Politics & Public Policy
Politics & Public Policy describes a critical way in which citizens can engage with their government and their fellow constituents. Through participating in politics and political discourse, as well as by helping shape and formulate public policy, individuals can help set and carry out agendas on a local, state, and national level. In this way, Politics & Public Policy describes an efficacious way of facilitating change and progress across a variety of issue areas; this category can encompass engagement in the form of advocacy, awareness, education, internships, projects, employment, and public service.
Connect
Key Faculty and Staff
- Ben Berger, Associate Professor of Political Science and Executive Director of the Lang Center
- Keith Reeves ’88, Professor of Political Science and Department Chair; Director of the Urban Inequality and Incarceration program
Student Groups
- Roosevelt @ Swarthmore | Contact: Xiaojing Zeng '19
- Swarthmore Democrats | Contact: Ben Stern '19
- Swarthmore Conservative Society | Contact: Rebecca Sanders '21
- Swarthmore Anti-Capitalist Collective
- Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine | Contact: Abby Saul ’19
- Women in Political Science | Contact: Rina Pearce '19
- Swarthmore Political Access Network | Contact: Jacob Demree ’19, Ryan Arazi '21, Dylan Clairmont '21, Madeleine Ward '21.
Learn
Relevant Courses
Swarthmore Spring 2019
- POLS 003 - Introduction to Comparative Political Systems
- POLS 004 - International Politics
- POLS 012 - Introduction to Modern Political Thought
- POLS 028 - The Urban Underclass and Public Policy
- POLS 038. Research Design and Inference in the Social Sciences
- POLS 043 - Environmental Policy and Politics
- POLS 045 - Disaster Politics and Policies
- POLS 047: Ethics and Economics
- POLS 057: Latin American Politics
- POLS 059: Middle East Politics
- POLS 061: American Foreign Policy
- POLS 062 - The Politics and Practice of Humanitarianism
- POLS 063 - African Politics
- POLS 066: International Political Economy
- POLS 070B - Politics of Punishment
- POLS 100 - Ancient Political Theory: Plato to Hobbes
- POLS 104: The State of American Democracy
- POLS 105 - Constitutional Law in the American Polity
TriCo
Bryn Mawr Spring 2019 Classes
- PHILB225001: Global Ethical Issues
- POLSB222001: Environmental Issues - Movement, Controversy, Policy
- POLSB249001: Politics of Economic Development
- POLSB327001: Political Philosophy 1950 - Present
- POLSB354001: Comparative Social Movements
Haverford Spring 2019 Classes
- POLSH161B001: The Politics of Globalization
- POLSH171B001: Introduction to Political Theory: Ideologies and the Struggle to Control Authority
- POLSH204B001: The Politics of the Creative Class in American Cities
- POLSH208B001: Political Thought in the Global South: The Case of Latin America
- POLSH217B001: Education Reform in America: Politics and Policy
- POLSH261B001: Global Civil Society
- POLSH278B001: The Earth: Ethics, Politics, and Economics
- POLSH316B001: Race, Poverty, and the U.S. Welfare State
Act
Off-Campus Opportunities
- Brookings Institution
- Center for American Progress
- American Enterprise Institute
- Cato Institute
- Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Internships
- Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute Leadership Program
- Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities National Internship Program
- Morris K. Udall Foundation Native American Summer Congressional Internship Program
- Public Policy and International Affairs Program Junior Summer Institutes
- The Washington Center
- Washington Internship Institute
- Serve.gov
- PeaceCorps.gov
- CitizenCorps.gov
- NationalService.gov
- Volunteer.gov
- USAJobs.gov
- Careersingovernment.com
- Natural Resources Conservation Earth Team Volunteers
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Planned Parenthood
Grants
Politics & Public Policy Lang Center Associate
Simran Singh ’19
Lang Center Associate for Political Engagement & Public Policy