The second project that I completed for LIL 120 was the Majors Exploration project, where we took an in-depth look at our major while using sources to guide our research, such as the Ernest Boyers “The Enriched Major”, UNE course catalog, major learning outcomes, and course descriptions. We also conducted faculty member interviews to obtain even more detailed, and unique perspectives on our major and have the opportunity to ask specific questions. Our class discussions and groundwork for this project employed Boyer’s “The Enriched Major” quite a bit to become prepared for deciding whether or not our majors were enriched. Boyer argued that a major must address three fundamental characteristics; have a sense of historical/traditional aspects, moral/ethical connections, and social/economic implications. The aspect of majors becoming overly vocational or career-oriented was also an abundant theme within Boyer. As a class, we explored the pros and cons t to help us recognize what to look for within our majors. I took this project as an opportunity to learn more about my newly added double major in Political Science. From this project, I was able to take the knowledge I have fostered over the length of this course in terms of a liberal arts education and apply that to Boyer’s argument to make a valuable claim about the multifaceted nature of UNE’s Political Science major. Going into this new major, I felt that it skewed toward the career-readiness path seeing as most Political Science majors end up in a legal field or politics; however, after speaking with faculty member Professor Roche, I was able to look at this in a new viewpoint. While this major will prepare me for law school, the tactics embedded in learning outcomes and course requirements rely on traditional liberal arts values and embrace a more imaginative side.

Political Science: A Multifaceted “Enriched Major”

Within Ernest Boyer’s theory of an “enriched major”, he articulates three characteristics that legitimize his claim of what constitutes a major to be enriched. A major must allow opportunities for a historical and traditional understanding, social and economic implications, as well as ethical and moral connections(Boyer, 223). Within my major of Political Science, through analyzing and synthesizing learning outcomes, required courses, detailed course descriptions, and interviewing key faculty member Professor James Roche, I can apply these three categories of an enriched major to determine how my major fits in. Although I believe that Political Science displays abundant elements of Boyer’s “enriched major”, I also conclude that various methods and tools help prepare students for careers and supply practical skills needed in a multitude of professions. Yet, the underlying premise of those career-oriented classes utilizes liberal arts learning to the highest degree.

  To understand the relative scope of what I can expect from a major in Political Science, one of the first things I needed to consider was the learning outcomes. One example is to “Have an informed sense of the historical dimension of the various political issues, developments, trends, theories, and forms of inquiry relevant to the student’s interest”( Learning Outcome). This skill set may seem vague and very open to interpretation at first. In the context of Political Science, though, you can apply knowledge of what topics will be covered to understand that these expectations touch upon all three of Boyer’s essential elements of an enriched major. For instance, given that these learning objectives would be applied to the politics of the U.S and abroad, keywording such as ‘developments” or “trends” can translate into areas of inquiry such as the U.S’s political involvement in current affairs of Afghanistan or within history like in Vietnam. Just that one example would provide a history of how war plays into politics, the economic gains of countries involved, and social unrest seen through various forms of activism. Despite surface-level broadness, with some critical thinking and common knowledge of what Political Science theories usually address, an immense amount of possibilities arise within the structure of an enriched major.

While most of Political Science’s goals and curriculum match Boyer’s characteristics of an enriched major, some do lean towards a more career-oriented path. For example, one of the most prominent learning outcomes listed is “to be able to compete successfully for placement into graduate programs or employment ”(Learning Outcome). This example of career-centeredness for a Political Science major to Boyer may insinuate that the underlying goal is to know how to “play the game” to ensure a spot at a prestigious graduate program or edge out other people for a job. Within Boyer’s work, he describes how there is an increasing amount of tension between career and technical majors and more traditional liberal arts majors as “campuses still are torn between careerism and the goals of liberal learning”(Boyer, 220). In the case of Political Science, there are many career options listed on the Political Science homepage, such as Lawyer, Policy Expert, Elected Official, Teacher, etc. Compared to the broad and sometimes vague career options of an English major or interdisciplinary humanities major, to Boyer, a Political Science major can fall under a more career-driven major. In my case, I was thrilled to see that the department recognizes that many people in Political Science have hopes of getting into a good law school or graduate program and will equip students with the resources and support needed to obtain these goals. 

After examining the learning outcomes of a Political Science major, turning to more detailed course descriptions allows for a better view of the intersectionality of the major and just how enriched or vocational it can be. An option listed under the required course that I selected was PSC 200 – Intro to Political Theory. The description communicates that this class “examines a selection of the most profound and influential works of Western political theory from the origins to democracy to the present day…study what different thinkers have had to say about the meaning of justice, order, the good life, the common good, freedom, and democracy” as well as to “reach your own reasoned positions on the issues raised by them”(PSC 200). Many elements listed above correspond to Boyers essential enriched major characteristic and his deeper views on education in general. For instance, Boyer states that once in a professional field, such as law, one must “respond to questions that relate not just to the “what” and “how”…but to the “why” as well”(Boyer, 224). As for the main criteria of Boyer, to study the origins of something, in this case, political theory, inherently implies the historical and traditional scope of an enriched major to be met. Going deeper into analyzing what influential people think about this topic enhances the social and economic implications through objectives like “the good life” and “freedom.” Many of these topics can provide a variety of social theories based on economic prosperity as the gauge of how well a society is doing or the happiness of a particular group of people. Similarly, this course description offers a method for uncovering moral and ethical views as well. Being instructed on how to “reach your own reasoned positions” allows for self-reflection and an in-depth understanding of how specific political theories affect different groups of people, whether that be minority communities or developing nations; a level of moral and ethical dilemmas could emerge abundantly within this course.  

Within another description for a required course under the American Politics Requirement titled Constitutional Law, I felt that depending on a student’s goal, this Political Science course could feel skewed towards the pre-law realm or preparations for a political career. The skills and knowledge that students obtain from this course correspond with “ …the nature and sources of the Supreme Court’s authority” as well as an “overview of constitutional issues…and an introduction to the constitutional protection of individual rights”(PSC 210). In my case, I will benefit greatly from exposure to legal ideologies and reasoning prior to law school. Nonetheless, I could understand how someone pursuing this degree with a career in journalism or public relations might not need this level of detail. 

While a course like Constitutional law could be interpreted as only applying to someone who wants to be a lawyer or a politician, perhaps it is not all negative. This course offers a perspective into the minds of our country’s legal system, which deals with many attorneys. Boyer argues that majors which are too vocational lose sight of the liberal arts methodology of education, but with all the exposure and expertise students have obtained from a liberal arts education, most people in society need to translate those into a career. Within Ungar’s article 7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts, he displayed this same reasoning when he wrote, “…a growing number of corporations…are headed by people with liberal-arts degrees…and the ability to analyze and compare literature across cultures is a skill linked to many other fields, including law”(Ungar, 2). While interviewing Professor James Roche, he explained how the best lawyers do not solely rely on memorizing minutiae of a case; instead, they delve into the subtitles of social theories, connect to historically relevant events, and think critically. I understand Boyer’s point that a major should not neglect or diminish the extremely valuable skills acquired from critical thinking and inquiry, strong communication skills, and broadened viewpoints; yet I feel a balance must be achieved as Ungar promotes. 

While the Political Science major meets many criteria of an enriched major, allowing opportunities for social and economic implications, ethical and moral connections, and a background in the history and traditional aspects, vocational and practical skills are not rebuffed. Within the eight learning outcomes, homage is given to the classical skills and priorities of a liberal arts education, in the same manner as “thinking critically, analytically, and rigorously” that Jeffery Scheuer’s article Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts supports. As I explored the course descriptions, the cross-section of liberal learning, enriched major requirements, and career readiness became even more evident. Even embedded within the major requirements is a Senior Thesis that allows students to discuss, research, write, and then defend their thesis orally. While drawing from those learning outcomes that will have been fostered over the four years, students can actively find how their learning plays into the final result. I feel extremely confident with my decision to add Political Science as my double major alongside English, especially after hearing how dedicated faculty members like James Roche are to the enrichment of the major. 

Works cited 

“B.A. in Political Science.” University of New England, https://www.une.edu/cas/political/programs/ba-political-science

Boyer, Ernest. “The Enriched Major.”

“Political Science Curriculum.” University of New England, https://www.une.edu/cas/political/programs/ba-political-science/curriculum

“Political Science Learning Outcomes.” Political Science, https://www.une.edu/cas/political/programs/ba-political-science/learning-outcomes

“PSC 210 – Constitutional Law .” Coursicle , https://www.coursicle.com/une/courses/PSC/210/.

 “PSC 200 – Intro to Political Theory .” Coursicle, https://www.coursicle.com/une/courses/PSC/200/.

Scheuer, Jeffrey. “Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts.” AAUP, 18 Nov. 2015, https://www.aaup.org/article/critical-thinking-and-liberal-arts#.YYam3dbMJmA

Ungar, Sanford J. “7 Major Misperceptions about the Liberal Arts.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 July 2020, https://www.chronicle.com/article/7-major-misperceptions-about-the-liberal-arts/