[074] New MTSU Political Science Minor Awakens Citizenship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 7, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

NEW MTSU POLITICAL SCIENCE MINOR AWAKENS CITIZENSHIP
Mock Trial, Mock Mediation, Model U.N., Combine Practice with Theory

(MURFREESBORO) – In this highly politically charged era, the MTSU Department of Political Science steps forward with its new Political and Civic Engagement minor to guide students in ways they can become more fully involved in their society.
An experiential learning track that combines real-world activities with concepts and theories learned in the classroom, the minor is designed for students of all majors.
“Part of the idea here is citizen training, but in a newer sense of the term, in the sense that it’s important for people to be engaged in society in order for democracy to work,” says Dr. Stephen Morris, department chair. “It’s important for students to participate in democracy. And so, it provides the skills, the experiences for students to be able to do that once they graduate.”
Activities that students may use for completing the minor include Legal Courtroom Procedure, commonly referred to as mock trial; Moot Court; Mediation Procedure; Model United Nations; and the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature.
The required courses are American Politics & Government and Democratic Participation and Civic Advocacy. The latter is a new course created and taught by Dr. Sekou Franklin, who has a personal track record of social activism that includes promoting green jobs as ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty. Students in this course will examine issues of transparency, the role of participation and theories of accountability.
In addition, students must complete 12 credit hours they can choose from among various internships, study abroad opportunities, a community-based research practicum and/or skills/practicum courses. No more than six hours in the latter category can be counted toward the minor.
Morris says the Department of Political Science has an excellent record of placing students in internships with public defender’s offices, district attorney’s offices, with political campaigns, with the state legislature in Nashville and in Washington, D.C. He says these experiences can help students realize that h can lead to permanent positions after graduation.
“The job opportunities that are going to be out there, the new jobs that are going to be created in the near future coalesce with the types of changes that we make in terms of public policy,” says Morris.


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However, Morris says the communication, managerial, planning and analytical skills learned through the courses in the minor are applicable across a wide range of professions, not just those directly involved with shaping public policy.
“Every field that you go into has some type of political dimension to it,” adds Morris.
Merely voting in elections is not a sufficient definition of good citizenship, says Morris, and he admits that higher education hasn’t done an adequate job of communicating that fact over the years. He notes that it’s easier than ever today through the technical wizardry of the Internet.
“The degree of polarization that we’ve reached in this country has indicated to people that if you just leave it for others to resolve these political problems, they probably won’t be resolved in a way that’s satisfactory to oneself,” says Morris.
For more information about the Political and Civic Engagement minor, contact the MTSU Department of Political Science at 615-898-2708.



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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.