Political science majors learn about the nature of politics
and the great political ideas and gain a solid foundation in our own laws and
government, then deepen their understanding in areas such as American
government, law, international relations and comparative politics. At every
stage, students acquire essential skills in critical reasoning, the meticulous
reading of documents and the logical and persuasive presentation of written and
oral arguments.
In the spring of their junior year, majors take Seminar on
Research and Methodology, an intensive course in which they learn how to
research, organize, document, write and orally present and defend a major piece
of original work. Students choose topics according to their unique interests
and potential career goals.
In the fall of their senior year, majors apply the skills
acquired as juniors by researching and writing a more extensive and
professional thesis, again on a topic of particular interest. Students receive
intensive, individual mentoring throughout the entire semester by working with
a professor whose expertise includes their topic. In the spring of their senior
year, majors prepare and then publicly present and defend their senior
research.
The Department of Political Science is the only department
at Salve Regina to require both a junior and a senior thesis with formal
presentations and defenses. Upon completing this rigorous curriculum, students
are adept at critical thinking, research, writing, public speaking and logical
and persuasive organization of arguments - skills that are vital for success in
a variety of careers.
Recent Junior Theses:
- "The Military Commissions Act of 2009: Securing
Justice for America"
- "Mississippi Attorney General Michael Moore's
Lawsuit: Taking Tobacco Out of Politics"
- "Electing the United States President: The
Electoral College"
- "The Kashmir Insurgency: Fueled by Pakistan's
ISI"
- "The Hijab in France: Using Laicite to Pull the
Veil Over Social Tensions"
- "Weak Leadership: Jimmy Carter's Response to the
Iranian Revolution and Hostage Crisis"
- "United States Cyber Security: Why Prior
Measures Have Failed and a Newly Rebooted Policy is Capable of Providing Safety"
- "The Cloward-Piven Strategy: Welfare Rights,
Manufactured Crisis, and the Transformation of America"
- "Sex Scandals: The Media's Obsession with Sex
and Politics in Post-Modern America"
- "El Partido Nacionalista Vasco vs. Euskadi Ta
Askatasuna (ETA): Who Represents the Basque Nation?"
Recent Senior Theses:
- "The State in Disarray: U.S. Oversight of
Private Security Contractors in Iraq"
- "Hizb'allah: From Militia to Terrorist Group to
the Political Voice of the Shi'ites in Lebanon"
- "Public Funding of Faith-Based Organizations:
The Constitutionality of Faith in the American Fabric"
- "Special Education Reform: The Superiority of
the Massachusetts Model"
- "Hugo Chavez: Socialism and Dictatorship"
- "United States Drug Policy: An Addiction to
Failure"
- "Egypt and the Islamic Revival: A Government in
Crisis"
- "Putting Freedom on the Offensive: The Cold War
Policies of President Ronald Reagan"
- "Nation-Building in Afghanistan: A Fallacy of
Terms"
- "Friends of the Enemy: The ISI's Thirty Year
Relationship with the Taliban"
- "Political Oppression and
Humanitarian Catastrophe in Burma: The Status of the Karen National Union"