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GINT 710

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Fall 2008  W 3:30-6:00 PM  WMBB 136

 

 

 

 

 

Jerel Rosati

Department of Political Science

Gambrell Hall 420

777-2981 (777-3109, main office)

Rosati@sc.edu (Email)

http://www.cla.sc.edu/poli/faculty/rosati/index.htm (Rosati website)

 

 

                Please read the syllabus carefully for I have given great thought to the development of this course.  

 

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

  

                This is a course designed to provide the student with an introduction and overview of global politics and America’s role in the world.  Students will be exposed to a wide-range of knowledge and thought about historical patterns, politics, and the dynamics of global affairs, as well as learn about its impact on everyday human life.  In addition, students will acquire familiarity with key concepts and approaches developed by scholars and practitioners in international studies in order to make sense of world politics.  Another purpose is to help the student sharpen their "skills" as a critical thinker, an analyst, and an effective communicator.

 

                The course focuses not only on acquiring knowledge and understanding of the globalization historically and in the present, but into the twenty-first century.  It is hoped that by the end of the semester you will find the course to be informative, interesting and enjoyable.

 

 

REQUIREMENTS

 

                Students will be evaluated through class participation and  written essays.  The intent behind these requirements is to have you study and think about the course material throughout the semester--to provide you with numerous opportunities to demonstrate the knowledge you have acquired and to get feedback--in order to maximize your ability to learn and grow as a student.

 

                1.  Class Participation (10%).  In order to get the most out of class, you must be prepared when you come to class.  Students are required to complete the readings prior to class meetings and to come to class ready to discuss them.  You are also expected to keep abreast of current international issues. I expect everyone to participate actively in the discussion of the day.

                You may also be asked to complete very short exercises, usually written, in class and out of class revolving around communicating an understanding of the readings.  SHOULD YOU MISS A CLASS, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LEARNING WHAT WENT ON IN CLASS FROM YOUR CLASSMATES.

 

                2.  Written Assignments (30% each).  All assignments are to be completed on time.  Late assignments will have to meet higher expectations.  Further information about the written essays is provided at the end of the syllabus. 

 

                Missing an assignment or examination.  If you cannot fulfill a requirement by the due date, as a matter of courtesy I expect that you will contact me (or the POLI office, 7-3109) WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE DUE DATE and provide a legitimate explanation (e.g., medical illness) with evidence eventually provided.  Assignments which are allowed to be completed after the due date will be expected to meet higher standards given the additional time granted. 

 

 

GRADES

 

                Your grade will be based, not on how well you do compared to others in the class, but on the quality of substantive knowledge, quality of analysis, and effective communication demonstrated--in other words, the level of understanding demonstrated.  An A represents "excellence"; a B+ represents "very good"; a B represents "good".  Grades below B indicate that the level of work in the course is below the level expected of graduate students.  Therefore, you should work together and help each other out.

 

 

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY AND STRATEGY

  

                The class will be structured around what I call a class dialogue in which information, knowledge, and thought will be generated through lecture/background, discussion, and, in particular, the Socratic method.  I will often play the role of provocateur and advocate to stimulate participation.  The class dialogue emphasizes the importance of student participation and active learning as a means to improve one's skills, interest, information, knowledge, and, ultimately, understanding.  In essence, class discussions will consist of an active exchange between the student and professor.  When deemed necessary, background will be provided for some of the more difficult material and to provide appropriate context.

 

                The class is organized around the required readings and their topics.  I expect every student to come to class prepared and participate.  Every student should be able to summarize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate each assigned reading by addressing the following questions:  

                1. What is the author's purpose?

                2. What is the basic theme(s) or argument(s) of the reading?

3. What are the most important historical events, information, concepts, etc. discussed in the reading?

4. How does this reading relate to the other readings and to the central themes & topics of the course?

5. How powerful or weak is the argument and the evidence?  Why? 

Students also are encouraged to offer comments or questions which contribute to class discussions on a regular basis.

 

                PLEASE NOTE.  THERE IS CONSIDERABLE READING SINCE THIS IS A GRADUATE COURSE.  I EXPECT YOU TO DO ALL OF THE READING IN A TIMELY FASHION.

 

                Please come to class on time and be courteous at all times.

 

 

NATURE OF THE COURSE

 

                 One ultimate purpose of higher education and the offering of this course is to broaden your knowledge and understanding about the world around you--to learn about things that you probably don't know much about and to think about things that you haven't given much thought to.  At the same time, I recognize that many individuals hold strong beliefs and feelings about things that involve the world and, in particular, the country you are from (such as the U.S.)--often based more on faith and emotion rather than substantive knowledge.  Therefore, some of the material in this course may be controversial and will challenge you to think about many beliefs and assumptions you hold (and have rarely examined).

 

                Your role is to act as student, social scientist, or policy analyst, not policymaker, activist, or true believer.  The purpose of the class is to better understand the contemporary nature of world politics, regardless of what your feelings and opinions are about that reality.  Learning and understanding are to be accomplished through the accumulation of information and knowledge and reliance on an open and critical mind.

 

                Hopefully, this course will increase your knowledge by having you acquire:

                   i) lots of information,

                   ii) appreciate the complexity and contradictions of reality,

                   iii) recognize patterns and make generatizations supported by evidence, and

                   iv) recognize and think about different views (including my view which I will provide).

These are the building blocks to knowledge and understanding.

 

 

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR (should you be interested)

 

                Jerel Rosati is a Professor of political science and international studies and has been a member of the Department of Government and International Studies at Carolina since 1982.  He enjoys learning in general. His intellectual interests range from American politics and history, United States foreign policy, the Vietnam War and the sixties to the dynamics of world politics, global change and the rise and decline of civilizations. His area of specialization is the theory and practice of foreign policy, focusing on the United States policymaking process, decision-making theory, and the political psychological study of human cognition.  He has been awarded the Outstanding Professor of the Year in the Humanities and Social Sciences by the South Carolina (Honors) College, the Outstanding Teacher in International Studies in the Department of Government & International Studies, Excellence in Teaching by the University of South Carolina Alpha Chapter of the Mortar Board Honor Society, and Outstanding Teacher in Political Science by the American Political Science Association and Pi Sigma Alpha (The National Political Science Honor Society).  In addition to the usual undergraduate and graduate students, he has also been awarded, and participated in, a number of instructional grants at the state and federal level (usually through the U.S. Department of State) as Academic Director, Field Director, and/or Project Director where he has taught students and scholars from all over the world, including Bulgarians, Chinese, Israelis and Palestinians, Somalis, Master’s of International Business students, and high school teachers. In 2002 he was the original Program Director and Academic Director of a U.S. Department of State Fulbright American Studies Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy for 18 scholars-practitioners from all over the world (which completed its final year in 2007). 

                He has been a Visiting Professor at Somalia National University in Mogadishu and Visiting Scholar at China’s Foreign Affairs College in Beijing. He also has been a Research Associate in the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division of the Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service, President of the International Studies Association's Foreign Policy Analysis Section, and President of the Southern region of the International Studies Association.  He is the author of over forty articles and chapters, as well as five books including The Carter Administration's Quest for Global Community: Beliefs and Their Impact on Behavior, The Power of Human Needs in World Society, Foreign Policy Restructuring: How Governments Respond to Global Change, The Politics of United States Foreign Policy (4^th edition and translated in Mandarin Chinese, German, and Russian), and Readings in the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy (also translated in Mandarin Chinese).

                He enjoys travel, athletics, music, reading, food and spirits, family and friends, good company, and relaxing.  His father had duo-citizenship (American and Italian), and fought in World War II (on the allied side); his mother was born and raised in Florence, Italy and came to the United States as a war bride; and he retains close family in Italy. He came of age during the early seventies as an undergraduate at U.C.L.A when the events surrounding the Vietnam War and Watergate reached a crescendo, which had a profound impact on his intellectual and personal development to the present day.  In the last few summers, he has taught “Understanding Politics Through Film” and “The Vietnam War,” was a major participant in the six-week Fulbright American Studies Institute on U.S. Foreign Policy for 18 scholars-practitioners from all over the world, did field research twice in Colombia as part of a Witness for Peace delegation on coal-mining by MNCs and the role of free (v. fair) trade, its impact on development and local communities (especially Afro-Colombians and indigenous people). He recently returned from Cuba and from Argentina as Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of San Andreas in Buenos Aries teaching and lecturing on American politics and U.S. foreign policy.

 

 

CONTACTING ME AND INTERACTING

  

                Please feel free to come see me during my office hours or any other time I am free.  If you have any questions or complications that I should be aware, feel free to contact me.

 

                The best way to contact me is probably through email.  My email address is:  rosati@sc.edu.  I am good about checking my email and responding throughout the workweek.  I am much less likely to check my email during the weekend.

 

                Please check your emails, for I may send you articles and updates on the class.

              

                                                                                                 *    *    *

                THIS SYLLABUS REFLECTS THE EXPECTATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS YOU MUST FULFILL.  I EXPECT YOU TO TAKE THE COURSE SERIOUSLY AND WORK HARD--WHICH IS, AFTERALL, THE KEY TO LEARNING AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH.

 

REQUIRED BOOKS

 

                Jarod Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (Norton, 1997)

 

Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization (2^nd edition, 2000)

 

                Paul Harrison, Inside the Third World (third edition, Penguin, 1993)  [purchase on the internet]

 

                James F. Hoge, Gideon Rose, and James F. Hoge Jr., America and the World: Debating the New Shape of International Politics (Foreign Affairs, 2003)

 

                Aldous Huxley, Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited (New York: Harper, 2004) [purchase the 2004 version, with the Foreword by Christopher Hitchens, on the internet or through a bookstore]

 

                Emailed articles and updates.  Additional readings may be on Course Website (CW) or emailed to you (free; just print out). I will periodically send you a brief article on a contemporary issue to read via email. PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL REGULARLY FOR ARTICLES, REMINDERS, AND UPDATES FOR THE CLASS (try to keep it clean and trash unnecessary emails so your “free” email account has enough space to get emails and attachments).

 

                The course revolves around the required readings and are intended to be accessible and diverse so as to improve your ability to acquire an understanding. The required readings for each week are specified under Course Topics and Readings below.

 

                The books should be available at the University Russell House bookstore, as well as the two off-campus bookstores. If no books are at the stores, be “proactive”–inquire if and when they will come in.  You can always purchase them online (at www.barnesandnoble.com,  www.amazon.com., www.powells.com, or www.abebooks.com, as well as other websites), or through the telephone.  If you’re still having problems, notify (email) me as soon as possible.

 

                For those of you with little background in international relations or who are not up-to-date on the contemporary study of international relations, I recommend that you read or peruse the following excellent introductory textbooks:

 

Barry B. Hughes, Continuity and Change in World Politics: The Clash of Perspectives (Prentice-Hall);

                Richard W. Mansbach, The Global Puzzle: Issues and Actors in World Politics (Houghton Mifflin);

                *Especially, Torbjorn L. Knutsen, A History of International Relations Theory (Manchester University Press, 1992).

 

RECOMMENDED SOURCES (web addresses can be found at my website)

 

                Following Contemporary Affairs.  It is also expected that you will follow contemporary affairs through the media during this semester more than you might normally be accustomed.  You may want to sign up and receive FREE email subscriptions to: 

– The two most influential American media sources are: The New York Times at www.nytimes.com, register and check The Daily Headlines (Daily Featured Section); or The Washington Post @ www.washingtonpost.com/;

-- on radio, National Public Radio have excellent news programs in the evening (“All Things Considered” at 4 to 6 pm on weekday evenings) and on weeks.  They can be picked up throughout the state and the country. They are at 91.3 FM in Columbia (and between 88 and 92 wherever you are in the U.S.).  Their website is @ www.npr.org/;

-- on TV, Frontline is the best investigative program on PBS on specific topics, especially U.S. foreign policy and the Iraq War.  It come on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. on S.C. ETV and they have a terrific website @ www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ with lots of additional information and links—where many of their one hour programs can be viewed online in their entirety.

– (for a European, especially British, perspective) The Economist  at www.economist.com, check Politics This Week, or BBC News at http://news.bbc.co.uk/, subscribe to BBC Daily Email;

-- for a powerful media voice in the Arab world see Al Jazeera @ http://english.aljazeera.net/News;

– (for perspectives from around the world) World Press Review at www.worldpress.org, check World Press Review Newsletter. Newslink  is probably the best website for accessing news sources throughout U.S. and the world.

 

                Other Recommended Sources.  The national news--on network television--is strongly encouraged as well. Additional recommended mainstream and alternative media sources for following contemporary affairs can be found on MY WEBSITE. 

                                                                                               

 

                                                                        COURSE TOPICS AND READINGS

 

 

                                                   [If you miss a class, you are responsible for contacting a classmate

                                                                   to find out the reading and class assignments.]

 

                                                [Please bring the required readings with you to class for each session.]

 

                HELPFUL INFORMATION:

                – Each numerical topic below refers to one class session and lists the required (and recommended, if any) readings for that session

                – Read and be able to summarize the required readings

– Recommended readings are just that: recommended if you would like additional information and knowledge

– We will often begin the class or integrate within the class contemporary issues and the contemporary articles I email you.  Remember: you are responsible for staying abreast of contemporary affairs.

                – For required articles sent by email or on the course website, print them out, read, and save.

                – Sometimes you may be told to peruse as opposed to read.  This means that you should quickly read/scan (do not read word for word) the material for the main topic/major points/the thrust of the reading.

                – PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR ARTICLES AND UPDATES ON THE CLASS

 

 

COURSE INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

 

1. Introduction and Overview (Aug 27)

Read over syllabus closely; come to next class with any questions.

 

                FIRST MANDATORY EMAIL/INFORMATION ASSIGNMENT.  Due by Friday, August 22. Email me the following information as a list in the following numerical order (you cannot get a passing grade unless you fulfill this assignment):

                Put as your subject heading: GINT 710 email assignment.

                   1)  name (as registered)

                   2)  social security #

                   3)  phone numbers (home; work; cell; other)

                   4)  email address [I HIGHLY RECOMMEND AVOIDING HOTMAIL GIVEN ALL ITS PROBLEMs]

                   5)  major field of concentration

                   6)  class (e.g., first year graduate)

                   7)  M.A. or Ph.D. oriented?

                   8)  career goal?

                   9)  do you work during school?  hours per week? what do you do?

                  10) home town (raised most of life)?

                  11) where have you traveled outside the U.S.?  If not outside the U.S., then outside the southeast?

                  12) list three things that you love to do or are passionate about

                  13) describe your first “international political experience” (in person or through, e.g., t.v.)

                  14) What is your purpose getting a graduate degree and for your career goal? What would you like to accomplish internationally?

 

THE MAKING OF THE CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL ERA

 

2. The Rise of Civilization

read Diamond, prologue, parts I and II (Sept 3)

 

3. The Rise of Civilization Continued

read Diamond, parts III and IV and epilogue (Sept 10)

 

ESSAY #1 DUE.  IN NO MORE THAN THREE PAGES, PROVIDE THE BASIC ARGUMENT AND A SUMMARY OF DIAMOND.

 

CONTEMPORARY GLOBALIZATIONS

 

4. The Conventional Western-American Liberal View (Sept 17)

read Friedman, foreword, opening scene, parts I and II

 

5. An Alternative Developing Global View (Sept  24)

read Harrison, preface, introduction, parts I-II

read Kenneth Maxwell, "Adios Columbus," New York Review of Books (January 28, 1993), pp. 38-45

 

6. The Conventional Western-American Liberal View Continued (Oct 1)

Read Friedman, part III and IV

 

7. An Alternative Developing Global View Continued (Oct 8)

Read Harrison, parts III and IV

 

8. An Alternative Developing Global View Continued (Oct 15)

Read Harrison, part 5 and overview

               

9. More Alternative Global Views (Oct 22)

Read Vandana Shiva, Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply (South End Press, 2000)

read Helen Epstein, “Time of Indifference,” New York Review of Books (April 12, 2001), pp. 33-38

 

                ESSAY # 2 DUE.  IN NO MORE THAN THREE PAGES, PROVIDE THE BASIC ARGUMENT, SUMMARY, AND A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FRIEDMAN AND HARRISON. 

 

THE FUTURE OF GLOBALIZATION AND MODERNITY

 

10. The End of History, The Clash of Civilizations, The Coming Anarchy? (Oct 29)

read Foreign Affairs, Rose, Fukuyama, Hungtington, Hungtington, Ajami, Kaplin, Ikenberry

 

11. The West, Liberalism, Capitalism, Technological Change and anti-globalization? (Nov 5)

read Foreign Affairs, Zakaria, Plattner, Rodrik, Dollar & Kraay

read also Robert Skidelsky, “The Chinese Shadow,” The New York Review of Books (December 1, 2005)

 

12. The West, Liberalism, Capitalism, Technological Change and anti-globalization continued? (Nov 12)

read Foreign Affairs, Zakaria, Doran, Walt

read Caroline Morehean, “Women and Children for Sale,” The New York Review of Books (October 11, 2007)

read Janet Raloff, “The Ultimate Crop Insurance,” Science (September 11, 2004)

read Jim Hansen, “The Threat to the Planet,” The New York Review of Books (July 13, 2006)

 

13. A Brave New World?

Read Huxley, all

               

(Nov 26) Thanksgiving holiday

 

14. More Competing Perspectives on Globalization and the U.S. role in the 21^st century (Dec 3)

read Foreign Affairs, Kupchan, Kagan, Brooks & Wohlforth, Betts, Bush, Ikenberry

read also Nicholas Carr, The Atlantic (July/August 2008), pp. 56-63

 

                 ESSAY #3 DUE.  IN NO MORE THAN FOUR PAGES, GIVEN ALL THE READINGS WE HAVE COVERED, WHAT IS THE LIKELY  FUTURE OF GLOBALIZATION AND THE WORLD?  WHAT IS AMERICA’S LIKELY FUTURE ROLE IN THAT WORLD?  WHAT, IF ANYTHING, CAN BE DONE?  EXPLAIN.