Political Science
Paul Gronke
American politics, public opinion, legislative politics.
Casiano Hacker-Cordón
Political philosophy, comparative politics, public law, international relations.
Matthew Murphy
Comparative politics, political philosophy, political economy, democratization.
Darya Pushkina
International relations, international law, peace studies, environmental politics, comparative politics.
Darius M. Rejali
Political philosophy, social theory, comparative politics.
Peter J. Steinberger
Political philosophy.
Specifically, the curriculum is designed to provide:
• A basic understanding of basic modes of inquiry in political
science: normative, empirical, and comparative analysis. The
department's distribution requirements and the structure of the
introductory course sequence reflect a strong and continuing
commitment to this goal. All majors are required to take three of
the four basic introductory courses: Introduction to Political
Behavior, Comparative Politics, Political Philosophy, and
International Politics.
• Research opportunities. Students are encouraged to explore
quantitative and qualitative techniques of data collection and
analysis. These efforts may be facilitated by the college’s
excellent computer resources and by our access to the vast data
archives of the Inter-University Consortium for Social and
Political Research. The department’s public policy workshop (PPW)
has Windows and Macintosh computers and a variety of software and
is available to students and faculty members for research.
• Opportunities for applied research.
• Specialized knowledge in one or more particular facets of
politics. This is provided by the department’s upper-level course
offerings and by the senior thesis experience.
Students have found that Reed’s political science program prepares
them for careers in academia, government, law, nonprofit and
non-governmental organizations, and other fields. Further
information is available in Reed’s career services office.
Requirements for the Major
1. Three of the four introductory courses, two of which must be
completed before taking the junior qualifying examination. The
third may be in progress at that time.
a. Introduction to Political Behavior
(210).
b. Introduction to Comparative Politics
(220).
c. Introduction to Political Philosophy
(230).
d. Introduction to International Politics
(240).
2. Economics 201.
3. Statistics: one of Mathematics 141, Economics 311 or 312,
Sociology 311, or Psychology 348. Students are strongly encouraged
to complete this requirement in their sophomore year or first
semester of their junior year.
4. Political Science 470.
5. Four additional units in political science.
6. Junior qualifying examination. Students will write a junior
literature review and research design in a regular course in place
of a portion of the other assignments for that course. Course
choice is left to the student, but this must be completed during
the junior year. Specific requirements are stated on the department
web site, http://academic.reed.edu/poli_sci/resources.html.
Competence in a foreign language is strongly recommended for all
majors, especially for those with interests in comparative and
international politics.
All courses in political science are offered as conferences. Some
incorporate occasional lectures or a seminar format. Political
Science 470 (thesis) may include one or more fall semester
conferences made up of all political science thesis students and
faculty members, depending upon enrollments.
Political Science Course Descriptions
