Introduction to Political Science
Summary
TLDRPolitical science, a social science, delves into the study of government, politics, and power dynamics, influencing our daily lives. It encompasses various subfields such as American government, international relations, political theory, and comparative politics. This discipline equips individuals with critical thinking and analysis skills, preparing them for careers in government, international organizations, nonprofits, education, diplomacy, business, and journalism. It fosters a nuanced understanding of complex political phenomena, emphasizing the importance of studying political science for a comprehensive view of societal structures and human behavior.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ Political science is the study of government and politics, focusing on power relationships and political behavior.
- 🌟 It is a social science that impacts our lives directly and indirectly, from law enforcement to civil liberties.
- 📚 The discipline is broad, with subdisciplines including national, state, and local government, international relations, political theory, and comparative politics.
- 🌐 International relations explores how global actors interact, covering topics like human rights, globalization, and foreign policy.
- 💭 Political theory and philosophy delve into the works of great thinkers and ideologies such as socialism, communism, and feminism.
- 🔍 Comparative politics analyzes different political systems worldwide, using thematic or country-by-country approaches.
- 🔢 Research methodology and quantitative analyses are the scientific aspects of political science, using numbers to understand political behavior.
- 💼 A political science degree offers diverse career options, including government, international organizations, nonprofits, education, diplomacy, business, and journalism.
- 🧠 It enhances critical thinking, argument formulation, and the ability to analyze current events with a deeper understanding.
- 🌈 Political science teaches the complexity of the world, encouraging a nuanced view beyond simple black-and-white thinking.
Q & A
What is the primary focus of political science?
-Political science is the systematic study of government and politics, focusing on political behavior and power relationships.
How does political science relate to other social sciences?
-Political science is a social science like sociology, psychology, or anthropology, as it studies human behavior, specifically in the context of politics.
What does the phrase 'who gets what, when, where, and how' mean in the context of political science?
-This phrase defines political science by emphasizing the study of how resources, power, and decisions are distributed and exercised in society.
Why is it important to study political science?
-Studying political science is important because politics directly and indirectly impacts our lives, shaping our civil liberties, rights, and everyday experiences.
Can you provide examples of how politics affects daily life?
-Politics affects daily life through government services like policing, firefighting, and military, as well as decisions on textbook costs and legal rights during encounters with law enforcement.
What are the subdisciplines of political science?
-Subdisciplines of political science include national, state, and local government, international relations, political theory, comparative government and politics, and research methodology.
What topics are covered in international relations courses?
-International relations courses cover topics such as human rights, globalization, international relations theories, power dynamics including hard and soft power, and foreign policy decision-making.
What does political theory or political philosophy involve?
-Political theory and political philosophy involve studying the works of great thinkers and engaging with questions about the nature of power and human beings, as well as discussing various ideologies like socialism, communism, Islamism, and feminism.
How does comparative politics differ from other subdisciplines?
-Comparative politics involves analyzing different political systems worldwide, using either a thematic approach to study broad themes like revolutions or a country-by-country approach to focus on specific nations' political systems and issues.
What career opportunities can a political science major lead to?
-A political science major can lead to careers in government, international organizations, non-profits, teaching, diplomacy, foreign service, the State Department, business, journalism, and more.
How does political science help in understanding current events?
-Political science helps in understanding current events by providing tools to analyze and critically evaluate news and political developments, enhancing argument formulation and critical thinking skills.
What does political science teach about the complexity of the world?
-Political science teaches that the world is not simply black and white but is filled with nuances and shades of grey, encouraging a more nuanced understanding of global issues.
Outlines
🏛️ Introduction to Political Science
Political science is defined as the systematic study of government and politics, falling under the social sciences category. It focuses on human behavior, specifically political behavior, and explores power relationships. The study is crucial as it impacts our daily lives through various government entities like police, fire departments, and the military. It also delves into civil liberties and rights, which are influenced by political decisions made by politicians and elected officials. The discipline is broad, encompassing subdisciplines such as national, state, and local government, international relations, political theory, comparative government and politics, and research methodology. Each subdiscipline offers a unique perspective on political phenomena, from the study of political systems and ideologies to the analysis of global actors and their interactions. A background in political science can lead to various career paths, including government service, international organizations, non-profits, education, diplomacy, business, and journalism.
🧠 Developing Critical Thinking Through Political Science
This paragraph emphasizes the value of studying political science for developing critical thinking skills. It suggests that political science helps individuals analyze current events more effectively, moving beyond simplistic black-and-white thinking to understand the complexities and nuances of political issues. The study of political science encourages a deeper appreciation for the 'shades of grey' in political discourse, fostering a more nuanced understanding of the world. It also touches on the relevance of political science in understanding legal rights and the constitution, which are integral to daily life. The paragraph concludes by inviting those interested in these areas to consider political science as a field of study.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Political Science
💡Government
💡Power Relationships
💡International Relations
💡Political Theory/Philosophy
💡Comparative Politics
💡Research Methodology
💡Career Options
💡Critical Thinking
💡Human Behavior
💡Legal Rights
Highlights
Political science is the systematic study of government and politics.
It is a social science focusing on human behavior within a political context.
Political science examines power relationships and the distribution of resources.
Studying political science is essential as politics impacts our lives directly and indirectly.
Government institutions like police, fire departments, and military are part of political science.
Civil liberties and rights are influenced by political decisions made by politicians.
Political science is a broad discipline with various subdisciplines, including national, state, and local government.
American government courses may cover the American presidency and court system.
International relations studies how global actors interact within the international system.
Topics in international relations include human rights, globalization, and international theories.
Political theory and philosophy explore the thoughts of great thinkers on power and human nature.
Comparative government and politics analyze different political systems worldwide.
Comparative politics uses thematic or country-by-country approaches to study political systems.
Research methodology in political science applies quantitative analyses to understand political behavior.
A political science major offers diverse career options, including government, NGOs, and academia.
Political science helps analyze current events, formulate arguments, and develop critical thinking skills.
It teaches the understanding of nuances and the complexity of the world beyond black-and-white thinking.
For those interested in legal rights and the constitution, political science can be particularly relevant.
Transcripts
Political science is the systematic study of government and politics.
It is a social science just like
sociology or psychology or anthropology in that
we are fascinated by human behavior, but
in the case of political science we look at political behavior
in particular. Political science has often been defined as who gets what,
when, where, and how. Political science is about power relationships.
Why should one study political science? Political science
is fascinating! It's about people. Politics impacts our lives directly
and indirectly whether we're aware of it or not.
If there's a crime that takes place one calls the police. That's
government. If there's a fire that takes place one calls the fire department.
That's also government.
The military is government as well. Our civil liberties,
our rights, that impacts us on a daily basis, so if one happens to get pulled over
by a police officer, for example, what are their legal rights in that kind of situation?
The question of textbook costs and so on
and so forth,
these are actually fundamentally political decisions that are made by
politicians, by elected officials.
Political science is a very broad discipline, but some of the subdisciplines
include national, state, and local government, so if one is taking
political science courses in the United States then they might take courses in
American government,
on the American presidency, the court system.
There's international relations. That is a discipline where
we look at how all of the various actors within the global system or the
international system
interact with one another. In an international relations course
one might learn about topics such as human rights,
such as globalization, such as international relations theories that
help us
understand the world around us or at least attempt to explain
various international phenomena. Power, military power,
hard power, soft power. Another area that one might
study within international relations would be foreign policy decision-making.
And, in fact, one can take courses at most American colleges and universities and
colleges and universities, indeed, throughout the world in studying the foreign policy of
particular countries.
Another subdiscipline within political science is political theory
and/or political philosophy. And, in those courses
one would study some of the great thinkers throughout human history
who have grappled with tough political, philosophical questions
about the nature of power, about the nature of human beings,
and also really get into discussing various
ideas and many of the "isms": socialism,
communism, Islamism, feminism
and so on. Another subdiscipline of political science is comparative government and
politics.
In comparative politics courses, we discuss and analyze the various
political systems
around the world. And, there are two major approaches to
the study of comparative politics. The first is the thematic approach
where one would study the various broad themes
that would help us understand the various political systems around the
world, such as
revolutions or nationalism, things of that nature.
Another approach is a country-by-country approach where one
studies the various countries around the world and their political systems, and
domestic politics,
and domestic political issues within a particular country. So, within
comparative politics one can focus on the various regions
of the world. So, for example, Middle East North African politics,
or Latin American politics, or Asian
and/or African politics, or European politics.
Another subdiscipline in the area of political science would be research
methodology
or quantitative analyses courses, and that's actually sort of the science part
of political science
where one would utilize numbers to understand, explain, and predict political
behavior.
There are many things that one can do with a political science major
in terms of career options. One could work for government
at the federal, state, or local levels. One could
work for the United Nations or other international governmental organizations.
One could work in the nonprofit sector for non-governmental or nonprofit
organizations,
or one might actually become a Senator or president or an elected official.
In addition, one could teach with a political science background.
One could be a diplomat and work as a foreign service officer or work for the
State Department.
One can also work in business and/or even in journalism,
in the news media. A political science background really prepares
one for a wide range of possible career options.
I would say that one would want to study political science because it's fascinating.
It's about people, it's about the story of people.
Political science will help you better analyze current events.
Anyone whose literate can read newspapers or articles online,
but political science will give you that ability to analyze
the current events that are going on. It'll help you better formulate
arguments, and strengthen your arguments, and develop your critical thinking
skills.
It's perhaps human nature to sort of
look for easy answers and easy solutions and kind of get into
black-and-white thinking,
but what political science will do for someone is actually get you to understand
that there are shades of grey,
and that there's nuance, and that the world around us
is not just black and white. And, again, political science is a social science, so
it's about people, and any social scientist finds the study of people
fascinating.
If you'd like to learn more about your legal rights, if you would like to learn more
about the constitution,
United States Constitution that impacts you every day, then
political science might be for you.
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