Course coordinator
Associate Professor Sarah Percy
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Politic Sc & Internat Studies
This course examines the evolution of international relations from 1900 to the present, and is intended to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the key developments that have shaped world politics and the discipline of international relations. This course is particularly targeted at students of international relations (IR), and provide those students with knowledge about the evolution of IR as a discipline, a sense of the relationship between IR theory and the major dynamics/ events of world politics, and provide context to the examination of contemporary world politics. Each week of the course, therefore, attempts to link key developments in world politics to the emergence/dominance of particular frameworks for thinking about international relations.
This course addresses how international order is maintained, defended, and either renovated, transformed or destroyed in the face of violent challenges by considering the evolution of international order from 1900 to the present. Particular attention is accorded to examining how the era's defining conflicts - World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the wars of decolonization - re-shapedﾠinternational order and continue to profoundly influence the contemporary global order.
Course requirements
Assumed background
The course assumes students have some prior knowledge of international relations theory as weﾠwill use theoriesﾠto develop contrasting perspectives onﾠthe topics over the duration of the semester.
Recommended prerequisites
We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:
POLS1201
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Associate Professor Sarah Percy
Tutor
Ms Elisabeth Austrheim
Miss Anais Hull
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Lectures (12 in total) willﾠ commence in Week 1 and tutorials (8 in total) will commence ﾠin Week 2.
Lecture recordings will be available via Echo360 on the course Blackboard site.
Aims and outcomes
POLS2409 aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of major events in twentieth century world politics, and to enable them to relate these events both to key debates in the field of international relations and to contemporary developments in international politics.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Comprehend the major events and trends that shaped international politics in the twentieth century;
LO2.
Understand how these events and trends have shaped key debates within international relations scholarship concerning the causes of war and the strategies for preserving, maintaining and defending international peace and security;
LO3.
Appreciate the ways in which the defining events and trends of the twentieth century have shaped and will continue to shape the contemporary international order.
LO4.
Demonstrate acquired conceptual and analytical capacities, along with an ability to apply these skills to understand concrete social, political and historical processes in international relations.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz |
In class quiz
|
28% |
30/07/2024 6/08/2024 13/08/2024 20/08/2024 27/08/2024 3/09/2024 10/09/2024 17/09/2024 1/10/2024 8/10/2024
The quiz will occur during the scheduled lecture. |
| Essay/ Critique | Minor Essay (2000 words) | 32% |
16/09/2024 2:00 pm |
| Examination |
Final Exam
|
40% |
End of Semester Exam Period 2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024 |
Assessment details
In class quiz
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Quiz
- Weight
- 28%
- Due date
30/07/2024
6/08/2024
13/08/2024
20/08/2024
27/08/2024
3/09/2024
10/09/2024
17/09/2024
1/10/2024
8/10/2024
The quiz will occur during the scheduled lecture.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
From Week 2 to Week 11, there will be ten written quizzes held in the lecture. During Week 1 the class will be provided with a list of approximately 70 terms that are crucial to understanding the course, organized by week.
Each week I will select 3 terms that were covered during the previous week's lecture. During the lecture, you will be given 12 minutes to write a definition of one of the three terms I have selected from this list and displayed on the screen. Please note that the time the quiz is offered will vary from week to week, but that it will occur at some stage during the scheduled lecture time depending on that week's structure.
The definition has two parts: part A asks you to define the term. Part B asks you to explain why this term is important within the wider context of the twentieth century and/or the study of international relations. Examples will be provided in class and on Blackboard. Part A is worth 1 mark, part B is worth 3 marks (4 marks total).
There are 10 (ten) opportunities to take the quiz, but you only need to do it 7 (seven) times, forming 28% of your grade. If you do more than 7 quizzes, we will select your top 7 results. This means that you can miss up to three quizzes without a penalty. Please note that there are NO opportunities to re-take individual quizzes and no alternative assessment available except in the very specific circumstances outlined below. In other words: be organized and try to take as many quizzes as early as you can! If you do more than 7 quizzes, you can seriously improve your grade as we will take your top results. Also note that the last quiz is held in week 11 and plan accordingly!
Each week I will run through the definition from the previous week and provide examples of what constituted excellent work. As these terms are crucial components of the history of the twentieth century and the study of that century, I will be able to use your knowledge to enhance class discussion and overall learning in the course. The final exam for the course has a definitions component, so by doing this activity weekly and discussing the definitions during each lecture you will also enhance your performance on the final exam.
Alternative Assessment
If you have a Disability Action Plan that applies to the quiz please contact your tutor or the lecturer ASAP. We can make accommodations in the lecture for many of the issues documented in Disability Action Plans (e.g., if you cannot handwrite exams).
If a student has a genuine (documented) reason they have been unable to attend the lecture on 7 occasions, a make up test will be offered late in the semester, using the same master list of definitions. There is already flexibility built into this assessment to miss up to three quizzes, so the make-up quiz does not apply to students who miss up to three lectures for illness, etc. The make-up quiz is only available to students who have a genuine, documented reason for missing more than three lectures. Reasons may include: work commitments that cannot be altered; sudden/serious illness that requires a lengthy absence; or another documented reason for a lengthy absence.
To be eligible for alternative assessment, you must contact me by FRIDAY 16 AUGUST with your documentation. If there is an unforeseeable change to your circumstances (eg illness, new job) after that date, please contact me as soon as you can with documentation.
There will be one make -up test offered and I will give plenty of notice of the date.
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
The quiz will be handwritten during the lecture and submitted during the lecture.
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Minor Essay (2000 words)
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 32%
- Due date
16/09/2024 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
The Time Machine Essay
The goal of this essay is to:
1. Identify what you see as the most significant error* made in world politics 1900-2000.
2. Imagine you have a time machine and you are able to correct this error – and you have the power to make the players in the situation do what you want. (you do not need to worry about any problems relating to the space/time continuum or what happens if you remove objects or people). NB sadly you have no powers of assassination for this mission so you cannot simply remove a person. You also cannot perform an action that has the equivalent impact of removing a person (i.e., engineering an election so someone loses). The error should be an error of world politics, not domestic politics. You should choose one error/aspect of an error only; e.g., don't correct the entire peace settlement in 1919, but choose the aspect you think was the most significant error. If in doubt ask in the lecture or tutorial.
*You may be thinking: what does most significant mean? It means the most consequential error: an error that had far-reaching consequences for world politics.
Your assignment will consist of:
- Explaining why you consider this error to be so significant – why did you choose it?
- What led the players involved to make this mistake?
- Explaining how you would correct the error – what would have to happen for the error to go away?
- Outlining the best-case scenario for what would happen after your correction.
- Outlining the worst-case scenario for what would happen after your correction.
You will write this assignment as an essay that consists of five parts (those outlined above). You have 2000 words to divide up among these 5 parts. You will have to use your judgment to decide how many words each section needs to be (it will vary according to your choices). Writing this essay successfully will require research, just as you would do in a normal essay. You will need to do research for all five of the parts of the essay (to varying degrees) and use reference material and referencing just as you would in any essay. More information about this assignment will be provided in lectures, tutorials and on blackboard.
Assignments should be typed (double-spaced), fully referenced, and include a reference list. The reference list is not included in the word count. Students are expected to use the referencing style outlined in the School of Political Science and International Studies Essay Guide.
All assignments submitted are to be the original and individual work of the student submitting them. The assignment must be submitted electronically though Turnitin in Word.doc format (not PDF).
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically as a Word document via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Unless an extension is granted, penalties for late submission apply. Students are penalised 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item for every calendar day that an assessment item is late.
Marks will be deducted each day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point the submitted item will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is triggered from the time the submission is due.
Final Exam
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
This final exam will have two components:
- Definitions - short answer. A list of definitions central to the course will be provided in advance and the exam will select 5 of these to be answered in short answer form. Extensive explanation will be provided in lectures on Blackboard regarding format. Each definition has two components: the first should define the term/concept/idea/event, and the second explain why it is important for international relations. The first component is worth 1 point and the second component worth 2 points. The first part of the exam will be worth 15% of the total exam grade.
- Essay question: there will be a choice of essay questions, from which students select one. BE AWARE THAT ALL ESSAY QUESTIONS WILL COMPARE AT LEAST TWO TIME PERIODS. The essays will be marked according to the below criteria and will be worth 25% of the total exam grade.
Assessment tasks are intended to evaluate a student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the assessment instructions, assessments are to be completed without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT). Failure to comply with this direction may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: <p>.</p> |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: <p>.</p> |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: <p>.</p> |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: <p>.</p> |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: <p>.</p> |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: <p>.</p> |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: <p>.</p> |
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Assignments MUST be submitted as word documents, not PDF files. A penalty for submitting the wrong file type may be applied.ﾠ
Assignments more than 10% over the word limit will receive a penalty of -10%.ﾠ
NB: If you need extra help in preparing for your assignments,ﾠyour first point ofﾠcontact is your tutor, not the course coordinator.
Word Length Penalty
Unless otherwise indicated, in the case of written submissions with a specified word count, you are given a +10% leeway on the upper word limit. If your written submission is over this leeway limit, it will attract a 10 percentage point penalty. For example, if your essay is 1,500 words, you may write up to 1,650 before attracting a word count penalty. If your essay exceeds the upper word limit, it will attract a 10% word count penalty. Therefore, if your essay is worth 40 marks, you will lose 4 marks from your allotted grade. Unless specified, penalties only apply to exceeding the word length, not for failure to write a sufficient amount.
Students should note:
• The Author-date in-text referencing system will count toward the word length;
• References in the Footnote referencing system will not count toward the word length. If you are using footnotes, any content included in footnotes beyond the specific text reference will count towards the word length.
Marking Criteria/Rubric
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Essay Guide
The School of Political Science and International Studies Essay Guide can be downloaded from the School’s Student Support webpage.
The Guide sets out guidelines you should follow in preparing written assignments.
Essay Writing Assistance
The School of Political Science and International Studies schedules regular “drop-in” sessions designed to provide one-on-one advice and assistance in essay planning and writing.
There is no need to make an appointment and you are encouraged to bring your essay with you.
The day and time of these sessions will be finalized at the beginning of each semester and published on the Student Support webpage.
Student Services
Student services offer a variety of short courses during the semester which will help you improve your study, research and writing skills and thus your academic performance in this course.
Library Resources
UQ Library offers training in software, assignment writing, research skills, and publishing and research management.
The University’s library holdings for Political Science and International Studies are primarily located in the Central Library.
There is a help desk in the Library. Students are also welcome to contact the BEL/HASS Librarians for assistance.
Email: librarians@library.uq.edu.au
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (22 Jul - 28 Jul) |
Lecture |
Lecture 1: Introduction - The World in 1900 Introduction - The World Order in 1900: This introductory lecture will detail the scope and character of the course and outline teaching methods and assessment tasks. The second half will provide an overview of the world order in 1900, providing the historic context for the rest of the course. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 2 (29 Jul - 04 Aug) |
Lecture |
Lecture 2: The Causes and Consequences of WWI This lecture will consider World War I, examining its overarching context before then considering a range of theories that have been advanced to account for its causes. The lecture will conclude by reflecting on the war's main consequences, focusing especially on its impact on Europe, East Asia and the Middle East. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 1: The Causes and Consequences of WWI According to realist theorists, why is multipolarity less stable than bipolarity? How can you use Europe in 1914 to illustrate this claim? What is chain-ganging, and how does it differ from the concept of the balance of power? Are you persuaded by the argument that chain-ganging led to the outbreak of war? If yes, give three reasons why. If no, give three reasons why not. This tutorial will cover how to write a definition for the weekly quizzes. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Week 3 (05 Aug - 11 Aug) |
Lecture |
Lecture 3: Versailles, the League, and Int'l Crisis What did the settlement of WWI do to Europe and the wider world? What was the League of Nations? What was its role during the 1920s and 1930s? How did international crises in this period set the stage for the breakdown in the 1930s that led to World War II? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 2 : Versailles, the League and International Crisis
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Week 4 (12 Aug - 18 Aug) |
Lecture |
Lecture 4: Economic Crises and Political Consequences This lecture will examine the economic world of the 1920s and 1930s, considering the factors that led to economic collapse in 1929. We then turn to considering how the economic collapse transformed European politics and contributed to the rise of fascism. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 5 (19 Aug - 25 Aug) |
Lecture |
Lecture 5: World War II- origins and development What alternative visions of international order motivated the Axis Powers, and how did they differ from the order the Axis sought to overturn? Why was WWII such a protracted and global conflict? Why did the Allies eventually prevail over the Axis, and how did the war's course anticipate the Cold War to follow? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 3: World War II- origins and development 1. If you had a time machine, and a bullet, and could assassinate Hitler with no damaging consequences for the space-time continuum, what date would you choose? Justify your decision carefully. 2. What do you think an in-depth study of Hitler s economic plans in the late 1930s and the early phase of the war reveals? There s a big literature on this. What do you think it reveals for scholars of international relations about the nature of Hitler s war planning? 3. How similar were Germany and Japans goals in the 1930s? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Week 6 (26 Aug - 01 Sep) |
Lecture |
Lecture 6: Liberal Peace and the Cold War This lecture will consider the more durable peace that was established among the Western liberal democracies after WWII, as well as the more fragile security order that developed in East Asia now. We will also consider a variety of contending perspectives accounting for the origins of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 7 (02 Sep - 08 Sep) |
Lecture |
Lecture 7: The Korean War and the Cold War in Asia This lecture considers the Cold War's global spread in the 1950s and 1960s and countries' varying responses to escalating superpower antagonism. The Chinese Civil War and its aftermath and the Korean War will form particular foci of attention. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 4: Korean War and the Cold War in Asia How did communist victory in the Chinese civil war shape the course of the global Cold War? What impact did the Korean war (1950-1953) have on the Cold War, both in Northeast Asia and elsewhere? How do the legacies of the Chinese civil war and the Korean war continue to shape international order today? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Week 8 (09 Sep - 15 Sep) |
Lecture |
Lecture 8: The Cuban Missile Crisis: This lecture considers the Cold War's global spread in the 1950s and 1960s and countries' varying responses to escalating superpower antagonism. The Cuban missile crisis - arguably the closest the world has yet come to experiencing global thermonuclear war - will form the focus of the second half of the lecture. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 5: Cuban Missile Crisis 1. What is the concept of deterrence? How does it play out in the Cuban Missile Crisis? 2. Realists make explanations at the level of the international system. What is a systems-level explanation of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Does it leave out any crucial information? 3. Do you think the Cuban Missile Crisis improved or worsened superpower relations? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Week 9 (16 Sep - 22 Sep) |
Lecture |
Lecture 9: Decolonization This tutorial considers how the empires that had long been dominant in world politics began to disintegrate in the 1950s and 1960s. How did these orders fall apart? What were the consequences for world politics? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 6: Decolonisation Tutorial 6: Decolonisation: 1. Decolonization happens alongside the Cold War. How, if it all, are these two issues linked? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Week 10 (30 Sep - 06 Oct) |
Lecture |
Lecture 10: Detente and China Detente and contending with China: This lecture examines the 1970s: detente between West and East; slow changes in Eastern Europe; and how the west contended with the rise of China on the international stage. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 11 (07 Oct - 13 Oct) |
Lecture |
Lecture 11: The Peaceful End of the Cold War This lecture will consider the evolution of superpower rivalries in the 1980s, concentrating successively on the dangerous escalation of conflict that followed the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, followed by the mid-decade relaxation of tensions that culminated in 1989 with the Cold War's peaceful end. The lecture will then turn to focus specifically on the range of explanations that scholars have advanced to explain why and how the Cold War ended. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 7: Peaceful end of the Cold War 1. Are you more persuaded by English or Brooks and Wohlforth? Choose one, and then explain the two most convincing arguments they make, as well as the most damaging argument they make against other interpretations. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Week 12 (14 Oct - 20 Oct) |
Lecture |
Lecture 12: Iraq and Afghanistan The early 2000s have been dominated by the Global War on Terror, as exemplified by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. How did these wars occur? How are they related to each other? What have the international consequences of these conflicts been? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 8: Iraq and Afghanistan 1. Can a traditional balance of power explanation work for the war in Iraq? What about Afghanistan? How does this compare to the wars we ve looked at earlier in the semester? Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.