POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

 

Political Science involves the systematic study of how people and societies make the political decisions that affect their lives. Topics of interest to political scientists include: how governments function, as well as how governments should function; differences and similarities among political systems in different parts of the world; relations between and among the nations of the world; and ways of better understanding such phenomena as conflict, legitimacy, political parties, elections, international organizations, coup d'etats, interest groups, and executive, legislative and judicial decision making.

In the political science department at DePauw, as at virtually every college in the United States, many courses focus on the American political system. But there are also many other courses on political systems in other countries and regions, on relations among and between nations, and on issues and questions that transcend the politics of any particular place. The department offers both a major and minor in political science.