The study of politics is the study of power in society—who has it, who doesn't, how it is distributed, and why. We ask the big questions: What is a just society? How do we hold those in power accountable? Why do some democracies thrive, while others fail?

Why study Politics at Sewanee?

Sewanee teaches its students to be citizens who ask hard questions, assess the accuracy of political information, and make comparisons between various political systems and ideologies. Politics faculty are active scholars and committed mentors. Students may work with faculty on research or develop their own projects. Faculty members consult with students to identify summer internships, the best study abroad or community engagement opportunities, and other activities that prepare students for success after graduation.

Our curriculum tackles key issues that are relevant and varied. Check out our seven concentrations options:

POLITICS - OVERVIEW

Politics majors critically engage with competing values and interests that guide and orient politics. Students learn about concepts, theories, and principles that deal with the nature, purpose, and characteristics of government and political change, which they apply in the analysis of politics. The major encompasses the theoretical and empirical study of government institutions, identity and diversity, leadership, conflict resolution between and within states, political ideas and ideologies, political culture and discourse, political economy, and the politics of gender, race, and class. While introductory courses help to ground students in fundamental theories and concepts used in the study of politics, seminars and many 300-level courses provide students opportunities to develop their research and analytical skills while also introducing students to how to write within the discipline.

Upon completion of the Major, students are able to:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of important concepts and theories used in political science; 

  2.  Apply concepts and theories in the study of political action, public policy, political behavior, and political structures; 

  3.  Use concepts and theories in the analysis of political processes and outcomes; 

  4. Integrate knowledge from various courses across the politics curriculum; 

  5. Write a coherent and organized essay. 

  6. Communicate effectively in oral communication.

FIRST DESTINATIONS: politics MAJORS

Sewanee graduates secure positions in a variety of fields. Some you would expect, others are a bit of a surprise. Sewanee prepares you for your profession and your passion. Below is a sampling of recent graduates' first jobs.

  • Massachusetts Promise Scholar, Freedom House, Dorchester, Massachusetts.
  • Legislative intern, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Washington, D.C.
  • Legal assistant, Morgan and Morgan, Nashville, Tennessee.
  • Investment banking analyst, the Lenox Group, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Intern, Human Rights Program, the Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Advisor, United Nations (Permanent Mission of Hungary), New York, New York.
GRADUATE SCHOOL & PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS: POLITICS MAJORS

Sewanee graduates enjoy extraordinary acceptance rates to top graduate and pre-professional programs–about 95 percent to law school and over 85 percent to medical school. Below is a sampling of where Sewanee grads continue their education.

  • J.D. the University of North Carolina School of Law.
  • J.D. the University of Michigan Law School.
  • Ph.D. in political science, Emory University.
  • MSc. in international political economy (IPE), London School of Economics
  • MSc. in political science, Copenhagen University
  • J.D. the University of Texas at Austin School of Law 

Featured Alum

Livia Eva Karoui, Class of 2020

After graduation, Livia started a Princeton in Africa fellowship working remotely with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Botswana as a Programme Coordinator. In her role, she has been able to work with colleagues to provide psychosocial support to adolescents living with HIV through Whatsapp. She has also had the exciting opportunity to design and implement a new low-tech tutoring programme that uses text messages and calls to provide quality and free-of-charge academic tutoring to Botswana-Baylor pediatric patients who are facing academic difficulties, while taking account of Covid-19 related precautions such as restriction on movement and social distancing. So far, the intervention has proven successful in connecting university students and Baylor patients and in supporting learning and building confidence among participants. After PiAf, she hopes to go to graduate school and continue researching the role of mobile technology in development interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

A Sampling of Courses

Peace & Diplomacy
Politics

Peace and Diplomacy covers the strategies for prevention of violence, conflict resolution, transition from violence to diplomacy, and post-conflict reconstruction. This course also prepares students for careers in international politics, diplomacy, or U.S. Foreign Service.

POLS 221
Politics of Poverty & Inequality
Politics

Students address questions such as why income and wealth inequality in the United States continues to increase over time, how the criminal justice and education systems perpetuate racial inequalities, and why rural Americans continue to experience such high poverty rates and poor health outcomes. This course helps to prepare students for careers in domestic public policy, education, and criminal law.

POLS 210
Global Gender Issues
Politics

Students in global gender issues study contemporary cases to analyze the many ways in which access to justice and basic human rights, and the distribution of political power in a society can be conditioned by one’s gender interacting with other social identities like ethnicity, social class, and religion. This course helps to prepare students for careers in international public policy, human rights law, and international development.

POLS 319
Constitutional Law: Civil Rights
Political Science

This course examines Supreme Court cases related to equality by situating cases within varying theories of constitutional interpretation and by assessing the socio-political implications of those decisions. Civil rights are specific governmental provisions to secure individual entitlements, as exemplified by the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of "equal protection of the laws." Claims centering on race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability are examined, along with other claims of equality arising from the Fifteenth Amendment's prohibition of voting discrimination. The Constitutional Law course helps students prepare for careers in law, government, and public policy.

POLS 338
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Politics

Programs of Study & Related Programs

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Politics

Requirements for the Major & Minor in International & Global Studies | Website

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Women's & Gender Studies | Website

 

Meet Some Professors

Amy Patterson
aspatter@sewanee.edu

Amy Patterson is an Africanist with expertise in democratic participation and global public health. She is a frequent contributor to the Washington Post's "Monkey Cage." Her research is field-based, taking her to countries such as Liberia and Uganda to interview health providers and citizens about critical issues such as how best to confront outbreaks of deadly viruses like ebola.

Professor and Chair of the Department of Politics
Andrea Hatcher
ahatcher@sewanee.edu

Professor Hatcher teaches about American political institutions—Congress, the presidency, and the courts, including a series of Constitutional Law courses (Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, and Balancing Powers). Her senior seminar, Religion and American Politics, was instrumental in shaping her ongoing research agenda about British Evangelicals. She has published The Political and Religious Identities of British Evangelicals (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) and is currently researching the politics of black majority churches in the U.K.

Professor in Department of Politics
Rodelio Manacsa
romanacs@sewanee.edu

Rodelio (Rae) Manacsa is working on the areas of international security, human rights, and comparative judicial politics. He teaches courses on Human Rights, International Law, Terrorism and Global Security, International Security, European Union, and Introduction to World Politics, among others.

Scott Howard Wilson
swilson@sewanee.edu

After twenty years as a faculty member in the Politics Department and Asian Studies Program, Scott Wilson entered the university's administration where he currently serves as vice provost. As vice provost he is responsible for strategic planning, academic relations with other institutions, and assists with the budget. In 1985, he studied abroad in China, just as it was opening up its economy and society, and was so taken by the experience that he made Chinese politics and economy the focus of his research. He has lived in China for more than six years, mainly to conduct research including living in two Chinese villages for ten months. He has published two books titled Remade in China: Foreign Investors and Institutional Change in China (Oxford, 2009) and Tigers Without Teeth: The Pursuit of Justice in China (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015) and ten articles and book chapters, all on China. In 2014-15, he received a Fulbright research award to conduct research at the Research Institute on Environmental Law at Wuhan University’s Law School. During that time, he continued his study of citizen participation in Chinese environmental governance. His research and teaching have focused on China’s engagement with the global economy and citizens’ pursuit of their legal rights in China. In recent summers, Professor Deborah McGrath (Biology) and he led groups of students to conduct research on China’s environmental protection efforts. His current research focuses on environmental lawsuits and governance in China. When not working, Scott enjoys spending time with his family, running Sewanee’s trails, and cooking.

Professor in the Department of Politics and Vice Provost for Planning and Strategic Initiatives
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Contact

Amy Patterson 
Professor and Chair of Department of Politics

aspatter@sewanee.edu

Shining A Light

Informed by her own personal history, Associate Professor of Politics Mila Dragojevic travels the world to examine the conditions that lead to refugee crises, violence against civilians, and genocide.

At 16, Mila Dragojevic was an ace student in languages in her native Croatia. She had studied French, German, and English and had the idea that she would be a philologist. She applied to a student exchange program and was deciding whether to go to Switzerland, the United Kingdom, or the United States.

That’s when the Balkan state she called home began falling apart, with neighbor turning against neighbor in a conflict that resulted from the breakup of Yugoslavia and the geopolitical aims of Slobodan Milošević, who incited Serbs in Croatia in an attempt to expand Serbian territory. Dragojevic and her family found themselves refugees. Though living in Croatia and having both Serb and Croat roots, the family identified as Serbs. They crossed the border to Serbia. But Dragojevic—already accepted in the student exchange program—was not there long, heading shortly thereafter to the Tidewater region of Virginia, where she was welcomed by a host family with whom she is still close.

“When the barricades go up, people have to decide which side they stand on,” says Dragojevic, who studies refugees, violence against civilians, and genocide as an associate professor of politics at Sewanee.

News & Events

Dr. Patterson conducts research in Liberia

Dr. Patterson spent time during summer 2022 conducting research in Liberia on mental health policy with a colleague from Tulane University. She worked with the Carter Center's mental health program in that country. 

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Students participate in Osgood Center for International Studies

As Osgood Program Associates, students listened, asked questions, and wrote concise and clear briefs on premier think tanks and Congressional events on U.S. foreign affairs for the Osgood Center President. 

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Politics Alum Livia Karoui, C'20, Presents Honors Thesis

Politics alum Livia Karoui, C'20, presented a revised version of her Sewanee senior honors thesis at the 2022 European Conference on Politics and Gender in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Livia recently graduated with Distinction from the University of Cambridge, UK, earning her MPhil in African Studies. 

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The Oxford Consortium for Human Rights

The Oxford Consortium for Human Rights (OCHR) hosted its Training and Conference Workshop on “Human Rights, Armed Conflict, and the Struggle for Peace” at Magdalen College at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom last March 14-20, 2022. The sessions focused on the varied approaches to international human rights, humanitarian legal instruments, and the impact of community action on global politics.

Lakeisha Phillips, Michaelyn Preston, and Lucas Carvalho were selected to represent Sewanee for their training and interests in international security, human rights, and international law. Dr. Rodelio (Rae) Manacsa of the Department of Politics headed the Sewanee delegation in Oxford. The participants deepened their understanding of international human rights and humanitarian work, learning from experts and practitioners from academia, international organizations, and other student participants from various academic disciplines and life experiences. It was a significant, valuable, and remarkable experience!

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Politics and Literature Classes Visit Montgomery AL Museum and Memorial

Dr. Paige Schneider's Politics of Poverty and Inequality class partnered with Dr. Jennifer Michaels Literature and Composition class and traveled to Montgomery, Alabama on November 10 2019, to visit the Legacy Museum, and the Peace and Justice Memorial.

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Alexa Fults, C’21, awarded prized fellowship in international relations

Alexa Fults, a senior politics major from Morrison, Tennessee, has been awarded one of the most prestigious fellowships in international relations, a James C. Gaither Junior Fellowship from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She was nominated by the University for placement in the Fellowship's Russia and Eurasia Program, and was selected for that program.

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The 2019-2020 Fellows Review

Carter Ware C'20, has been chosen as one of the 2019-2020 Fellows Review recipients.

2019-2010 Fellows Review
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Connecting the Dots

Student Research
It matters

After enrolling in a public policy class with Assistant Professor of Politics Dr Joyanna Hopper, Kelsey Arbuckle, C'19, found her passion. Arbuckle has worked on a number of projects under Dr. Hopper's guidance, and she conducted and presented original research in partnership with the National Diaper Bank, a non-profit that seeks to address basic needs for low-income families. Arbuckle’s research assesses the effectiveness of messaging strategies directed at various stakeholders.

Internships
A BRIDGE TO A PROFESSIONAL CAREER AND GRADUATE EDUCATION

Paige Williams, C’18, (fourth from left) interned at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia, rated one of the top pre-professional internships in the country. She was hired by Emory University’s Center for Ethics shortly thereafter, where she facilitated a half-day workshop for Thai human rights activists on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. Williams will begin her graduate studies in international affairs in the fall of 2019, and has been accepted at some of the top graduate programs in the country!

Engaged Learning
Citizens solving global problems

Professor Paige Schneider’s Politics of Poverty and Inequality class went on a field trip to the Equal Justice Institute’s Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, to learn about the history of racial injustice in the United States spanning from slavery to mass incarceration.