Investigating Politics

Catalog description

This course guides students through the methods of social science inquiry by exploring major problems facing modern societies on the local, national, and/or global levels. Students will use the scientific process to learn how we know and what we know about the social world. Students will learn basic research concepts, explore the use of theories and models to guide research, and develop and use social science to become knowledgeable citizens and critical consumers of political news and information. Students will also learn how social science differs from natural science in its attention to normative and ethical questions and the role of power dynamics in shaping social, economic and political outcomes.