The Department of Government and Law at Lafayette College pursues a series of interdependent goals and objectives that form, in their totality, the Department mission: I.    The Department is committed to offer a comprehensive and rigorous program in the discipline of Political Science. While political science is, in one sense, an ancient discipline (the foundations of which were laid by the likes of Thucydides and Aristotle), as a modern discipline it is one of the most recently developed social sciences. The Department tries to capture the complexity of the field by focusing on four of the discipline's traditional subfields: American Government, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory. In a series of introductory, intermediate and advanced courses the faculty cover such diverse subjects as the electoral process and presidential decision-making in the United States, legislative and judicial behavioor, foreign policy and intergovernment relations, the legacy of the greatest political thinkers of the ancient and modern worlds, community organization and urban politics, bureaucratic processes and interest groups, the rights of different countries and cultures, and the domestic and international politics of various regions of the world. The Department is committed to broad coverage and, at the same time, also aims at exposing the students to the basic intellectual strategies of the discipline. II.    Noting that the ancient Greeks used the word "idiot" to denote one who took no interest in the affairs of state, the Department is committed to develop among its majors and all Lafayette students a long-term, sustained interest in public affairs, public policy, and the political process in general. The Department does not seek to inculcate a narrow vision of citizenship and the good society, but rather to encourage and facilitate responsible participation founded upon broad understanding within the democratic tradition. Many of the Department's courses touch or focus on the philosophical, legal and political dimensions of public affairs, such as Liberal Democratic Theory, Law and Society, American Security Policy and American Public Policy, and related courses on other countries. In order to enhance the students' capacity to participate in public matters, the Department sponsors a debate society and offers a course in political persuasion and debate. Other courses develop the students' public abilities by requiring them to prepare legal briefs, write position papers, make class presentations, take part in simulations and debates, and the like. The Department also sponsors an informal Government and Law Forum for faculty and students and a lecture series as a means for enhancing the interest in public affairs on campus. III.     The Department has special commitment to the enhancement of a number of substantive areas in each of which there is a coherent concentration of courses available to the interested: (a) legal studies from an American and non-American perspective; (b) civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights as they are perceived and practiced within different constitutional frameworks; and (c) international politics. The Department's commitment to these substantive areas, distinguished from the traditional subfields of the discipline, rests on historical factors, legal obligations and the academic interests of our faculty. Ours is probably the only "Government and Law" department in the country, and it resides in the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights; our commitment to legal studies and the study of human rights is self-evident. The Deparment also offers no less than 18 courses in the fields of international relations, foreign policy and comparative politics. One of the Department's central goals is to enhance the cultural awareness of its students; all of our faculty have spent considerable time abroad and all have been involved in research pertaining to other cultures. IV.    Through its academic and extracurricular program, the Department is preparing its majors, minors and other students for a variety of professions, occupations, and activities in later stages of their lives. The curriculum in Government and Law is particularly relevant for students preparing for careers in education, the legal profession, state and local government, the federal bureaucracy, international organizations, journalism, organizations that seek to monitor or influence the content of public policy, and the like. The Department encourages students to participate in a number of programs that broaden their career preparation and help them to make informed career choices upon completion of their studies at Lafayette. Among these programs are the Department's internship program, a semester in Washington, DC, and various study abroad options. V.    The Department's curriculum is a means through which any Lafayette student may acquire a broad liberal arts education. In this regard the Department's mission is consistent with the College's. In both its distinctiveness and breadth, the Department complements other curricular and co-curricular opportunities at Lafayette. A student majoring in Government and Law must schedule at least two courses in three of the discipline's subfields, be exposed to a fourth subfield, and take our Scope and Methods course. Since the subfields of Political Science are themselves highly diverse, great breadth is assured. Moreover, most of our courses require substantial writing, and in some oral presentation is demanded as well. Finally, since almost half of our courses could be included in the "internaitonal studies" category, cultural parochialism is avoided. The Department attempts to produce well-rounded, broadly educated graduates. VI.    The Department seeks to encourage high-quality, innovative research in the various areas of political science on the part of its faculty and its students. For this purpose the Department maintains a library (which includes a collection of social science journals and magazines) and encourages faculty and students to interact with others in the discipline.