166-029 Global Politics: Key Questions

Usually one first-year politics subject.

Global politics is one fundamental way of talking about life on earth. This subject asks, and seeks systematically to answer, a wide range of questions about the subject, such as: Who governs? Who provides? Who am 'I'? Who owns all this stuff? Who makes it? Whose idea was this anyway? Where are all the women? What's wrong with warmer weather? How reliable is rationalism? Who talks about the Beyond, and behaves accordingly? This subject provides a more analytically clear and comprehensive idea of the balance of inter-state power, global guerrilla strategies, the energy issue (particularly oil), democracy as a world ideal, patterns of global property possession (criminal and legitimate), world production chains, people smuggling, the role played by norm entrepreneurs, feminist and environmentalist perspectives, the globalization of the modernist project, and where god's gone.

• be able to research through the competent use of the library and other information sources, and be able to define areas of inquiry and methods of research in the preparation of essays;

• be able to conceptualise theoretical problems, form judgements and arguments and communicate critically, creatively and theoretically through essay writing, tutorial discussion and presentations;

• be able to communicate knowledge ideologically and economically through essay writing and tutorial discussion;

• be able to organise workloads for recommended reading, the completion of essays and assignments and examination revision;

• be able to participate in team work through small group discussion.

Ten briefing papers of 250 words each, 50% (due each week during the semester) and an essay of 1500 words 50% (due at the end of the semester).

A subject reader will be available from the Bookroom at the beginning of semester.