Profile of a Political Science Major: Bryn Mawr

1986 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 6-7
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Salkever ◽  
Bryn Mawr
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Bryn Mawr ◽  
Good Thing ◽  
The Political ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
Science Major

The political science major requirements at Bryn Mawr are characterized by a great deal of flexibility. This is at first glance a good thing, but on second thought we may begin to feel a bit guilty about our relative lack of structure, as though we were getting away with something—especially in the context of the Bryn Mawr ethos in which rigidity and departmental insularity are generally taken to be the surest signs of academic excellence. (The really best, most respectable, majors are the toughest—i.e., the ones that require students to take the most courses within the department.) Is the political science major at Bryn Mawr respectable? Or does this department treat its students as the pastry cooks in Plato's Gorgias treat children, stuffing them with the yummies they foolishly desire, and so easily defeating the heroic attempts of good doctors to persuade the young to take the salutary medicine their health requires?

scholarly journals Integrating Gender into the Political Science Core Curriculum

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (02) ◽  
pp. 238-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin C. Cassese ◽  
Angela L. Bos ◽  
Lauren E. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
The Political ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
New Research ◽  
Science Major ◽  
The Impact

The New Research on Gender in Political Psychology Conference brought together new and experienced teachers with interests in gender politics. The conference session “Teaching Gender throughout the Curriculum” generated a great deal of discussion concerning the pedagogical practice of gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming—the integration of gendered content into courses required for a major—was recognized as one of 11 recommendations for reforming the undergraduate political science curriculum in the 1991 APSA report “Liberal Learning an The Political Science Major: A Report to the Profession” (popularly referred to as the Wahlke Report). Little information is available on the prevalence of gender courses in the undergraduate curriculum, but the data that does exist suggest such courses are uncommon (Brandes et al. 2001). We found virtually no data on the practice of gender mainstreaming in political science and little data in the way of assessing the impact of gendered content when students are exposed to it. This absence of data suggests gender mainstreaming has not emerged as a serious priority for curricular reform.

A Coordinating Course in the Political Science Major

1957 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 1178-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert Garfinkel ◽  
James F. Tierney
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
The Political ◽  
Science Major

The Teaching of Citizenship

1984 ◽  
Vol 17 (02) ◽  
pp. 211-215
Author(s):  
Harvey C. Mansfield
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Good Thing ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Scientist ◽  
Good Citizen ◽  
Universal Love ◽  
The Way

The teaching of citizenship might seem inappropriate for a political scientist. Such teaching is normative, it might be said, but political science is empirical. And, it might be added, citizenship is a parochial concern for the good of one's own country, whereas political science is based on a universal love of truth. These objections will have to be made more precise, even recast; but insofar as they suggest that good citizen and good political scientist may not be the same thing, they are perfectly reasonable.The distinction between empirical and normative, or fact and value (which cannot be explored theoretically here), means that a political scientist, as political scientist, cannot tell citizens whether citizenship is a good thing, or say that political science is a good thing and ought to be welcomed or tolerated by citizens. A political scientist might perhaps remark empirically, or half-empirically, that love of one's country animates the citizens as citizen and love of truth inspires the political scientist as political scientist. But instead of leading to conflict between citizens and political scientists and hence to a problem for political scientists, who must be both, this observation is made to yield a queer harmony between the two. It is thought that since political scientists cannot pronounce upon the worth of citizenship, they do not get in the way of citizens. Their work is neutral to that of citizens. Love of truth does not interfere with love of country because all loves, being “values,” are incommensurable. Thus, the methodology of the fact-value distinction provides a lefthanded endorsement of (at least democratic) citizenship.

scholarly journals Pre-Law Advising and the Political Science Major: Evidence from Pre-Law Advisors

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (02) ◽  
pp. 320-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Gibbs Knotts ◽  
Claire B. Wofford
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Political Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Law School ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Status ◽  
Faculty And Administrators ◽  
Science Major ◽  
Science Departments

ABSTRACTPolitical science is one of the most popular majors for law school applicants, and studies show that political science majors have high rates of law school admission. In addition, many political science departments have a pre-law advisor. However, little is known about the status of pre-law advising on college campuses or the views of pre-law advisors on political science. This article presents the results of a February 2015 survey of 313 college pre-law advisors from across the United States. The authors discovered that the majority of pre-law advisors hold faculty appointments and serve as pre-law advisors without additional compensation or course releases. Pre-law advisors also rate political science as the second-best major, among 14 popular majors, for preparing students for both admission to and academic success in law school. These findings should be of interest to political scientists as well as other faculty and administrators who are concerned with pre-law advising.

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