Political Science Minor
This minor offers students the opportunity to explore relationships between political, economic, cultural, and historical phenomena to facilitate analyses of the political world. Students will address the political nature of institutions, states, communities, and individuals by studying their constraints, choices, policies, and practices in the United States and around the world.
A minimum of four courses, 16 credits, is required for the minor. Students must take one core course (PL 222 Human Rights, PL 225 US Government and Politics, or PL 230 The United States and Latin America) and at least one PL course at the 300 or 400 level. The remaining 8 credits are chosen from the list below.
Courses
- CC 405 - Political Polling
- HI 200 - Contemporary World History
- IN 213 - Introduction to Global Studies
- PH 215 - Political Philosophy
- PL 220 - International Politics
- PL 222 - Human Rights (if not used as a core course)
- PL 225 - US Government and Politics (if not used as a core course)
- PL 230 - The United States and Latin America (if not used as a core course)
- PL 240 - Communication, Politics, and Law
- PL 250 - Special Topics in Political Science
- PL 310 - Collective Action and Identity Politics*
- PL 322 - Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation
- PL 332 - Civil Rights
- PL 333 - The First Amendment
- PL 498 - Directed Study in Political Science*
Four credits from the Washington, DC, Program can be applied toward the minor.
* Note prerequisites
Faculty
Michael Brown, assistant professor in Political Science, has been a faculty member at Emerson College since 1970. A former practicing attorney and former member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, he teaches courses in US government and politics; civil rights (including online sections taught over the summer); the First Amendment; and communication, politics, and law.
Kaysha Corinealdi, assistant professor in History, is a historian of modern empires, nationalism, and migration. Her areas of focus include Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. She is currently completing a book manuscript that examines how migrants and their descendants, in Panama and the United States, utilized practices of diaspora and internationalism to challenge exclusionist policies and ideologies. She teaches contemporary world history.
Mneesha Gellman, associate professor in Political Science, counts comparative democratization, cultural rights movements, memory politics, and citizen formation in the Global South and United States among her research interests. Her recent book, Democratization and Memories of Violence: Ethnic Minority Social Movements in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador, examines how ethnic minority communities use memories of violence in mobilizations for cultural rights, particularly the right to mother tongue education. She teaches courses in human rights; the United States and Latin America; international politics; introduction to global studies; and truth, justice, and reconciliation.
Spencer Kimball, assistant professor in Communication Studies, is the director of the Washington, DC, Program and advisor for the Emerson Pre-Law Society and the Emerson College Polling Society. He is currently writing a textbook, Survey Says..., on how to conduct public opinion polling and is a national pundit quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Washington Post, Fox News, the National Journal, and National Public Radio (NPR). As president of Kimball Political Consulting, LLC, he also provides survey research, message strategy, and organization for political and corporate clients around the world. He teaches a course in politics, advocacy, and public opinion.
Ian McManus*, assistant professor in Political Science, focuses on the effects of macroeconomic changes on political competition and social well-being. His research interests include welfare state politics, social inequality, gender equality, economic crises, labor markets, European politics, and the political economy of technology. He teaches courses in comparative politics, international relations, political economy, and international politics.
Pablo Muchnik, associate professor in Philosophy, specializes in Kant, early modern philosophy, ethics, and political philosophy. He is the author of Kant’s Theory of Evil: An Essay on the Dangers of Self-Love and the Aprioricity of History, editor of the first two volumes of Rethinking Kant, co-editor of volumes IV and V, and co-editor of Kant’s Anatomy of Evil. He directs a number of book collections (Kantian Questions, Kant’s Sources in Translation, and Dialéctica Kantiana) and has received various national and international scholarships and awards. He was also president (2014–2017) and vice president (2009–2014) of the North American Kant Society. He teaches a course on political philosophy.
Please note this may not be a comprehensive list, as our affiliated faculty rotate on a semesterly basis. Please refer to the semester registration listings to identify any additional faculty participating in the minor.
* Minor Coordinator
