Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
EU20743 Modern international relations theory |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Intermediate |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: ES50EX50 |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: From two World Wars to potential nuclear catastrophe, and now the threat of environmental catastrophe, unprecedented historical changes have taken place in the twentieth century. This unit will help students see that while some of our modern problems are unprecedented, others, such as war, poverty, social and environmental degradation, are not. Throughout its pre-history and its twentieth century disciplinary history theorists of International Relations (IR) have dealt with these 'big questions' directly and routinely. IR theorists have reflected on the underlying processes that explain surface events so as to understand how to better manage crisis and better move society forward towards shared goals. The aim of the module will be to both historicise problems in world politics and also show how solutions have themselves been historically conditioned. Understanding the ideas of past thinkers in their context helps us, today, to understand past failures and our potential for success.
We will also discuss in the module why different theorists do theory differently. Is it their historical context? Their personal predjudices? Their political goals? The problems they confront? Bearing these questions in mind, this module will grapple with the 'big issues' of the modern era in their historical context and discuss how theories are used to justify and explain those problems and the times - and in whose interests. The module will, in a very real sense, help students get a grip on how the world works, how it has changed, but also in which ways it remains largely unchanged. Learning Outcomes: * Students should gain a good understanding of the main theories used to explain world affairs in Anglo-American IR theory over the last century. * Students should be able to show how and why theories about international relations have also changed and evolved over time by contextualising core analytical themes and theorists historically and socially. * By the end of the course, students are expected to understand why certain IR theorists explained the world in the way they did and the social and intellectual contexts that made their theories so attractive to others. * Most importantly, students should leave the unit able to think theoretically about world affairs for themselves, while understanding how our contemporary world enables and constrains our ideas in important ways. Skills: Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument, teamwork and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are taught and assessed in this unit. Content: Lectures will focus primarily on the ideas of a conventional set of key thinkers in modern thinking about international relations in Europe and America. The lectures will contextualise these ideas historically and intellectually through the use of film, historical detail and illustrative case examples. The lecture series will run chronologically beginning with pre-disciplinary IR theory, moving on to Inter-War and Post-War IR theory, Cold War IR theory, and ending with contemporary critical and normative IR theory. The series is divided in three parts and corresponds to the Inter-War years, the Cold War period and and the Post-Cold War period. This structure will make clear the causal force of war and change in the formulation of ideas about the world and try and unpack what is novel about the new millennium. What the course will also show is how theories that seek to explain contemporary world politics have changed over time. |