Pages

October 20, 2009

Academic Update: B.A. Honours in International Relations at Mount Allison University

The first round of midterms are coming to an end this week. By now students (even first year students) have an idea of how well or badly they are doing in a class. It's far too late to switch classes but unless I fail at basic counting, you should be able to drop a class without penalty until the end of next week if you so choose.

I am doing fairly well considering my heavy course load and more intense 2nd and 3rd year courses...but as many others have found out there's really never enough time for everything you want. For example: there's a North Side Rez Crawl on Saturday, but I'm so cool I get to lock myself in my room and review for my Geography Environment classes and get reacquainted with rote memorization of French verb conjugations.

Second Year classes at Mount Allison are a bit more challenging. No longer is there a constant reminder about assignments and a complete cessation of the occasional spoon-feeding of first year. This semester I'm getting closer to completing the core courses of my B.A. Honours in International Relations and my final science class. Second year means taking classes specific to your course of study much more so than first year where distribution requirements and courses without prerequisites were the focus. Also, if you're up for it chances are you'll have the prereqs to take third year courses in your course of study.

By the end of the year I'll be done with all of my distribution requirements and need only three classes to fulfill my core requirements and another nine for my entire degree. Thankfully this will allow me to take some courses without prerequisites that seem interesting (PHYS 1031 Stars, Galaxies and the Universe or LING 2001 Introduction to the Study of Language).

Also, in case you thought you'd changed your mind enough about your major/classes more than enough first year think again. Some second year student (dun dun dun) haven't yet decided on their major through not wanting to choose or going back and forth between many options. Thankfully I've chosen a program that will allow me to keep my employment options fairly open upon graduation. The following tentative degree audit of my B.A. Honours in International Relations cannot express the frustration and many hours of deciding and un-decideding and re-deciding which classes were the best fit for me. Here is the final list (subject to change) of my major with course descriptions for classes I'm taking beyond this academic year. I think I've finally decided on courses I'm interested in and think I'll do well in.


Interdisciplinary B.A. Program

MAJOR in International Relations is 72 credits as follows:

Core (51 credits as follows):

6
from POLS 1001 and INLR/POLS 2301
3
from Political Science
6
from INLR 3001, 3101, 3201, 3301, 3401, 4101, 4301, 4951
6
from HIST 1601, 1611, 1631, 2001, 2011, 2031, 2041, 2411, 2421, 2511, 2521, 2721, 2731
9
ECON 1001, 1011, 3501
12
from FREN 1651, 1701, 1711, 2401, 2501, 2601, 3101, 3111
or
from GERM 1001, 1011, 2001, 2011, 3001, 3401, 3501
or
from SPAN 1101, 1111, 2101, 2111, 3101, 3111
or
from JAPA 1001, 1011, 2001, 2011

Note: Students may substitute another language approved by the International Relations Program Advisor.
6
from GENV 1201, 2001, 2201, 2221, 2311
3
from an Intercultural area at the 1000 or 2000 level including ANTH 1011, 2521; ENGL 1111, 1121, 1201; FREN 2841 or 2851; SPAN 1801, 1811; RELG 2401, 2801; SOCI 1001; WOST 2001

Interdisciplinary electives at the 3/4000 level:

21
from 3/4000 level courses chosen in consultation with the International Relations Program Advisor from the following courses, of which a maximum 12 credits can be taken from any one discipline:
ANTH 3831*, 3841*, 3861*, 3871*
CANA 3421
COMM 3251*
ECON 3301, 3531, 3551, 3901, 3921
ENGL 3751*, 3761*, 3771*, 3781*, 3921*
FREN 3841*
GENV 3101*, 3301*, 3321*, 4101*, 4111*, 4211*, 4301*
HIST 3001*, 3021*, 3031*, 3121*, 3131, 3141, 3151, 3161, 3211, 3221, 3231, 3241, 3301, 3311, 3321, 3331, 3361, 3381, 3441, 3511, 3521, 3561, 3710, 3721*, 3741*, 3761*, 4110*, 4221*, 4231*, 4250*, 4260*, 4300*, 4401*, 4440, 4500*, 4550*, 4701*
INLR 3101, 3201, 3301, 3401, 4101, 4301, 4950, 4951
POLS 3021*, 3200, 3310, 3701, 4200, 4211, 4300, 4550
RELG 3001*, 3101*, 3301*, 3311*, 3501*, 3601*, 3641*, 3701*, 3891*, 3941*, 4401*, 4411*, 4421*, 4821*
SOCI 3121*, 3221*, 3431*, 3501*, 3511*, 4511*, 4521*
SPAN 3060

INLR 3101 (3CR)
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
Format: lecture/group projects 3 hours
Prereq: INLR/POLS 2301; or permission of the instructor
This course examines the role of international organizations in International Relations with a focus on the United Nations. It addresses the challenges of multilateral diplomacy in the age of globalization and U.S. supremacy.

INLR 3201 (3CR)
PROBLEMS IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Format: lecture/group projects 3 hours
Prereq: INLR/POLS 2301, or permission of the instructor
This course focuses on leading issues in international development from an international relations perspective. The themes covered may vary from year to year.


CANA 3421 (3CR)
CANADIAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS
Format: lecture 3 hours
Prereq: CANA 2001 and CANA 2011; or permission of Program Advisor
This course explores the political, economic, cultural, and social interaction between Canada and the United States. It pays special attention to the demise of the Canada-US 'special relationship', the current status of this relationship, and a comparative perspective of the values animating Canada and the United States as political communities


ECON 3551 (3CR)
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Format: lecture 3 hours
Prereq: ECON 3501; or permission of the Department
This course focuses on differences in the patterns of economic development in the world economy. The primary focus is the developing world and on national and international policies designed to improve the global distribution of income. The economic development policies of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations will be critically examined.


HIST 3311 (3CR)
EUROPE SINCE 1945
Format: lecture 3 hours
Prereq: Second-year standing and at least six credits in History at the 1000 or 2000 level; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: HIST 3390
This course examines the major political, social, cultural and economic developments in Europe from the post-war era of reconstruction to the present.

HIST 3361 (3CR)
CULTURE AND SOCIETY IN MODERN EUROPE
Format: lecture 3 hours
Prereq: Second-year standing and at least six credits in History at the 1000 or 2000 level; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: HIST 3360
This course examines major themes and issues in Continental European social and cultural history from the seventeenth century to the present. Selection, emphases and time frame may vary from year to year but may include such topics as: identity formation; class and gender; community and nation; family, work and leisure; myth and memory; popular and high culture; the emergence of mass consumer society.

HIST 3441 (3CR)
MODERN CANADA
Format: lecture 3 hours
Prereq: Second-year standing and at least six credits in History at the 1000 or 2000 level; or permission of the Department
This course traces the development of those institutions, movements and ideas which are an integral part of the texture of modern Canada and which have been shaping influences on the direction and pace of social, intellectual, economic and political growth.



HIST 3561 (3CR)
UNITED STATES FOREIGN RELATIONS
Format: lecture 3 hours
Prereq: Second-year standing and at least six credits in History at the 1000 or 2000 level; or permission of the Department
Exclusion: HIST/POLS 3560
This course surveys American diplomacy and foreign relations from colonial times through the twentieth century. Throughout, attention is paid to American domestic policies and the role of public opinion in determining foreign policy.



INLR 3401 (3CR)
INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
Format: lecture/group projects 3 hours
Prereq: INLR/POLS 2301; or permission of the instructor
This course is a survey of the critical International Political Economy (IPE) tradition in the study of International Relations, from Marx and Polanyi to Cox and Strange. As a critique of realism and liberalism, IPE posits the inseparability of the domestic and international realms, of the political and economic spheres, as well as state and society. The course examines the impact of globalization and environmental change on states in the global order.



Note: Not all these courses may be available in any given year. Also, a student may choose to include up to six credits at the 3/4000 not explicitly included in the Interdisciplinary electives at the 3/4000 level list provided a written rationale is submitted to the International Relations Program Advisor before the substitute courses are taken and provided the substitutions are approved by the Program Advisor.

Note: * Courses marked with an asterisk require additional prerequisites.

HONOURS in International Relations is 84 credits as follows:

72
credits as in the Major, plus




6 from 4000 level Anthropology, Economics, English, Geography and Environment, History, International Relations, Political Science, Religious Studies, or Sociology, chosen in consultation with the International Relations Program Advisor
=POLS 4200

POLS 4200 (6CR)
POLITICAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE
Format: lecture/seminar 3 hours
Prereq: Three credits in Political Science at the 2000 or 3000 level; or permission of the Department
A comparative analysis of the impact of political change on the broader culture, as expressed in literature, cinema, architecture and communications media. Examples will be taken from North American and European experience.



6 from INLR 4101, 4301, 4950/1, 4701, 4990

INLR 4101 (3CR)
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE SIMULATION
Format: lecture/simulation 3 hours
Prereq: INLR/POLS 2301, INLR 3101; enrolment is restricted to Honours students or by permission of the instructor
This course engages students in an innovative and intensive semester-long simulation of an international conflict or crisis in order to highlight the challenges of international decision-making in multilateral forums. Case studies are drawn from the United Nations, other international organizations, or disputes among states and non-state actors.


INLR 4701 (3CR)
SPECIAL TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Format: seminar 3 hours
Prereq: INLR/POLS 2301, restricted to Honours students in International Relations; or by permission of the instructor
This seminar is open to upper-level students and addresses an advanced topic of current importance in International Relations. Topics may vary from year to year.

No comments:

Post a Comment