International
Relations
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.
-
Confucius
International Relations Online
Tentative Course Outline
Instructor: Amanda Bigelow
Office: D307
Email: amanda_bigelow@ivcc.edu
Web Page: http://www.ivcc.edu/bigelow
Office Hours: By appointment only.
Attention:
This is an online course that will require you to have knowledge of and
access to a reliable computer and internet server. If you have not taken an online course
before, it is highly recommended that you sign up for an online orientation. You should also take the course orientation
provided on my web page. You will also
need to use blackboard to complete exams.
Please enroll yourself as a user in blackboard. Information on enrolling in blackboard can be
found on my web page under the link for this course. It is the responsibility of each student
to contact me by the first day of class and to enroll himself/herself as a user
in blackboard during the first week of class.
If you fail to enroll yourself as a user in this class by the end of the
1st week, you will be withdrawn.
Also, in addition to taking an online course, you have chosen to try to complete 16 weeks worth of material in 7 weeks. This means that you will need to be prepared to devote at least 15 hours a week to this course in order to learn the material. If you fall behind, you will not do well. Deadlines will be strictly enforced!!
Text: Rourke, John
T. International Politics on the
World Stage Eleventh Edition.McGraw-Hill/Dushkin
(can be purchased in the IVCC bookstore in person or online at http://www.ivccbookstore.com)
Rourke, John T. Taking
Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in World Politics, 12th
Edition (can be purchased in the IVCC
bookstore in person or online at http://www.ivccbookstore.com)
Course Objectives:
*To prepare the student to
become a member of the global community by becoming more aware of the
international system of governments, global interdependency and the strengths
and limitations of current international organizations and state governments.
*To illustrate the inequalities that exist in the world today, analyze how the
American system of government and the international community may perpetuate
these inequalities, and look for solutions to the problems of inequalities in
the world community.
*To give the student an understanding of the nature and scope of political
science both theoretically and historically.
*To make the student aware of her/his social and cultural biases in order to
learn critical analysis skills
*To assist students in demonstrating a competent
understanding of International Relations in the following ways:
*Ability to compare and contrast the traditional and modern approaches to the
study of International Political institutions.
*Ability to describe and compare the philosophies underlying various
intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations
*Ability to describe and analyze the social and political issues besetting the
global environment in the 21st Century.
*Ability to understand the role that each of has to play in the world
and how we as individuals can make a difference.
Black Board
Participation: 25%
Because this is a nontraditional class we will not be
interacting with each other in a normal classroom environment. Still, I
think discussion and class participation are vital to your success in this
class. With this in mind I have set up a blackboard discussion for this
class. You can link to blackboard from my homepage, but you must enroll
yourself as a user. Instructions for
self enrollment in blackboard can be linked to at http://www.ivcc.edu/its/blackboard/ . Each
week I will be asking questions of the class that you must answer in your own
words after having completed the necessary readings and any other research that
pertains to the topics. You will be
graded on your participation on blackboard.
At a minimum, you must answer the questions that I ask and respond (by
this I mean make thoughtful commentary, and you must cite your sources) to the
comments of at least two other students in the class per question. Those who answer early in the week and who
put more effort into their answers will receive the most points. You should be prepared to check in on
blackboard several times throughout the week to see what is transpiring and to
make additional comments as needed. If I
post a reply to your response you need to read it and make comments. Blackboard postings are worth 20% of your
grade so you should be prepared to spend ample time each week participating in
the online discussions. Comments must
be posted by Sunday at midnight in order to receive credit. I will periodically check in on blackboard to
see if my assistance is needed and to redirect the conversation if I think it
is going in the wrong direction or if an alternative point of view should be
proposed. Blackboard should be used
only for the specific purpose of responding to weekly posts and not for
personal reasons or to promote a personal agenda. Also, this is an academic institution where
all sincere viewpoints are welcomed, however, this does not give you license to
verbally attack or intentionally offend your fellow classmates. If you disagree with a person’s point of
view, please do so respectfully and by using critical thinking, not by issuing
personal attacks, sarcasm, or insults.
Any student who violates these class policies will be removed as a user
from blackboard, and will subsequently fail the course.
Study questions
Listed in the syllabus are several study questions for each week. The questions are not to be submitted for a grade, rather they are to serve as a partial study guide for
exam preparation. My notes for this
class are available online and some answers may be found in there. Otherwise, you should look to the text or
online for the answers. If you are unable to find the answer to a
question, email me. These questions, along with class notes and reading
assignments, will be the basis for exams.
Critical Thinking Papers – 36%
Since it has been my experience that most students do
not begin this course with a clear understanding of what critical thinking is I
encourage you to read the information on this website (http://www.rogerdarlington.co.uk/thinking.html)
before writing your first paper.
Listed in the schedule are several reading assignments from the Taking
Sides book and due dates for papers.
After reading both sides of the debate assigned for the week, you should
write an essay that analyzes the pros and cons of both sides. I should be able to tell from your paper that
you have read both sides of the argument and that you are able to apply
critical thinking skills to fairly evaluate the merits of both sides.
The essays should not spend a lot of time summarizing the various arguments. The bulk of the essays should be analysis.
The analysis should not focus on what the student sees as the weak or strong points of the author’s article (particularly not the writing style, etc). The student’s analysis should be as fair as possible, not favoring one author’s ideas over the other.
Instead, the student should analyze the benefits and drawbacks of implementing the policy each author is arguing for. For example, imagine the topic is gun control, and author A argues to ban guns, while author B argues to repeal all gun control laws. The student’s essay might look like this:
Introduction
§ Introduces gun control and
briefly summarizes each author’s viewpoint
Body
Paragraph 1
§ Analyzes what good would come
of banning guns, as Author A argues
Body Paragraph 2
§ Analyzes the drawbacks of
banning guns, as Author A proposes
Body Paragraph 3
§ Analyzes the benefits of
repealing gun control laws, as Author B argues
Body Paragraph 4
§ Analyzes the negative
outcomes of repealing gun control laws, as author A proposes
Conclusion, briefly summarizing the author’s points
These paragraphs should include both ideas from the articles and ideas the students come up with. They should show that they not only understand the concept of the articles, but also that they can think beyond the articles.
Students may use a few quotes, but mostly
the arguments should be in the students’ own
words.
The papers should be double-spaced, in 12 point font, in Times New Roman, and with one inch margins and should be 2 pages at a minimum but no longer than 3 pages. Remember, I am grading you on your critical thinking and writing, not on which side you think is best, so make certain that you spend the necessary time discussing the pros and cons of both sides. Papers should be emailed to me by the due date in the syllabus in an rtf attachment. If you have questions about the articles, you should email me prior to the due date of the papers so that we have ample time to discuss the issues. You may not turn in a new paper until I have returned the previous one and you have had time to read my comments so that you may incorporate suggestions into the next paper.
Exams - 39%
There will be three exams throughout the
semester. The dates and topic materials
are listed in the syllabus. All exams
will be online and you must be well-prepared, meaning that you have a thorough
understanding of the materials presented in the notes, readings, blackboard
discussions and study questions. It
is also imperative that you have a reliable computer and network available to
you when taking the exams, since they are timed and you only have one chance to
take them. Once you begin an exam,
you must complete it!! If for any
reason you begin an exam and do not complete it, you will not be given a second
chance to take it so please make sure you are prepared and that you are using a
computer that will not fail you. I
recommend that you use a computer that has something other than dial-up access,
especially if you are using the same line to receive incoming phone calls. The college computer labs have reliable
networks so you may want to consider coming to campus to take exams if you have
any doubts about the reliability of your home computer.
Academic dishonesty:
Plagiarism or cheating in any
form will not be tolerated. All words
or ideas that are not your own must be cited in all of the work that is
submitted for this course. Anyone
caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive a failing grade for the entire
course. Additionally, a report of the transgression will be filed
with the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Final grades:
The grading scale for this course will be as follows:
90-100%=4.0
80-89%=3.0
70-79%=2.0
60-69%=1.0
SPECIAL NEEDS
If you are a student with a cognitive, physical or
psychiatric disability you may be eligible for academic support services such
as extended test time, texts on tape, note-taking services, etc. If you are interested in receiving academic
support services, please contact the Special Populations Office at 224-0284 or
stop by office B204. You are also
encouraged to discuss your individual needs with the instructor so that your
educational experience is a productive one.
In the event that
you must withdraw from this course, you are expected to follow established
college procedures outlined in the college catalog. The final date to withdraw from this
course is April 11th.
Requests for withdrawal must be made in person during my office hours.
Class Assignment Schedule
Week 1: June 13-19
Reading Assignment: Chapter 1
– Thinking and Caring About World Politics and lecture
notes.
(study terms on the website)
Reading Assignment: Chapter 3 (p. 62-86) – Individual and State Level Analysis
and lecture notes.
(study terms on the website)
Reading Assignment: Chapter 6 – National
States: The Traditional Structure and lecture notes
(Study Terms on the Website)
Taking Sides, Issue 4 – “Should the United States Decrease Its Global
Presence?”
Paper #1 “Should the United States Decrease Its Global Presence?” due by
1:00 p.m. on Sunday June 24th.
Week 2: June 20-26
Reading Assignment: Chapter 4 – Nationalism: The Traditional Orientation
and lecture notes
(Study terms on the website )
Reading Assignment: Chapter 2 – The Evolution of World Politics
and lecture notes
(Study terms on the website )
Reading Assignment: Chapter 3 (p. 87-95) – System-Level Analysis and
lecture notes
(Study terms on the website)
Exam I: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 -
Must be completed by Tuesday, July 3rd at midnight.
Week 3 June 27th – July 3rd
Reading Assignment: Chapter 5 – Globalization and Transnationalism:
The Alternative Orientation and lecture notes
(Study terms on the website)
Reading Assignment: Chapter 7 – Intergovernmental Organization:
The Alternative Structure and lecture notes
Taking Sides, Issue 2: Does Globalization Threaten Cultural Diversity
Week 4: July 4-10
(Study terms on the website)
Reading Assignment: Chapter 12 –
National Economic Competition: The Traditional Road and lecture notes.
(Study terms on the website)
Reading Assignment: Chapter 13–
International Economic Cooperation: The
Alternative Road and lecture notes
(Study terms on the website)
Exam II: Chapter 5, 7, 12, and 13 - Must be completed by Tuesday, July 17th
at midnight.
Week 5: July 11-17
Reading Assignment: Chapter 8 – National Power and Diplomacy: The
Traditional Approach and lecture notes
(Study Terms on website)
Reading Assignment: Chapter 10 –
National Security: The Traditional Road and lecture notes
(Study terms on the website)
Week 6: July 18-24
Reading assignment: Chapters 9 & 11 – International Security:
The Alternative Road and International Law and Justice and lecture notes
(Study terms on the website)
Week 7: July 25 – August 2
Reading Assignment: Chapter
14 – Preserving and Enhancing Human Rights and Dignity and lecture notes
(Study terms on the website)
Reading Assignment: Chapter 15 – Preserving and Enhancing the Biosphere and
lecture notes (Study terms on the website)
Taking Sides: Issue 20 – Do Environmentalists Overstate Their Case?
Paper #4 “Do Environmentalists Overstate Their Case?” is due by 1:00 p.m. on
Sunday, July 29th
Exam III, Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11,
14 and 15 - Must be completed by Wednesday, August 1st at midnight.