University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 20

ECTS credits : 10

Level : SCQF level 7

Semester: 1

Availability restrictions: Available only to First Year Students in the Faculties of Arts and Divinity. The maximum enrolment in this module is 475 students. The module is not available to students in second year and above. If the module is over-subscribed at the end of the main advising period (after Wednesday in Orientation Week), a random ballot will be held for students who are not on an International Relations degree programme or a supported pathway (Gateway and FE-HE) programme or Visiting students who have enrolled on the module. Any student who is unsuccessful in the ballot will be contacted and asked to choose an alternative module.

Planned timetable: 10.00 am Mon, Tue, Wed

This module introduces students to the foundational features of the academic discipline of International Relations. It begins by considering what it means to study global politics and then examines a range of key themes including sovereignty and globalisation, power, war and diplomacy, wealth and poverty, and the natural environment. In so doing, the module provides a grounding in core concepts that characterise International Relations.

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 3 x 1-hour lectures (x 10 weeks), 1 x 1-hour tutorial (x 10 weeks). Tutors offer 1h consultation (office) hours (x 10 weeks) and the Year Coordinator holds 2h consultation (office) hours (x 12 weeks). A further consultation session will be offered in week 1 of the following semester.

Scheduled learning hours: 77

Guided independent study hours: 123

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: 50% written examination and 50% coursework


Re-assessment: 100% written examination

Personnel

Module coordinator: Dr M O'Dwyer
Module coordinator email mo71@st-andrews.ac.uk

Intended learning outcomes

• The diligent student completing the requirements of this module will acquire: • An understanding of methods and theories for analysing international relations, which can also be used to analyse a wider range of social and political interactions;
• • An understanding of the relationship between agents and structures at the global level and how such relations constitute politics and social life;
• • Knowledge of how conflicts at the global level arise, how they are managed, and how they fail to be managed at times, leading to outcomes such as war and economic instability;
• • Knowledge of how, despite formal anarchy, the international system can produce cooperative outcomes, such as international organizations and legal regimes;
• • The ability to conduct scholarly research on issues of importance in international relations;
• • The ability to explain and defend arguments through tutorial presentations, writing essays and by examination.