In Defense of Political Science

Ned Resnikoff, in an opinion piece for NYU Local, writes:
I used to be a Politics major, and it took only one class to change that: Power and Politics in America. What I discovered from taking that class and talking to my adviser was that the Politics department didn’t spend a whole lot of time addressing [...]

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Political Correctness Inside the Academy

Apparently psychology is the most “politically correct” academic discipline, according to a recent study by Solon Simmons (reported on by Inside Higher Ed). Sociology, English, history, and elementary education round out the top five. Political science, as Fruits and Votes notes, comes in right at the median, in between business and criminal justice. Interestingly though, [...]

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The Princeton Review Rankings

The new Princeton Review rankings are out and apparently my undergrad institution is full of “Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians” and “Dodgeball Targets,” a place where “Class Discussions [are] Encouraged” and “Intercollegiate Sports [are] Unpopular or Nonexistent, not to mention somewhat repetitively that “Nobody Plays Intramural Sports.” The “Gay Community [is] Accepted,” and it contains some [...]

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Death and the Internet

As is my way, a random quote leading to a broader ramble. From Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Confessions of a 30-Year Old Gamer”:
The anonymity of the Internet and digital worlds allows for amazing incivility. And in mid-November I watched one of the most devious acts I’ve ever seen in a MMOG. A guild decided to hold an [...]

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Political Science is Awesome

The Monkey Cage is the best political science group blog on the internet. (PolySigh has the best name and plenty of good content, but it’s rarely updated lately, putting itself out the running). I say this as an excuse to link to Lee Sigelman’s summary of John Zumbrunnen and Amy Gangl’s “Conflict, Fusion, or Coexistence? [...]

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