International Relations in Global History
| Module title | International Relations in Global History |
|---|---|
| Module code | POL3254 |
| Academic year | 2022/3 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Brieg Powel (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 25 |
|---|
Module description
This module explores the practice of international relations over the long term of global history. In exploring periods and spaces commonly excluded from IR, it reveals different ways of doing relations across periods where the West was not dominant and when the state was but one among many prominent means of organising and governing polities. The module is suitable for any student of IR, the broader social sciences and humanities. The Module blends traditional assessments such as an essay and a pre-seen exam with a reflexive textbook review, to encourage critical awareness of knowledge production; and a podcast, to encourage multimedia proficiency. In the case of the later, no prior specialist knowledge will be required as the necessary skills and software will be provided as part of the module.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to broaden students’ understanding of international relations in global history, with a particular focus on the different ways of doing and thinking about relations across different times and places. It also encourages students to think critically about the ontology of IR and the epistemology of the discipline by exploring the international and its constituent parts in different temporal and spatial settings. Its research-led content introduces students to interdisciplinary approaches across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, to better appreciate the mutually-constitutive influence of complex systems on actors and processes in international relations. Finally, its range of assessment methods and in-class exercises aim to foster multimedia delivery and research skills, thereby equipping students with the skills to communicate and critically engage across multiple deliberative spaces.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Critically appreciate the practices and key actors of international relations across time.
- 2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of alternative ways of doing international relations across time and space.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Critically reflect on the breadth of history traditionally covered by the discipline.
- 4. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the international in relation to other social spaces
- 5. Display awareness of a range of conceptual frameworks to understand the complex and changing interaction between and across polities.
- 6. Demonstrate an ability to problematize settled truths and assumptions about actors, processes, and narratives.
- 7. Demonstrate awareness of contingency in historical socio-political processes.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Study independently and manage time and assessment deadlines effectively.
- 9. Communicate effectively in speech and writing.
- 10. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of the internet, online journal databases, podcasting software, and other IT resources for the purposes of tutorial and assessment preparation.
- 11. Demonstrate effective applied writing.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:
- What is history in IR?
- Actors and relations in IR
- Beginnings: the emergence of the international
- The international & ecosystems
- States, Empires, & international systems
- The ‘rise of the West’ & the non-western international
- Capitalism
- The future of the international
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | 256 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 44 | 22 x 2-hour seminars |
| Guided independent study | 100 | Private study reading and preparing for seminars |
| Guided independent study | 156 | Preparation for coursework (review, essay, & podcast) and pre-seen exam including researching and collating relevant sources; planning the structure and argument; writing up the essay |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual essay plan | 500 words | 1-11 | Peer-assessed |
| Group world region presentation | 10 minutes | 1-11 | Peer-assessed |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | 25 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Textbook review | 15 | 1,500 words | 1-11 | Written |
| Essay | 35 | 3000 words | 1-11 | Written |
| Podcast | 25 | 10 minutes/1,000 words | 1-11 | Written |
| Pre-seen exam | 25 | 1.5 hours | 1-11 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Textbook review | Textbook review (1,500 words) | 1-11 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay | Essay (3000 words) | 1-11 | August/September reassessment period |
| Podcast | Podcast (10 mins/1,000 words) | 1-11 | August/September reassessment period |
| Pre-seen exam | Pre-seen exam (1.5 hours) | 1-11 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
ABU-LUGHOD, JANET. 1991. Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ACHARYA, AMITAV. 2014. Global International Relations (IR) and regional worlds: a new agenda for international studies. International Studies Quarterly 58(4): 647-659.
BHAMBRA, GURMINDER K. 2014. Connected Sociologies. London: Bloomsbury.
BUZAN, BARRY, AND RICHARD LITTLE. 2000. International Systems in World History: Remaking the Study of International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
COHEN, RAYMOND, AND RAYMOND WESTBROOK editors. 2000. Amarna Diplomacy: The Beginning of International Relations. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
CUDWORTH, ERIKA, AND STEPHEN HOBDEN. 2011. Posthuman International Relations: Complexity, Ecologism and Global Politics. London: Zed.
FRANK, ANDRE GUNDER AND BARRY K. GILLS editors. 1996. The World System: Five Hundred Years or Five Thousand? London: Routledge.
GO, JULIAN, AND GEORGE LAWSON editors. 2017. Global Historical Sociology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
HOBSON, JOHN M. 2007. Reconstructing International Relations through world history: oriental globalization and the global–dialogic conception of inter-civilizational relations. International Politics 44(4), 414-430.
JACKSON, PATRICK THADDEUS, and DANIEL H. NEXON. Relations before states: Substance, process, and the study of world politics. European Journal of International Relations 5(3): 291-332.
KAUFMAN, STUART J., RICHARD LITTLE, AND WILLIAM C. WOHLFORTH editors. 2007. The Balance of Power in World History. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
MANN, MICHAEL. 1986[2012]. The Sources of Social Power, Volume 1: A History of Power from the Beginning to AD 1760. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
PHILLIPS, ANDREW AND J.C. SHARMAN. 2015. International Order in Diversity: War, Trade, and Rule in the Indian Ocean. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
SPIER, FRED. 2015. Big History and the Future of Humanity, Second edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
WATSON, ADAM. 1992. The Evolution of International Society. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | none |
| Module co-requisites | none |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 19/02/2020 |
| Last revision date | 19/02/2020 |
