Political Science, where to start?

College Majors
1

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I moved recently and am waiting for my residency status to kick in so I have cheaper tuition rates, and I'm getting antsy to do some educational reading.</p>

<p>I've acquired a interest in Political Science and a lot of the philosophy behind it. However, I'm wondering if anyone has some good places to start gaining a more foundational understanding of the subject while I am on hiatus from school.</p>

<p>As aforementioned, I am interested in the philosophy, but I want to start with the basics. Are there any decent non-textbook (I don't want to spend a fortune) books on the topic you can recommend? Any websites, YouTube channels, etc. that you can suggest? Also, what would be some good resources for more practical information. That is, what are some sources I can begin reading for real-world knowledge for current events. Obviously just reading the news, etc. But I'm curious where others get their knowledge.</p>

<p>If I choose to major in Political Science, would Philosophy and Theory be a good focus? I also would like to double major and/or minor in something. I was leaning towards either History or Journalism. I'm not quite certain what my aspirations would be with the degree, but I would plan on going to graduate school for something, and I am interested in teaching, and always have been. Likewise with research.</p>

<p>Anyways, thanks for any help. I appreciate it.</p>

2

<p>The Politico website is a must-read for everything related to national politics. No paywall, either. :slight_smile: If you are looking for a snarkier take, there is a website called Wonkette. Don’t read it at work, thought, it is not “work-safe”. But any scandal or untoward or idiotic political behavior will be discussed there – they have lots to work with, obviously.</p>

3

<p>Thanks. Any suggestions for cheap introductions?</p>

4

<p>I’m taking a freshman PoliSci seminar, and we’ve covered readings like Max Weber’s “Economy and Society” (excerpts) and Robert Dahl’s “Polyarchy”.<br>
These are both fine books, and you can probably find them online or at the library. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>Hey Cursive,
It seems like double majoring is a good idea, I’m taking a handful of poly-sci courses at my school (maybe for a concentration?) and I’ve noticed most of the students are double-majoring, but of course do what works for you. About a Journalism double major, my school doesn’t offer a journalism major specifically, but there is a Journalism concentration in English. Having been in this for many years (and multiple newspapers), I would recommend checking out your school newspaper and making sure it something your interested in, a precaution is it is very time consuming b/c you always have to interview people, but it’s also really rewarding and interesting work :slight_smile: best of luck, and if you have some input on my thread (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/1565838-seeking-input-foreign-language-degrees.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/1565838-seeking-input-foreign-language-degrees.html&lt;/a&gt;) it would be great.</p>