Undergraduate Student Learning Outcomes

The department sees the political in numerous phenomena, many of which have not been developed by political science. A unique set of learning outcomes extend across the curriculum:

1. Students will be able to think critically and historically about power and the political.
   Students identify and analyze power dynamics in a range of social contexts and processes, including but not limited to language, government, images of the future, and civil society institutions. Students will be able to pose and explore relevant, open-ended questions about authority and legitimacy.
2. Students will be able to craft and defend evidence-based arguments.
   This argumentative capacity is built upon their ability to rigorously and respectfully weigh competing views, synthesize multiple sources, and critically reflect on their own and others' assumptions. Students should be able to make arguments in both written and oral forms of communication.
3. Students will be able to communicate effectively in public settings, with attention to and appreciation of diverse cultural contexts.
   Students are equipped for productive, civic participation in their communities, able to synthesize critical thinking, empathic, collaborative and argumentative capacities, and futures thinking with an audience in mind.
4. Students will be able to cogently explain the interconnectedness of local and global dynamics of power within the context of the political and cultural specificities of Hawaiʻi nei.