Observe the Government concentrator in his natural habitat.

Gov 1060, "The History of Ancient & Medieval Political Philosophy"
Gov 1540, "The American Presidency"

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So you’ve succumbed to temptation, neglected social studies and economics, and declared government as your concentration. Nice work. But while the path to Washington is pretty wide open, there are still some stumbling blocks you must face (aside from the linebackers you’ll soon be competing with in section).

As a Government concentrator, you are, in many ways, extremely lucky. You’ll get to chill with the cute athletes who flock to the concentration like pre-teens to a Hilary Duff concert. Your requirements are skimpy—in addition to sophomore tutorial you must take one half course in each of the four subfields (American Government, Comparative Government, International Relations and Political Theory), three additional half courses in government, and then three more half courses in either government or a related field. Oh, and they give out A’s like candy.

You’ll also get to hang out in the two spanking new, blissfully air-conditioned CGIS buildings. North is on the same side Sof the street as the Graduate School of Design and Annenberg, while South is on the other side (duh). Despite how confusing it all may seem, you’ll soon learn your way around the labyrinthine halls, and the new café offers a hip alternative to the Science Center’s Greenhouse Cafe.

As an honors concentrator, however, you have even more flexibility (not to mention prestige, as regular gov concentrators just don’t get no respect from the rest of the college). The three additional half courses in government are reduced to one half course in government and two junior tutorials in either Government 90 or Government 98 (or one of each). Finally, Government 99 is required as honors candidates write their theses.

Consequently, government is a concentration that gives its members lots of choices in one of Harvard’s largest departments with many big name professors. Mansfield, Huntington, Hoffman, Rosen and Porter are just some of the names you will become familiar with over your tenure.

Government 1540, “The American Presidency,” is one über-popular government elective taught in the fall by Professor (and Dumpster—er, Dunster House Master) Roger Porter. He is one of the department’s many stars who have served the U.S. government at its highest levels, and his course reflects that, shedding rare insight into the workings of the White House in a very anecdotal way. Your non-Gov friends will even take it with you “just for fun!” The spring version of the course, taught by William Howell, covers a much of the same material but isn’t as trendy. Sorry.

If there’s one professor who just doesn’t care about popularity, it’s Harvey “The Man” Mansfield, who teaches Government 1061, “The History of Modern Political Philosophy.” In the past, students approached its excellent but staple-heavy material with caution due to Mansfield’s anti-grade inflation policy. This year, however, “The Man” has said he will give students two grades: one is what he thinks they deserve, and the other is more in agreement with Harvard’s traditional grade distribution. One small A for you, one great step for grade inflation. Thank you, Harvey!

But that’s not all that’s exciting this year. The department has been hard at work adding many new courses and professors. Most significantly, several new courses have recently been added that look at genocide, terrorism and globalization. Like Christina Aguilera, the department is constantly making itself over to stay current and to meet student demand.

Still, the government department is no bed of roses. The Sophomore Government Tutorial, Government 97, was one of the most hated courses Harvard offered in 2005-2006, (tip: Government 97b was far worse than 97a.) The course had no structure, and the lecturers were so terrible that by the end of the semester, people were boycotting—or simply coming and paying no attention. Don’t run yet though: the department has promised to revamp the tutorial for this upcoming year.

A common Harvard stereotype is that professors are hard to reach and advisors won’t know your name. Some departments defy this prediction. Government ain’t one of them. A few professors are accessible, but finding others can be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack—or banging your head against a wall repeatedly. Advisors are assigned by house, and if you get to know yours well, consider yourself luckier than a kid that got into Harvard off the wait-list. While advisors “care” about you and the courses you take, they are still very hard to reach, and won’t take the time to get to know you unless you strongly take the initiative yourself (sending flowers and chocolate can help).

In spite of all this, minus sophomore tutorial, the Government Department is still a remarkable place. It truly gives you the freedom to experience all that Harvard has to offer, and take great courses with world famous professors, while sparing you the hardcore social theory emphasis of Social Studies. If you want to focus on what you love to study, take lots of electives, and spend your four years in a relaxed concentration that will prepare you for whatever it is you want to do with your life, be it law school or film making (David Frankel ’81, director of “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Sex and the City,” and “Entourage” was a government concentrator) then Government is the place for you.

The department is your oyster: eat up!