POLI 202 International Relations and Contemporary Foreign Policy

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of international relations. Students will explore the nature of foreign policy, the idea of national interest, the historic impulses driving foreign policy, the crucial historical challenges shaping foreign policy, the institutional context of foreign policy, and will investigate the challenges facing policy makers today and in the future.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

Eligible to enroll in ENGL 121

Hours Weekly

3 hours weekly

Course Objectives

1. Identify and organize information and ideas about international relations and foreign policy.
2. Generate ideas, explore possibilities, and consider alternative approaches to international relations.
3. Analyze and evaluate ideas or outcomes of various approaches to foreign policy.
4. Apply information and ideas about international relations to other historical contexts.
5. Apply appropriate strategies of inquiry and exploration in order to find, evaluate, and use information ethically in the study of international relations.
6. Explain the concept of geopolitics and apply it to understanding international relations and world politics today.
7. Analyze the role of the US as the only superpower and assess the arguments surrounding the idea of an American empire.
8. Analyze the issues surrounding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
9. Explicate the policy dilemmas associated with the ongoing struggle against terrorism.
10. Write clearly and effectively using appropriate, relevant, and properly attributed content that demonstrates the writer’s understanding of international relations.

Course Objectives

1. Identify and organize information and ideas about international relations and foreign policy.

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Case Study/Reader/ Workbook essays

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric

   Critical Thinking

   • CT1
2. Generate ideas, explore possibilities, and consider alternative approaches to international relations.

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Case Study/Reader/ Workbook essays

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric

   Critical Thinking

   • CT2
3. Analyze and evaluate ideas or outcomes of various approaches to foreign policy.

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Portfolio

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric

   Critical Thinking

   • CT3
4. Apply information and ideas about international relations to other historical contexts.

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Portfolio

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric

   Critical Thinking

   • CT4

   Program Goal(s)

   Degree: Social Sciences - A.A. Degree (Transfer)

   Employ social science concepts, methods, and/or theories to understand behavior, institutions, and/or change over time.

5. Apply appropriate strategies of inquiry and exploration in order to find, evaluate, and use information ethically in the study of international relations.

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Writing Assignments

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Information Literacy Rubric

   Information Literacy

   • IL1
   • IL2
   • IL3

   Program Goal(s)

   Degree: Social Sciences - A.A. Degree (Transfer)

   Apply introductory research skills that social scientists use to gather and interpret information.

6. Explain the concept of geopolitics and apply it to understanding international relations and world politics today.

   This objective is a course Goal Only

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Course assignments/exams

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Course assignments/exams rubric
7. Analyze the role of the US as the only superpower and assess the arguments surrounding the idea of an American empire.

   This objective is a course Goal Only

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Course assignments/exams

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Course assignments/exams rubric
8. Analyze the issues surrounding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

   This objective is a course Goal Only

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Course assignments/exams

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Course assignments/exams rubric
9. Explicate the policy dilemmas associated with the ongoing struggle against terrorism.

   This objective is a course Goal Only

   Learning Activity Artifact

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Course assignments/exams

   Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

   • Other (please fill out box below)
   • Course assignments/exams rubric
10. Write clearly and effectively using appropriate, relevant, and properly attributed content that demonstrates the writer’s understanding of international relations.

    This objective is a course Goal Only

    Learning Activity Artifact

    • Writing Assignments

    Procedure for Assessing Student Learning

    • Other (please fill out box below)
    • Course writing rubric.