Department of Politics

Instructor: David W. Loebsack, 308 South Hall. Telephone: 895-4300. Phone messages may be left with faculty secretary Cheryl Dake at 895-4283 or in her voice mail box or on the answering machine in my office. For quickest response, e-mail your questions and comments to dloebsack@cornellcollege.edu

Office Hours: Normally, I will be in my office 11-11:45 (except Tuesdays) and often 2-3:30 or so. Feel free to make an appointment. To help you find me, a schedule of my activities for the week is usually posted on my office door.

E-Mail: In order to take better advantage of technological innovations recently available, I encourage you to deliver your paper and/or rough draft by means of e-mail attachments. If you work on a PC, please save your papers and other submissions in either WordPerfect or Word. Please name your file xxxxx-y, where xxxxx are the first five letters of your last name and y is your first initial. Attach your file to an e-mail addressed to dloebsack@cornellcollege.edu.

Feedback: Whether or not you are asked to complete a standardized course evaluation, I am interested in your comments and suggestions for improvement of the course, the readings, the assignments and this course description. Feel free to send comments as you think of them. E-mail: dloebsack@cornellcollege.edu.

Class Meets: Generally 9-11 but check the daily schedule below for specific times as we will meet some afternoons as well.

Purpose --

This course is intended to introduce students to the major conceptual and empirical issues of the subfield of political science known as international relations. We begin by examining how international relations scholars attempt to organize and explain the complexities of international politics. Next, an overview of the international political-economic system, concentrating on the period since WWII, is presented. Third, we return to a more analytical approach to the subject and discuss the relevant actors on the international stage, levels of analysis, and contemporary issues.

Geographically, this course deals with West-West and North-South issues but also discusses the Cold War, its termination and the implications of the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union since 1989. In addition, we will analyze the politics of international economic relations, revolution in the Third World, the evolving U.S.-Western European and U.S.-Japanese relationships, environmental, gender, resource, and other non-Cold War issues.

Readings -

1. Joshua Goldstein, International Relations, 6th Edition
2. Annual Editions, World Politics 05/06

Requirements -

1. Two exams, the first worth 25% and the second worth 35% of the course grade. The exams will be essay and short answer.
   
2. One 10-page research paper (typed double-spaced with footnotes and bibliography) worth 30% of the course grade (25% for the paper and 5% for the oral presentation). The paper will deal with an issue of international relations such as trade conflicts between the U.S. and Japan, attempts to solve the ethnic disputes in the former Yugoslavia, etc. The paper is due at 5 p.m., Wednesday, April 27. During Week 4, each student will be responsible for a 20-minute oral presentation of his/her findings. Also, you should note that substantial a block of time is reserved solely for a paper conference. For this conference on Friday, April 8, you should be ready to discuss with me not only your topic but also the issues/themes you are researching. At this conference, you need to be prepared to discuss the topic in some detail. There is no rough draft required. However, if you wish me to read one, it must be to me no later than Wednesday, April 20 to allow me time to read it and comment on it by Friday, April 22. You also should note that the rough draft should not be so rough that I would need to edit it extensively. The primary purpose of submitting a rough draft is to get my feedback as to whether you are covering the topic correctly and organizing your thoughts in a logical fashion.
   
   
3. Class participation worth 10% of the course grade. Every student is expected to participate in class discussion and attend your peers' oral presentations. If you fail to attend any of the presentations, you will earn no higher than a C- for class participation.
   
   * You also should be following closely recent developments in various countries that are undergoing significant change (e.g., Russia). To this end, you ought to be reading a good newspaper or newsmagazine such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal or Christian Science Monitor or the weekly news magazine, the Economist. Of course, there is also the ever-popular CNN. I encourage you to explore the resources available via the Internet. However, one word of caution. Be vigilant and wise as to which ones are serious sources of information and which are simply purveyors of propaganda and pseudo-knowledge.

Schedule --

Week 1 -- April 4-8 -

Monday - 9-11 - Introduction. What constitutes international politics? Why study international politics? Who are the actors on the world stage? Historical overview of the international system. Goldstein, Chapter 1.

Tuesday - 9-11 - Meet with Many Swygart-Hobaugh re web-based research College 102.
1-3 - College 20 - Historical overview (continued). How can we analyze international politics? Levels of analysis and theoretical approaches. Goldstein, Chapters 2-3; AE, Chapters 1,4.

Wednesday - 9-11 - Thinking theoretically (continued).

Thursday - 9-11 - Foreign policy - what is it and how do we explain it? Goldstein, Chapter 4.

Friday - Paper conferences all day.

Week 2 -- April 11-15

Monday - 9-11 - International conflict. Goldstein, Chapter 5; AE, Chapters 27, 32-33, 36.

Tuesday - 9-11 - Military force versus international organization and multilateralism. Goldstein, Chapters 6-7; AE, Chapters 11, 22, 29.

Wednesday - 9-11 - Exam 1.

Thursday - 9-11 - International Political Economy - Trade. Goldstein, Chapter 8; AE, Chapters 5, 7, 18, 21, and 24.

Friday - 9-11 - Money and Business. Goldstein, Chapter 9.

Week 3 -- April 18-22

Monday - 9-11 - International Political Economy (continued).

Tuesday - 9-11 - Environmental challenges. Goldstein, Chapter 11; AE, Chapter 38.

Wednesday - 9-11 - North-South relations. Goldstein, Chapter 12; AE, Chapters 19, 30

Thursday - 9-11 - International Development. Goldstein, Chapters 13-14; AE, Chapters 8, 9, 28.

Friday - 9-12 - Exam 2.

Week 4 -- April 25-27

Monday - 9-11 - Paper presentation.
1-3 - Athens room, the Commons - Paper presentations.

Tuesday - 9-11 - Paper presentations.
1-3 - Athens Room, the Commons - Paper presentations.

Wednesday - Paper due at 5 p.m.

Last updated: 04/01
Site manager: dloebsack@cornellcollege.edu