Just because I do Political Sciences doesn’t mean I have an easier ride
Emory has a heavy medicine and business oriented student body. What about the rest of the students?
Being in the minority isn’t the easiest.
While students shuffle from class to class, stressed about their upcoming essays and exams, it almost seems as though no one has any time for themselves. Although this may be the case, students often find themselves assuming that their work, or more specifically, their major, is more intensive than those around them.
Yes, it is uncommon at Emory to be a political science or international studies major, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have it any easier. In fact, it may even be harder because of the stigma that is undoubtedly clear at our school- if you aren’t pre-med or pre-business, then you’re doing it wrong.
Emory University has one of the strongest medical schools in the country; the Goizueta School of Business is ranked in the top 25 of business schools by Forbes. However, this doesn’t diminish the field of social sciences in a prestigious college such as Emory.
As a possible political science major, it has become increasingly inevitable that more and more students involved in hard sciences band together in a cult-like fashion, frantically working on chemistry lab reports and studying for bio tests.
While the stress of these classes is obvious and undeniable, this doesn’t mean other fields of knowledge do not have the same levels of work, stress, and hair raising exams. This, probably, is one of the most frustrating aspects of going to a heavy math-science university.
No, our classes are not easier than a typical high-level business course. The heavy reading load as well as importance of word choice in our papers and written assignments exhibits the keen understanding a student must have of the topics being learned in class is not entirely easy to grasp.
In other words, it may seem that political science classes are “easy to bullshit,” but in reality, if you are taking a class seriously in order to learn, this cannot be the case. In a typical political science course, it’s common to have readings that are often 20+ pages, and essential for class discussion the next day.
What stands out significantly in political science classes is the necessity to make connections to real world examples. After spending a summer at an international relations camp three years ago at Georgetown University, one of the most memorable moments of my experience there was taking part in a simulation activity where I along with my group members acted as the Israeli government.
Activities such as these demonstrate the necessary knowledge of not only one field of knowledge, but several fields in order to solve worldwide problems. I think this is the best part of studying political science and international relations: not only do you learn about a specific field, but you also learn to be more open minded to other areas of knowledge.
Emory University is a place with many benefits and being a student who partakes in the liberal arts experience may have actually won the prize. Instead of having a one-track mind, we have the blessing of stretching our minds and hearts to a challenging, yet fulfilling course load.
Maybe all you science majors should give it a shot.