PSC 139.001
Mehrzad Boroujerdi
Fall 2002
Classroom: Bowne 304C
Office: 517 Eggers Hall
Class Time: T, Th:10:00-11:20
Office Hours: T, Th: 11:30-12:30
Office Phone:443-5877
E-Mail: mboroujerdi@maxwell.syr.edu
URL: http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/mborouje/
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course introduces you to the main ideas and perennial debates about the role of morality, power, and wealth that have shaped the discipline of International Relations. In addition, we will look at the changes currently under way in global politics and try to addresses the following concrete as well as conceptual questions: What forces have changed international relations throughout the ages? How have these forces affected people around the world? Is globalization the same as homogenization? What role, if any, does morality play in the relations between international actors? Are there any desirable and/or feasible alternatives to the present system?
COURSE PHILOSOPHY
A Chinese proverb says, “teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” A Western sage (Karl Jaspers) supplemented this thought by maintaining, “university life is no less dependent on students than on professors. The best professors flounder helplessly at a school where the student body is unfit. Hence, it is all up to the young people who are supposedly entitled to study. They must show themselves worthy of this privilege to the best of their ability.”
This course has been organized on the premise that you are worthy of this privilege and that the teacher only opens the door. The success of this course depends entirely on your continued and sustained participation. Therefore, I ask that you be agile participants and intervene as often as possible in class discussion. Please keep in mind that in this course you will be exposed to a wide range of alternative views some of which may force you to question, rethink (and if needed, abandon) your present "understanding" of world events and problems. Who knows, by the end of the course you might feel that you have taken part in a serendipitous voyage of discovery!
Needless to say, I expect you to complete all assigned readings before each class meeting, so that you are familiar with the idioms, theories, and controversies with which we are dealing. In view of the fact that my presentations will complement rather than reiterate the assigned readings, it is expected that you attend all class meetings. Periodic unannounced quizzes will be given to make sure that students are keeping up with the readings.
Furthermore, in order to facilitate your intellectual participation, a listserv will be set up for this course. You are expected to use this venue to voice your opinions on readings and current events, engage in debates with your classmates, make queries, etc. You will be graded on the extent and quality of your contributions to the listserv discussions.
Please do not hesitate to drop by my office should you have problems with the course, or just want to talk. Students who may need special consideration because of any sort of disability should make an appointment to see me in private. You should be advised that late papers would be substantially penalized and no incomplete grades will be allowed.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
To prime class discussions each student will be asked to lead one class discussion beginning on September 19. During these 10-15 minutes presentations, you are expected to engage your classmates in a discussion of the material read. In order to make this a worthwhile exercise, student presenters are expected to e-mail a set of 3 to 5 comments and/or discussion questions to the listserv at least one day before their scheduled presentations. We will use these comments/questions as a springboard for our class discussions. Students who think they may need some tips on how to lead the class discussion can come and see me during my office hours.
In addition to a mid-term examination and a take home final exam, you are required to turn in one research and one “reflection/opinion” paper. In the first paper, each of you will be asked to undertake an in-depth examination of a particular event, dilemma, or controversy in international affairs in which you are interested. The subject choice should be first cleared in individual discussions with the instructor. As for the second paper, you will be asked to explain what “International Relations” is to an imaginary constituency determined by the instructor. This paper should demonstrate your engagement with the materials raised in films, class lectures, and assigned readings throughout the course. The papers should be concise, polished, thoughtful and free from grammatical or spelling errors. They should be between 5 to 8 pages, typed, stapled, and double-spaced. Further guidelines on how to write the papers will be provided in class.
GRADING CRITERIA
Classroom & Listserv contribution 10 points
Quizzes (periodic) 10 points
Mid-term exam (October 10) 20 points
1st paper (November 7) 20 points
2nd paper (December 3) 20 points
Final Exam (December 11) 20 points
REQUIRED TEXTS (available at the Orange Student Bookstore)
· John Baylis and Steve Smith, The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations. 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, 2001.
· John Rourke, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in World Politics. 10th ed. (McGraw Hill-Dushkin, 2002).
· Course Pack (#7406) available from Campus Copies in Marshall Square Mall.
Note: Readings marked with a (*) indicate that they are in the course-pack mentioned above.
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“Most people see what is, and never see what can be.”
-- Albert Einstein
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Part I: International History
Week 1: Aug. 27: Overview of the Course: Logistics, expectations, and goals
Aug. 29: Globalization of World Politics
Baylis & Smith -- Introduction & chapter 1
Rourke – pp. 2-21
Video: Coat of Many Countries (VC 10149) (58 min.)
Week 2: Sept. 3: Evolution of International Society
Baylis & Smith – chapter 2
Sept. 5: International History: 1900-1945
Baylis & Smith – chapter 3
Week 3: Sept. 10: International History: 1945-1990
Baylis & Smith – chapter 4
Video: End of Empires (VC 7397) (48 min.)
Sept. 12: The End of the Cold War
Baylis & Smith – chapter 5
Baylis & Smith – chapter 6
Baylis & Smith – chapter 7
Week 5: Sept. 24: Liberalism
Baylis & Smith – chapter 8
Baylis & Smith – chapter 9
Week 6: Oct. 1: Marxist Theories of IR
Baylis & Smith – chapter 10
Oct. 3: Reflectivist and Constructivist Approaches to IR
Baylis & Smith – chapter 11
Part III: Structures and Processes
Week 7: Oct. 8: International Security
Baylis & Smith – chapter 12
Oct.10: Midterm
Week 8: Oct. 15: International Political Economy
Baylis & Smith – chapter 13
Rourke – pp. 184-203
Article: “Fortune 500: The World’s Largest Corporations”*
Oct.17: International Regimes
Baylis & Smith – chapter 14
Week 9: Oct. 22: Diplomacy
Baylis & Smith – chapter 15
Oct. 24: The United Nations
Baylis & Smith – chapter 16
Rourke – pp. 260-277
Week 10: Oct. 29: International Organizations
Baylis & Smith – chapter 17
Part IV: International Issues
Oct. 31: Nationalism
Baylis & Smith – chapter 20
Week 11: Nov. 5: Culture in World Affairs
Baylis & Smith – chapter 21
Article: “The Man in the Baghdad Café”*
Nov. 7: Global Trade & Finance (1st paper is due)
Baylis & Smith – chapter 24
Week 12: Nov. 12: Poverty & Hunger
Baylis & Smith – chapter 26
Rourke – pp. 172-183
Article: “The Population Implosion”*
Videos: World Population (VC8437) & Malaysian Tribe
Nov. 14: Gender Issues
Baylis & Smith – chapter 27
Rourke – pp. 314-333
Article: “Women Waging Peace”*
Video: Sex Business in Cambodia
Week 13: Nov. 19: Human Rights
Baylis & Smith – chapter 28
Rourke – pp. 296-310
Video: Kissinger & Chile
Nov. 21: Humanitarian Intervention
Baylis & Smith – chapter 22
Article: “Reconciling Non-Intervention & Human Rights”*
Video: Triumph of Evil (60 min.)
Part V: Future of Globalization
Week 14: Nov. 26: Defining Globalization
Baylis & Smith – chapter 29
Nov. 28: No Class, Thanksgiving Break
Week 15: Dec. 3: Globalization and State Sovereignty (2nd paper is due)
Rourke – pp. 22-35
Article: “Measuring Globalization”*
Article: “Will the Nation-State Survive Globalization?”
Dec. 5: Globalization in the Future (Take-home final exam handed out)
Baylis & Smith – chapter 30
Rourke – pp. 36-55
Dec. 11: Final Take-Home Exam (should be turned in by 10:00 A.M.)
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