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Political Studies

Omar G. Encarnación, professor of political studies.
Photo by Pete Mauney '93 MFA '00
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Politics can be understood in many ways: as a struggle for power over other people, groups, and nations; as a social process that determines who has what kinds of authority and how this affects particular communities; as a series of conversations or disputations about what counts as a “public problem” and how to address public problems; or as an art or science of institutional design, especially the design of governments and international institutions. However it is defined, politics matters. Political outcomes shape the choices we can make as individuals and the fates of communities, nations, and states.
About the Program
Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College fall conference. Photo by Karl Rabe

About the Program

The Political Studies Program at Bard welcomes students who care about politics and want to reason critically about political outcomes and debates at the local, national, and international levels. The program intends to inform responsible participation in American and global public affairs. It also prepares students for work and/or further study in political science, international affairs, public policy, law, cultural studies, and related fields.

Interdisciplinary Study
Roger Berkowitz, associate professor of political studies and human rights. Photo by Scott Barrow

Interdisciplinary Study

The political studies major may be combined with almost any of Bard's interdisciplinary programs, such as human rights, gender and sexuality, global and international studies, Africana studies, Asian studies, and Latin American and Iberian studies. Students are expected to meet all of the requirements of these programs.

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Division of Social Studies
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