Introduction to International Relations: POLSCI 220
Professor Michelle Jurkovich
Classroom: W01-0088
Class Time: MWF 10-10:50am*
* Your Friday discussion section time and
location may vary. You will sign up for these
during the first class meeting
Office: Wheatley Hall 5-71 (5th floor)
Office hours: Wed. 11-2pm and
by appointment
Michelle.Jurkovich@umb.edu
TA email addresses:
Abigail.kabandula001@umb.edu
Sudeshna.Chatterj001@umb.edu
Course Objective
The course will provide students with an overview of key concepts and theories in the field
of international relations. We will engage with questions like: Why do states go to war?
What is the role of international institutions in affecting state behavior? Under what
conditions do states cooperate? What is the role of activism in international relations?
And, to quote Dani Roderik, “Has globalization gone too far?”
Students will leave this course with the ability to think critically about international affairs,
and a greater understanding of how political scientists engage in this field of study.
Class Policies
Special accommodations: Please see me or email me in the first two weeks of class if you
require any special accommodations due to learning disabilities, religious practices,
physical or medical needs, athletic commitments, or for any other reason.
Academic integrity: All submitted work must be your own original work and cheating will
not be tolerated. The University’s Academic Integrity code can be found at:
https://www.umb.edu/life_on_campus/policies/academics/academic_honesty.
Ignorance is not an excuse. Please consult with me if you are in doubt about what
constitutes academic dishonesty.
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Late Assignments: Please turn in your assignments on time. Late assignments will be
penalized. Exceptions will be made only in serious circumstances, and will require
documentation of the emergency from a person of authority.
Required texts


Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014) International Relations (brief edition)
Students are also required to register for Statecraft, an online simulation program
we will be using this semester. This costs approximately $35.
All other readings will be uploaded to Blackboard or available through the library’s journal
subscription.
Course Requirements:
Participation Policy: It is essential that you participate actively in this course. This means
not only attending class (NB: attendance will be taken as part of your grade during
discussion sections) but also that you engage with the course materials by participating in
lecture and small group activities. Exams will cover material presented in lecture. Do not
assume that class is cancelled (i.e. for weather) unless I email you directly. Update your
email address with UMB and Blackboard to ensure you receive all emails for the class.
Discussion Sections: All students are required to attend one discussion section meeting
each week during your assigned time. Most discussion sections will meet Fridays and a
sign-up sheet will be circulated on the first day of class. Each student will be assigned to
one discussion section and it is not permitted to move to other sections without the
permission of your TAs.
Statecraft & Quickwrite assignments: At the beginning of each discussion section you will
either complete a quick quiz on that week’s assigned reading or turn in a memo on your
Statecraft strategy/tactics if it is a week when we will complete a Statecraft “turn.” These
assignments are essential to your grade and the quizzes cannot be made up (except in the
case of a documented medical emergency), though your lowest quiz score can be dropped.
Handwritten notes can be consulted for the quizzes, but no electronics can be used.
Students that score a B or higher on all quizzes/assignments due in discussion section
(minus the one quiz grade that can be dropped) can choose not to take the final exam.
Instead, their final exam score would equal the average of their two mid-term exams as
well as their statecraft/quickwrite quizzes. If you have questions about this, see the
professor.
Midterm and Final Exams: You will take two mid-term exams and one (cumulative) final
exam for this course. The exams will include (but are not limited to) multiple choice
questions and short essays. Information from course readings, lecture, and discussion
sections are all fair game for inclusion on the midterm and final exams. You cannot make
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up these exams unless you have a documented medical emergency. No notes or electronics
may be used during the examinations.
Grading:




Class participation (in both class and Statecraft, including Statecraft memos and
discussion section quizzes): 25%
Midterm Exam #1: 25%
Midterm Exam #2: 25%
Final Exam: 25%
Final grades will be calculated according to the following formula:
A: 93-100
A-: 90-92
B+: 88-89
B: 83-87
B-: 80-82
C+: 78-79
C: 73-77
C-: 70-72
D+: 68-69
D: 63-67
D-: 60-62
F: 0-59
Course Schedule
Required readings are listed under the class section when they are due. Make sure to come to
all class sessions having read the required readings and ready to actively participate in class.
Week 1:
9/9 (W): What is International Relations? (Part 1)
 Introduction to the course and sign-up for discussion sections
 No assigned reading
9/11 (F): Discussion Sections
9/14 (M): What is International Relations? (Part 2)
 E.H. Carr: Chapters 1-2 (on Blackboard)
 NB: University Add/Drop deadline is Tuesday, Sept 15!
9/16 (W): Levels of Analysis & The Varied Actors in IR
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014): Chapter 1 (pp.1-19)
9/18 (F): Discussion Sections
 Make sure to have finished reading the Statecraft manual (available on the
Statecraft website) and taken the quiz before section.
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9/21 (M): The Evolving International System & What is a theory?
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014): Chapter 1 (pp.19-33)
9/23 (W): Realism (Part 1)
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp.35-61
9/25 (F): Discussion Sections
9/28 (M): Realism (Part 2)
 Waltz (1979) Theory of International Politics: Chapters 5-6 (On Blackboard)
9/30 (W): Liberal Institutionalism (Part 1)
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp.63-78
10/2 (F): Discussion Sections
10/5 (M): Liberal Institutionalism (Part 2)
 Wallander, Celeste A. 2000. Institutional assets and adaptability: NATO after the
Cold War. International Organization 54(4): 705-35.
10/7 (W): Constructivism (Part 1)
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp.86-89
 Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of
power politics. International organization, 46(02), 391-425.
10/9 (F): Discussion Sections
10/12 (M): Columbus Day (No Classes)
10/14 (W): Constructivism (Part 2)
 Finnemore, M., & Sikkink, K. (1998). International norm dynamics and political
change. International organization, 52(04), 887-917.
10/16 (F): Discussion Sections
10/19 (M): Critical Approaches to IR
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp.95-105
 J. Ann Tickner, "Man, the State, and War” (on Blackboard)
10/21 (W): TBD
10/23 (F): Discussion Sections & Exam Review
10/26 (M): MIDTERM EXAM #1
10/28 (W): Why Do States Go to War?
 Fearon, James D. 1995. “Rationalist Explanations for War.” International
Organization 49 (3): 376-414.
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
Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), p.107-136
10/30 (F): Discussion Sections
11/2 (M): Conventional Warfare & Weapons of Mass Destruction
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp. 149-161
 Tannenwald, Nina. 1999. The nuclear taboo: The United States and the normative
basis of nuclear non-use. International Organization 53(3): 433-68.
11/4 (W): Foreign Policy Decision Making
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp.78-86
 Watch clips of The Fog of War in class
11/6 (F): Discussion Section
11/9 (M): Terrorism
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), p.145-149
 Pape, Robert A. 2005. Dying to win. New York: Random House. Chs. 1-3. [On
Blackboard]
11/11 (W): Veterans Day (No class)
11/13 (F): Discussion Sections
11/16 (M): Theories of Trade & Trade Regimes
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014) pp.163-181
11/18 (W): Has Globalization Gone Too Far?
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp. 182-206
 D. Rodrik. 1997. “Sense and Nonsense in the
Globalization Debate.” Foreign Policy (107): 19-37.
11/20 (F): Discussion Sections
11/23 (M): MIDTERM EXAM #2
11/25 (W): The European Union and the United Nations
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp. 207-218; 226-240
11/27 (F): Thanksgiving Break (No class)
11/30 (M): Peacekeeping & The United Nations
 Fortna, Virginia (2003). “Inside and out: Peacekeeping and the Duration of Peace
after Civil and Interstate Wars.” International Studies Review 5(4):97-114.
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp. 219-226
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12/2 (W): Human Rights
 Donnelly, J. (2007) Human rights as an issue in world politics. In International
Human Rights (pp. 3-19). Westview Press. (available on Blackboard)
 Goldstein & Pevehouse (2014), pp. 240-257
 UN Declaration of Human Rights (available on Blackboard)
12/4 (F): Discussion Sections
12/7 (M) Humanitarian Intervention & Responsibility to Protect
 Power, Samantha. 2002. “Rwanda: Mostly in a
Listening Mode.” in A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide, pp 329-389.
(Available on Blackboard)
 Bellamy, Alex J. 2005. “Responsibility to Protect or Trojan Horse? The Crisis in Darfur
and Humanitarian Intervention After Iraq.” Ethics and International
Affairs 19(2): 31-54.
12/9 (W): Transnational Activism
 Keck, M. and Sikkink, K. (1998). Activists beyond borders: Advocacy networks in
international politics. Cornell University Press, pp. 1-38 (Available on Blackboard)
12/11 (F): Discussion Sections
12/14 (M): Environmental Politics & Food In(security)
 Hardin, Garrett. 1968. “Tragedy of the Commons.” Science 162 (3859): 1243-1248.
 Sen, Amartya: Poverty and Famines (1983) [Selected Chapters on Blackboard]
12/18 (F): TENTATIVE DATE FOR FINAL EXAM
*Will update time and date when the university releases the final schedule.
*This syllabus is subject to change at any time by the professor
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