All social-scientific inquiry appeals to concepts and values that are contestable in principle, and often contested in fact. The intelligent conduct of social science therefore requires sustained reflection about the concepts and values that guide our inquiries. This is the role that political theory serves within the discipline of political science. The political theory field encourages disciplinary and methodological pluralism and is open to a wide range of theoretical approaches, including analytical, critical, historical, and interpretive.
Faculty encourage graduate students majoring in Political Theory to engage the empirical fields in the discipline, for example by choosing American Politics, Comparative Politics, or International Relations as a second focus or minor field.
Political Theory Faculty
Eric MacGilvray, Benjamin McKean, Michael Neblo, Emma Saunders-Hastings, and Alexander Wendt.
The political theory faculty are active participants in the OSU Center for Ethics and Human Values.
Focus Field
Students selecting Political Theory as a focus field are required to take the core theory course, PS 7400 (Fundamental Concepts in Political Theory), and two electives. Remaining courses should be selected in consultation with the Political Theory faculty. Overall, the program should help the student become familiar with key works in the history of political thought, important contemporary theoretical debates, and substantive problems relevant to the student’s chosen research focus.
Research Workshop
The Political Theory field sponsors the OSU Political Theory Workshop, a forum for scholars from Ohio State and other universities to present and discuss their research in progress.