Professor Jenny Garcia pointing at a bar graph on the screen.

Program Overview

Politics

Investigate the dynamics of collective power and governance.

Photo credit: William Bradford

What is Politics? The Power behind Ideas, Institutions, and Interests

How can democracy survive polarization and populism? How do workers and minorities gain greater recognition and rights? How does the American political system compare with those around the world? Oberlin’s politics department explores the many dimensions of political life, ranging from small groups to citizens’ organizations, to cities, countries, and the international system. We present a variety of approaches, combining conceptual and theoretical analyses with historical, policy, and practical orientations. With courses in American, international comparative politics, and political theory, our program prepares students for careers in a range of sectors, including government and policy work, journalism, law, nonprofits, movement politics, and academia.

From Theory to Practice, from Grassroots to Global

Politics at Oberlin combines the scholarly and academic renown of larger universities with the collegiality and close faculty-student collaboration of a liberal arts college. Our faculty are experts in a broad range of areas of study: Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. We facilitate internships in NGOs, the labor movement, congressional offices, and more. The politics department is also a collective of scholars who are excited to challenge received wisdom and engage in wide-ranging, rigorous discussion. We are politically diverse and thrive on students bringing their own perspectives and critical capacities to bear in class and out.

Contact

Chair:

David Forrest

Administrative Assistant:

Tracy Tucker

politics@oberlin.edu

440-775-8487

Each year Oberlin brings in a large number of political speakers from activists to ambassadors to journalists and scholars

International Relations

International relations is a subfield within the politics major, which also contributes to the college-wide international affairs concentration that can be added to any major.

Learn more about Oberlin’s International Affairs concentration

Electoral Pathways

The Oberlin Initiative in Electoral Politics (OIEP) was founded in 1994 as a non-partisan program to encourage the study of American campaigns and elections. OIEPs' centerpiece is the Cole Scholars Program. Since 1994, more than 300 Cole Scholars have studied races throughout the country.

Learn more about the Cole Scholars Program

POLT 284

The American Right

This course examines the political configuration of the modern American right. First, we examine the general contours and importance of right-wing politics in the contemporary United States. Second, we examine the modern American right’s historical and political origins, focusing especially on its southern, corporate, and suburban origins. Third, we examine its more recent sources of power and influence, including those related to the party system, social movements, and everyday political behavior. Finally, we end by considering the political challenges currently facing the modern American right and its supporters.

Taught by: David Forrest

POLT 216

Women, Work and Politics

Advanced democracies have seen growing rates of women’s employment across a wide range of sectors and the expansion of women’s representation and participation in politics. Yet, gender inequalities persist. Which factors contributed to women’s advancement in Europe and the US and what kinds of inequalities remain? What is the relationship between these patterns and the efforts of feminist movements? How has women’s advancement shaped political attitudes and behavior among women and men? This course examines changes in the position of women across advanced democracies since 1950 and explores how these changes are linked to the ‘gender gap’ shaping contemporary politics.

Taught by: Briitta van Staalduinen

POLT 230

The Odyssey of Critical Theory

Critical theory names a tradition of thinking which seeks to understand the world in order to change it for the better. This course provides a survey of this tradition of thought beginning from the influential critiques of the Enlightenment by Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche. We then move to twentieth century critical theories of the Frankfurt School, with a focus on the writings of Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, Erich Fromm, and Herbert Marcuse. The course will trace the shifts within critical theory’s long odyssey, while interrogating the possibilities and limits of this tradition today. Recommended preparation: previous exposure to political theory, Marxist theory, and/or European intellectual history.

Taught by: Arwa Awan

POLT 229

Politics and Power of International Law

What role does international law play in the conduct of global politics? The last century has seen states embrace legalization in a bid to find legal solutions for global problems. At the same time, international law has never developed–and likely never will develop–the kind of enforcement mechanism that anchors domestic legal regimes. This course explores this paradox while working to bridge an understanding between what international law is, as a body of highly technical rules that aim to govern the globe, and the impact that this comparatively recent embrace of international law has had on global politics.

Taught by: Joshua Freedman

Running the Marathon of Campaign Work

At Oberlin, León Pescador ’18 majored in politics and East Asian studies. Since graduating last May, Pescador has been working on political campaigns, including Dan Helmer’s campaign for Virginia’s 40th House of Delegates district.

Learn more about León’s professional path

Crafting Strategies To Aid Health Care Reform

During her senior year, Emma Eisenberg ’17 was the director of placement for the politics department’s Winter Term Congressional Internship program. Since graduating, Emma has worked for the communications agency GMMB.

Learn more about Emma’s role in political communications

Fulbright Fellow in Malaysia

Jacques Forbes ’19, a double major in politics and law and society, was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Malaysia. A native of San Angelo, Texas, Forbes sought out the fellowship as a meaningful transition before he applies to law school.

Learn more about Jacques’ fellowship