Ethics and Politics Concentration

Seminar with Kerry Bystrom on Critical Human Rights and Humanitarian Advocacy/ Scholars At Risk

What is the relationship between politics and morality, or between politics and truth? The Ethics and Politics concentration introduces you to the fundamentals of the study of political science (comparative politics, international relations, policy analysis) but also considers essential questions about the nature of politics. The concentration includes the opportunity to address specific contexts and national histories, and incorporates contributions from experts shaping current government policies, and from activists in political struggles. Its aim is to address contemporary problems with a depth of philosophical and practical knowledge.

Curriculum Overview

The Ethics and Politics concentration exposes students to both theoretical and applied coursework. Courses in philosophy and the history of political thought are coupled with training in social science, research methodology, and surveys of real political institutions. For any given module listed in the overview above, several courses may be offered that allow students to fulfill the requirement.

Courses include exploration of the classics of political thought and more recent contributions to this field, as well as central figures and movements in the history of philosophy. Alongside these indispensable disciplinary and theoretical tools, the concentration offers a practical engagement with research in the social sciences, introducing key methods in historical and social analysis. Civic engagement plays a part in both the scholarly and the more hands-on elements of the concentration, with courses that support the development of projects and initiatives in the community and wider society, and that examine the issue of what it means to be a citizen in a globalized but still divided and unequal world.

BCB Course List

Ethics and Politics Concentration Overview

Sample Courses

Study Abroad Opportunities

Central European University in Vienna (image credit: CEU)

Students in the Ethics and Politics concentration can opt to spend up to two semesters abroad in their third year of study. They can select from an array of options: the Bard Globalization and International Affairs (BGIA) Program in New York City; the Central European University in Vienna; the various campuses of Sciences Po in France; Dutch University Colleges in Amsterdam, Leiden, and Utrecht; and Malmö University in Sweden.

For a full list of options visit the Study Abroad page.

Study Abroad

Ethics and Politics Faculty

Prof. Dr. Ewa Atanassow

Political Thought
Bulgaria/Poland
PhD from the Committee on Social Thought
The University of Chicago
Prof. Dr. Kerry Bystrom

Associate Dean
USA
PhD in English
Princeton University
Prof. Dr. Tracy Colony

Philosophy
USA
PhD in Philosophy
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Dr. Marion Detjen

History
Germany
PhD in History
Freie Universität Berlin
Dr. David Hayes

Greek Philosophy and Literature
USA
PhD from the Committee on Social Thought
The University of Chicago
Prof. Dr. Agata Lisiak

Migration Studies
Poland
PhD in Media and Communication Studies
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Prof. Dr. Katalin Makkai

Philosophy
Hungary/Canada
PhD in Philosophy
Harvard University
Prof. Dr. Hanan Toukan

Middle Eastern Studies
USA
PhD in Politics and International Studies
SOAS, University of London

Ethics and Politics Alumni/ae

Students who graduated from the Ethics and Politics HAST BA program have gone on to:

Graduate Programs at:
- University of Oxford
- Science Po
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- Columbia University
- University of Chicago
- Freie Universität Berlin
Employment at:
- Deutsche Welle
- Embassy of India, Washington DC
- The American Academy in Berlin
- Jüdisches Museum Berlin
- Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley
- Ridgely Walsh, LLC

Jasmine Ahmed

BA in Humanities, the Arts, and Social Thought '24
Concentration: Ethics and Politics
Currently: Masters in International Relations at Central European University and Bard College

“Postcolonial Politics in my first semester has really stuck with me, as it was the first time I was properly exposed to postcolonial theory and scholarship. It forced me to reflect and reevaluate the narratives, which I had been exposed to growing up in the UK, mainly due to the lack of education on colonialism in the school system. I still think about and try to incorporate the theories, questions, and materials we discussed in that course into my other classes.”