2.5 Hour Government Bootcamp
I will teach any group of up to 10 people how the city, state, or federal government work.
We’ll do it in 2.5 hours, and you’ll come out knowing more than most, with a powerful set of mental heuristics to evaluate what you hear from others and the news.
The cost: $2,100, regardless of class size. You all can split it however you like. Some workplaces also reimburse for continuing education expenses as well.
We will arrange a time and location to meet that works for you and your group. It can be at your apartment, in an office conference room, or another venue we select.
Just fill out the interest form below, and I’ll be in touch to arrange the event.
Why I’m offering this
Over 200 students have taken The Foundations of New York City, Maximum New York’s flagship course. Others have taken classes on the state and federal governments, the legal history of the subway, history of the American founding, and much more.
But these classes all require multi-week commitments, which works for some, but not others. The 2.5-hour bootcamp is designed to give you a robust introduction to the government of your group’s choosing (city, state, or federal), along with a powerful set of heuristics (more honestly: bullshit detectors) to evaluate what you hear about government and politics out in the world.
The bootcamp also gives you a closer look into the domain of government and law, and will allow you to understand whether you want to investigate it further.
What will you learn in the bootcamp?
The principal components of the government, arranged in a map.
The principal actors in the government.
The law (constitutional, statutory, administrative, case).
The lawmaking process.
A basic overview of political power flows, and “how the sausage is made”; we will touch very briefly on lobbying, interest groups, and how they interact with the government.
The best resources for going further, and staying current with politics.
Your goals! At the end of the bootcamp we will have a reflection period. You will have learned, or reviewed, quite a lot. The world of government and politics should feel more understandable, more approachable, and more addressable, than before. We’ll outline your next steps.
If your group has any special interests, like civic tech, I will integrate those interests into the content above. For example, I would make sure to highlight what open data the government has, important APIs, the landscape of civic tech orgs, and “who’s working on what.”
Bootcamp etiquette
I teach the bootcamp with Maximum New York’s four standard rules of etiquette:
Politics is a good word, and a potentially beautiful thing. We are here to learn how to do government as friends, in a chill fashion, even while dealing with weighty issues.
No bullshitting, aka be concrete. We’re here to learn together, but we’re doing it in a rigorous fashion. You must always strive to deeply understand the reality of governance that underpins your political thought.
Extend grace to everyone. We’re here to learn together. Government and politics are complicated fields, and no one knows everything. We will be better, together.
Find the good time. Taking things seriously does not mean being mad about them. The wider world can pressure people to get mad to prove that they take political ideas seriously. I do not equate anger with either sophistication or dedication, so I relieve you of that burden. Make jokes, be serious, push back, learn a lot. But give yourself (and others) a break while you’re in class.
About your instructor
Hello, my name is Daniel Golliher (goll- as in the gall, the nerve, and the audacity; iher- as in how they say “your” where I come from: Gol-yer). Besides my writing on this website, you can learn more about me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and my personal blog. I’ve written a few books, play the piano and sax, enjoy all manner of physical fitness, and can’t wait to meet you.
When it comes to understanding government and law, my default response is to simply exert maximum effort.
I graduated from Harvard College in 2014 with a degree in Government1, and since then I’ve worked in the legal industry, a coffee shop, higher ed, the legal industry again, and now I dedicate my time to Maximum New York.
“Political Science Degrees Must End” (Golliher, 2023).