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ACADEMICS: Politics and Government

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{ A Word from the Department }

The Enduring Importance of the Study of Politics

What do we study in the Politics and Government department? We study all aspects of political life, ranging from how nations deal with each other in crisis situations to how the daily decisions made by legislators affect ordinary people in their everyday lives. The study of politics has many dimensions, and in our department we try to give you the tools you will need to understand and analyze all aspects of political life.

Since we live in a democratic society, we all have an obligation to take part in our common political life. But the study of politics involves far more than just keeping up on current events. Some of the greatest minds in human history have struggled with the basic questions of political science: what is justice? What are the obligations of a citizen to government? How can a government be strong enough to keep the peace without being so powerful that it threatens the rights of its citizens? Questions like these — which have been answered in many different ways in a conversation which has gone on for about 2,500 years — are really the foundation of the academic study of politics. From a disciplined consideration of the competing answers that have been given to these basic questions, people can construct their own ways of responding to contemporary political issues.

Through our Politics and Government major, we seek to give students the tools they need to keep up with the constantly changing world of politics. We start the program by introducing students to the major questions of politics and the various answers proposed by the most significant thinkers in the history of western political thought. We then introduce students to the study of international relations, comparative politics and American government; at the same time, giving them hands-on instruction in data analysis so that they begin to “do,” and not just study, political science.

At the junior and senior levels, we emphasize individual research while offering seminars in a variety of specialized topics. Our capstone experience is a yearlong senior seminar in which students define their own major independent research projects, work on them in close collaboration with a faculty mentor and finally present their research to the students and faculty of the department. We believe our curriculum and the close personal attention we are able to give to our majors allow us to provide our students with an opportunity to develop their skills to their highest potential.

Martin Farrell
Chair