What to teach the first-time student in a political science class? Perhaps more importantly, what to teach the undergraduate whose only experience with political science, and the formal study of politics, will be the introduction they receive in our classes?

Owing to the peculiarities of our discipline, the “Introduction to Political Science” class is often just that: a tour through all the major gardens in the discipline, describing to students what is done among scholars and practicioners in the various fields, giving them an overall view of what we do, how we do it, and in the process perhaps making a case for the significance of our discipline, our research, and perhaps even the subject itself — politics.