POLS1005: Introduction to International Relations: Foundations and Concepts

quizzes 10% (one quiz each week worth ~1%ea), midterm 25%, response paper 15%, final exam 40%, tutorials 10% (2.5% on role profile, 2.5% on position paper, other 5% for participation iirc)
Quizzes are multiple choice
Both exams consist of multiple-choice, short answer and essay questions.

This is a very good intro course to the area of IR and it definitely is doable even without any prior knowledge in this area so even if you've been living under a rock, you can still follow along quite easily. Although I say it's doable, it isn't easy to get a high mark and you do have to work hard obviously, but you can definitely follow along this course easily without any experience in the study of global politics. The cohort for this subject is very large (alot of students take IR degrees) and the lecture is run twice a week to accommodate that, and there are a variety of students who take this subject.

This intro course covers a broad range of areas at an intro level. The first half of the semester is mainly focused on wars such as why wars occur, IR theories (interests, interactions, institutions), civil wars, terrorism and international institutions (eg UN) etc. The second half of the course focuses on the political economy (trade, finance, development) and transnational factors (international law, human rights, environment). Each lecture covers a different topic and Dr Frank also provides many examples that apply, and at the end, he includes a case study in that area, which is often particularly interesting. However, the content covered in each lecture is pretty simple and doesn't cover the entire content that will be assessed on quizzes and exams so I would recommend that you do the textbook readings. The online quizzes each week, although only worth 1%, provide an incentive to make sure you actually do the readings and keep up with the content.

In addition to the lectures, in the tutorials there is also a simulation regarding the Syrian civil war. I believe that this was the first year it was run. In each tutorial group, each student is an actor in the Syrian conflict and in the 2nd half of the term, there is a peace conference where actors will try to come up and propose some sort of solution or compromise (in the weeks beforehand you have to research about your actor and talk about their interests and such) - and this is where the response paper assessment comes in. Not sure if this will happen in future years though but the simulation was quite interesting and it highlights why it's hard to come up with agreements in international relations.

This was my favourite subject and I would definitely recommend it, even if you don't know much at all

I would recommend taking this course with POLS1002. A few parts of the content do overlap (such as game theory) and your studies in one may help the other

Yes, with screen capture etc.

Dr Richard Frank

No. There was a practice exam for both the midterm and final though

4.5 Out of 5

World Politics: Interests, Interactions, Institutions - Frieden, Lake, Schultz
Would definitely recommend getting this book. A lot of stuff in this course is not explained in this lecture and this book would be really helpful for exams and extra reading. However, if you don't wish to purchase the book you can borrow it from the library but this is a very popular course so it may be hard to find a copy to borrow

1x2hr lecture and 1x1hr tutorial per week.
However, the lecture is run twice a week because the cohort is so big so if you miss one you can go to the other

Semester 1 2017