Students are encouraged to develop the rigorous analytical skills that will help them in their undergraduate education, their postgraduate studies, and their role as citizens in their communities. We especially encourage our students to make connections between internship opportunities and their course of study. Our department's courses in American politics and public policy address these questions and many more. Students are afforded an opportunity to think critically, write analytically, and speak clearly and coherently on many issues pertaining to American politics and public policy in both contemporary and historical contexts. In considering these sorts of questions, the Political Theory subfield grounds students in the history of Western political theory and attunes them to the most important contemporary debates in the field.
All courses involve close reading of primary texts, discussion-based classes, and writing.
Introductory and Modern Political Theory take students from the thought of ancient Greece and Rome up to the beginning of the twentieth century. Courses in contemporary, feminist, and cyber theories take a critical, culturally oriented approach to the present. We examine governing systems, political ideologies, and transformations ranging from electoral reforms to revolutions. Introductory courses tackle such basic issues as democracy, dictatorship, fascism, communism, socialism, and nationalism. Upper level courses delve into the regional politics of Eastern Europe, Latin America, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa to give us a handle on the particular problems, triumphs, and ongoing struggles in these areas.