Program in Political Theory for Class of 2009
NOTE: Beginning with the Class of 2010, the Program in Political Theory will no longer be available to Politics concentrators.
The Department of Politics offers a Program in Political Theory for Politics concentrators interested in this area of study. Students pursue coursework and independent work in one or more of the following areas:
• history of political ideas (such as justice, power, obligation, freedom, democracy)
• interpretation of political texts
• normative approaches to persistent political issues and problems
The Political Theory Adviser will help students design a course of study and will approve cognates and independent work topics.
Prerequisites
Students who wish to enroll in this Program must have successfully completed one course in the theory field (or an approved first-year seminar in Political Theory), and have declared Politics as a major. Students are strongly encouraged to take POL 210, 301, or 303 as their prerequisite for the Program in Political Theory.
Program requirements
In addition to fulfilling all other requirements for a Politics major -- including the distribution requirements in other fields and a minimum of five 300-level or above courses in the Department -- a student in the Program in Political Theory is required to complete four courses in Political Theory, up to two of which may be approved Political Theory cognates from outside of the Department's theory field.
Possible Political Theory cognates include several Politics courses outside of the theory field as well as some courses in other departments (including Anthropology, History, Philosophy, Religion and Sociology) which focus on issues central to Political Theory. Students in the program may receive departmental credit for a third cognate if they can demonstrate that these courses are closely related to each other and to a coherent program of study in Political Theory.
Junior and Senior Independent Work
Students in the Program must write at least one junior paper or the senior thesis in Political Theory.
The Political Theory Adviser is: Melissa Harris-Lacewell.