Political Science and History (BA)
Will McConnell. PhD
Chair
Introduction
The Department of Politics and History provides a diversity of educational experiences for students. The department offers students the possibility of receiving a major in Political Science.
The Politics and History Department has created an exciting interdisciplinary combination of two traditional disciplines. It brings together the strengths of political analysis and historical narrative in a way that introduces students to the complexities of decision making, the diversity of ideologies, and the ebb and flow of historical change. We believe that the study of history and political science properly concerns every aspect of human activity, past and present. Our focus in these majors, therefore, is less on memorizing specific events, theories, and persons, and more on exploring the various ways that cultural practices, economic structures, and social organizations influence and draw contrasts with the 21st century.
Modeling their faculty, students learn to articulate and clarify the multiple causes and consequences of global political developments over the past 500 years. Students are encouraged to use a variety of sources that includes political and social documents. Moreover, faculty members are encouraged to use a variety of methods— readings, lectures, discussions, projects, and independent studies—to develop students’ analytical skills, historical knowledge, and political acumen.
The curriculum is shaped by a first-year pair of courses that introduces the major, as well as a pair of unique interdisciplinary core seminars that blends studies of politics and history with those of literature and philosophy. Students then complete their degrees through a focused pathway of political science courses that investigates real world applications, case study methodology that culminates in a year-long thesis project process.
Upper-division seminars, which are generally offered on a rotating two-year cycle, focus on such interdisciplinary topics as war and revolution, colonization and globalization, and political theory and law, among others. The seminars are supported by and coalesce around a research sequence that introduces students to historiographical and political methodologies, helps them develop advanced research skills, and prepares them to write a senior thesis over a year-long pair of courses culminating in an individual research project that is presented publicly to students and faculty.
This major aids in law school preparation, leading to graduate-level education for careers in the legal field. Students are also well-prepared for admission to graduate education in political science, international affairs, or history, as well as careers in government service at the local, state, or national level, and non- profit organizations. Alumni from the department have received graduate degrees in history, law, public administration, education, business administration, and organizational leadership, and now serve as elected city officials, lawyers, professors, business owners, and teachers.
Mission
To create a transdisciplinary approach to the study of politics and history with a global perspective.
Program Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes express the abilities, knowledge, and values that students can expect to learn in the Political Science and History degree programs and their courses.
Political Science
- Students will analyze political situations clearly and convincingly through the lens of one or more different political ideologies or theories in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will clarify their political philosophies in light of historical knowledge and theoretical perspectives in an intelligent and convincing manner.
Global Awareness
- Students will demonstrate significant global awareness of multiple cultural, historical, and political traditions in the modern world in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will demonstrate significant knowledge relevant to international conflicts, diplomacy, and organizations in oral presentations and written work.
History
- Students will apply different historiographical approaches to historical analysis clearly and convincingly in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will discuss intelligently the philosophical and historical origins of Western political and legal traditions in oral presentations and written work.
Research
- Students will develop basic research abilities, including hypotheses, analysis, use of primary and secondary sources, and qualitative and quantitative reasoning.
- Students will discuss intelligently the role of other social science disciplines in the analysis of political and historical situations in oral presentations and written work.
Career Goals
- Students will clarify their career goals relevant to the study and application of political and historical knowledge and analysis in an intelligent and convincing manner.
Assessment Process
Placement Exam Requirements
Political Science and History students who have not received transfer credit for a 200-level math course are encouraged to take the Math Placement Exam, but it is not required. See the Academic Proficiencies and Placement section of the Academic Journey chapter of this catalog for more information.
Formative Assessment Experiences
The Politics and History Department faculty assesses individual student learning for each assignment in every course based on established university grading guidelines. Beyond evaluating individual learning, the department faculty regularly reviews the collective work of students over time. The department archives students’ research papers, exams, presentation evaluations, internship reports, and senior theses for review purposes. Every other year, an assessment report is written for faculty and used to make adjustments and improvements to the program, its courses, and the students’ overall learning.
The Political Science and History curricula have two major components—foundational and advanced coursework— and culminates in a capstone project (the senior thesis) that demonstrates summative student learning. In their first two years, students take courses on the building blocks of the discipline— specifically, critical writing, research methodology, and the transdisciplinary nature of History and Political Science. Introductory coursework provides a forum where students are evaluated individually on their analytical abilities, writing, and understanding of research methodologies before taking advanced courses that regularly test and utilize these skills.
Summative Assessment Experiences
Seminar-style advanced courses not only require that students present ideas in written work coherently, but also demand an ability to orally articulate ideas to their peers and to faculty. Students make individual choices based on their interests and take advanced courses that will contribute to the production of their senior theses. In upper- division classes, students become intimately familiar with the peer-review process and draft several revisions of any given term paper. Thus, faculty is continually evaluating student progress on argument formation and critical thinking. Writing the senior thesis project, or capstone, is designed to show a mastery of critical thinking, writing for the discipline, oral presentation, and a deep understanding of the chosen topic and associated literature.
The senior thesis is presented to all department faculty and simulates the professional conference experience where other scholars openly critique and evaluate scholarship. Finally, every student completes an internship relevant to his or her major and career goals. Both departmental faculty and the student’s internship mentor, a professional in the industry, evaluate this work. The internship opportunity allows students to put into practice skills learned at Woodbury and is part of their senior-year experience. Overall, the collaboration between students, faculty, and professionals allows for the evaluation not only of the individual student, but also of the effectiveness of the advanced curriculum and the extent to which upper-division classes build on and integrate the foundational coursework in the curriculum.
Curriculum Summary
Program Major Curriculum
Political Science or History Majors
| Unit Type (UT) |
Number of Units (U) |
| Major (MA) |
39 |
| General Education (GE) |
55 |
| Unrestricted Design Elective (UDE) Unrestricted Electives (UE) |
23 |
| Internship (IN) |
3 |
| Minimum Total Units Required |
120 |
Politics and History Double Major
| Unit Type (UT) |
Number of Units (U) |
| Major (MA) |
54 |
| General Education (GE) |
52 |
| Unrestricted Design Elective (UDE) Unrestricted Electives (UE) |
11 |
| Internship (IN) |
3 |
| Minimum Total Units Required |
120 |
Suggested Sequence of Courses
First Year
Fall Semester
| POHI 101 | The State, The Economy, and The City | 3 |
| WRIT 113 | First-Year Academic Writing | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 13 |
Spring Semester
| POHI 102 | Wars, Gods, And Revolutions | 3 |
| MDST 120 | Public Speaking | 3 |
| PHIL 210 | Ethical Systems | 3 |
| LSCI 105 | Information Theory and Practice | 1 |
| ____ ___ | Social Science | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Second Year
Fall Semester
| ENVT 220 | Environmental Studies | 3 |
| WRIT 313 | Advanced Academic Writing | 3 |
| INDS ___ | Interdisciplinary Core Elective | 3 |
| MATH 2__ | Mathematics Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Art History Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
ENVT 220, WRIT 313, INDS (Interdisciplinary Core Elective), MATH (Mathematics Elective), and Art History Elective: GE.
Spring Semester
| PSYC 221 | Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| PSYC 150 | General Psychology | 3 |
| POHI 221 | Intro to Political & Historical Research | 3 |
| INDS ___ | Interdisciplinary Core Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Natural Science with Lab | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Third Year (Political Science)
Fall Semester
| POHI 321 | International Wars | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | General Education Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Humanities Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
POHI 321 and POHI (Upper Division Major Elective): MA.
Upper Division General Education Elective, General Education Elective, and Humanities Elective: GE.
Spring Semester
| POHI 325 | Modern Revolutions | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
POHI 325 and POHI (Upper Division Major Elective): MA.
Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective: GE.
Unrestricted Elective: UE.
Fourth Year (Political Science)
Fall Semester
| POHI 331 | Classic Political Theory | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| POHI 400 | Advanced Research Methods | 3 |
| POHI 490_ | Internship | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
POHI 331, POHI (Upper Division Major Elective), and POHI 400: MA.
POHI 490 (Internship): IN.
Upper Division General Education Elective: GE.
Spring Semester
| POHI 337 | United States Constitutional Law | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| POHI 401 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Type:
POHI 337, POHI (Upper Division Major Elective), and POHI 401: MA.
Unrestricted Elective: UE.
Third Year (History)
Fall Semester
| POHI 322 | Civil Wars | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | General Education Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Humanities Elective | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
POHI 322 and POHI (Upper Division Major Elective): MA.
General Education Elective, Humanities Elective, and Upper Division General Education Elective: GE.
Spring Semester
| POHI 335 | Migration and Colonization | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
POHI 335 and POHI (Upper Division Major Elective): MA.
Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective: GE.
Unrestricted Elective: UE.
Fourth Year (History)
Fall Semester
| POHI 336 | Liberation and Decolonization | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| POHI 400 | Advanced Research Methods | 3 |
| POHI 490_ | Internship | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
POHI 336, POHI (Upper Division Major Elective), and POHI 400: MA.
POHI 490 (Internship): IN.
Upper Division General Education Elective: GE.
Spring Semester
| POHI 339 | The Holocaust | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| POHI 401 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Type:
POHI 339, POHI (Upper Division Major Elective), and POHI 401: MA.
Unrestricted Elective: UE.
Third Year (Double Major, Political Science and History)
Fall Semester
| POHI 321 | International Wars | 3 |
| POHI 322 | Civil Wars | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Humanities Elective | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
POHI 321, POHI 322, and POHI (Upper Division Major Elective): MA.
Humanities Elective and Upper Division General Education Elective: GE.
Spring Semester
| POHI 325 | Modern Revolutions | 3 |
| POHI 335 | Migration and Colonization | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 |
| ____ 3__ | Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
POHI 325, POHI 335, and POHI (Upper Division Major Elective): MA.
Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective and Upper Division General Education Elective: GE.
Fourth Year (Double Major, Political Science and History)
Fall Semester
| POHI 331 | Classic Political Theory | 3 |
| POHI 336 | Liberation and Decolonization | 3 |
| POHI 400 | Advanced Research Methods | 3 |
| POHI 490_ | Internship | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
| POHI 337 | United States Constitutional Law | 3 |
| POHI 339 | The Holocaust | 3 |
| POHI 401 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
| POHI 401 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
| POHI 3__ | Upper Division Major Elective | 3 |
| ____ ___ | Unrestricted Elective | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
1st Course: POHI 401 Senior Thesis (Political Science).
2nd Course: POHI 401 Senior Thesis (History).
Type:
POHI 337, POHI 339, POHI 401 (Political Science), POHI 401 (History), and POHI (Upper Division Major Elective): MA.
Unrestricted Elective: UE.