Course syllabus - High Point University

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
PSC 2710, High Point University
Dr. Mark Setzler
Spring 2012 Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Mark Setzler
Seminars: Mon., Wed., & Fri: 1:25 - 2:25
Meeting Place: Congdon Hall, rm. 355
Office Hours:
M, W: 2:15 – 3:15
T & TH: 9:15 – 10:15
F: 9:00 – 10:00
or by appointment
Contact Information:
Office: Qubein Hsll, rm. 365
Work phone: 336/841-9018
Home phone: 336/834-0185
Email: msetzler@highpoint.edu
Web: http://www.highpoint.edu/~msetzler
UNIVERSITY CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
This course explores how global and domestic politics interact to shape foreign policy behaviors, strategic alliances,
and interactions among nations. Students will investigate why countries choose to cooperate or engage one another
in conflict, how globalization and the changing fortunes of the world’s most powerful nations are reshaping the roles
and power of international institutions, and the extent to which nations are likely to work together to solve the most
pressing international problems of our day.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE :
This lower division seminar surveys the use of military, economic, and other forms of power in the post-Cold War
international system. The course's main units are structured around three big questions: Why do countries act the
way they do Under what circumstances and how do nations work together to address serious collective challenges
What are the main opportunities and threats that will shape global politics in the 21st century In the first unit, we,
we will learn, critique, and apply the main theories and concepts of the international relations discipline, tackling
questions such as: Why are governments so reluctant to cooperate with other countries even within world regions
where multiple societies share virtually-identical socioeconomic and cultural characteristics Why do so many
countries strongly enforce one set of political, economic, and cultural values within their own societies only to
eschew these same norms when dealing with other nations The second course unit explores the central institutions
and processes driving contemporary international politics, asking among other questions: How powerful are
international organizations and regimes Who runs these organizations and for what ends Why are the central
threats to international security—international conflict, genocide, and severe economic inequality among nations—
still commonplace in our unprecedentedly prosperous world In the final unit, we will investigate several of the most
consequential developments for the future of international relations, including growing resource scarcity, the decline
of American hegemony, the rise of China and regional power blocks, and the growing influence of international
norms on domestic political behaviors.
One of the main goals of this class is to stimulate student input, questions, and discussion. In most seminars, I will
either present new materials or lead discussions of your assigned readings. In both cases, I typically will organize our
dialog around a loosely-structured, lecture format that relies on active, informed class participation. Please make the

most of our seminar discussions and class exercises by consistently coming to class well-read and fully prepared to
ask questions, to comment insightfully on the day's reading assignments, and to engage the ideas and perspectives of
other students.
COURSE OBJECTIVES (After completing this course, you should be able to do the following):
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of and an ability to apply concretely the main concepts and
theories that social scientists—especially political scientists, economists, and political sociologists—use to study
interactions between countries and societies.
• Demonstrate a broad familiarity with the leading political, economic, and social issues driving contemporary
inter-state relations in the world today.
• Be able to explain, appreciate, critically analyze, and compare a variety of non-US cultural views vis-à-vis
mainstream American perspectives on leading international relations issues and policy preferences.
• Be able to explain and critically analyze the role of the international community and globalization in
transforming domestic political, economic, and social relations across various types of societies.
• Be able to identify, compare, and articulate cross-cultural variations in strategic interests, international policy
priorities, and relations with the international community for a number of specific, highly-influential nation
states and world regions, including: India, China, Iran, Iraq, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the nations of
sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey, the United States, and Western Europe.
• Be able to identify, analyze, and compare the most influential international organizations in the contemporary
global economic and political system, including most prominently the UN, the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank,
and leading international non-governmental actors.
READING SOURCES AND REQUIRED MATERIALS:
• A textbook: Joshua S. Goldstein, Jon C. Pevehouse. 2012. International Relations, 10 th (Full) edition.
Longman Publishing.
• Numerous academic journal and news magazine articles. High Point's library subscribes electronically
to almost all of your non-text reading assignments. While you are free to locate these materials by using the
library’s on-line resources on your own, most students will probably want to download the readings from the
links and archives I have placed on the course's website for the sake of convenience (you can access readings by
following the electronic links I have embedded in the on-line version of the assignments schedule). To open and
read many of the assignments downloaded from the course website, you will need to use a PDF reader of some
type. You will also need a class-specific password that will be provided in class.
STUDENT ASSESSMENT:
• Two in-class unit examinations: 30 percent of the course grade. At the end of the first two course
units, you will take in-class examinations that assess your understanding of the unit's assigned materials—
including feature-length films that will be assigned for out-of-class viewing—as well as discussion from our
seminar meetings. Both tests will count the same towards your final grade, and they will each include a
battery of true-false questions as well as several essay items. The true-false questions will assess your
familiarity with major concepts from the unit; this section will be worth one-fourth of your test grade. The
more heavily weighted section of open-ended questions will assess how well students can apply evidence
from seminar materials to analyze important concepts, theories, principles, and events. In preparing for
exams, please carefully consult your focus questions as well as my on-line rubric detailing how the short answer
questions will be graded.
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• Two analytical essays: 20 percent. After each of first two course units, you will write an analytical essay
on a major theme covered in the course unit. You must write at least one of these papers, but are welcome to
do both (in which case, the paper grades will be averaged). Papers should be no shorter than 1750 words
(approximately 6-7 pages), excluding the citations and bibliography. These essays must be completed using
only the assigned materials, and they will be graded using the detailed criteria that I have placed in a handout
on the course website.
• An op-ed article: 10 percent. On the last day of the semester, you will submit a typed essay that is no
shorter than 1000 words in length (3-4 pages). Drawing upon a limited amount (a minimum of five sources)
of independent research, your essay will argue that the United States government should pursue a specific
course of action with respect to a major global problem that will require the coordinated response of multiple
countries. You will receive more detailed instructions later in the term.
• A final examination: 25 percent. Your final exam will have two components. The first part of the test is
worth 15 percent of your course grade, and it will be similar in structure and grading criteria the
examinations taken after the first two class units. It will focus exclusively on course materials from Unit 3.
The second part of your final will be a long essay worth 10 percent of your course grade. It will address one or
more of the major themes covered in the course as a whole. The essay topic will be given to you on the last
day of class.
• Participation and professional conduct: 15 percent. Your thoughtful, informed participation will
further this course's learning objectives. Obviously, you must be in class to contribute and get the most
out of class discussion. Your questions, insights, and opinions—especially those directed at the assigned
readings and the course materials—are encouraged and valued. If it is apparent that many students are
not adequately prepared to discuss assigned materials, I reserve the right to use graded pop quizzes as a
primary measure of participation. To calculate your base participation grade, I will use a rubric that I have
placed on the course’s website to assign a separate grade at mid-term and at the end of the course. If you
are unsure of what is expected of you with respect to class participation, please see me after you have
reviewed the participation assessment hand-out that I have placed on the course website.
My approach to assessing classroom participation and professionalism aims to help you exercise the selfdiscipline
required to remain intellectually engaged for significant periods of time and to take notes
effectively by hand in learning settings where the discussion infrequently follows a rigid, predetermined
path. Both of these skills are broadly required in professional work settings, and your mastery of them will
likely to prove critical to your advancement with future employers. While the inappropriate use of
electronic devices and similarly distracting behaviors are obviously unprofessional, even when laptops
and phones are used exclusively to take class notes, they virtually eliminate eye contact and the other
types of non-verbal communication that allow for meaningful conversations to take place. As such,
multiple violations of course policies listed below concerning the use of electronic devices will result in an
F being assigned for your course participation grade.
FINAL GRADING SCALE:
The university’s catalog requires grade assignments to accurately reflect each student’s performance. A
range grades must be reserved for students whose work is “of a markedly superior quality,” which means
that these grades will only be assigned to exceptional work that is of the highest quality typically found in
courses at this level. Bs will reflect student work that is both “excellent” and “clearly above average.” C
range grades will be assigned to work that is both “satisfactory” and consistent with the performance of
an “average student” taking a course at this level. Ds will be recorded where a student's work is
“unsatisfactory,” such that it is evident that the student does not understand or cannot communicate
many of the course’s basic elements and materials. Fs are assigned when a student's work has not been
completed or is so deficient that it does not merit college credit. Grades will be compiled throughout the
term using a numerical scale:
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A: 92.5-100 percent
A-: 90.0-92.49
B+: 87.5-89.99
B: 82.5-87.49
B-: 80.0-82.49
C+: 77.5-79.99
C: 72.5-77.49
C-: 70.0-72.49
D: 60.0-69.99
COURSE POLICIES:
• Academic dishonesty. I fully support and enforce the university's Honor Code. As a condition of
membership in the university community, every High Point Student is honor-bound to refrain from
cheating, collusion, and plagiarism. You are also honor-bound to report violations of the honor code
should you ever observe them. Without exception, students taking or facilitating an inappropriate
academic advantage will be have an honor code violation noted in their permanent University file
and be sanctioned according the applicable college policy. Acts of academic dishonesty include the
presentation of another student's or author's ideas as one's own work, misconstruing the
circumstances under which classes and deadlines have been missed, purposefully misreporting
paper counts, and inaccurately representing that assignments have been completed.
• You may not use phones, laptops, or other electronic devices. Unless you are granted an
explicit exemption by your instructor (requests will be evaluated on a case by case basis and
permission make revoked at any time at your instructor's discretion), you may not take notes with or
otherwise use any electronic device other than a voice recorder during our seminar meetings. The
penalties for violating this policy are described in the section above on the assessment of
participation.
• Instructor availability outside of the classroom. Please know that I want students to learn as
much as they can from this class and to receive good grades. You are strongly encouraged to make
an individual appointment with me should you have undue difficulty successfully completing your
work. Please feel free to call me at home (834-0185) if an issue is urgent, and I am not available at
the office. I am willing to schedule meetings outside of my posted office hours for reasons of privacy
or when your schedule requires it. I have young children, so please do not call me at home after 8:00
p.m. or before 8:00 a.m. If you need to leave a message for me outside of class or scheduled office
hours, you may also contact me via electronic mail. I usually check to see if I have new messages a
few times each day. Meeting with students during office hours is one of the most important and
enjoyable aspects of my job. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, my door is almost
always open for several hours each day and special appointments will be made as necessary.
• Papers and assignments must be submitted in both hard copy and by e-mail
attachment. For purposes of record keeping, you required to submit a copy of all typed
assignments by e-mail. Copies of work should be sent to me by the time they are due by e-mail
attachment from your HPU e-mail account and in a format that can be opened by MS Word. If you
need help meeting these requirements, please see me for assistance during the first week of the
semester.
• Make-up tests and quizzes. You are required to take all exams and quizzes on the days they are
given, and make-up work for unscheduled absences will not be allowed except in the case of serious
extenuating circumstances that can be verified (e.g., a serious illness). As likely will be the case with
your future employers, I am much more flexible about rescheduling work and giving extensions
when you provide advance notice and a reasonable justification for needing to move an assignment's
due date. If you know you will not be able to make a paper deadline or take a test on the scheduled
day for a compelling reason (e.g. participation in university-sponsored event), you need to make
arrangements with me, in person, well before the day the test is given. Please note that when a
make-up test is granted, I reserve the right to alter the structure of that exam from what was given to

the rest of the class. For reasons of exam security and out of fairness to all students, I do
not give early examinations (including the final), so you need to make your travel
plans accordingly.
• Class attendance policy. Your punctual attendance at every class meeting is expected. Any
student who misses more than four classes during the term may be withdrawn from the course at my
discretion. Should you miss three classes, paperwork will be filed with the college, requiring you to
attend a meeting with our Academic Services staff to discuss the educational impact of your
absenteeism. If you are unable to attend class for any reason, you are responsible for obtaining all
missed materials. Please be aware that punctual, regular attendance makes up an integral part of
your class participation grade.
• E-Mail accounts. All students are required to have an active HPU email account that they
regularly check. Like most faculty and staff at the university, I assume that any message sent to your
university mailbox will be accessed by you within a couple of days; be advised that I may use your
HPU account to distribute important course materials or announcements. If you have any questions
about appropriate etiquette when professionally communicating with me through e-mail, please
consult my on-line handout addressing e-mail usage.
• Disability accommodations. Students who require classroom accommodations due to a
diagnosed disability must submit the appropriate documentation to Disability Support in the Office
of Academic Development, 4th Floor Smith Library. Requests for accommodations should be made
at the beginning of a course. Accommodations are not retroactive. Contact Rita Sullivant,
Coordinator of Disability Support, rsulliva@highpoint.edu, 336-841-9061 for additional
information.
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COURSE TOPIC SCHEDULE AND MAJOR ASSIGNMENT DEADLINES
The typical reading load in this class is 75-100 pages each week, which should be completed
before the applicable seminar. Please consult the on-line version of this document for more
detail and links to your readings and assignments. Many of the readings will be
downloaded and require a password to be opened: icecream
UNIT I: UNDERSTANDING STATE BEHAVIOR
January 9 (M)—Introduction to the course
January 11 (W)—What is the study of “International Relations” about
January 13 (F)—Getting started with some basic concepts
January 16 (M)—Martin Luther King Day, no class
January 18 (M)—What are the defining qualities of “the modern state system”
January 20 (F)—How has the international system of global power evolved in the in the 20th C
January 23 (M)—Leaders, the sociopolitical structures, or the international system: How do “levels” of
analysis help us to predicts what countries do
January 25 (W): How can the theories of “realism” and “liberalism” help us to predict state actions
January 27 (F)—Is international politics what we (or at least what those of us of who are well off) choose to
make it “Marxist” and “constructivist” theories of state behavior
January 30 (M)—Is globalization a new international system with different rules of state behavior
February 1 (W)—How is globalization transforming states and societies in the developing world
February 3 (F)—Examination 1
UNIT II: INTERNATIONAL REGIMES, BEHAVIOR, & INSTITUTIONS
February 6 (M)—Who needs international organizations What are the alternatives
February 8 (W)—Why and how contemporary war is waged
February 10 (F)—Is there an international solution to national insecurity
February 13 (M)—Paper 1 is due electronically and in hard copy by the start of class
February 13 (M) & 15 (W)—How does the United Nations work and what does it do
February 17 (F)—Can we make the United Nations work better to reduce international conflict
February 20 (M)—Is there an international solution to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
February 22 (W)—How and to what extent do international regimes regulate the global economy
February 24 (F)—How do (and should) international institutions respond to economic crises )
February 27 (M)—Why do countries trade, and how do global institutions shape economic exchange
February 29 (W)—To what extent is global development really an “international” issue
March 2 (F)—Why are some poor countries benefiting from globalization while others are not
March 5, 7, & 9—No class: Spring break
March 12 (M)—Are there international solutions to problems of development and underdevelopment
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March 14 (W)—Have we finally moved beyond anarchy and sovereignty International law and human
rights
March 16 (F)— Examination 2
UNIT III: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
March 19 (M)—Should the world fear or embrace American hegemony
March 21 (W) Is American empire in trouble
March 23 (F)—What happens when America no longer leads
March 26 (M)— Paper 2 is due electronically and in hard copy by the start of class
March 26 (M)—The Chinese economic miracle and global politics
March 28 (W)—Imperial ambitions China's foreign relations
March 31 (F)—The US-Chinese relationship: The next Cold War
April 2 (M)—What does the emergence of the EU mean for global politics
April 4 (W)— Is the EU sustainable Can the model travel
April 6, 9— No class: Easter break
April 11 (W)—Does globalization have a dark side
April 13 (F)—How can a system of states deal with global criminal and terrorist networks
April 16 (M)—The op-ed assignment is due electronically and in hard copy by the start of
class
April 16 (M)—Clashes of civilizations Culture, nationalism, and international relations
April 18 (W)—Is Islamic nationalism a global threat
April 20 (F)—Is civilizational conflict inevitable or constructed
April 23 (M)—Course wrap-up: What did you learn in this class
During this week, please make sure to complete the University's on-line course
evaluation for this class. The evaluations system is open the last week of classes but ends before
exams start.
Final examination. Your third exam will be taken during the university-scheduled exam period
for this class, which is: Friday, April 27: 1:30 – 4:30 pm. When making plans to leave for summer
break, you must make travel arrangements to reflect your need to be on campus for our final.
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