Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Viewing | 1 x 3 Hour Viewing |
| Lecture | 22 x 1 Hour Lectures |
| Seminar | 10 x 2 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Seminar presentation | 20% |
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word essay | 40% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours (Two Hours) | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 1,000 word short written assignment | 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word essay | 40% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours (Two Hours) | 40% |
Learning Outcomes
1. Display, in oral and written forms, critical knowledge of major concepts in the discipline of International Relations (this knowledge includes well-rehearsed historical, analytical and reflective skills on the part of the student).
2. Demonstrate an ability to use these concepts in particular circumstances and refine and/or critique them according to context.
3. Demonstrate an ability to present at the end of both modules (Exploring the International 1 and 2) a broad sense of the discipline and its futures.
4. Demonstrate an ability to present a coherent argument in both oral and written forms.
5. Demonstrate an ability to write an appropriately referenced essay and respond well to unseen examination requirements.
Brief description
The module will offer students a range of different perspectives on the international: theoretical, historical, empirical, critical. Building on the intellectual material introduced in Semester 1, this module focuses on three distinct questions: What is the International? What are the origins of the International? What are the International's key actors? These questions, in turn, are concerned with two key concerns in the discipline of international politics: 1) the intertwinement of and contradictions between the national, the international and the global; and 2) the question of the modern international being a global phenomenon of Western origin – challenges to Western-centric IR. The module also aims to develop key academic writing skills, and these will be incorporated and developed alongside the module's intellectual content.
Aims
The module aims to explore some of the principal modes of power, influence and change in the international arena; in doing so, the module will give students a grasp of different types of power, the sorts of dynamics they create, how they can be used and what their limitations are. The module also aims to raise student awareness of the international as a highly differentiated political space, particularly the substantive divergences of power, wealth and opportunity within formal equality. Finally, the module aims to looks at the present and the future of the international. It explores some key dynamics of the contemporary world and asks whether they are leading to a transformation in the international order during the next few decades.
Content
The module will offer students a range of different perspectives on the international: theoretical, historical, empirical, critical. Building on the intellectual material introduced in Semester 1, this module focuses on three distinct questions: What is the International? What are the origins of the International? What are the International's key actors? These questions, in turn, are concerned with two key concerns in the discipline of international politics: 1) the intertwinement of and contradictions between the national, the international and the global; and 2) the question of the modern international being a global phenomenon of Western origin – challenges to Western-centric IR. The module also aims to develop key academic writing skills, and these will be incorporated and developed alongside the module's intellectual content.
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 how to present their arguments most effectively. They will learn 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 best advantage. They will learn to be clear in their writing and speaking and to be 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. Students will also be required to submit their written assessments in word-processed format and the presentation of work should reflect effective expression of ideas and good use of language skills in order to ensure clarity, coherence and effective communication. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | The module aims to promote self-management but within a context in which support and assistance is available from both the module convenor and fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and exercising their own initiative, including searching for sources and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their coursework and presentation topics. |
| Information Technology | Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format, via the on-line platform Blackboard. Also, students will be encouraged to search for sources of information on the web, as well as seeking sources through electronic information sources. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | This module is designed to hone and test skills of use to students in their working lives, particularly in speaking to small groups, listening, thinking and responding to the statement of others. Moreover, the written work includes writing clearly and concisely, which is a common task in the workplace. Students will be encouraged throughout to reflect on their performance and to consider lessons for future application. |
| Problem solving | Independent work and problem solving will be one central goal of the module; the submission of a range of study skills assessments will require that students develop independent research skills as well as 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 formulate an answer to the problem; reason logically; construct theoretical arguments; divide issues into smaller problems. |
| Research skills | Students will be required to undertake independent research for elements of the assessed work. This will involve utilizing a range of information sources, including core academic texts. |
| 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 - Evaluate competing perspectives - Apply a range of methodologies to complex historical and contemporary political problems. |
| Team work | Students will undertake team exercises in the seminars. For many of the topics of this module, seminars will consist of small-group discussions where students will be asked to discuss as a group the core issues related to the seminar topic. These class discussions and debates form a significant part of the module, and will allow students to approach and examine a given topic through team work. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4