Political Science faculty give students voice in their curriculum | Stetson Today

As an incoming first-year student, Giansy Paul never imagined she would be asking Political Science majors at Stetson about the changes they’d like to see in their curriculum.Giansy PaulPaul signed up for a First Year Seminar (FSEM) last fall called “The Voice of the People,” examining the role of citizens in a democracy and whether they are informed enough to participate effectively in political decision-making.Along the way, she became part of an innovative project to gather opinions from political science majors at Stetson about potential changes in their department’s curriculum. These suggestions are now under review and could lead to revisions to better educate the students for the 21st century.

“I think what my class did was something that I don’t think most colleges do, which sets us apart from other colleges,” said Paul, a student from Miami who plans to double major in Political Science and Public Management.

“By participating in the Deliberative Poll and watching the political science majors discuss their curriculum was another reason why I was like, ‘Yes, this is where I’m supposed to be,’” she said about attending Stetson

The project was the idea of her FSEM professor, David Hill, Ph.D., chair of the Political Science Department. Hill wanted to use a cutting-edge method of gathering opinions to hear from political science majors about possible revisions in their curriculum.

[read full article at Stetson Today]