Comparative Politics|European Politics|International Relations and Politics|Political Theory|Politics|Security Policy

COURSE OUTLINE

The module introduces students to the main theories and concepts in International Relations. In particular, this module will cover debates such...

Introduction to International Relations: concepts and ideas (SESS0082)

COURSE OUTLINE

The module introduces students to the main theories and concepts in International Relations. In particular, this module will cover debates such as Liberalism, (Neo)Realism, Marxism and critical theory, Constructivism and new-constructivism, Gender and IR, Postcolonial approaches to IR, Ethics in IR and the role of theory in IR.

Lectures/tutorials will make extensive use of real-world examples as illustrative examples. Empirical case studies will be used to teach students about the real-life applicability and impact of the different concepts and ideas covered in the course.

COURSE AIMS

The aims of the module are:

To introduce a number of theoretical perspectives for understanding events in world politics;
	To introduce the broad trends in the historical evolution of contemporary international relations;
	To demonstrate the relationship between world politics and theories of International Relations;
COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course students should be able to:

Identify, describe, understand and critically assess the main theories of International Relations;
	Understand the global dimensions of politics from a variety of perspectives;
	Investigate and understand the breadth and diversity of concepts and perspectives in international relations.
	Use critically concepts and theories when interpreting contemporary issues in world politics;
	Provide examples of the relationship between theory and practice in world politics;
	Construct reasoned argument, synthesise relevant information and exercise critical judgement;
	Work in a team within a tutorial framework to present their views and opinions about different topics in international politics;
	Use library and media resources to research seminar topics;
	Grasp what constitutes a well-written, well-researched, and well-argued academic piece of written work.