POL-130 International Relations
This course introduces students to the field of contemporary international relations, focusing upon the political, diplomatic, social, military, economic, and cultural interaction of state and non-state actors at the global level. By exploring a diverse array of global topics, from international diplomacy and security, to nuclear proliferation, terrorism, nationalism, pandemic disease, immigration, population growth, world trade and finance, regional economic integration, natural resource access and management, modernization, democratization, Third World poverty, human rights, and the role of the U.N. and other international organizations, this course will equip students with the knowledge necessary to understand, evaluate, and respond to a complex array of problems in the contemporary world.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of the major concepts, models and issues in the field of international relations, and the intricacies of geopolitical and geo-economic conflict and cooperation
- Demonstrate knowledge of world geography and the political, diplomatic, social, military, economic, and cultural interaction of state and non-state actors at the global level. By analyzing such globally-relevant topics as the U.N. and international mechanisms for cooperation, immigration, nuclear non-proliferation, pandemic disease, natural resource access and management, Third World poverty, and human rights, students will gain some of the insights necessary to live interdependently in a diverse, sustainable global community
- Demonstrate a knowledge of the citizen's role in international relations and how the American federal government, and its foreign policy-making apparatus, works to address a myriad of issues relevant to an American citizen, such as global campaigns for democratization and equality, global cultural exchanges, world terrorism, international trade and finance, and natural resource access/management, and thereby equip themselves with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to be involved in their own communities
- Demonstrate the ability to comprehend, interpret, analyze and evaluate college-level primary and secondary source readings in the field of international relations
- Identify, analyze and evaluate arguments made by some of the major authors in the field of international relations, and, in their own writing, will demonstrate well-reasoned arguments when interpreting global-related subject matter
- Demonstrate the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, use and share information from a range of published/printed and electronic resources in the field of international relations