Welcome to Political Science
Program Description
The study of politics is the study of how people are governed and how they govern themselves, and this process involves, among other things, the decision to allocate scarce resources to an expanding population with ever-increasing demands.
As a discipline, in the West, political science originated with the Greeks. Following their lead, as part of our major and our discipline of political science, we examine the views of political philosophers, from Plato and Aristotle to the present, on the question of which type of government is most conducive to human fulfillment and why.
Given that we are a department of political science at an American institution of higher learning, we therefore study the American political experience as a unique experiment in “self-government,” but we also go beyond studying how America is governed to look at other political systems with a view to realizing the differences and commonalities between these political systems. We examine these differences in our attempt to understand something about the degree to which one system is better suited to a country than another, and whether or not one can indeed speak of one type of political arrangement as the “best.” Our discipline also seeks to understand the causes, dynamics and possibilities of conflict and conflict resolution in the international arena, by studying the interactions of states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and non-state actors on the global scene.
Political Science courses help prepare students for specific careers. For example, Political Science is often used as a pre-law major or for other related professions, such as careers in government at the federal, state or local levels. Our discipline is also appropriate for a number of careers at the international level, such as international diplomacy or international business, as well as other professions in non-governmental sectors both nationally and internationally—and our faculty invite your questions about such opportunities.
Faculty & Offices
Dr. Manoutchehr M. Eskandari-Qajar, Chair (IDC-352, ext. 2435)
Dr. Andrea B. Haupt (TBA, ext. 3735)
Mr. Joseph Martorana (IDC-361, ext. 4277)
