The political science department is committed to the rigorous study of political and social phenomena. This encompasses a wide range of topics, from the electoral behavior of citizens to the approaches to human rights adopted by nation-states to the practical consequences of adopting public policies. Critically, while political science students are often deeply committed to political action and ideological debate, the formal study of politics devotes very little energy to parroting the types of arguments made by professional pundits and bloggers. Instead, political science is deeply invested in scrutinizing the underlying assumptions and quality of evidence used to support arguments, from the reliability of a textual analysis, to the validity of quantitative survey data. Political science is also concerned with the logical coherence of these arguments, the appropriateness of inferences drawn from evidence, and the normative consequences of empirical claims.
Many students come to find that the political science major gives them a fresh outlook on the ideological arguments that are common in popular culture. Not only do students develop substantive expertise in political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and American politics, students also begin to understand power and the public sphere differently. Analyzing politics methodically thus imparts a wide range of skills, including cogent and persuasive writing, statistics, the ability to develop a research design, the ability to assess policy outcomes, the ability to critically read and interpret texts and assess the validity of arguments. Students will gain the knowledge and skills that will help them excel in any number of fields, ranging from law to business to public service to advocacy. However, the discipline of political science itself does not advocate or endorse any particular political position. As a discipline and a department, we are united by a critical and scientific approach to political phenomena. We are well-equipped to bring these tools to contentious political issues, and we hope our students do the same.
In some circles, it is common to hear calls to represent both “liberal arguments” and “conservative arguments” in the political science classroom. To be sure, the discipline of political science is rooted in arguments about the best way to understand politics, but political science students quickly learn that political science debates are rarely rooted in the liberal/conservative dichotomy that is common in American political rhetoric.
In fact, the study of the history of political thought helps us understand that this dichotomy is itself a recent phenomenon, and the most important debates in political theory cannot easily be reduced to two simple alternatives. In all political science courses, students should expect to encounter ideas, arguments, and evidence that challenge simplistic binaries. Students will find an array of perspectives, indexed according to the range of scholarly viewpoints on a particular matter. The range of perspectives we offer is a reflection of an ongoing academic debate. We acknowledge that these scholarly debates are themselves fallible and subject to blind spots, and encourage students to challenge the way in which debates are structured. This learning environment both helps students learn to think critically and presents an alternative to the ideological impasse that dominates contemporary politics (rather than replicating this impasse in the classroom).
To be sure, sometimes the scholarly or scientific consensus in a particular field may support a particular partisan viewpoint. More often, though, we anticipate that students across the political spectrum will find things to like and dislike in our classes, while at the same time overcoming the tendency to reduce a complicated world into simplistic dichotomies. There is a good deal of scholarly debate in political science on the causes of voting behavior, and students will find that this debate is not easily resolved by partisan assumptions. Similarly, there is no consensus on whether state actors in international relations act in a spirit of conflict or compromise, and often students find that their ideological preconceptions are a poor lens to analyze foreign policy. There exists a wide range of arguments about the best way to solve congressional gridlock, and we use this creative tension to educate our students.
Political science is a broad discipline that encompasses topics ranging from the psychology of political judgment to politics of global governance to the normative responsibilities of citizens in a democracy, and methodological approaches ranging from qualitative field research to quantitative statistical modeling. This intellectual diversity is a strength of our integrative discipline and places the study of politics at the heart of a liberal arts education.