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Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:55 am
by Barack O'Drama
apollo2015 wrote:Political Science is a more practical major than History. It can also be significantly boring and difficult if you are at a school that teaches it more on the Science end than on the Political end.

Neither will get you a job, but assuming you focused on American government institutions (as opposed to international relations, comparative governments, or political theory) you will come out of it far more informed about how things work in government than you would otherwise. That matters if you plan to hold political office, or want to influence the behavior of those who do hold office. Perhaps History offers you advantages in other realms of life. I did not take any History classes so I cannot say what its utility is.

Insightful views! Thank you, and magp90- couldn't agree more.

I would not recommend changing to a Political Science major, but I do recommend doing a minor in it. There is no prestige boost for doing the full major, and most of its knowledge benefits can be obtained within a minor.

Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 12:25 pm
by magp90
apollo2015 wrote:Political Science is a more practical major than History. It can also be significantly boring and difficult if you are at a school that teaches it more on the Science end than on the Political end.

Neither will get you a job, but assuming you focused on American government institutions (as opposed to international relations, comparative governments, or political theory) you will come out of it far more informed about how things work in government than you would otherwise. That matters if you plan to hold political office, or want to influence the behavior of those who do hold office. Perhaps History offers you advantages in other realms of life. I did not take any History classes so I cannot say what its utility is.

I would not recommend changing to a Political Science major, but I do recommend doing a minor in it. There is no prestige boost for doing the full major, and most of its knowledge benefits can be obtained within a minor.
I agree.

Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 12:32 pm
by A. Nony Mouse
I don't think History's any less practical than PoliSci, but that's because I think anyone who believes PoliSci is a practical major is deluding themselves.

Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 2:00 pm
by suralin
A. Nony Mouse wrote:I don't think History's any less practical than PoliSci, but that's because I think anyone who believes PoliSci is a practical major is deluding themselves.
+1

Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 2:04 pm
by JamMasterJ
IDK, upper level classes in both are pretty damn easy

Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:34 pm
by Barack O'Drama
JamMasterJ wrote:IDK, upper level classes in both are pretty damn easy
Ehhh I've come to see it depends on the professors. I had one 300 level History that was fairly easy if you did the readings and such. On the other side of the coin the upper level histories I'm taking now seem to be a bit more challenging. It could also be that I'm taking 3 and the readings take forever each night :/ I just look at it as good preparation for law school. Sure, the readings are completely different in L.S, but...At least I am building up the discipline for it. Again- thank you everybody who contributed.

Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:38 pm
by Ludo!
Lol you're a history major and you do all the reading?

Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:36 pm
by Barack O'Drama
Ludovico Technique wrote:Lol you're a history major and you do all the reading?
Indeed I do the readings. Am I missing something? Each class has at least 4 books (Couple of textbooks and some primary sources) Unless it's something I've read before I often opt to just read it. A couple of my classes seem to test just as much on the authors' thesis and specifics rather than historical facts. That's just me...Do I ever skim? Yes, However, the upper level classes you're better off just biting the bullet.

Do you think I should continue like that? Is there a way to work smarter not harder? I'm open to all helpful advice!

Re: Anyone major in History/Political Science for U.G?

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 4:24 pm
by magp90
GregoryADevine wrote:
Ludovico Technique wrote:Lol you're a history major and you do all the reading?
Indeed I do the readings. Am I missing something? Each class has at least 4 books (Couple of textbooks and some primary sources) Unless it's something I've read before I often opt to just read it. A couple of my classes seem to test just as much on the authors' thesis and specifics rather than historical facts. That's just me...Do I ever skim? Yes, However, the upper level classes you're better off just biting the bullet.

Do you think I should continue like that? Is there a way to work smarter not harder? I'm open to all helpful advice!
Doing the work is a sure-fire way to keep up a great GPA if that's what's important to you. If you haven't developed a proven method for cutting corners, don't try now. Just do what you need to do to do well.