Why Political Science?
Speech given my Anna Nakaya at the 2024 Political Affairs Society Closing Banquet.
Like me, as soon as your friends and family learn that you are a political science major, they will inevitably ask you two questions. Here is my truest answers to both these questions.
1. What even is political science?
Many automatically assume political science is “having and expressing opinions about the American political climate.” These people become confused when political science students tell them they are studying how workplace norms impact racial minorities, or how social media affects mental health, or even how the judicial system gains and loses legitimacy in the eyes of US citizens. The truth is people think the operative word in political science is political, when really the operative word is science.
Political science is the scientific study of politics, which refers to systems of governance, and power. The BYU undergraduate catalogue introduces the major this way:
“Political science involves a wide range of theoretical, empirical, and moral inquiry into the fundamentals of governance, with diverse perspectives about the nature, uses, and abuses of power... Politics and government are central to the human condition, involving fundamental collective choices about our local, national, and global communities. Politics lays bare our highest aspirations and our basest impulses.”
Political science is not the expression of political opinion, it is the scientific study of power and governance in the human experience. This may often lead political scientists to non-normatively observe the current political climate in the US, but it can be so much more.
Political science differs from other important social sciences because it specializes in power and power dynamics. Sometimes this comes in the form of formal institutions and governing bodies, but it can also include informal institutions and norms of power dynamics among individuals. The important and distinguishing factor of political science is that it always seeks to understand the economy of power. Political science is an important social science because, as the catalogue outlines, politics lays out our highest aspirations and basest impulses as humans within communities at all levels. Understanding these patterns and recognizing abuses in power allows us to better understand, and hopefully improve, the human experience of current and future generations.
This definition of what political science is, is valuable to understand when seeking to answer the second, arguably more common and more frustrating question:
2. What are you going to do with that?
People love to ask this question because, unlike Nursing or Cyber Security, there isn’t an obvious career path when you tell them you study political science. They take this to mean there is no career path in which political science majors can be successful. On the contrary, political science majors, especially those coming out of BYU, are uniquely equipped to be successful in basically any career path in which they may be interested. The BYU political science mission statement clearly states that,
“The Department of Political Science aims to provide an education which maximizes students’ capacity to analyze and interpret political events and governmental processes and to understand the significance of these political phenomena in the world and in their lives. To help them develop such capabilities, we use methods ranging from statistically analyzing quantifiable data to comparing institutions or systems historically to reflecting on influential texts. We strive to instill in students a desire and ability to shape events in communities, states, the church, and the world.”
The political science curriculum at BYU is wide reaching in its ability to help students develop high levels of critical thinking and data literacy, not to mention become experts in writing. This makes political science students appealing candidates in a wide range of career paths, including those directly involved with politics or even in paths that may not seem political at all. Political science students become politicians, lawyers, and professors, it’s true, but they also become data scientists, analysts, managers, parents, journalists, and more.
Perhaps more important than what path they may choose though, political science students are uniquely equipped to recognize, analyze, and in many cases alter systems of power abuse that they encounter in all walks of life, whether that’s family, career, religion, or other community. This makes political science majors a valuable asset to any organization or community of which they may be a part. They analyze situations and make real change happen; we are a powerful force. When people ask what you are going to do with your political science degree, the real answer is “be a change maker.”
To the professors, donors, and other faculty that make this department thrive, thank you for your work. This major is important and the work you do is so valuable. I want to especially call out Krista Mortensen for making the department run so smoothly. I would also love to thank the professors who have taken time to be mentors to me and help me realize that my full potential by name, but it would take a long time, as most of them are here in this room. I want to thank my friends. I am so grateful for the lasting relationships I’ve made in this major.
To continuing students in political science, recognize that this is a major to be proud of, and take advantage of the amazing resources at your disposal here. To the students who are graduating, go be changemakers! We have the skills, and luckily, hopefully, we won’t have to answer questions like “what’s your major?” anymore.
Like me, as soon as your friends and family learn that you are a political science major, they will inevitably ask you two questions. Here is my truest answers to both these questions.
1. What even is political science?
Many automatically assume political science is “having and expressing opinions about the American political climate.” These people become confused when political science students tell them they are studying how workplace norms impact racial minorities, or how social media affects mental health, or even how the judicial system gains and loses legitimacy in the eyes of US citizens. The truth is people think the operative word in political science is political, when really the operative word is science.
Political science is the scientific study of politics, which refers to systems of governance, and power. The BYU undergraduate catalogue introduces the major this way:
“Political science involves a wide range of theoretical, empirical, and moral inquiry into the fundamentals of governance, with diverse perspectives about the nature, uses, and abuses of power... Politics and government are central to the human condition, involving fundamental collective choices about our local, national, and global communities. Politics lays bare our highest aspirations and our basest impulses.”
Political science is not the expression of political opinion, it is the scientific study of power and governance in the human experience. This may often lead political scientists to non-normatively observe the current political climate in the US, but it can be so much more.
Political science differs from other important social sciences because it specializes in power and power dynamics. Sometimes this comes in the form of formal institutions and governing bodies, but it can also include informal institutions and norms of power dynamics among individuals. The important and distinguishing factor of political science is that it always seeks to understand the economy of power. Political science is an important social science because, as the catalogue outlines, politics lays out our highest aspirations and basest impulses as humans within communities at all levels. Understanding these patterns and recognizing abuses in power allows us to better understand, and hopefully improve, the human experience of current and future generations.
This definition of what political science is, is valuable to understand when seeking to answer the second, arguably more common and more frustrating question:
2. What are you going to do with that?
People love to ask this question because, unlike Nursing or Cyber Security, there isn’t an obvious career path when you tell them you study political science. They take this to mean there is no career path in which political science majors can be successful. On the contrary, political science majors, especially those coming out of BYU, are uniquely equipped to be successful in basically any career path in which they may be interested. The BYU political science mission statement clearly states that,
“The Department of Political Science aims to provide an education which maximizes students’ capacity to analyze and interpret political events and governmental processes and to understand the significance of these political phenomena in the world and in their lives. To help them develop such capabilities, we use methods ranging from statistically analyzing quantifiable data to comparing institutions or systems historically to reflecting on influential texts. We strive to instill in students a desire and ability to shape events in communities, states, the church, and the world.”
The political science curriculum at BYU is wide reaching in its ability to help students develop high levels of critical thinking and data literacy, not to mention become experts in writing. This makes political science students appealing candidates in a wide range of career paths, including those directly involved with politics or even in paths that may not seem political at all. Political science students become politicians, lawyers, and professors, it’s true, but they also become data scientists, analysts, managers, parents, journalists, and more.
Perhaps more important than what path they may choose though, political science students are uniquely equipped to recognize, analyze, and in many cases alter systems of power abuse that they encounter in all walks of life, whether that’s family, career, religion, or other community. This makes political science majors a valuable asset to any organization or community of which they may be a part. They analyze situations and make real change happen; we are a powerful force. When people ask what you are going to do with your political science degree, the real answer is “be a change maker.”
To the professors, donors, and other faculty that make this department thrive, thank you for your work. This major is important and the work you do is so valuable. I want to especially call out Krista Mortensen for making the department run so smoothly. I would also love to thank the professors who have taken time to be mentors to me and help me realize that my full potential by name, but it would take a long time, as most of them are here in this room. I want to thank my friends. I am so grateful for the lasting relationships I’ve made in this major.
To continuing students in political science, recognize that this is a major to be proud of, and take advantage of the amazing resources at your disposal here. To the students who are graduating, go be changemakers! We have the skills, and luckily, hopefully, we won’t have to answer questions like “what’s your major?” anymore.
Anna Nakaya, who is from the Dallas/Fort Worth area of TX, will graduate in August 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in philosophy. While at BYU, Anna was a student fellow in both the Global Politics Lab and the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, and lead editor for Sigma. After graduation, Anna hopes to pursue graduate work in political science.