Module POL3174 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3174: International Security and US Foreign Policy
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
The aims of this module are to provide you with a detailed examination of US foreign policy. A key emphasis of the course will be to enrich contemporary understandings of international crises and global security through the use of a range of theoretical approaches, keen use of empirical material and solid reasoning. Students taking this course and fully participating will leave with a grasp of international security issues, key debates in US foreign policy and knowledge of potential global strategic trends based on historical evidence and analysis of current developments in global politics.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate substantive knowledge of key issues in international security as they pertain to US foreign policy and develop the capacity to apply this knowledge to a range of theoretical positions, case studies and international crises; 2. display knowledge of the contemporary historical dimensions of US foreign policy and world order; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. develop analytical understanding of the role of great powers, especially the US in helping shape world politics; 4. exercise informed judgment concerning the role of the US in world politics and how this role pertains to international security whilst locating arguments within an historical context; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. conduct independent research, exercise critical judgment, write cogently and persuasively; and 6. demonstrate personal responsibility for knowledge interpretation, assimilation and articulation. |
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:
The first section of this course will provide a broad historical overview of the development of US foreign policy from the early Cold War period up the present day. The second section of this course will examine a broad range of issues that pertain to US foreign policy, and which help the analyst to develop applicable knowledge of key developments in US foreign policy and world politics more generally. Key questions the course will cover include whether the US-led western order is being eclipsed in favour of a more multipolar distribution of power? How can great powers, and especially the US, calibrate its grand strategy to help arrest power transition? In what ways does the global security order that the US helps reproduce help bolster its position within world politics?
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 278 | 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 & Teaching activities | 22 | 11 x 2 hour per week seminars including small group work, presentations, discussion, reflection and simulations. |
| Guided independent study | 150 | Reading |
| Guided Independent Study | 50 | Reflection |
| Guided independent study | 78 | Essay Writing |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
The main resource students will need will be my twitter feed currently @drdws but this will change. Search for Doug Stokes.
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group class presentations | Usually 15 minutes | 1-4,6 | Oral |
| General seminar participation and engagement | Throughout the course | 1-4,6 | Oral |
| Participation in simulations and / or scenario planning. | Up to 2 hours | 1-4,6 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summative essay 1 | 50 | 3,000 words | 1-6 | Written/oral |
| Summative essay 2 | 50 | 3,000 words | 1-6 | Written/oral |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summative essay 1 | 3,000 word essay | 1-6 | August/September re-assessment period. |
| Summative essay 2 | 3,000 word essay | 1-6 | August/September re-assessment period. |
