Time Schedule:
Jonathan M. Acuff
POL S 203
Seattle Campus
The world community, its politics, and government. Offered: AWSpS.
Class description
Description: This course is an introduction to the major theories, debates, and areas of interest in the sub-field of political science known as international relations (IR). In the first half of the course, students will become familiar with the major theories used in IR, namely classical realism, neorealism, liberalism, neoliberal institutionalism, constructivism, and critical theory. In the second half of the course, we will evaluate the ability of these theories to explain the most important events in international politics from the past 20 years, including the collapse of the Soviet Union, the East Asian Financial Crisis, the Second Iraq War, terrorism, environmental degradation, and the future course of the nation state and new organizations such as the European Union.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Texts: Reading packet. In addition, there will be a significant number of articles accessible for free through the university library’s electronic journal system. Students are also expected to keep up with current events in international politics by reading a quality national or international newspaper.
Class assignments and grading
Grading: Midterm: 25 % Participation: 25 % Take-home final exam: 50 % Total: 100 %
