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Major Requirements
Students majoring in politics must complete eleven courses including:
1) At least five courses, including a senior thesis, in a major concentration (described below) or a self-designed major concentration approved by the department. Proposals for self-designed major concentrations must be submitted to the department chair no later than the second semester of a student's junior year. Students may not count internships or transferred courses toward the major concentration.
2) Three courses in politics not listed among the courses in the major concentration. These courses must be taken from at least two different concentrations.
3) One 300-level seminar in the student's major concentration.
4) s49 (Political Inquiry), which must be taken in the sophomore or junior year and is a prerequisite for 457 or 458, the senior thesis.
5) 457 or 458. The senior thesis must be related to the major concentration unless the student petitions successfully for a waiver no later than the sixth day of classes in the senior year.
Subject to departmental approval, students may receive credit for a maximum of two relevant off-campus courses. To receive approval, students are expected to write a short essay describing the relevance of each course taken off campus to their studies at Bates.
Subject to departmental approval, transfer students may receive credit for up to four courses toward the major taken prior to their arrival at Bates, and must take at least six courses in the major on the Bates campus.
Students may count no more than two 100-level courses and no more than two Short Term courses, including s49, toward the major.
Major Concentrations
Students must complete five courses, including the senior thesis, in one of the approved major concentrations or successfully petition the department to develop their own major concentration. Students must complete one 300-level seminar in their major concentration, and no more than one 100-level course, in order to fulfill the major concentration requirement. The courses that fulfill major concentrations can be found on the departmental Web site.
Institutional Politics: Formal organizations with written rules such as political and electoral institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and international organizations.
Identities and Interests: Politics, power relations, and movements embedded in and constructed through issues such as ethnicity, nationality, gender, race, sexuality, religion, kinship, class, and political affiliation.
Political Economy: Interactions of political and economic institutions and organizations, among states, within states, and across ethnic or national boundaries.
Philosophical, Literary, and Legal Studies: Close study of texts in political philosophy and contemporary theory, literature and other cultural productions, and legal cases and interpretations.
Governance and Conflict: Global politics; conflict resolution; issues of legitimacy, civil strife, peace, and war.
Declaring a Major in Politics
To declare a major in politics, the student must complete both the College's and the department's major declaration forms. The student should complete the department's form in consultation with a major advisor, who is assigned after consultation with the department chair. The student is expected to select courses within a major concentration that will serve as the area of interest for the development of a thesis topic. A new form must be completed if the student's interests change.
Pass/Fail Grading Option
Pass/fail grading may be elected for one course applied toward the major. This course must be below the 300 level.
General Education Information for the Class of 2010
Any two courses, only one of which may be numbered at the 100 level, may serve as a department-designated set. No Short Term courses may serve as part of a set or as an option for the third course. The quantitative requirement may be satisfied through Politics 310. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or A-Level credit awarded by the department may not be used toward fulfillment of any General Education requirements. |
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