Government as a major in universities?

[#1 baby due 6/20/09]

Okay, so for the semester I decided to take classes at Columbia and now I'm pissed because my English teacher is asking us to write a paper. She wants to know about the history of our major and how it came to be a major at universities and any changes it has endured.Like any student, I contacted my liaison librarian and of course he was no help, nor was the director of my major. I personally (as well as the rest of my class) think that this is the most pointless paper and absolutely ridiculous. I've searched our library archives, emailed damn near every librarian and faculty at the university for help on the topic, and nobody can give me an answer. And when I say nobody, I literally mean N-O-B-O-D-Y. They don't fully understand the importance of this question either, like the rest of my English class.So my question is, if anybody can point me in the right direction, or give me any web-links that they have been able to find for such a question as this, I would be grateful. Thanks in Advance.Btw, I have asked my English teacher for help, but her smart a** response was: "I'm an English teacher, not a Government one. This is for your own research and on your time, not mine". What an a**.actually it's english 302. and i've searched Lexus Nexis etc etc. even sat down with librarians and they don't know what to say/do either. that's why i put i "searched the library archives" if you can read properly. the only things that pop up are about the history of government itself and when i showed my professor, she said "no that's not what I'm asking for". like wtf.brother_lu:you're like the ONLY one who actually read what i wrote and understand what i'm asking. OBVIOUSLY I've done "real research" before I came on here. I'm not THAT lazy like other y!a posters on here. It's just ridiculous that some of the students in my class are actually emailing one another and trying to "boycott" (in a way) this damn paper because it's damn near impossible to write. The professor's been reported numerous times for her teaching methods before, but seriously, about WHY our major is a major?? Who CARES?

 

[#1 Dad]

doesnt seem that hard, colleges in the us date back to the revolution and thats probably about when that major came about, with its history going back to greece and rome. maybe u should actually do some research, instead of asking anyone that walks by. use lexis nexus or something.

 

[!Smile! :)]

No, this is not a confusing question nor a difficult topic (this must be a lower-division English 1 class?).You're going to have to use some academic search databases (like EBSCOhost, ProQuest or LexisNexis). See if your university subscribes to any of these, or similar ones.You can use examples from some of the top U.S. universities. I'm sure the major of GOVERNMENT has changed just drastically as our actually government has changed.Maybe women weren't allowed to take this major at a certain point in time? Maybe it was limited to certain schools as well? Also, research some famous Government majors. I'm sure you'll find some politicians in there (like DICK CHENEY), and even some surprising ones (MIA HAMM, pro soccer player).Like the answerer above said, this isn't an insanely impossible topic, ESPECIALLY if you go to Columbia. You're going to come to find some much more difficult research papers throughout your college career. Your English professor is right, she cannot help you. You're responsible for your own research now.

 

[!*Y U!*]

haha.. sorry.that topic isn't in the scope of an (intro) english class.. sounds like a humanities or anthropological study or at least a 3000 level english class.. i mean majors started in 1910, and there's no real reason beyond the obvious that Govt. has a major.. it might have been easier if it were a new field.. but Government is something so obvious, it's going to be hard to write a paper to go with it. and while the dynamics certainly change with current events, there hasn't been any real changes in the major, as opposed to a science major where there are 'breakthroughs' in the field.. so all and all, i wish you the best.. you're screwed. you're teacher is an ass for assigning you this work and you're most likely going to have to just wing it and look at the history of government itself..