Effective: 2023-08-01

Course Description

The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.

General Course Purpose

To enable students to demonstrate a well-rounded knowledge of international relations; foster creative thinking about pressing global issues; and, to foster critical thinking and cross-cultural understanding to guide them in that process.

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Prerequisites: ENG 111 or Department Consent

Course Objectives

• Civic Engagement
• Explain the importance of citizen engagement, ways Americans can influence and become engaged in government, and factors that might affect people's willingness to become engaged in government.
• Critical Thinking
• Explain the benefits and the consequences of failure associated with maintaining order through diplomacy.
• Explain the contributions of international governmental and non-governmental organizations and international law and their complex relationships with individual nations.
• Differentiate among the various views and approaches to governance and international relations theory.
• Discuss the varying impacts of the globalization of trade and communications.
• Explain how events led to a focus on the individual in the post-WWII era and assess the impact of those changes on how global issues are addressed.
• Compose a 1500-2000 word essay, using peer-reviewed sources, critically evaluating a contemporary international political issue and differentiating the various state perspectives.
• Professional Readiness
• Participate in collaborative assignments and presentations in the classroom or online.
• Adhere to classroom attendance and behavior requirements.
• Timely submission of assignments.
• Identify career opportunities within the federal government.
• Quantitative Literacy
• Interpret and communicate quantitative information using language appropriate to the context and intended audience.
• Use appropriate quantitative methods to analyze international demographic and economic data
• Read and interpret graphs and descriptive statistics.
• Scientific Literacy
• Identify and understand the underlying factors and potential consequences of climate change.
• Explain several political science research methods
• Written Communication
• Compose an essay, using peer-reviewed sources, critically evaluating a contemporary international political issue and differentiating the various state perspectives.
• Compose written short essays addressing the topics addressed in the Critical Thinking section.
• The Making of the Modern World/ Introduction
• Explain the meaning of a state and evolution of the modern state system.
• Recognize the connection between international relations as a field and their personal lives.
• Diplomacy
• Explain the meaning and significance of international and interstate diplomacy.
• Discuss the importance of diplomacy in regulating the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
• Many Actors
• Describe how the contemporary view of international relations has been expanded to include relationships between all sorts of political entities, including nations, international organizations, multinational corporations, societies, and citizens.
• Explain how the national level of analyses may affect what is considered the desired outcome.
• International Relations Theory
• Identify and define the various forms and philosophies of governance (-isms) including the influence of Marxist-Leninist thought through 20th century international politics.
• Explain liberal theory, realism, constructivism, and their evolution.
• Explain the positivist and post-positivist views in international relations theory.
• Describe how these approaches are practiced by nations and international organizations
• International Law
• Define international law and the importance of international law.
• Identify what issues are addressed in international law.
• Identify who makes international law and to whom it applies.
• Explain how international law is implemented (e.g. the United Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions, and the European Convention on Human Rights.)
• International Organizations
• Explain what defines international governmental organizations (IGO), international non-governmental organizations (INGO), and hybrid international organizations.
• Describe how international organizations shape our world.
• Global Civil Society
• Explain how globalization links distant communities and opens up spaces for new social actors.
• Identify several conditions for international activism.
• Explain global civil society as a response to international exclusion (to addresses issues such as climate change, financial instability, disease epidemics, intercultural violence and global inequalities).
• Global Political Economy
• Identify various approaches to global political economy.
• Explain liberal approaches to the global political economy.
• Explain the impact of individuals and state and multinational corporations.
• Describe the trends toward an increasingly global economic environment (global, regional, and bilateral trade agreements).
• Religion and Culture
• Explain how religion and culture have become increasingly important in international relations.
• Describe and differentiate between the elements of religion and culture.
• Global Poverty and Wealth
• Explain what poverty is.
• Describe how poverty is measured and identify some practiced methods of reducing poverty.
• Explain how globalization might affect the wealth-poverty dynamic.
• Protecting People
• Explain the various positions in the debate over the protection of individuals.
• Describe the international norms (protection of civilians, human rights, and international criminal law) of individual protections that have emerged since World War II.
• Detail some problems and challenges in protecting people.
• Connectivity, Communications, and Technology
• Describe the effect of the internet on commerce and communication.
• Explain the problems associated with reliance on digital technology for communications.
• Describe the limitations of the internet in terms of censorship and control.
• Voices of the People
• Analyze the impact of globalization and communication in bringing about protests, revolution, migration, and change.
• International Terrorism
• Define international terrorism.
• Explain the motivations and goals of international terrorists.
• Detail the activities of various terrorist groups.
• Explain how international terrorist organizations are organized and ways they are funded.
• List ways in which international terrorist organizations might be countered.
• Environmental Issues
• Explain some of the relationships between international relations and environmental issues.
• Explain common pool resource theory.
• Explain the idea of the global environment as a global commons.
• Discuss the conflict between global rights and domestic environmental policies and politics.
• Discuss the potential role of an international organization to address environmental issues.
• Feeding the World
• List some of the factors resulting in hunger.
• Describe the impact of chronic hunger on civic participation.
• Describe the impact of chronic obesity on health.
• Explain how low wages affect food security
• Describe how land dispossession affects hunger.
• Managing Global Security
• Describe the evolution of the U.S. from an isolated nation to a global superpower.
• Explain the impact of the U.S. standing "global watch" (Pax Americana) on the international order.
• Explain the impact of a single nation bearing the bulk of the financial burden of maintaining order in a world with increasing troubles.
• Discuss some potential alternative paradigms for managing global security.

Major Topics to be Included

• The Making of the Modern World/ Introduction
• Diplomacy
• Many Actors
• International Relations Theory
• International Law
• International Organizations
• Global Civil Society
• Global Political Economy
• Religion and Culture
• Global Poverty and Wealth
• Protecting People
• Connectivity, Communications, and Technology
• Voices of the People
• International Terrorism
• Environmental Issues
• Feeding the World
• Managing Global Security