Asuntos Contemporáneos de las Relaciones Internacionales
1107
Credits: 4 ECTS
First semester
Compulsory Courses 1st year
Spanish
Faculty
Summary
The objective of the course is to provide students introductory knowledge about a number of important contemporary themes of international relations (IR) scholarship. Each week a different issue is introduced and classes mix student-led learning and lectures by the professors, providing an engaging and thorough discussion of each area. Students are encouraged to apply theoretical and methodological knowledge gained in other courses to complement the material studied here.
From the second class onwards, each two-hour lesson begins with two poster presentations and an informal question and answer session. This is followed by a 60+ minute lecture from a course teacher. The final part of each lesson will be devoted to discussions and exercises that aim to deepen your knowledge of the subject.
The course is taught in two groups: A and B. The order of classes (and readings) is DIFFERENT because the professors rotate their teaching each week. However, the content of the course is identical for both groups. Please be sure to check that the weekly readings are the correct ones for your group.
Assessment
The overall grade for this course is calculated based on four component grades: (1) a poster presentation (10%) two pieces of coursework completed during the semester (40% and 40%), the and an assessment of student participation over the semester (10%).
- The poster presentation is a 10-minute talk using an A1 or A0 visual aid based on one of the two bolded readings. Each presentation will be made twice during the relevant class, first to one-half of the cohort (including once the teacher) and then to the other. The criteria for assessment will be clarity of delivery, timekeeping, visual utility of the poster, and your capacity to accurately present the central message and argument of the paper.
- A first essay. This task will involve answering a question chosen by the student based on a list covering the first six lectures. It will be between 2000 and 2500 words in length.
- A second essay. This task will involve answering a question chosen by the student based on a list covering the final six lectures. It will be between 2000 and 2500 words in length.
Participation is assessed over the duration of the course and is based on the personal development of the student’s ability to participate, and the qualitative nature of interventions, be they in group discussions, presentations or other forms of discursive interaction.