The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Investigating Politics RAP Fall 2022

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 two different residence halls, each with a specific Political Science course. See below for details.

Gen Ed Course and Residential Locations - Choose One

"Comparative Politics": Political Science 111 (GenEd DGSB)  Fall 2022

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

Read what Fall 2022 instructor Elif Savas has to say about the course: 

We are going through critical times; political reality has been changing recently in unprecedented ways and with unprecedented speed. Regardless of your major and academic trajectory, it is becoming more important to relate to the political world around you and understand how you connect to your political system and those around the world. This course will teach you the language of politics in a particular 
manner, to speak it critically, conscientiously, and comparatively. Questions we will ask include, but are not limited to:

  • How has the world become what it is today and what is our place in it? 
  • What is the meaning of and the history behind abstract and large political categories such as "states," "nations," and "markets"? 
  • How did the political institutions originate, how have they evolved together, and how will they continue to matter in an increasingly interconnected world? 
  • Why do some regions have obscene levels of wealth while others suffer from devastating poverty? 
  • What are the emerging forms of nationalism today across the world? 
  • And overall, what does it mean to "compare"; what tools might comparative politics provide to students, researchers, and citizens, and what is its relation to other subfields of Political Science and to the other disciplines? 

This course will shift its focus to different parts of the world with each topic and use historically critical cases as central pieces of information to address all these questions. Apart from the knowledge of the different parts of the world and essential political concepts comparatively, you will learn to read, think, and question critically.

 

"World Politics": Political Science 121 (Gen Ed DGSB)  Fall 2022

Students will live together in Pierpont Hall in the Southwest residential area.

Read what Fall 2022 instructor Jenna Norosky has to say about the course:

  • When are countries most likely to go to war?  
  • What are the causes of global economic inequality?  
  • How do states negotiate global governance on issues of refugees and climate change?  
  • How are these processes raced and gendered?  

This course serves as an introduction to the study of international relations. The primary purpose is to provide the theoretical and historical foundations necessary for analyzing and understanding international issues. Throughout the semester, students will learn analytical skills to understand and assess a diversity of perspectives concerning issues and policy options facing the international community. This course asks students to think critically about global distributions of power and their place in a pluralistic world. Inevitably, every single topic of international importance cannot be covered. Nevertheless, this course will prepare students for more advanced topics in international relations and help them to think critically about a wide range of historical and contemporary international events. 

 

Investigating Politics RAP

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