Spring 2020  |  POL 3835 Section 001: International Relations (52533)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/21/2020 - 05/04/2020
Mon, Wed 09:45AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Blegen Hall 150
Enrollment Status:
Open (82 of 83 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Why do countries go to war? Are individuals, organizations, and states driven by their interests or their ideas? What role does power play in international relations and is there any role for justice in global politics? Do international laws and transnational advocacy groups matter in a world dominated by powerful states? Whose interests are served by a globalizing world economy? These questions are central to the study of international relations, yet different theoretical approaches have been developed in an attempt to answer them. Often these approaches disagree with one another, leading to markedly different policy prescriptions and predictions for future events. This course provides the conceptual and theoretical means for analyzing these issues, processes, and events in international politics. By the end of this class, you will be able to understand the assumptions, the logics, and the implications of major theories and concepts of international relations. These include realism and neorealism, liberalism and liberal institutionalism, constructivism, feminism, Marxism, and critical theory. A special effort is made to relate the course material to world events, developments, or conflicts in the past decade or so.
Class Notes:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?ccreamer+POL3835+Spring2020
Class Description:

Why do countries go to war? Are individuals, organizations, and states driven by their interests or their ideas? What role does power play in international relations and is there any role for justice in global politics? Do international laws and transnational advocacy groups matter in a world dominated by powerful states? Whose interests are served by a globalizing world economy? This course provides the conceptual and theoretical means for analyzing these issues, processes, and events in international politics. By the end of this class, you will be able to understand the assumptions, the logics, and the implications of major theories and concepts of international relations. These include realism and neorealism, liberalism and liberal institutionalism, constructivism, feminism, Marxism, bargaining theory, and international norms and transnational advocacy. A special effort is made to relate the course material to world events, developments, or conflicts in the past decade or so. Specific topics covered will include: the ascendance of China as a global power; the international politics of nuclear weapons; the ways in which the global economy shapes the terms and conditions of international politics; and the implications of a range of new actors and activities (such as multinational corporations, transnational organized crime, the Internet and social media) for world politics.

Learning Objectives:

This course places special emphasis on helping you - as a global citizen - learn to:

  • synthesize and evaluate existing theoretical approaches within international relations

  • identify their strengths and weaknesses

  • construct an argument for why we observe particular outcomes in world politics
Grading:
25% Midterm Exam
30% Final Take-Home Paper
30% Three Mini-Analytical Papers
15% Participation and Attendance
Exam Format:
The mid-term exam will be a combination of concept identification and short answer questions
Class Format:
A mix of lecture, discussion, and in-class activities.
Workload:
45-80 Pages Reading Per Week
1 In-Class Exams
4 Take-Home Papers
11-16 Pages Writing Per Term
5-10 Small Group Activities
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/52533/1203
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
15 March 2017

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