Goshen College Offers New Political Studies and Pre-Law Minors

GC’s History and Political Science Department has expanded academic opportunities for students by launching two minors, one in political studies and another in pre-law, starting with the 2014-2015 academic year. Department chair and Professor of History Jan Bender Shetler explained that the new programs are a direct response to requests from prospective students, as well as current students, who have expressed interest in these fields. The two minors are interdisciplinary in nature and draw on expertise across campus.

The political studies minor combines political science classes with courses that emphasize political analysis and policy from other departments such as sociology, history, and peace justice and conflict studies. The pre-law minor also emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach, including logic, problem solving, constructing arguments, good writing, speaking and reading skills, and knowledge of the legal system. Course options include Media Law and Ethics, Critical Theory and Practice, Mediation Process, and Social Psychology, as well as other courses from business, communication, economics, english, math, philosophy, peace justice and conflict studies, psychology, and social work.

Adding these two minors is part of a larger transformation of the Goshen curriculum. Bender Shetler noted that professors are thinking more deliberately about how to prepare students for today’s career paths that demand concrete knowledge and skills, as well as interdisciplinary creativity that can flex with a changing job market and be relevant for future jobs that do not yet exist.