Information for First Years
The study of political science is primarily concerned with questions about power:
What is power? How is power gained and how is it lost? Who has power and who should have it?
How is it organized? How is it used? How is it abused? Students who have majored in political
science have gone on to work in a diverse array of fields, including journalism, the nonprofit sector,
public service, government, law, political organizing, pre-collegiate and graduate education.
The department offers 100-level introductory courses designed to give students an idea of the range of issues,
questions, settings and methods central to the study of politics. Beyond the introductory level, courses in political
science are divided into four subfields: American politics and law, which focuses on political and legal institutions
and processes in the United States; comparative politics, which considers politics in countries other than the U.S.
though it may also look at the U.S. in comparative perspective); international relations, which is concerned with politics
among nations as well as within the global system; and political theory, which involves questions about the nature, value
and purposes of politics as articulated by philosophers and political thinkers past and present.
Students who take the introductory level course in the first semester of the first year are prepared to
take a 200-level course the next semester. A major in political science (which consists of nine courses) is built on a minimum
of one 200-level course in each of the four subfields and 300-level course work in two subfields; one of these 300-level courses
must be a seminar, which usually involves writing a major research paper.
The Department of Political Science also serves as the “hub” for several of the College’s interdisciplinary programs, including
American studies, East Asian studies, South Asia Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, environmental studies, international relations
and Latin American studies. Many political science faculty help to direct these programs and teach courses that count for credit in them.
First-year students who have any questions about specific political science courses or about the major are very welcome to
talk with any faculty member in the department.
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Lynda Davis Jeha
Department of Political Science
Wellesley, MA 02481-8203
(781) 283-2194 / Fax (781) 283-3644
Last Modified: June 1, 2009
Expires: June 1, 2010
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