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Political Science Learning at a Research
Institution
Political science at U of T has grown out of a political economy
tradition
associated with such leading Canadian thinkers as Harold Innis and
C.B.
Macpherson. In the 1960s and 1970s, the department developed
research
and teaching reputations in a number of areas placing us in the
forefront
of political science, both nationally and internationally. Recently,
we have
once again moved into new areas of research, while retaining our
commitment to excellence in more traditional areas.
The department offers some 80 full-year courses every year,
providing
undergraduate students with enormous intellectual variety. Our
undergraduate programs allow students to specialize in Canadian
politics,
political theory, international relations and comparative politics
(including
both industrialized and developing countries). Beyond this, students
may
plan a program that combines political science with economics,
history,
philosophy and sociology. The department’s courses, programs and
faculty are also deeply integrated into broader, interdisciplinary
Faculty
initiatives. Political science has played a key role, for instance,
in
developing and serving the programs in international relations,
peace and
conflict studies, American studies and African studies. As well, the
department contributes significantly to the Faculty’s new
international
programs - Asia-Pacific studies, European studies and Ibero-American
studies. Taken together, there are currently more than 3,800
students
enrolled in undergraduate courses in political science, making it
one of the
five largest departments in the Faculty.
At the graduate level, the department is also large, diverse and
deeply
committed to providing students with the very best education
possible. Each year, we welcome a master’s class of some 50
students,
as well as approximately 20 new PhD students. Here again, there is
strength in diversity. Master’s students may choose to do a general
M.A.
which allows students to design a year’s course of study in a way
that
best suits their intellectual interests. Alternatively, the
department offers a
series of more specialized master’s programs, including an
innovative
trans-Atlantic program in public policy and the global economy. And
finally, the department contributes to a series of collaborative
master’s
programs that provide students with the opportunity to profit from
interdisciplinary teaching and research while remaining anchored
to political science.
Redefining
Inquiry
The department’s most recent external review concluded that we are
the
preeminent department in the discipline in Canada and, by most
benchmarks, a rival to many of the major political science
departments
internationally. The department’s reputation is based on a
commitment to
balance, tradition and innovation.
First, we have maintained (and deepened) research into traditional
areas
that form the cornerstone of the discipline. There is no major
department
in North America, for instance, that has committed as many resources
to
exploring the enduring questions of political philosophy. Indeed,
what
makes our department distinctive within the international context is
the
extent to which political theory -- putting the study of politics in
the
context of the most basic normative concerns -- informs everything
we
do.
Second, we have built our reputation by responding to crucial
moments of
fundamental change in the discipline and the world. In the 1960s, in
response to the emergence of national liberation movements in the
Third
World, the department recruited a critical mass of talented scholars
in the
emerging area of development politics. More recently, we have
recruited
young scholars who are undertaking research in the areas of
international
political economy and European integration. We have also expanded
our
strength in diversity studies through a combination of recruitment
and
retooling of our current faculty members so that work is now being
undertaken in such areas as gender politics, race relations and
ethnic
conflict. In response to the growing importance of Asia in world
politics,
we have turned our attention to building a research and teaching
profile in
this important area.
Connecting
Scholarship With the World
At the heart of the department of political science lies a
commitment to
understanding what our own C.B. Macpherson called “the real world of
democracy”. Our faculty members are currently engaged in research
that
is both on the cutting-edge of social scientific inquiry and
urgently
needed. This includes the work of Tad Homer-Dixon, whose inquiries
into the way societies learn from and adapt to environmental
stressors has
been acclaimed both by natural and social scientists
alike; the research of Neil Nevitte, whose research techniques for
election-monitoring are now routinely employed in emerging
democracies;
David Wolfe, whose leading-edge work on the political impact of
technological innovation has attracted international attention; and
Janice
Stein, David Cameron and Richard Simeon, whose ongoing discussions
on
citizen engagement, address some of the most basic questions of
contemporary democratic politics.
Yet, in the final analysis, what is perhaps most significant about
the
department is its commitment to making scholarly knowledge available
to
the larger community we ultimately serve. Members of our faculty
have
served as deputy ministers and held high-ranking policy positions in
several governments. They direct Royal Commissions, advise
provincial
premiers and are consulted by federal cabinet ministers. They serve
as
intermediaries between the federal government and aboriginal peoples
and help to prosecute human rights abuses. They regularly brief
foreign
governments on Canadian affairs; conversely, they provide Canadians
with insight into foreign affairs. Our faculty members give freely
of their
time to comment through the media on public affairs and they make
countless presentations to every manner of community group. In
short, the
department of political science does more than teach about
citizenship; it
practises it.
Outstanding Alumni Include:
Ed Broadbent, former leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada,
John Honderich, editor of the Toronto Star, novelist Matt Cohen and
Abby
Hoffman, former Olympian and activist.
Contact
Information::
Department
of Political Science
University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street
Phone: (416) 978-3343
Fax: (416) 978-5566 |
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