International Relations

This course aims to introduce you to several of the more prominent IR theories that now pervade the discipline: Realism, Liberalism, Marxism, Critical Theory, Normative Theory, Feminism, Historical Sociology, Post-Modernism, Social Constructivism, Green Political Theory, and Evolutionary Biology. In this sense, IR theory is the language that you need to learn in order to make sense of much, if not all, of the wide range of discourse and debate that transpire in IR circles. The course operates primarily in the ‘system’ level and gives special attention to political realism (Realpolitik)–the oldest and, arguably, the most popular theoretical perspective in the field–and recent ‘constructivist’ work. In the broadest terms, the course explores the place(s) of power, institutions, and values in international relations.