Postgraduate Module Descriptor

POLM502: International Relations: Power and Institutions

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Aims

The main aim of the module is to illuminate why the main concepts and theories in International Relations take the form that they do. This involves exploring the emergence of IR theory in its historical context. It ought subsequently to be possible for students to reflect critically on their own theoretical assumptions and how they shape claims about the future of world politics. For example, the rise of China, can be understood as a modern articulation about long standing views about revisionist powers in modern world politics.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate substantive knowledge of modern IR, the origins of the field, the context in which it developed and the major critical positions adopted towards its development; 2. Identify and discuss the key methodological, conceptual and theoretical debates in IR and demonstrate knowledge in relation to the development of IR as a field of knowledge-production;
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. Demonstrate advanced critical, historical and analytical understanding of the development of IR as a field of academic knowledge-production; 4. Exercise informed judgement concerning the practical implications of abstract political principles and ability to locate arguments within an historical context and to understand the relationship between context and theory;
Personal and Key Skills	5. Conduct independent research, give well-designed presentations, exercise critical judgment, write cogently and persuasively; and 6. Identify spurious conclusions and distinguish rigorous from merely persuasive argument.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

The philosophical origins of contemporary IR
Imperialism and colonialism in an Age of Empires
Intra-imperial rivalry and a world in crisis: from anarchy to the League
The Second World War and the origins of ‘realism’
The management of Cold War bipolarity
The resilience of institutions and the revival of liberalism
The renaissance of critique: Feminism and Critical Theory
The end of the Cold War and the rise of constructivism
Poststructuralism and the discursive construction of world politics
Race and world politics revisited

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
24	276	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	24 hours	12 x 2 hour per week Seminars: Small group work, presentations, discussion, reflection
Guided independent study	200 hours	Reading for and writing essays
Guided independent study	76 hours	Reading for seminars

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).