Upcoming Political Science Events
Night Owls: Becoming a Politician with Nikil Saval
Date: Saturday, March 2 @ 8pm
Location: Sci Center 199
For the ancient Greeks one of the central question of ethics concerned the relation between the contemplative life, exemplified by philosophy, and the practical life, exemplified by politics. Are the two opposed in some way, or is it possible to combine them? Does the intellectual life require a certain distance from politics, for example? Does a career in politics require sacrificing the life of the mind? What is it like to be a politician anyway, and why would anyone want to live like that? What are the distinctive challenges facing intellectuals in politics?
Nikil Saval is the perfect person to help us think through these questions, having spent many years editing the literary magazine n+1 and writing for outlets like the New Yorker and the New York Times before getting elected as a PA State Senator in 2020, earning the endorsement of Bernie Sanders along the way, and successfully introducing the Whole Home Repairs Program in 2022.
Jemille Duncan '26 highlighted on 6abc's Visions: Celebrating Black difference-makers in Philly
Will Li ('24) Selected as Schwarzman Scholar
Will Li ('24, Political Science Honors Major), has been selected as a Schwarzman Scholar in the 2024-25 round. Will is only the second Swarthmore student to receive the award, and one of only three US liberal arts college undergrads selected this year (out of 58 awards given to US undergrads and post-grads). Globally, there were over 4000 applicants for 150 awards. The award will allow Will to spend next year in Beijing at Tsinghua University (one of China's two most prestigious universities), working toward a Masters' degree in Global Affairs.
Political Science Students Compete in Schuman Challenge
Some of Political Science's best and brightest competed in the 2023 Schuman Challenge. Read more about it here, from Political Science's very own Noah Sandfort ('25)
Political Science
Political Science is the rigorous intellectual quest to identify and analyze such phenomena. Political scientists build on the foundational ideas of social and political theorists, from the ancient world to the Enlightenment to the present day. As political scientists, we develop logical and parsimonious theoretical arguments to better understand and explain important social and political phenomena, and even sometimes predict future developments. Political scientists develop and test their arguments through a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis, including archival research, interviews, surveys, statistical analysis, and experiments.
Through immersion in the substance and methods of political science, students gain the knowledge and skills to succeed in a variety of career paths, including the law, public policy analysis, foreign service, international development, journalism, and academia.