The acquisition of reading and research skills is crucial for our development as sophisticated political thinkers and actors. In this introductory course, we will focus on the basics of critical thinking, analysis, and argumentation: textual analysis, prose style, structuring claims, use of textual evidence, etc. We will begin this inquiry with a discussion of the politics of language in public debate and in academic discourse. What is at stake, politically, in our linguistic and rhetorical choices? What is the role of language in creating and maintaining a democratic public sphere? In the second half of the course, we will survey research methods specific to political science, with an emphasis on qualitative methods. Students can expect to enrich their analytical and rhetorical skills and to develop a more elegant and persuasive writing style