Political Science

Chair

Leah Bradshaw

Undergraduate Program Adviser

Daniel Madar

Professors Emeriti

Victor M. Fic, William H. N. Hull, William A. Matheson, J. Patrick Sewell

Professors

Carl Baar (on leave), Gerald E. Dirks, W. D. Kenneth Kernaghan, David T. Siegel, Garth Stevenson

Associate Professors

Nicolas Baxter-Moore, Leah Bradshaw, Charles Burton, Terrance G. Carroll, Juris Dreifelds, Pierre Lizée, Daniel Madar, Ingrid Makus, William Mathie

Assistant Professors

James B. Kelly

Seminar Co-ordinator

Jacqueline Dix

General Information

Administrative Assistant

Christine Schacht

905-688-5550, extension 3476

Taro Hall 468

http://www.brocku.ca/politicalscience/

Politics affects everyone. It is through politics that the future of the world we inhabit is shaped. Aristotle called politics the master science because he recognized how wide and pervasive politics is. The interests of political scientists are diverse. They may include conflict at city hall or in the courtroom; the arguments and processes through which our national existence might be preserved; the collapse of Communism and the struggle to establish new political arrangements in its place; the role of pressure groups in shaping public policy; electoral reform; the control of civil servants; the rule of law among nations; the place of moral principle and national interest in the conduct of foreign policy; or how far any citizen might have the right or duty to disobey an unjust law. Political Science offers us the opportunity to become freer human beings and citizens because, whatever the subject of our immediate inquiry, the focus is always upon the ideas, institutions and processes that shape our lives.

The BA honours program provides students with the opportunity for a more intensive examination of issues in the field.

Political Science may be combined at the honours or pass level with other disciplines, the choice depending upon the student's interests and capabilities. As well, it is possible, within the departmental offerings, to arrange a thematic program of study around a selection of courses built to suit the student's particular interests.

All students in Political Science especially those proceeding to graduate studies or to a career in the public service, are encouraged to become proficient in a language other than English, normally French. Students who develop interests in a particular geographical area are urged to select related courses in history, language and literature. MATH 1F92 provides a sound background in those skills often employed in modern social science research. Questions about the Political Science program should be directed to the Undergraduate Program Adviser.