POL 3835 is also offered in Spring 2025
POL 3835 is also offered in Spring 2024
POL 3835 is also offered in Fall 2023
POL 3835 is also offered in Summer 2023
POL 3835 is also offered in Spring 2023
POL 3835 is also offered in Fall 2022
POL 3835 is also offered in Spring 2022
POL 3835 is also offered in Fall 2021
POL 3835 is also offered in Summer 2021
Fall 2023 | POL 3835 Section 001: International Relations (17448)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person
- Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
- Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
Tue,
Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM
UMTC, West Bank
Anderson Hall 330
- Enrollment Status:
Open (83 of 85 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 Description:
- Why does war occur? What role do international institutions and international law play in international politics? Do ideas and culture matter in a world dominated by power politics? This course is designed to introduce students to a variety of theoretical approaches for analyzing these issues, processes, and events in international politics. Specific topics will include: the causes and consequences of war; the role of law and institutions; human rights and humanitarian intervention; transnational activism and environmental politics; the regulation of arms and conflict; globalization and political economy; and the role of ideas, norms, and culture. By the end of the course, students will gain a better understanding of why and how events happen in global politics, and will be able to develop and articulate their own views on current and historical cases in global politics.
- Who Should Take This Class?:
- There are no formal prerequisites for the course, but students who have taken a previous introductory course on international politics (for example, POL 1025: Global Politics or POL 1026: U.S. Foreign Policy) are likely to get more out of the course. If you do not have any background of this sort, it would be advisable to speak with the TA or instructor before committing to take the course.
- Learning Objectives:
- Students who complete this course will gain a better understanding of why and how things happen in international relations. They will be able to critically analyze scholarly and popular articles, and by the end of the term should be able to develop and articulate their own views on current and historical events in international relations. They should be able to apply analytical frameworks and tools to understand the political world.
- Grading:
- TBC
- Exam Format:
- TBC
- Class Format:
- A mix of lecture, discussion, and in-class activities.
- Workload:
- TBC
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/17448/1239
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 14 April 2023
ClassInfo Links - Fall 2023 Political Science Classes