Study Politics at Otago

Introduction

Good morning, my name is Robert Patman. A warm welcome from myself and my colleagues in the Department of Politics. I’d just like to take a couple of minutes of your time to talk about Politics at Otago.

What is Politics?

What is politics? Politics is actually the process in which we amend and create the rules for the running of society—who gets what, when, and how in society. And actually, it’s not quite as dry as it sounds, because people do disagree about who gets what, when, and how in society, and that makes it quite exciting.

Why Study Politics?

From an academic point of view, we look at causation. We are not just interested in what happened and how it happened, but also why it happened. Secondly, we are also interested in helping you, as students of the subject, to develop your intellectual independence.

Our job as teachers of the subject is not to foist our views on you but to give you the tools to develop your own perspectives on a range of issues.

Importance of Political Education

Now, a political education, in my judgment, is extremely important in the 21st century. As you have probably gathered, the world has become increasingly interdependent and interconnected through globalization.

That is a term we hear a lot—what does it mean? It means the world is becoming a smaller place through technological links, and that is quite important to know what’s going on given that context.

Those of you who have been following COVID-19 and also the Christchurch terror atrocity will realise that the position our government takes is not just an issue for us in New Zealand—it is watched worldwide. Increasingly, that is becoming a trend.

Studying Politics at Otago

What about studying politics at Otago? How does it differ from other universities in New Zealand?

First of all, we teach all four main subfields of the subject:

• International relations (which I teach),
• Comparative politics,
• Political theory or political philosophy, and
• The study of institutions.

We cover these four subfields at every level—first-year, second-year, and third-year.

We also, and I think this really distinguishes Otago from the other universities in New Zealand, run two coursework master’s programs, which are very successful:

• The Master of International Studies, which is a multidisciplinary program in which politics is the anchor, and
• The Master of Politics, which is a similar program but specialises just in politics.

These are our two master’s programs, and we have a large PhD cohort.

Jobs in Politics

What sort of jobs would you look to if you do a degree in politics?

It’s not like law or medicine—you don’t walk straight into a job either as a doctor or a lawyer. But it opens a lot of doors, given the analytical skills you will garner. For example, many people work as advisors in government, in the public service, or in the media. They work in a range of professions that require those general skills.

Thank you.