Investigating Politics RAP Fall 2019

Investigating Politics RAPs are a great choice for students who are interested in:

• Following current political events together.
• Discussing political controversies - from student loan rates to global climate change.
• Discovering ways to become involved in politics regardless of your academic area of study.

The material covered in class will help students contextualize issues across the globe, and will inspire meaningful conversations both within and outside the classroom. Many of the concepts students are introduced to through these Gen Ed courses may be developed further through engaging in activities with program partners, student organizations and activities offered in the residence halls.

Whether you're already engaged in politics or interested in learning more, you will find a variety of exciting discussions and activities in this RAP!

This RAP is offered in three different residence halls, each with a specific Political Science course. See below for details.

"Comparative Politics": Political Science 111 (GenEd SBDG)  Fall 2019

Students will live together in Wheeler Hall in the Central residential area.

Read what Fall 2019 instructor Ethan Tupelo has to say about the course: 

How has the world come to be carved up and dominated by states, nations, and markets?  How did these institutions originate, how have they evolved together, and how much will they continue to matter in an increasingly interconnected world? Why do people sometimes resist political domination, and sometimes enthusiastically accept it? Why do some regions have obscene levels of wealth, while others suffer from devastating poverty? What tools can we use to uncover the power that hides within defining these concepts, and the stories we tell about them?

We will explore questions like these in an introduction to the core areas of Comparative Politics, a subfield of Political Science. Starting with key historically-grounded cases, we will challenge the 'naturalness' of these common concepts by critically examining how this world came to be, and then expand our view to present-day conflicts, including those around colonial legacies, economic development, inequality, regime structures, social movements, and the environmental crisis. In short, we will develop the tools needed to critically analyze political processes, and begin to think about your place in the contemporary political world.