Political Science 791AB - S-Political Inquiry
Fall
2013
01
3.00
Amel Ahmed;Peter Haas
TU 12:30PM 3:00PM
UMass Amherst
35622
Description not available at this time
This course is open to Political Science majors only. Non Majors need Instructor consent
There is little consensus within political science about how to study politics. Political scientists use a range of approaches, and hold a variety of methodological commitments. This course is designed to introduce students to the philosophical and epistemological disputes that have given rise to this lack of consensus. The aim of the course is to enable students to make more deeply informed judgments about the types of political science work that they encounter and undertake. Students will be encouraged to appreciate alternative approaches to political analysis, weigh their relative utility in answering questions of importance to them, and determine whether and how these different approaches might fruitfully be combined.
There is little consensus within political science about how to study politics. Political scientists use a range of approaches, and hold a variety of methodological commitments. This course is designed to introduce students to the philosophical and epistemological disputes that have given rise to this lack of consensus. The aim of the course is to enable students to make more deeply informed judgments about the types of political science work that they encounter and undertake. Students will be encouraged to appreciate alternative approaches to political analysis, weigh their relative utility in answering questions of importance to them, and determine whether and how these different approaches might fruitfully be combined.