POL 102 B: International Relations, Spring 2025
Things to worry about now
- TLinks to an external site.HaThe second paper is due April 6. It is always useful to talk it over. I have regular and extra office hours coming up this week:
- Thursday, April 3, by video call, any time: by appointment
- Friday, April 4, in person, Rowley G142: 11:30 am to 1 pm
- Monday, April 7, in person, Ballston 3010: : 10 am to 11 am and 1:45 pm to 3 pm
- Tuesday, April 8, in person, Rowley G142: 11:30 am to 4:30 pm
- The second exam is Wednesday, April 9. Monday April 7 is a review session; come with questions.
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- For those of you who are not right about to graduate, and are confident in your ability to leave and re-enter the United States - you should do a semester-long study abroad program at some point Links to an external site.. We will discuss this more in class, but in the meantime please meet with me if you would like to start thinking about your options.
- If you are interested in any of the topics we are studying in class this semester, you may want to consider adding political science as a major. Students majoring in political science and international relations earn higher salaries, on average, than students majoring in biology, business, criminal justice, psychology, and many others, and are tied with computer science and mathematics. See this fun interactive chart
Links to an external site. to learn how political science and international relations (listed separately) blow away most other majors. Here is more information about Marymount's major in political science and international relations.
Links to an external site.
Summary
Mondays and Wednesdays 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm
Ballston 3010
|
Chad Rector |
Anna Gizzi |
Chea-Ler Tan peer mentor c0t83689@marymount.edu |
For individual meetings with me or with the peer mentors it is usually best to email in advance.
Anna and Chea-Ler are available most weekdays; see their available times here Links to an external site..
I have regular drop-in hours in the classroom for the hour after class on Mondays, and for most of the day on Tuesdays in my office on main campus (Rowley G124), but is it always best to email in advance if possible to confirm.
Syllabus Links to an external site.
Course evaluations from prior semesters Links to an external site.
This course is an overview of how political scientists think about international relations. The course is divided into three parts, each with a central question:
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Why do wars happen?
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When do countries work together to solve problems?
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How does the United States affect people in the rest of the world?
As we address these topics, we will use the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Covid pandemic, climate change, artificial intelligence, hunger, human rights, trade, migration, and other topics chosen by the class as running examples.
The course is taught as a combination of large class sessions and small team meetings. I will assign teams with input from the students in the course, and will occasionally rearrange them. Links to an external site.
Grades
Each assignment is worth a fixed number of points, listed below; these add up to 100. Each assignment will be returned with a numerical score. Course grades will be based on the total number of points out of the 100 possible. 90 and above is an A, 80-89 is a B, 70-79 is a C, 60-69 is a D, and 59 and below is an F.
There are 8 assignments for the course:
- Two short papers. 15 points each (30 points total). Each paper is about three pages long. Assignments will be posted with each part of the course. These papers will be completed by students individually.
- Two topic briefings. 5 points each (10 points total). An individual, oral explanation of an ongoing issue, as assigned.
- Two team projects. 10 points for the first, 20 points for the second (30 points total). Each team will complete a short research project and present their findings to the class as a whole. Assignments will be posted with each part of the course.
- Two exams. 15 points each (30 points total). These will be written, in-class exams. Each exam has two sections:
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- 5 short-answer identification questions worth 2 points each (choose 5 out of 8). 10 points total.
- 1 essay question worth 5 points.
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There are some opportunities for extra credit:
- Study group meetings. Students can earn extra credit through regular participation in study groups outside of the regular class time. Some of these study groups will be run by the political science and international relations program peer mentors, while others may be organized independently by students in the class.
- Class participation. I will give up to 3 points to students who are regularly prepared to discuss the readings and apply them to contemporary issues, and make sustained contributions to the class. There will occasionally be other opportunities for extra credit in class.
- DC event. 5% for a first event and 3% for a second. Attend an informative, professional lecture, seminar, or hearing in the DC area on the subject of public affairs and write a summary of your experience. These must be submitted before the last regular class meeting of the semester.
Other policies:
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Students who miss exams will have a chance to take a makeup.
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Students turning in papers or giving presentations containing plagiarism (including ones that are partly written by an LLM (such as GPT or Bard) will fail the course and be formally charged through the University’s Academic Integrity process.
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Please try to complete assignments on time. Under ordinary circumstances, papers will be marked down a half point for each day late for the first ten days after the deadline; any paper late more than ten days may be turned in for up to half credit at any time before the week of the final exam.
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This course requires students to be attentive to lectures and class discussion. Please take notes on paper. Do not have a laptop or tablet out during class. If you have an urgent need to check your phone for an important message, please keep your phone on the table (rather than "hiding" on your lap) so you can check it quickly and then set it back down.
Readings
The textbook for the course is World Politics: Interests, Interactions, Institutions, by Frieden, Lake, and Schultz. It is available electronically from the publisher Links to an external site., although used paperback copies are sometimes cheaper Links to an external site.. It is okay to get an older edition.
Reading assignments should be completed before the class session under which they are listed. Most readings are assigned from the textbook. Other readings are linked below.
Course Schedule
Introduction
Monday, January 13
Introduction and overview (slides
Links to an external site.)
Part 1: Conflict
Wednesday, January 15
Violence and Political Objectives (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: The first two chapters of Carl von Clausewitz On War
Links to an external site., and FLS Chapters 1 and 2
Wednesday, January 22
The Russia-Ukraine War (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: The Endgame in Ukraine, BBC.
Links to an external site.
Monday, January 27
Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Iran (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: A Timeline of Israel and Palestine..., Vox.
Links to an external site.
Wednesday, January 29
False optimism (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: FLS Chapters 3 and 4
Monday, February 3
Misperception and pre-emption (slides
Links to an external site.)
Tuesday, February 4
Paper # 1 due
Wednesday, February 5
Preventive war (slides
Links to an external site.)
Monday, February 10
Nuclear weapons (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: FLS Chapter 4
Wednesday, February 12
Insurrections and terrorism (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: FLS, Chapter 6
Monday, February 17
Israeli-Palestinian conflict (slides
Links to an external site.)
Wednesday, February 19
Review
Also: Fall registration (slide
Links to an external site.)
Monday, February 24
Exam #1
Part 2: Cooperation
Wednesday, February 26
Climate change and H5N1 (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: FLS Chapter 13
Monday, March 3
Artificial Intelligence (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: AI is a “tragedy of the commons,” Vox
Links to an external site..
Wednesday, March 5
Presentation workshop (bring laptops to class)
Monday, March 17
Trade (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: FLS Chapter 7
Wednesday, March 19
Trade agreements (slides
Links to an external site.)
Monday, March 24
Why are some countries rich and other countries poor? (slides
Links to an external site.)
Tuesday, March 25, 11 am, Reinsch Hall, Lunch provided
Against Exclusion: Disrupting Anti-Chinese Violence in the 19th Century
Wednesday, March 26
Nuclear proliferation (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: FLS, Chapter 11
Thursday, March 27
Paper #2 due
Monday, March 31
Group presentations
Wednesday, April 2
Human rights (slides
Links to an external site.)
Reading: FLS, Chapter 12
Monday, April 7
Review
Wednesday, April 9
Exam #2
Part 3: American Foreign Policy
Monday, April 14 - class meets online (no in-person class)
Balancing
Wednesday, April 16 - class meets online (no in-person class)
Hegemony
Tuesday, April 22 (yes we are meeting on Tuesday this week, per university schedule)
American foreign policy
Wednesday, April 23
Alliances and presentation workshop
Monday, April 28
Group presentations
Wednesday, April 30
Group presentations
Exam day (if necessary)
Group presentations