Learning Goals in the Government and International Relations Majors

Learning Goals in the Government Major

Connecticut college graduates with a major in government will:

1. Demonstrate a general understanding of government and politics that spans and is informed by scholarly insights from the subfields of U.S. politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. Specifically, graduates will be able to speak and write cogently about:

• U.S. Politics. The features of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. political culture and the governmental institutions, processes, and policies of the U.S. government;
• Comparative Politics. Variations in the political cultures and governmental institutions, processes, and policies of states;
• International Relations. Competing historical and contemporary theories and debates surrounding national sovereignty, international norms and values, and cooperation and conflict (surrounding, for example, military power, economic relations, and human rights) among states, international organizations, and nonstate actors around the world; and
• Political Theory. Competing theories of the origins and nature of political authority, legitimacy, and justice, reaching back to the ancient Greeks; the constitution of political societies through choices among possible institutions and processes; the relationships between governments and markets; and the tensions between collective political action and individual liberties.

1. Demonstrate a deep understanding in some portion of the four subfields (listed above) as a result of completing upper-level coursework.
2. Demonstrate the ability to plan, research, and write an extended paper on a topic related to their chosen area of concentration.
3. Engage in critical thinking when confronted with competing opinions and various viewpoints.
4. Develop skills in oral communication and public speaking through active participation in classroom discussions and presentations.

Learning Goals in the International Relations Major

Connecticut college graduates with a major in international relations will:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of competing theories and debates surrounding national sovereignty, international norms and values, and cooperation and conflict among states, international organizations, and non-state actors around the world that is informed by coursework in the departments of Government, History, and Economics; with specific ability to speak and write cogently about each of the following:

• Major scholarly debates within the subfield of foreign policy;
• Major scholarly debates within the subfield of international relations;
• Major scholarly debates within the subfield of comparative politics;
• Major scholarly debates regarding International economic cooperation, conflict, and development; and
• The history and culture of a particular country or region other than the United States.

1. Develop foreign language proficiency through the completion of a course in a modern foreign language beyond the intermediate level (students taking Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic must complete the intermediate-level series); and
2. Demonstrate a deep understanding of one of the following subfields of international relations: foreign policy analysis, international political economy, the developing world, environmental politics, security studies, terrorism, human rights, the politics or international politics of a particular region, ethnic conflict, international relations theory, or some other topic approved by their adviser.
3. Demonstrate the ability to plan, research, and write an extended paper on a topic related to their chosen area of concentration.
4. Engage in critical thinking when confronted with competing opinions and various viewpoints.
5. Develop skills in oral communication and public speaking through active participation in classroom discussions and presentations.