Introduction to International Relations
BS 463 Fall/2008
Wed - Friday, 2:00 – 3:30
Office Hours: Tuesday through Friday, when I am not teaching class
Brian Kennedy
bkennedy@gmu.edu (I check email frequently)
bpk@econ.tu.ac.th
01-442-7426 (cell phone)
02-929-0015 (home phone)

BS 463 Introduction to International Relations

“An introduction to the study of international relations.  It focuses on political, economic and other forms of interactions among major powers and the inter-system for the purpose of explanation and prediction.  Topics to be discussed are international law, organizations, economic relations, diplomacy, and foreign policy”

Course objectives:

To introduce students to the study of international relations, and to familiarize them with its key concepts.  By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the different actors who make up the system, the different levels of analysis used, and the logic and assumptions that underlay the competing theories of IR.

Course Overview:

This course serves as an introductory course in International Relations, the study of how the world’s governments interact.

A certain degree of familiarity with current events is assumed.  Otherwise, this course has no prerequisites, though it is a very helpful course to have had for students who plan to take America and the Cold War, or The Trans-Atlantic Alliance.

Grading:

The course grade will depend upon 3 exams, given throughout the course.  The first two exams are worth 30% each, and the final exam is worth 40%. 

Each exam will cover 3-4 chapters of the book, as well as all material from previous exams.  Each exam will consist of three or four sections, a section of short identification, longer identification, and then some compare and contrast or analysis questions.  In all cases, you will be getting some choice in the questions, typically you will need to answer three out four, meaning you can always skip one question per section.

Each exam will be 1½ hours in length.  A sample exam will be given before the first exam, showing the exact format of the exam.

Cheating:

Don’t.  If you do, and I catch you, you will be reported to the program director for appropriate punishment.  At a minimum, you will receive a zero on the exam you are caught cheating on, other punishments include automatically failing the course, and being suspended for one (or more) semesters.

Required Text:

Goldstein, Joshua S. International Relations  5^th edition

 

 

 

Last Modified; July 20, 2008