Schedule of Classes and Assignments

NOTE: IGP refers to the text by Steven Lamy, Introduction to Global Politics.

Week #1

Monday, January 11 : Introduction to the course.

Quiz: Ch 1 quiz activated at 12:00 pm (elearning).

Wednesday, January 13: Foundations of the study of international relations.

Reading: IGP 2-26.

Saturday, January 16:

Quiz: Ch 2 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

Week #2

Monday, January 18: MLK Day.

No class.

Wednesday, January 20: History of international relations I ("Those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it.").

Reading: IGP 28-39.

Thursday, January 21:

Quiz: Ch 1 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Satellite view of North Korean missile launch facility, November 27, 2015.

Week #3

Monday, January 25: History of international relations II.

Reading: IGP 39-51.

Wednesday, January 27: History of international relations III.

Reading: "North Korea's nuclear programme: How advanced is it?"

Watch: Hyeonseo Lee, "My escape from North Korea." (12:15)

Current events Wednesday: North Korea.

Saturday, January 30:

Quiz: Ch 3 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

Graffiti on Israeli wall separating Palestinean

and Israeli communities.

Week #4

Sunday, January 31:

Quiz: Ch 2 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Monday, February 1: History of international relations IV.

Reading: IGP 51-67. 

Wednesday, February 3: How does the international system work? Realism and liberalism.

Reading: IGP 70-97. 

Saturday, February 6:

Quiz: Ch 4 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

Week #5

Sunday, February 7:

Quiz: Ch 3 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Monday, February 8: How does the international system work? Other theories.

Reading: IGP 97-111.

Wednesday, February 10: Catch-up.

Reading: none.

Protests against the government of Jacob Zuma, September 27, 2017.

Week #6

Sunday, February 14:

Quiz: Ch 4 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Monday, February 15: Exam I.

Study guide.

Reading: None.

Wednesday, February 17: Foreign policy I.

Reading: IGP 114-131; and "The origins of Russia’s new conflict with the West."

Current events Wednesday: Russia: A New Cold War?

Saturday, February 20:

Quiz: Ch 5 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

Shanghai's central business district.

Week #7

Monday, February 21: Foreign policy II.

Reading: IGP 132-153.

Wednesday, February 23: Global governance I.

Reading: IGP 156-181; and "Can the US and China Coexist in Asia?" <e-reserve>

Current events Wednesday: China and the trade war.

Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh, 2018.

Week #8

Monday, March 1: Global governance II.

Reading: IGP 181-185.

Wednesday, March 3: Global governance III.

Reading: IGP 186-203; and "Why Migration Matters." <e-reserve>

Watch: "The real facts of the refugee crisis, and what we can do."

Current events Wednesday: Migration.

Quiz: Ch 6 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

Saturday, March 6:

Quiz: Ch 5 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Week #9

Monday, March 8:  War.

Reading: IGP 206-225.

Wednesday, March 10: Nuclear proliferation.

Reading: IGP 225-232; "Fewer Vietnamese Feeling the Effects of War;" and "Is Vietnam on the Verge of Change?" <e-reserve>

Current events Wednesday: Vietnam: from war to an emerging tiger.

Young Vietnamese professional buying street food from a traditional vendor in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), September 2016.

Week #10

Sunday, March 14:

Quiz: Ch 6 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Monday, March 15: War. Nuclear Proliferation.

Reading: IGP.232-249.

Video: The Real Harm of the Global Arms Trade (Ted Talk)

Wednesday, March 17: Terrorism.

Reading: None. 

Saturday, March 20:

Quiz: Ch 7 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

Week #11

Monday, March 22: Exam II.

Study guide.

Wednesday, March 24: Human rights and human security.

Reading: IGP 252-286; and "The Responsibility to Protect: Dilemmas of a New Norm." <e-reserve>.

Current events Wednesday: South Africa and the Struggle for Racial Equality.

General Motors plant in Mexico.

Week #12

Saturday, April 3:

Quiz: Ch 9 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

Sunday, April 4

Quiz: Ch 7 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning). ***CHECK***

Monday, April 5: Poverty, development and hunger I.

Reading: IGP 322-343; and CNBC, "Richest 26 people now own same wealth as poorest half of the world, Oxfam claims."

Video: "Human Security."

Wednesday, April 7: Poverty, development and hunger II.

Reading: IGP 343-351.

Saturday, April 10:

Quiz: Ch 8 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

British citizens rally to support leaving the EU, June 2016.

Week #13

Sunday, April 11:

Quiz: Ch 9 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Monday, April 12: Global trade.

Reading: IGP 288-305.

Wednesday, April 14: Global finance. Globalization.

Reading: IGP 305-319; and "Reconsidering the Iranian Revolution, Forty Years Later." <e-reserve>

Current events Wednesday: Iran.

Saturday, April 17:

Quiz: Ch 10 quiz activated at 8:00 am (elearning).

The last five years have been the five warmest years on record.

Week #14

Sunday, April 18:

Quiz: Ch 8 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Monday, April 19: Global environmental issues.

Reading: IGP 354-376; and "The Right Way to Build Resilience to Climate Change," <e-reserve>; and "Vietnam’s Urgent Task: Adapting to Climate Change." <e-reserve> NOTE: read the latter as an example of the challenges faced by one country -- one we have studied -- by climate change.

Wednesday, April 21: Climate change and global policy.

Reading: IGP 376-383;

Sunday, April 24:

Quiz: Ch 10 quiz deadline at 11:59 pm (elearning).

Week #15

Final exam week: April 26-29.

Study guide.