INTS10001: International Politics

•750-word essay due mid-semester (20%)
•1750-word essay due towards the end of semester (roughly week 9) (45%)
•1500-word take-home exam during the examination period (35%)

Overall, the assessments were self-explanatory and straightforward to do: a selection of essay questions where you’ll choose one to discuss/argue on. The exam was actually meant to be a sit-in exam initially, but it was decided it would become a take-home exam to be done in three days during the exam period.

Now, to do well in the essays in general, the first thing is to be able to understand the IR theories comprehensively (as mentioned earlier). The second thing is to be able to bring your own examples into your discussion, and by using good examples and analysing them with IR theories you’ll find that your argument seems so much more convincing. At the same time, however, also be warned that a bad example or a questionable argument may also prove to be counterproductive and weaken your argument.

One more thing: Tutorial attendance is a hurdle requirement in this subject, where you need to turn up to at least 75% of the tutorials to pass the subject. That works out to be 9 out of 11 tutorial sessions, so make sure you turn up to them!

Yes, with screen capture.

Daniel McCarthy and Robyn Eckersley.

In short, the lectures were very, very interesting. I found that Daniel was an engaging, thought-provoking lecturer who would interact with the student audience that attend the lectures and encourage questions, some discussion and debate around the concepts/rationale behind the political theories. He’d begin every lecture with a photo/image of an individual/place/object, which he uses as a way to set the scene for the topic he’ll be covering. The way he works in analogies and examples into his lectures in such a subtle manner that is, at the same time, unambiguous is quite something, really.

Robyn was also a great lecturer who would deliver the content clearly and in a logical manner. At times it may be a little difficult to follow the point she tries to get across, however overall you can see that Robyn is very passionate in her work and in that sense, she also delivers an engaging lecture with a slightly different ‘flavour’ to it.

As some reviewers may have commented earlier, your tutor will make or break the experience in this subject. However, I’ll also add that the people in your class and yourself also plays a part in that experience. What I mean here is, by starting up a discussion about some of the stuff covered in the lectures, you’ll find by the end of the tutorial there’ll be things you might’ve not thought of!

In addition to the above, do make sure you do the required readings, or at least be prepared to discuss the topic in the tutorials. Otherwise, it’ll be super awkward when the tutor asks you a question about your opinion on the topic!

Not sure, maybe?

4/5

As someone who has some interest in politics and needed an interesting breadth subject to do, I chose to do INTS10001 with the expectation that it would give me a well-rounded understanding of what International Relations is. That is, understanding the development of the field, the political theories, schools of thought and…well, all things politics.

I wasn’t disappointed.

This subject would probably be best described as being an introduction to the field of International Relations. For those who have done VCE Global Politics during high school, you’ll likely find that the first half of this subject will be a very different beast. What I mean here is, a lot of the content in INTS10001 places emphasis on appreciating some of the history behind IR and developing a thorough understanding of the main competing political theories. While this may seem pointless at first, you’ll realise throughout the course of the semester that these theories are important frameworks to analyse the rationale and decision-making of state/non-state actors in contemporary IR, which is necessary for the second half of the subject.

So, the subject kicks off with a brief overview of IR, where you’ll learn about the Hunter-Gatherer Bands, the feudal system in Europe and the Peace of Westphalia (1648). You’ll find that each event that is covered in INTS has its own significance in the development of our understanding of the modern state, and also the debates that may arise from it. This part of the subject will go on for 1-2 weeks.

After covering the history, you’ll then start learning about all the main IR theories, such as realism, liberalism, neoliberalism, neoclassical realism, constructivism, Marxism, etc. Before learning the theories, however, you’ll learn about what anarchy is in the IR context (and no, the anarchy you’ll learn is not the anti-establishment firebrand kind!), and then proceed to learn how these theories go about explaining this. You’ll also touch on ethics and cosmopolitanism. This’ll go on for 3-4ish weeks and may be quite a lot to take in. However, if you keep up-to-date with this part of the subject and understand each theory inside out and know how to compare/contrast them from others, you’ll find that your arguments in your essays will be so much more concise and watertight. Not only that, it’ll mean less work later when you’re doing your 45% essay and take-home exam!

After learning about IR theories, you’ll (finally) be able to do some of the modern stuff, where you’ll learn about key international political issues like climate change, humanitarian intervention, refugees and so forth (yes VCE Global Politics 3&4 students, this is where your examples and knowledge will come in handy here). By this point it is an expectation that you’ll be able to apply the IR theories to the issues raised in these case studies and form an opinion based on the frameworks you use.

John Baylis, Steve Smith and Patricia Owens (eds.), The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017). To make your life a little easier for this subject, I do recommend buying this textbook, mainly because most – if not all – of your required readings are from this book. The textbook also costs around $60-70 brand new, so I think it’s rather affordable compared to other uni textbook costs. Better yet, you can also get it second-hand for even cheaper!

All in all, the subject definitely required a considerable amount of time and effort to do well, although in general I enjoyed International Politics. I wouldn’t recommend this subject for people who want a cruisy breadth subject to boost their WAM or are not interested in politics. It can be mind-boggling, especially when you reach the part in the subject where you tear down the IR theories and scrutinise them. I guess if you’re the sort of person who has a knack for philosophy, history and/or politics and needs an introductory subject into the world of International Relations, this subject might be the one for you.

•2x 1 hour lectures (two sessions per lecture) per week
•1x 1 hour tutorial per week (11 tutorials throughout the semester, with the first tutorial beginning in week 2)

Semester 2, 2017.

H2A

The assessment for this subject is quite fair. The first essay is only 25% and 1000 words in length (nice and easy, though I personally find it incredibly difficult to develop a distinct argument in so little words) and deals with Part B of the course. The second essay is worth 50% and 2000 words in length, and deals with Part C. The final assessment is a take-home exam which, like the first essay, is only 25% and 1000 words in length, and deals with Part D. You'll have about 4 days to complete the exam, which I found was more than enough time. Each essay involves responding to one prompt from a list, which addresses one particular topic and its corresponding lecture/readings. In terms of approaching the assessment, I'd recommend having a solid understanding of the theories covered early in the course, along with the key differences between them, and incorporate them into every essay - this can help to give your argument the 'originality' necessary for a H1. Extensive reading and research is required for each essay (particularly the second), which is made infinitely easier by the comprehensive list provided in the subject guide available on LMS. As for referencing, I believe I used around 6-8 references for the first essay and take-home exam, and probably about 20 for the major essay.

Overall, I found this subject really enjoyable - the content was interesting, the tutorials were actually worth going to, and the assessment was fair. With such a variety of topics available I think most people found it quite intellectually stimulating, whether coming into the subject with no knowledge of international affairs whatsoever or already having a fairly good understanding of it. I'd recommend it to both Arts students and as a breadth subject, as the assessment and contact hours aren't too taxing and the content is certainly relevant and interesting.

I really, really enjoyed this subject. I find international relations a fascinating subject area in general, and felt that this course adequately provided a solid understanding of the field, addressing theories of global politics, the relationships between states both today and historically, and contemporary issues in international relations. I'll briefly run through what each section of the course entails:

Yes, with screen capture.

Avery Poole, along with several guest lecturers.

The incorporation of many guest lecturers was fantastic, and provided some welcome variety. As for tutorials: like all Arts subjects, I believe, a 75% tutorial attendance rate is a compulsory hurdle requirement, so you'll need to go to most of them. I found the discussions in tutorials incredibly interesting and rewarding - due to the nature of the subject, the class often discussed recent developments and news in world politics along with the weekly topics, which helped to broaden my knowledge of the field as a whole. The particular tutor I had was excellent and facilitated some great discussions, and was an amusing character in general. In addition, I would often utilise some of the ideas generated in tutorials in my essays, so they're worth going to!

After a basic introduction to historical context (Part A, non-assessed), the first part of the subject explores the various theories underpinning international relations - realism, liberalism, normative approaches and constructivism. Many students found this probably the least interesting and most dry component of the subject, but it was nevertheless necessary in order to understand and approach subsequent topics.

This is the largest topic area in the course, and deals with the major issues that regularly dominate world politics - sovereignty and the state, the Cold War and its shadow, the UN, security, terrorism and globalisation, and nuclear weapons, as well as a focus on key state actors and their role in international relations - the rising powers of China and India, America and the notion of its decline, the normative and declining power of the EU, and Indonesia and Southeast Asia. I found this the most interesting part of the course, and certainly the most integral to understanding the workings of global politics.

The final part of the subject examines more recently evolving issues in international relations, such as gender and sexual violence in conflict, trade liberalisation and the WTO, the global ecological crisis and politics of climate change, humanitarian intervention and refugees, asylum seekers and migration. This component of the course was also very interesting, and having the topics delivered by various guest lecturers who specialise in these topics made it all the more enjoyable and engaging.

Yes - take-home exam questions from the previous year were made available.

4.5 out of 5

John Baylis, Steve Smith and Patricia Owen (eds.), The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011). I just borrowed this from the library - several of the chapters are prescribed for required reading and I found it quite a useful reference, particularly for the first essay. There are also a few required readings each week (PDF files are provided on the LMS), though most people, including myself, didn't always complete these.

2 x one hour lectures and 1 x one hour tutorial per week.

Semester 2, 2013

H1