POLS1006: Introduction to International Relations: Contemporary Global Issues

-tutorial participation 10%
-2x essays 25% each
-final exam 40%
The indicative assessment appears to look different for 2018 (but don’t quote me on this).

This subject follows on from POLS1005, but it is definitely doable without having done POLS1005 which is the case for many students starting in Semester 2. This is a core course for IR majors and IR degrees, and there was a large cohort of ~600 students or something, and in the first few weeks we had to have lectures streamed into another theatre.

All in all, I found this a pretty good foundation course into IR. The first half of the course was mainly focused on IR theories of realism, liberalism, constructivism + critical theories (which weren’t heavily looked at in POLS1005). The second half was more focused on contemporary global issues – nuclear weapons, terrorism, ethnic conflict and international political economy. I found the second half slightly better than the first when we applied theories and stuff to real-world contemporary issues.

Readings:
In addition to the textbook, there are also journal articles for us to read each week. Personally, I don’t feel you had to have read them, but they can help. Many of them were quite intense but the lectures do go over stuff like “X said this” but they are not assessed.

Essays:
The first essay asked us to apply our knowledge of IR theories into historical events in the 20th century. The second essay was more about our opinions regarding the threat of the modern-day issues listed above. They were only short essays of 1000 words each.

Final Exam:
The final exam was just to pick 2 essay questions from 3 and to write two essays regarding themes we learnt the whole year. They were quite broad as well. I don’t know if the format will change in future years though.

Tutorials:
Tutorials are “compulsory”, so we technically do not have to attend but we get marked on attendance and participation levels so we are expected to interact and share ideas/thoughts. The first half was just mainly going over what was taught in lectures, but the second half involved simulations in class regarding hypothetical scenarios relating to the contemporary issues (e.g. we suppose that there is a terrorist attack and what can we do? Etc.)

Overall:
Overall I found this course pretty good. Not difficult at all to follow along, but you do need to have at least a mild interest (even if you have little background) in this course. There will be some students who are super passionate though. If you are a non-Arts/IR student, I would recommend as an elective only if you are interested in IR or if you are willing to put in the effort required (the assessments aren’t that bad, but still requires a bit of effort) as this is not a ‘bludge’.

After completing this course, I would strongly recommend having completed STST1001 in Semester 1 (I wrote a review here), and I really regret not paying much attention in that unit when I completed it. Obviously, it is definitely doable without having done STST1001 but it would strongly help as there are many overlaps regarding IR theories and security issues.

Yes, with screen capture

Dr Charlie Miller & Dr Michael Zekulin. I found that both were pretty good and knowledgeable. Dr Miller took most of the lectures, especially in the first half of the course. Dr Zekulin took a few in the second half. We also had 2 guest lectures by Dr April Biccum.

No. There was a sample exam with sample questions. But I don’t think it really helped because the final would have different questions

4 Out of 5

Introduction to International Relations – Grieco, Ikenberry, Mastanduno 2016
I would recommend this book because we use it for most weeks and contains important information – some of which isn’t discussed in lectures.

1x2hr lecture per week and 1x1hr tutorial per week

Semester 2, 2017

TBA