POLS 2401-901: Global Issues
Fall 2014; Online only
Instructor: Dr. Stacey Mitchell
Email: smitche8@spsu.edu; Phone: x7449
Office Hours: T/Th: 10:30-12:30; on-line: Thursday 6:00pm-7:00pm
Office: J319
Course Description
Welcome to POLS 2401—Global Issues. This course is designed to provide you with an understanding
and introduction to international relations, covering such issues as diplomacy, nuclear politics, war, secret
intelligence, revolution, international development, debt, and dependence. Global issues is an
introductory survey course that is designed to introduce students to numerous current issues confronting
the world’s policy-makers and populations, as well as the relevant international relations theories used to
explain them. Specifically, the course provides each student with an opportunity for diversity in that
student’s educational program, and provides information that fosters community responsibility and global
understanding.
Course Learning Objectives
Students will be able to
1. Identify and describe some major political, economic, social and environmental issues confronting
the global community.
2. Evaluate major threats to peace and stability in the world today, and be able to discuss the
underlying reasons for a lack of resolution.
3. Evaluate the demographic, economic, and/or ethno-national dimensions to issues of
development.
Grading and Course Requirements
Grading in this course will be based upon the following components:
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T
Three Exams:
Six Quizzes:
Two Reflective Responses:
Additional online discussions/interaction:
Total: 200 points
120 points
50 points
20 points
10 points
Grades will be scaled as follows:
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A:
B:
C:
D:
F:
90-100% or 180-200 points
80-89.9% or 160-179.9 points
70-79.9% or 140 -159.9 points
60-69.9% or 120-139.9 points
59.9% and below or 0.00-119.9 points
Instructional Activities
Lectures will be used together with in-line class discussion. Students will be expected to read the required
textbook (and any other assigned materials), listen to all narrated PowerPoint slides, and be prepared to
participate in discussion through on-line postings.
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The questions for the quizzes and exams will be drawn from the lectures, the readings, and our
discussions. (NOTE: While the readings and lectures are designed to complement each other, they do
not cover identical material. Thus, in order to do well in this class, the student is strongly encouraged to
listen to and study the lectures carefully and do all of the readings).
Exams and Quizzes
Exams and quizzes will include a variety of types of questions. Dates of quizzes and tests are indicated in
the syllabus (please see below). Additionally, during the first week of class I will offer students a "syllabus
quiz." This will be offered to students to allow them to orient themselves to the rules and regulations of the
course, as well as to prepare them for taking quizzes and tests on-line.
Quizzes and exams will be available beginning at 5:00 p.m. on the afternoon of the day indicated.
Depending on whether it is a quiz or an exam, you will have two or three days in which to take the
quiz/exam. In any case, you will need to have taken and submitted the exam/quiz by 9:00 p.m. on the
indicated due date.
NOTE: Students are strongly encouraged to consult the syllabus at least daily to see when learning
modules will be released, when assessments will be open for taking, when the assessments are due,
what your reading schedule will look like etc. The semester will move fast, so please do not get left
behind. Release dates and due dates of assessments and assignments will be taking place on any given
day of the week: Check the syllabus carefully!
Furthermore, you will have 20 minutes to complete each online quiz; for tests, you will be given a
considerably longer amount of time (i.e. 80 minutes). You are expected to use NO NOTES OR TEXTS
when taking quizzes and exams. (NOTE: A good indication to me that a student has used the text during
a quiz or exam is if he/she has answered a question using information taken verbatim from the text. If I
find evidence of this, I reserve the right to deduct points from the student's overall quiz/test score).
Three Additional Important Points
First, before beginning an exam or quiz, always be sure to check your browser, using the tool provided on
the GeorgiaVIEW D2L homepage: https://spsu.view.usg.edu/. Failing to do this is a source of many
students’ problems on quizzes and tests.
Furthermore, I am not be responsible for technical glitches that may occur (e.g., when the student forgets
to save his/her work, when a student fails to submit his/her test/quiz properly, when a person's computer
crashes or freezes during the taking of a quiz or exam, when your network access is interrupted during
such time, or even in the very unlikely event, if there is a malfunction in the system's software when a
student takes an exam or quiz. If such problems occur, no credit for unsaved answers will be given and
no possibility for a make-up will be offered. There will be NO exceptions to this policy. If you are unwilling
to accept this policy, I suggest you take the course later in the F2F (face-to-face) format.
Second, as you have read elsewhere, quizzes and exams will be timed, and once the allotted time has
expired, no further answers can be submitted. Hence, prepare well for the quizzes and exams.
Additionally, during quizzes and exams, questions will be delivered to you one at a time, with no
possibilities for re-visits. You must answer each question before moving on to the next question. You may
skip questions, but once you have done so, you may not return to the skipped question.
Assessments are timed and no revisits for skipped questions are allowed in order to avoid breaches in
academic integrity. Should you be unwilling to accept this policy, then I strongly suggest you take the
course later in the traditional F2F format.
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Additionally, make sure that you save your answer before moving on to the next question and, when
submitting your quiz or test after you've finished, make sure you submit the assessment correctly.
Third, I will make every effort to have quizzes and exams graded in a reasonable time frame.
Online Discussion Grade
Your grade will be evaluated based on your offering two in-depth reflective responses to discussion
questions posed by me. In addition, your discussion grade will include your general interaction with the
course (i.e., providing relevant comments or information in other areas of the course, such as to
discussion links, to general questions asked by me etc.). I have a tracking tool with which to determine
the level of participation of each member of the class.
The grades received for the reflective response portion of your total grade are based on the following
criteria:
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That you post a minimum of two reflective responses to discussion questions during the course of
the semester. The dates by when these two postings are due are provided in the syllabus below.
Additional reflective response postings beyond the required two will not be graded. Also please
note that I will not evaluate any reflective response before the due date.
The quality of your posting. Did you post a reflective response to a discussion question that
included thoughtful comments based on your reading of the assigned material, as well as the
lectures; did your response include additional relevant research; and did your responses generate
additional discussion? I highly recommend that, for additional information/research, students look
to the websites recommended by me under various headings in the "Links" link under the "Other
Tools" link in your course homepage.
That your comments/questions/postings use full sentences and are grammatically correct, with
few spelling errors. In addition, use the HTML editor; otherwise your postings may be very
difficult to read. As well, do not submit attachments in place of a regular posting.
That your postings/comments/questions should be posted to the relevant discussion
section/question of the course by the requested due date.
You will not receive points for posting comments such as "I agree," "Yes," "No," or any
other type of phrasing that essentially states the same, without providing any new content.
Additionally, students should use correct MLA or APA in-text citation methods when citing information,
other people's thoughts, ideas etc. As well, your reflective responses should have a "works cited" section
that utilizes the correct MPA or APA citation guidelines.
Required Readings
The following textbook is required for this course and is available at the SPSU bookstore:
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Kegley, Charles and Shannon Blanton, World Politics: Trends and Transformation, Updated edition
(Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013-2014); ISBN: 978-1-111-83010-6
Other Ground Rules
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Students are encouraged to contact me if they have any problems with the course material.
No make-up quizzes, tests or incompletes will be given without official documentation and
only for medical emergencies.
I do not give extra credit. NO EXCEPTIONS.
In terms of your final grade, I DO NOT NEGOTIATE. I will explain your grade to you. I will not
change your final grade.
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Disruptive Behavior and Academic Dishonesty (as excerpted from SPSU’s Undergraduate
Academic Catalogue– 2012-2013):
“A faculty member reserves the right to remove any student from his or her course if the student’s
behavior is of a disruptive nature or if there is evidence of academic dishonesty. In instances of disruptive
behavior and/or academic dishonesty, the faculty member will discuss the circumstances with the
student(s) before taking final action. In the event the student cannot be reached, he or she will be given
the grade of “Incomplete” until such time as he or she can be reached. The student shall have the right of
appeal of the faculty member’s decision
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first to the faculty member’s Department Chair
then to the appropriate School Dean,
and, if necessary, to the Vice President for Academic Affairs
Removal from a course under this provision will result in a grade of “F.” A grade of “F” issued under these
circumstances shall not be superseded by a voluntary withdrawal, and will be included in the student’s
cumulative grade point average calculated for graduation purposes.”
Please
see
the
following
http://www.spsu.edu/honorcode/.
link
for
information
on
SPSU’s
new
Honor
Code:
Students with Disabilities
A student at Southern Polytechnic State University who has a disabling condition and needs academic
accommodations has a responsibility to voluntarily identify him/herself as having a disability by scheduling
an appointment with the Disability Services Coordinator as soon as possible. Students are encouraged to
contact the counselor working with disabilities at (678) 915-7244 as soon as possible to better ensure that
such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
Important Dates to Remember
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August 14: T/TH classes begin
August 18: Last day to drop/add
September 1: Labor day holiday
October 2: Withdrawal day
November 26-28: Thanksgiving holiday
December 1: Last day of classes
Module 1:
August 14: Chapter 1, Explaining World Politics
August 19-21: Chapter 2, Theories of World Politics
Syllabus quiz: available August 14 at 5:00 pm; due Thursday, August 21 at 9:00 pm.
Quiz 1: available Thursday, August 21 at 5:00 pm; quiz due Saturday, August 23 at 9:00 pm.
Module 2:
August 26-28: Chapter 3, Theories of International Decision Making
September 2-4: Chapter 4, Rivalries and Relations among the Great Powers
Quiz 2: available Thursday, September 4 at 5:00pm; due Saturday, September 6 at 9:00pm.
Module 3:
September 9-11: Chapter 5, the Global South in a World of Powers
Test 1: available Thursday, September 11 at 5:00pm; due Sunday, September 14 at 9:00pm.
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Module 4:
September 16-18: Chapter 6, Non-state Actors and Quest for Global Community
Quiz 3: available Thursday, September 18 at 5:00pm; due Saturday, September 20 at 9:00pm.
Module 5:
September 23-25: Chapter 10, Globalization of International Finance
September 30-October 2: Chapter 11, International Trade in the Global Marketplace
Quiz 4: available Thursday, October 2 at 5:00pm; due Saturday, October 4 at 9:00pm.
Module 6:
October 7-9: Chapter 12, Demographic and Cultural Dimensions to Globalization
Reflective Response 1: due Saturday, October 11 between 4:00pm and 9:00pm. Write a response
to one of the questions posed for Learning Module 2, 3 or 4
Test 2: available beginning Thursday, October 16 at 5:00pm; due Sunday, October 19 at 9:00pm.
Module 7:
October 21-23: Chapter 7, Threat of Armed Conflict in the World
October 28-30: Chapter 8, Pursuit of Power through Arms and Alliances
Quiz 5: available Thursday, October 30 at 5:00pm; due Saturday, November 1 at 9:00pm.
Module 8:
November 4-6: Chapter 9, Quest for Peace through International Law and Collective Security
Quiz 6: available Thursday, November 6 at 5:00pm; due Saturday, November 8 at 9:00pm.
Module 9:
November 11-13: Chapter 15, Looking Ahead at Global Trends and Transformations
Reflective Response 2: due Saturday, November 15 between 4:00pm and 9:00pm. Write a
response to one of the questions posed for Learning Module 5, 7, or 8.
Test 3: available Tuesday, November 18 at 5:00pm; due Friday, November 21 at 9:00pm.
This is a tentative working syllabus. Any information in this syllabus is subject to change.
Students are responsible for these changes.
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