Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 21 x 1 hour lectures |
| Seminars / Tutorials | Seminars: 3 x 90 minutes Special Teaching Session: 2 x 2 hour |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 4,000 word essay | 50% |
| Semester Exam | 0 Hours 1 x 4,500 word take-home exam | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
1) Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different types of sources used in the study of Politics and International Relations;
2) Reflect critically upon the role of theory in the study and practice of Politics and International Relations;
3) Assess a range of different theoretical approaches used in the study of Politics and International Relations;
4) Discuss the assumptions that underpin the theoretical approaches presented in the module;
5) Historically assess the significance of a seminal event in international relations; and
6) Apply one or more of the theoretical approaches presented in the module to a specific case study
Brief description
A new and innovative module designed to give Masters students the conceptual tools to develop a deeper understanding of international politics. The course will convey an array of different aspects of the discipline in a way that is designed to make them accessible, attractive and usable to all the students undertaking specialist Masters schemes. At the same time, students will be asked to reflect upon these approaches by critically analysing a particular event, employing one or more of the theoretical approaches they have studied. This will help them ‘make sense of international politics’ by exposing them to the impressive breadth of the subjects taught in the Department.
Aims
This module will constitute the core for a restructured and revitalized Master’s Programme which the Department of International Politics intends to run in the academic year 2011-2012.
Content
Lecture 1: Introduction to the module
Lecture 2: International politics: the inconvenient truth
Lecture 3: The study of international history
Lecture 4: Theory and contemporary international history
Lecture 5: Diplomacy by other means
Lecture 6: Total war in the 20th century
Lecture 7: Limited war in the 20th century
Lecture 8: Modern intelligence
Lecture 9: The classic realist tradition
Lecture 10: Realism and neorealism
Lecture 11: The classic liberal tradition and modern International Relations
Lecture 12: A democratic peace?
Lecture 13: Origins of the Postcolonial challenge
Lecture 14: Implications of the Postcolonial challenge
Lecture 15: Towards an international society?
Lecture 16: The conditions of stability
Lecture 17: Wendt and structural constructivism
Lecture 18: Discourse Constructivism
Lecture 19: Alternatives to American hegemony
Lecture 20: The resurgence of Marxian analysis
Lecture 21: Review session; conclusions
Seminars
Seminar One: The decision to go to war in Iraq
Seminar Two: How will war in Iraq affect the future of international politics?
Seminar Three: Competing explanations: the Bush administration’s drive for war in 2002-03
Two Special Teaching Sessions
Special Session I: Was there a strategy for Iraq?
Special Session II: The origins and consequences of the war in Iraq
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | N/A |
| Communication | Students will learn how to present their ideas both verbally and in writing and how to assert themselves to advantage. They will understand the importance of information and clear communication and how to exploit these. They will know how to use the many sources of information available and how to use the most appropriate form of communication to the best advantage. They will learn to be clear and direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. Seminars will be run in groups where oral discussion and presentations will form the main medium of teaching and the emphasis throughout the module will be on student participation and communication. Fellow students will be encouraged to question the paper-giver to critique their approach or to suggest areas for the development of the chosen topic; in turn each will discuss the contributions and ideas of the other. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | The module aims to promote self-management but within a context of assistance from both the convener and the fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and to exercise their own initiative, including searching for sources, compiling reading lists, and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their essay and presentation topics. The need to conduct a seminar presentation and to meet an essay deadline will focus students’ attention on the need to manage their time and opportunity resources well. |
| Information Technology | Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format. Also, students will be encouraged to search for the growing multiplicity of sources available on the internet, as well as seeking sources through electronic information portals such as BIDS. Blackboard facilities such as the discussion board and a selection of audio-video materials will also be used. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | The seminar discussions will help to develop students’ verbal communication and presentational skills. The seminars will require students to work together in small groups to discuss aspects of the seminar topic, helping them to develop their team building skills. |
| Problem solving | Independent project work and problem solving will be one of the central goals of the module; both the essay and the exam will require that the student develops problem solving skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider extreme cases; reason logically; construct theoretical models; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems. |
| Research skills | The submission of the essays will reflect the independent research skills of the student. The need to locate appropriate research resources and write up the results will also facilitate research skills. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of subject specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject specific skills include: Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module Ability to evaluate competing perspectives Demonstrate subject specific research techniques Apply a range of methodologies to complex political problems |
| Team work | Team work skills are an essential component of this module. Seminars will include some role play exercises which will be conducted in small groups as well as small and large group discussions. Much of the learning students will do will come through sharing and debating their ideas with their peers. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7