Lilyann Hagen

Gust FYS

Jesse Miller

10/19/22

Political Science

For my major, I am choosing Political Science. I never knew political science was a major until I got to UNE. Initially, I did not plan on taking any political classes. However, I had to drop and add a few classes and only a few options fit into my schedule. I chose why Americans hate politics, as one of my new classes. I was very weary of taking this class and didn’t know what to expect. So far I am enjoying the course and the professor. I interviewed Professor Duff. I asked Duff a total of five questions. First, I asked Duff: What is Political Science? He said Political science is not an actual science, it is the study of politics, why democracies collapse, the government, how it works, and citizens’ behavior and why they do or do not get engaged in politics. Duff said “It’s all BS”, talking about how people would try and justify Political Science being an actual Science. The second question I asked Duff was; Why do you think students should major in political science? Duff said that Political Science is a popular topic nowadays. He said “Being interested in something is the best way to do good work.  If you are here to learn helpful information and not just memorize things poly sci is good for you.” Duff explained that there are so many job opportunities that can come from majoring in Political Science. You can go into consulting, journalism, the government, law firms, non-profit organizations, and many more. He said you will become very good at reading and writing. You will also learn many useful skills. The third question I asked Duff was; Did you study political science in school? Duff did study Political Science in college. However, he did not pick his major till the spring semester of his sophomore year. He said he had taken mostly political classes besides his core required classes. He said he did not get super into Political Science until his Junior year of college. He mentioned how he enjoyed writing his thesis. He said, “it was very rewarding”. He then graduated and there were no jobs that suited his major, so he worked in a restaurant for a few years. He then went to grad school at UC Berkeley and got his Ph.D. He enjoyed his time at UC Berkeley and wrote his dissertation. He then got his Job at UNE. My third question was; What do you enjoy and not enjoy about political science? Duff said the “field has pretention” There are people who think they are a lot better and smarter than others because of their job. Duff said he doesn’t get involved in politics as much as he used to, he misses it but also would rather stay in and read about what’s going on in the world. Duff mentioned that he’s started writing “Dark stuff”, I’m not quite sure what he meant by this but it doesn’t sound too good. He said he is very interested in politics and absolutely loves reading about it. Duff mentioned he used to be a restaurant critic and he would incorporate politics into every review he wrote. He said he even got some fan mail. The fifth and final question I asked Duff was; Did you know you wanted to teach, whether it is political science or not? Duff said absolutely not. When Duff was in high school he did not want to be a teacher at all. He didn’t like most of his teachers, he was a troublemaker in school. However, he had a few classes in college he enjoyed, which he bases how he teaches today. He really enjoys his teaching job today. He loves getting involved with students and helping them develop research. He also said he loves our class, mostly because he loves arguing with us. Interviewing Duff was very helpful and very interesting. 

I interviewed Ella Boyle. Ella is a freshman here at UNE. She is a political science major. I met Ella through YikYak. She was super sweet.  I asked her a total of five questions. The first one I asked her was: What is Political Science? Ella explained that Political Science is “the study of politics” She explained that Political Science doesn’t focus on just United States politics. You learn about the history of politics as well. You also learn about other countries’ politics and how they work. The second question I asked Ellas was: Why did you choose to major in Political Science? Ella said she has always loved politics. She wants to work with non-profit organizations in the future. Her goal is to make a change in the world. She also mentioned that her family has different political views and she partly chose political science “In spite of my parents, so they can’t argue with me about politics anymore.” The third question I asked Ella was: What classes are you taking? The only political class Ella is currently taking is Intro to Political Science. Ella is taking mostly core classes this semester. She mentioned that she is very excited to take higher-level classes. She mentioned that being a political science major involves a lot of reading. I asked Ella the fourth question: Do you enjoy your classes so far? Ella said, “so far yes, however, it can be a little repetitive.” Ella said she knows it will be worth it in the long run though. The fifth and final question I asked Ella was: What profession are you thinking about pursuing? Ella said that she wants to work with a non-profit organization. She said she wants to pursue a career that is centered around something with woman’s rights such as working at planned parenthood. I had an amazing time talking with Ella and am looking forward to my next interview. 

I enjoy learning about politics and would love to learn more about them. I did not know Political Science was a major. Interviewing Ella helped me gain more knowledge about what being a Political Science major entails. I would love to major in political science as. I think I could see myself being a very successful politician. The one thing that scares me about majoring in political science is the reading. Ella mentioned that there is a lot of reading involved. I am, not the strongest reader I do not enjoy it very much. Other than that, I think political science would be a great fit for me. As of now, I am deciding between political science and business marketing as majors. I chose to research Political Science rather than business marketing because I already know a good amount about being a business major. This project is very beneficial to me and I am glad I have learned more about political science.