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Instructors: Dr. Angela Oels
Event type:
Seminar
Displayed in timetable as:
AM2: Global Politics
Hours per week:
2
Credits:
4,0
Language of instruction:
English
Min. | Max. participants:
1 | 1
Registration group: AG AM2 (HF, ab WiSe 14/15)
Comments/contents:
This course offers an accessible introduction to global politics. The course reading is the textbook edited by Jenny Edkins und Maja Zehfuss (3rd edition 2019) "Global politics: A new introduction". The book contains a wide range of original contributions by poststructuralist, neo-Marxian and postcolonial scholars of International Relations. The book challenges you to think in new ways about the world and to ask new questions. This is done both by introducing real world case studies of recent events (Black Lives Matter, MeToo) and by combining this with theoretical perspectives.
The book is organized along fundamental questions about the world: Why is the world divided up in nation-states? Why can some people cross borders easily while others cannot? How does the global economy work, what is the role of finance? Is colonialism over or is there a colonial legacy in most North-South relationships? Why is there so much inequality in the world and what can be done about it? Why is there violence and wars within and between states? How do we make sense of environmental destruction and climate change? There are no easy answers to these questions. In answering these questions, the textbook introduces critical analytical perspectives of the discipline of International Relations. The course aims to enable you to ask new kinds of questions about global politics from a critical political science perspective. The focus on poststructuralist, neo-Gramscian and postcolonial perspectives implies that you learn to take the subjects and objects of study as socially constructed and constantly (re-)negotiated. You will see how closely relations of knowledge are implied by relations of power. You learn to trace changes in discursive orders as signs of shifting power relations. As suggested in the final chapter of the book, each of our course sessions is going to ask: "What’s wrong with the world and how can we fix it?"
Learning objectives:
- Basic knowledge about theories of International Relations, in particular poststructuralist, neo-Gramscian and postcolonial theories
- Ability, to ask challenging and critical questions about global politics which are informed by political science perspectives
- Ability to investigate case studies of global politics drawing on theories of International Relations
- Basic knowledge about recent world events
- Basic knowledge about how change can be fostered in world politics, for example by social movements
Didactic concept:
This course is taught online in weekly sessions using Zoom. There is a selection of mandatory readings that all students need to prepare for each session. All course material is presented in OPENOLAT (mandatory reading, presentation slides, instructions for exam papers). We will begin each Zoom session with a short presentation on the week’s topic, prepared by students. The main part of the session will be dedicated to a guided discussion in small groups (break-out rooms) and in the plenary, making sure all important aspects of the week’s topic are covered. We will also use small simulations or ad-hoc role games where suitable.
Literature:
Edkins, J. and Zehfuss, M. (2019) Global Politics: A New Introduction. 3rd edition. London: Routledge.
Additional examination information:
Leistungsanforderungen:
- B.A.-Hauptfach Politikwissenschaft, Aufbaumodul 2 - Regieren in inter- und transnationalen Institutionen: Studienleistungen (siehe A); zusätzlich kann in dem Seminar eine Hausarbeit als Modulabschlussprüfung des AM 2 absolviert werden (siehe B).
- B.A.-Hauptfach Politikwissenschaft, Wahlbereich: Studienleistungen (siehe A); Hausarbeit nicht möglich.
- B.Sc. Volkswirtschaftslehre: Studienleistungen (siehe A) und Hausarbeit (siehe B).
- B.A.-Nebenfach Politikwissenschaft, Fachbezogener Wahlbereich: Studienleistungen (siehe A); Hausarbeit nicht möglich.
A) Studienleistungen (unbenotet):
Mandatory course tasks (required to pass): All students need to study the mandatory reading in advance of each weekly session and be able to summarise the main insights upon request. All students need to pick a date for a mandatory presentation in groups of two or alone. For these selected dates, students are expected to prepare a joint 15-minute-presentation on the topic chosen drawing on a presentation software like Powerpoint or Keynote. The presentation should preferably be presented ‚live‘ in the Zoom session. Moreover, students are asked to develop some guiding questions or to identify a suitable newspaper article/ case study that will deepen the understanding of their topic session. Students who are presenting have to send a draft of the presentation slides and the preliminary ideas for discussion a few days before the presentation date. The course teacher will assist the presenting students by giving feedback in advance of the session. There is a mandatory Zoom meeting with the course teacher a few days before the presentation to finalise the presentation and group work.
B) Modulprüfung:
Prüfungsart: Hausarbeit (essay)
Bewertungsschema: benotet (RPO)
Umfang: min. 3500 - max. 4000 word count (word count does not include bibliography)
Abgabetermin: 01.09.2021 (due date)
Abgabeort: OPENOLAT
Topic of the essay: Please send an exposé (research question, theory, method, outline, literature) for your essay via e-mail to the course teacher to agree on a suitable essay question and to receive some feedback before you start to write it up: angela.oels-1[at]uni-hamburg.de.
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