Overview
Frank Anechiarico
Alan Cafruny (on leave spring 2024)
Peter Cannavò
Alexsia Chan
Catherine Chen
Erica De Bruin
Ashley Gorham (on leave spring 2025)
Annabelle Hutchinson
Kira Jumet (Special Appointment to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)
Philip Klinkner (away 2024-25, DC program)
Kenneth Leonardo (on leave fall 2024)
Pedram Maghsoud-Nia
Robert Martin, chair
Ngonidzashe Munemo (Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty)
Stephen Orvis (away spring 2025, NYC program)
David Rivera
Sharon Rivera, associate chair
Heather Sullivan (on leave spring 2025)
Joel Winkelman
Special Appointments
George Baker
Ralph Eannace
Frank Vlossak
The goal of the Government Department is to engage students in discussion pertaining to the political dynamics of human life through research and intensive writing. Students emerge prepared to shape, analyze, and fully participate in civic life.
Students Will Learn to:
- Make reasonable inferences from data and evidence in order to draw logical conclusions about historical and contemporary political phenomena
- Effectively communicate ideas in clear writing
- Use foundational principles of political science to plan and carry out independent research
- Consider alternative perspectives in order to respond to counter-arguments
The department offers concentrations in government, world politics and public policy as follows, and students may not concentrate in more than one of them:
GOVERNMENT
A concentration in government consists of 10 courses: GOVT-116, GOVT-117 and either GOVT-112 or GOVT-114, with at least one of these being writing-intensive, and seven additional courses at the 200 level or above. Of these seven courses, at least two must be in international relations or comparative politics, at least two must be in American politics or political theory, at least two must be at the 300 level (one of which must be writing-intensive and taught by a Government Department instructor), at least one of which must fulfill the Social, Structural, and Institutional Hierarchies Requirement (see below), and one must be the Senior Project (GOVT-550). A minor in government consists of five courses, with at least two of these at the 200 level or above.
After declaring the concentration, students may not take any course on a credit/no credit basis if the course will be used to fulfill concentration or minor requirements.
Honors in government or world politics requires a GPA of 3.7 in the major by the end of the sixth semester, maintaining that average at graduation, and the successful completion of GOVT-549 and GOVT-551.
WORLD POLITICS
The world politics major involves the study of politics on a global scale, including both international relations and politics within nations. In order to understand the complex interplay of international and national politics, all world politics majors study the philosophical and moral bases of various political systems; the history of the modern international system; the political economy of global power and wealth; and the key issues for U.S. foreign policy. To achieve this understanding, all world politics majors are required to take a total of 11 courses, including the following core courses: GOVT-112, GOVT-114, GOVT-117 (one of which must be writing-intensive); GOVT-240 or GOVT-290; GOVT-226 or GOVT-291; at least one of which must fulfill the Social, Structural, and Institutional Hierarchies Requirement (see below), and GOVT-550. Students complete the major by focusing either on a particular region of the world (Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe, Western Europe) or a thematic topic (poverty and inequality in world politics, democratization, international law and organization, international security, politics of the global economy, nationalism and identity in global politics). In consultation with their advisor, students will select five related courses in their area or theme from a variety of departments. One of these must be a writing-intensive course at the 300 level and taught by a Government Department instructor. For students focusing on a region of the world, one of the five courses must be in an appropriate language at the fourth-semester level or above. Students may also design their own thematic track with the advice and consent of their advisor. The advisor will approve each student’s course list after the major is declared.
After declaring the concentration, students may not take any course on a credit/no credit basis if the course will be used to fulfill concentration or minor requirements.
Public Policy
See the public policy section in this catalogue.
SOCIAL, STRUCTURAL, AND INSTITUTIONAL HIERARCHIES REQUIREMENT:
Political science provides insights into the formation and persistence of structural and institutional hierarchies as well as to the political and social movements that have challenged them. Students in Government and World Politics must take at least one course where these issues are specifically addressed by the entire course or substantial portions of it. Among the courses that we believe currently meet the requirement are listed below. Other courses, with the permission of the instructor, the student’s advisor, and the department chair, may also be used to satisfy the requirement.
Currently, the following courses fulfill the SSIH requirement:
GOVT 201: Introduction to Feminist Thought (cross-listed from WMGST)
GOVT 224: Presidential Nomination Campaign Fieldwork
GOVT 226: Comparative Political Economy
GOVT 229: The American Founding
GOVT 234: The Politics of Equality
GOVT 244: Nationalism and the Politics of Identity
GOVT 249: American Political Thought
GOVT 270: Democratic Theory
GOVT 273: Law and Justice Lab
GOVT 291: International Political Economy
GOVT 337: Civil Wars
GOVT 340: Race and American Democracy
GOVT 358: International Law and Organization
GOVT 359: American Policing
GOVT 360: Politics and Theory of Place and Space
GOVT 368: Violence, Justice, and the State in Latin America
GOVT 389: Capitalism, Democracy, and the Workplace
GOVT 394: Social Movements and Political Protest
PPOL 251: Introduction to Public Policy
PPOL 382: Topics in Public Policy
Additional courses may be counted as fulfilling the SSIH requirement, subject to the Department’s approval.