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Overview

Learning MethodsMajor FocusThe AC DifferenceCareer Outlook

Learning Methods

Students will be initiated into a world of politics through traditional lectures, in-class activities, debates, current events and journalism, popular media resources, and historical and present-day case studies.
Students will be thoroughly introduced to the languages of political study and practice in Canada, and worldwide, too.

Major Focus

Political science is a central element in the social sciences and focuses on the use of rationality and knowledge applied to public policy, government structure, international relations, and combines these sorts of foci with a deep exploration of the foundational ideas that underpin politics, the state, morality, ethics, freedom, security, and, ultimately, the “good” life.

The AC Difference

With smaller classes sizes and engaged instructors working closely with students, courses in political science at Alexander College can guide students in debates, policy projects, and deep-dive research assignments through the College’s library and electronic reserve offerings.

Career Outlook

Political science graduates work in all sectors of life and their skills with reading policy tables, interpreting and analyzing data, strategic communications, historical research, and many other relevant fields and sub-fields, leave them well-placed in the community.
Political scientists are often lawyers, work in the government, throughout the corporate world, in research and think tanks, in the media and in journalism, and, of course, old-fashioned retail campaign politics.
This is an exciting field to enter at a time where the growth of the role of the state in society will demand more and more critical thinking and political skills from all people.

Course Descriptions

Select a course below to see full descriptions. (#) Indicates amount of credits per course

POLI 100 - Introduction to Political Science (3)

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the various systems which communities use to establish, elect, structure, and manage their governing bodies. Students will learn about the impact of political systems on the major issues of the day, including climate change, globalization, the threat of nuclear war, the distribution of wealth, race relations, cultural hegemony, and regional dynamics.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098

Transfers to:

SFU POL 100 (3) B-Soc
UNBC POLS 100 (3)
TRU POLI 1XXX (3)

POLI 200 - Introduction to World Politics (3)

This course will introduce students to mainstream and critical theories of world politics and their application to current and historical case-studies. It focuses on nation-states, international organizations, civil society, economic actors, and individuals in global politics. Geo-political events since the end of the Cold War have led to a shift in the concept of nation-state, marking a fundamental change in the nature of world politics.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099, POLI 100

Transfers to:

UBCV POLI 260 (3)
SFU POLI 141 (3) B-Soc
UNBC POLS 2XX (3)
UVIC POLI 240 (1.5)
TRU POLI 2600 (3)

Faculty

Grace Miura-Wong (MA, BA)

Instructor

Grace Miura-Wong (MA, BA)

Instructor

Grace Miura-Wong received her B.A. from UBC and M.A. from SFU in Political Science. She is a current PhD student at Ottawa’s Carleton University, conducting research on East Asian-Canadian voting behaviour.

Grace has taught and assisted in the teaching of courses related to Canadian Politics, International Relations, and Human Rights.

Denis Dogah (PhD, MA, BA)

Instructor

Denis Dogah (PhD, MA, BA)

Instructor

Hi All, My name is Denis Dogah. I am a Ph.D. Candidate at the Department of Political Science, SFU. I previously studied for my Master of Arts (MA) Degree in International Relations at Brock University.

I also hold a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) Degree in Political Science from the University of Ghana.

I look forward to the opportunity to chat about the basic concepts and institutions of Politics, Governance, and International Studies.

Andrei Golobokov

Instructor

Andrei Golobokov

Instructor

My research interest center around International Relations, International Security, and Comparative Politics, with a particular focus on Eurasia, and Northeast and Central Asia. Topics I address in my course include global and regional security, economics/IPE, and the developing world order. Currently, I study great power engagements in the security framework on the Korean Peninsula (Six-Party Talks). I presented my findings at the Annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), the International Conference on Economics, Management and Social Science, and a number of forums on transborder regional business engagement.

Richard Gbedoah

Instructor

Richard Gbedoah

Instructor

Richard holds a Master of Development Studies from the Geneva Graduate Institute, a Master of Public Policy from the KDI School of Public Policy & Management, an MA International Affairs – Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD), and a BA Political Science with Sociology, University of Ghana. He has worked with multiple organizations, including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), GAN-Global and the Government of Ghana. Richard is currently pursuing his PhD at the Simon Fraser University. His research centers around Security Sector Reform and Governance (SSR/G). He has taught multiple courses in Political Science and International Studies.

Jovian Radheshwar

Instructor

Jovian Radheshwar

Instructor

Jovian Radheshwar is a Political Science Educator at Alexander and Douglas Colleges and has lived in Canada since 2016. His work covers international relations, world politics, black studies, American politics, South Asian politics, globalization, political economy, hip-hop and politics, and politics and culture. Prior to his time in Canada, Jovian completed his Ph.D. in political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and he had taught at Universities and Colleges in Southern California since 2011. Jovian’s main research interests are existentialism, freedom, security, political strategy, and social justice. He believes that political science requires active engagement with politics at the local, regional, national, and global levels, and often volunteers his time to political campaigns and causes he aligns with. For fun, Jovian likes capoeira, dancing, basketball, yoga, meditation, and spending time with his cat, Brie.

Resources

International Encyclopedia of Political Science

The Federation of American Scientists

Foreign Policy in Focus

Podomatic : All things politics and culture

CBC Podcasts : Power and Politics

Canadian Political Science Association

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