what “countsâ€� as a problem).
– How **language, symbols, and stories** are used in politics to shape public understanding of problems.
– Ways in which people with power try to **influence us**—for better or worse—to accept their definition of what the problem is and what kind of solution is appropriate.
4. **Connect the reading to our bus lane and electricity shortage examples.**
– As you read, ask yourself:
– How were **traffic congestion** and the **electricity shortage** framed as problems in the news stories, social media posts, and arguments we collected?
– Who is blamed or held responsible in those framings (drivers, city government, national ministries, donors, “authoritiesâ€� in general, etc.)?
– How might Stone’s ideas help explain why different groups describe the “sameâ€� situation in different ways?
– Make brief notes linking specific lines or ideas from Stone to examples from Bishkek (bus lanes controversy, blackout hours, public complaints, etc.).
5. **Annotate and take short notes while reading.**
– Underline or highlight key terms and phrases that seem central to Stone’s argument (for example, where she defines how issues become “problemsâ€�).
– In the margins or on a separate page, jot down:
– 2–3 key concepts you think are most important.
– 1–2 questions or confusions you have about the text.
– 1–2 examples from Bishkek or Kyrgyzstan that you think illustrate her points.
6. **Prepare to participate in discussion.**
– Bring your annotated copy or your notes (digital or on paper) to class.
– Be ready to:
– Explain, in your own words, **one idea from Stone** that you found particularly interesting or useful.
– Give at least **one example** from the bus lanes case or the electricity shortage that illustrates how political language shapes what we see as a policy problem.
7. **Complete the reading before Tuesday’s class.**
– The professor specified that this excerpt should be read **before class on Tuesday**, when we will discuss political language and its role in public policy.
– Make sure you finish the reading in time so you can fully participate in that discussion.