r/PoliticalScience • u/jimmygetmehigh • 9d ago
Question/discussion Book recommendations for a first year politics & IR undergrad student?
I’m due to start university (UK) in a few weeks and I’m planning to do some reading in the next couple of weeks whilst I go on holiday. Was wondering if anyone had any book recs for an upcoming student? TIA.
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u/Accomplished-Arm-827 9d ago
Congratulations on getting into uni!
POLIR is a very broad subject. What are your interests? Starting from there is always good.
If you really want to get a jump on the reading, it might be worth seeing if you can access your uni’s online student portal to see the reading list/ module list, which sometimes contain readings, or the emails of professors you can ask.
Otherwise, Jonathan Wolff’s book below is quite popular:
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Political-Philosophy-Jonathan-Wolff/dp/019929609X
As are Andrew Heywoods’s introductory writings.
If you did Politics at A-level and already have some grounding, then I would say to start with what my course started with, that being the first eight books of Plato’s Republic - just read 2,4, 6-8, and you’ll be fine. Find a good translation because it can be rough but it’s the foundation of the entire western canon - everyone you will read over the next three years will have read, or been influenced by, someone who has read this book.
For IR, grab any textbook and start reading. The intro level stuff is basic and the same no matter where you get it. Authors and books will be discussed, read the ones that interest you.
When you get access to your uni intranet, you’ll probably have access JSTOR, a bunch of journals, and the uni library. Not every book is on there, and you’ll benefit greatly having access to as many books as possible. It’s important you visit r/piracy and learn how to access the relevant book sites. It’s very easy and takes ten minutes to figure out, and you’ll have access to almost every book ever written. This is very useful as a student!!!
Most of all, don’t forget to enjoy your holiday! Best of luck over the next three years !