Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor/lectuer Jonathan Symons jonathan.symons@mq.edu.au Contact via Email Room 252, Level 2, 25B Wally's Walk Email to make appointment Lecturer Noah Bassil noah.bassil@mq.edu.au Contact via Email Room B256, Level 2, 25B Wally's Walk Tutor Karim Pourhamzavi karim.pourhamzavi@mq.edu.au Contact via Email
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites 40cp at 1000 level or above OR (10cp in POL or POIR or POIX units)
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit introduces students to the major theories of international relations, key debates that have shaped the discipline and interconnections between theory and the practice of international politics. The first chair of international politics was established after the First World War with the explicit goal of identifying the causes of war and peace. While war and great power conflict remain central concerns, the discipline has grappled with new challenges as de-colonisation and globalisation have created a densely interconnected global system of sovereign states. Students will engage with key themes including power, great power rivalry, nationalism, national interest, critical approaches, justice and cooperation under anarchy.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

ULO1: Collect information from self-selected sources to complete a prescribed research task.
ULO2: Demonstrate a critical understanding of the specific theories used in the study of international relations.
ULO3: Identify and analyse interconnections between international relations theory and contemporary international politics.
ULO4: Demonstrate capacity to apply the major analytic and theoretical frameworks in several subfields of international relations.
ULO5: Discuss theories of world politics in depth with peers.

General Assessment Information

Special Consideration & Late Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Online discussion	25%	No	Ilearn post Wed; turnitin 11.55pm following Thurs
Research essay and presentation	55%	No	11.55pm 23/5/2024; Essay presentation ilearn Wk 13.
Quizzes based on weekly readings	20%	No	Tuesday 11.55pm Weeks 2-10

Online discussion

Assessment Type ¹: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task ²: 25 hours
Due: Ilearn post Wed; turnitin 11.55pm following Thurs
Weighting: 25%

Students will be assessed a) on their participation in the weekly discussion forums on ilearn (10%) and b) on their written submission responding to on one week's discussion activity (15%). Details on ilearn.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Demonstrate a critical understanding of the specific theories used in the study of international relations.
Identify and analyse interconnections between international relations theory and contemporary international politics.
Discuss theories of world politics in depth with peers.

Research essay and presentation

Assessment Type ¹: Essay
Indicative Time on Task ²: 40 hours
Due: 11.55pm 23/5/2024; Essay presentation ilearn Wk 13.
Weighting: 55%

Research essay requiring independent research. Essay questions and marking criteria will be provided on iLearn. Completion of task will require a presentation summarising essay's argument.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Collect information from self-selected sources to complete a prescribed research task.
Demonstrate a critical understanding of the specific theories used in the study of international relations.
Identify and analyse interconnections between international relations theory and contemporary international politics.
Discuss theories of world politics in depth with peers.

Quizzes based on weekly readings

Assessment Type ¹: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task ²: 15 hours
Due: Tuesday 11.55pm Weeks 2-10
Weighting: 20%

Quizzes based on weekly readings – dates and details provided on ilearn.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Demonstrate a critical understanding of the specific theories used in the study of international relations.
Identify and analyse interconnections between international relations theory and contemporary international politics.
Demonstrate capacity to apply the major analytic and theoretical frameworks in several subfields of international relations.

¹ If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

² Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Delivery

Lectures: the lecture is scheduled for Wednesday 11-1pm in 10 Hadenfeld Ave - T1 (classrooms may change, so check the timetable). The lecture will be recorded and available for viewing later via ilearn/echo360.

External and OUA students' participation is assessed via their participation in the external/OUA students' ilearn discussion forum. You should either listen to lectures through Echo360 or attend lectures in person.

Required resources:

In addition to reading that can be accessed through Leganto there is one required text for this unit:

Lawson, Stephanie. (2015). Theories of International Relations: Contending Approaches to World Politics. Polity Press: Cambridge.

Access to this text will be necessary in order to complete the reading quizzes. The library will have a copy of this text (including online access). However, we recommend that you either purchase a copy ahead of semester, or else make sure you complete readings a day or two ahead of quiz due dates in case there are complications with libary access. There may be times when the textbook is not immediately accessible. All other required unit readings will all be available on leganto.

Unit Schedule

Unit Schedule

Week 1 - Wednesday 21 Feb - Introduction

Introduction: Can theory help us to understand world politics? Whose interests does theory serve? In what context and for what purpose was the discipline of International Relations established? What are the political implications of these origins for the work practitioners of international relations and world politics do today.?

Tutorials commence Week 1.

Week 2 - Wednesday 28 Feb - Classical realism and its critics.

First week of weekly reading quizzes - available on iLearn and must be completed by 11.55pm Tuesday evening (27th Feb) which is the night before the lecture. Note that the reading quiz only refers to the required readings and NOT the lecture content, so you do not need to listen to the lecture prior to completing the quiz.

Lecturer: Jon Symons

Week 3 - Wednesday 6 March - Liberal theories of world politics

- Weekly iLearn quiz due by 11.55pm Tuesday prior to class (i.e. the week 3 quiz based on the week 3 readings is due Tuesday 5th March).

- Graded tutorial activity #1 (Students leading class this week must submit notes to turnitin by 11.55pm Thursday).

NB: You should also nominate which essay question you will address this week via the iLearn discussion forum. You are welcome to switch to another question if you change your mind.

Lecturer: Jon Symons

Week 4 - Wed 13th March - Structural theory: Neo-Realism, Neo-Liberal Institutionalism and Neo-classical Realism