Political Science - Macalester College

Political Science from Macalester College is a Campus Bachelor Public Administration degree that prepares you for a Human Services career. The study of political science at Macalester emphasizes making connections between the theory and practice of politics. Concerns range from perennial philosophical or normative issues regarding power, justice, freedom, human dignity and social responsibility to practical political matters such as policy making and public problem solving. The political science department seeks to cultivate in its students a wide range of practical and scholarly competencies, including several we consider to be centrally important. First, the department seeks to help its majors develop a mature political imagination. By this we mean a capacity to approach important social problems and issues as a political scientist. A mature political imagination includes an ability to envision what constitutes an important political question/issue; to understand the various ways in which a political scientist might address such a question/issue; to conduct social inquiry into that question/issue employing methodologies and techniques appropriate to political scientists; to recognize the partiality of political science questions, explanations and forms of social inquiry and the importance of insights from other disciplines; and an ability to think creatively about humane solutions to the political problems and challenges confronting the world today. Second, the department seeks to cultivate in its majors specific knowledge competencies. These include both a sound understanding of facts relevant and necessary to the study of political life (including a working knowledge of the key actors, structures, institutions and historical dynamics that constitute the contemporary political order) and a well-developed understanding of the major theoretical trends, perspectives, concerns and debates that have shaped the evolution of the discipline and/or its sub-disciplines over the past several centuries. Political science graduates should be able to engage the world whether as political scholars or political actors?with theoretical sophistication and confidence. Third, the department seeks to cultivate in its majors a range of cognitive or intellectual competencies. These include a well-developed ability to think conceptually, critically, synthetically, analytically, and rigorously about the world of politics. The political science faculty believes that the development of these higher-order cognitive skills comprises the core of the department's collective endeavors. Fourth, the department seeks to help political science majors develop a number of practical competencies, including: a capacity for close, focused, and critical reading of political texts; an ability to convey information, analysis and persuasive arguments in written and oral forms clearly and effectively; a well-developed capacity for democratic deliberation; a level of numeracy appropriate to a student's research interests and the demands of contemporary political life; an ability to conduct sound and rigorous social inquiry using appropriate methodologies and techniques; a capacity for effective collaboration with others; a capacity for effective problem-solving; a facility with relevant information technologies. Finally, the department believes that educational excellence in political science should not only involve the development of intellectual capacities, but also the civic competencies required for humane leadership in a multicultural and globalizing world. Cultivating a capacity for effective civic engagement and leadership is central to the goals of a first-class political science program. View more details on Macalester College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Public Administration courses.