Political and Social Thought

Return to: College of Arts & Sciences: Departments/Programs  

Overview Founded thirty years ago, this well-regarded interdisciplinary program was launched by a small group of University faculty from several departments committed to the idea of broad social inquiry. It offers to diverse and qualified students the opportunity to pursue the study of society, and the study of politics—conceived both in its broadest and narrowest senses—without being limited by the boundaries of the relevant disciplines. With the advice of associated faculty, independent and capable students can fashion a program of study that reflects their intellectual interests and goals. Some students construct a program that emphasizes thought and significant thinkers (e.g., J. S. Mill, Karl Marx, Max Weber, John Dewey, Hannah Arendt) or concepts (justice, liberalism, welfare, human rights). Others place greater emphasis on concrete studies in the past ( the African-American civil rights movement; war crimes tribunals in the aftermath of genocide) or in the present (contrasting public health and human rights approaches to the HIV pandemic; the role of NGOs in promoting economic development).

Some students are more theoretically oriented, others more practically inclined; all share a deep curiosity about the content and implications of social and political thought. In consultation with advisers, and within reasonable limits, students devise an interdisciplinary set of classes geared toward their broader interests and to the preparation of a substantial (80-100 page) thesis in their fourth year.

An intensive, year-long core seminar offered in the third year focuses on developing the skills of disciplined discussion and persuasive writing on broad issues of social and political thought. Through weekly essays and focused discussion, students learn to analyze texts with both imagination and rigor.

Among the departments and programs that have played a considerable role in this program are history, politics, sociology, anthropology, women, gender and sexuality, religious studies, philosophy; and more recently, economics, bioethics, and English.

The program is an outstanding major for a variety of future activities—in many cases perhaps even better than a major in a single department. Students graduating from this program often pursue further study in graduate and professional schools, gaining admission to the nation’s top programs. Members of recent classes, for example, have been accepted to law schools at Harvard, Chicago, N.Y.U., Virginia, and Yale, and to Ph.D. programs at the same and similar institutions. Other students have gone on to careers in publishing, investment banking, labor organizing, and positions in NGOs and advocacy groups like Amnesty International. In short, PST majors find themselves well-prepared for careers in a wide variety of fields. 

Because of the intensive nature of this two-year program, study abroad cannot ordinarily be allowed during the regular school year; but many PST students study abroad in their second year, in the summers, or in J-term.

Faculty Michael J. Smith of the Politics Department is the Program Director. Other faculty associated with the program include (among many others) Ira Bashkow, Ellen Contini-Morava, Richard Handler, and Kath Weston of anthropology; James Childress, Cindy Hohler-Fatton, Charles Mathewes, Charles Marsh and Willis Jenkins of religious studies; Talbot Brewer and Rebecca Stangl of philosophy; Lawrie Balfour, Colin Bird, Robert Fatton, Denise Walsh, and Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl of politics; Herbert Braun, Claudrena Harold, and Allan Megill of history; Ekaterina Makarova and Milton Vickerman of sociology; Farzaneh Milani of women, gender and sexuality; and Rita Felski, Michael Levenson, Jahan Ramazani, Carolyn Rody, and Maurice Wallace of English. The program’s high reputation often leads other faculty from throughout the University to agree to act as thesis advisers for PST students.

Students The program attracts able, creative, diverse, and independent students with strong interests, both theoretical and practical, in politics and society. Each spring about 20 rising third-year students are selected for the program from a substantial applicant pool. Students are chosen on the basis of strong grades, a writing sample, a faculty recommendation, and a short essay explaining the student’s interest in the field. Applications are available on the PST website and are normally due around March 1, or the Thursday before spring break. PST majors share an intensive, full-year core seminar in their third year in which they write short essays virtually every week. In the fourth year, students focus on their individual thesis projects, while sharing a thesis seminar and workshop. In this way, they come to know each other, and their professors, deeply and well, creating a genuine intellectual community of students committed to learning.