Nathan Monroe

There is logic to political action and outcomes. And in many cases, the fundamentals that define this political logic are the same as those that drive our everyday decision making: Where will a group of friends with diverse taste buds go to eat? How should one choose an auto mechanic? How does a fraternity divide up house duties? In confronting and conquering these problems, and many others from your everyday lives, you as students rely on the same problem solving tactics as the leaders that walk the halls of legislatures, occupy executive offices, and hand down legal decisions.

My courses are designed to give students an intimate understanding of the logic of politics by making connections between their own non-political experiences and the motivations, processes, and outcomes of political action. To accomplish this, I have students engage in a variety of active learning enterprises on a daily basis, including:

• Simulations (especially legislative simulations), where students take on the personas of real political actors and "carry out" their duties
• Group decision making exercises, where students can earn points by solving collective dilemmas and delegation problems
• Debates, where students team up to argue over current hot button political issues
• Reaction to films, where students consider the implications of learning about politics through the lens of Hollywood.

The hallmark of my courses, however, is the daily warm-up: the question of the day (QOTD). I begin every class by posing a non-political "best of" type question - "What is the best candy bar of all time?" for example - and then proceed to fill in my "top 5" list as students lob answers to the front of the room. It sounds silly, but by the third week, you'll be hooked!

Nathan Monroe
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Email: nmonroe@pacific.edu