This course is for new students in the master program in international relations. Students are introduced to each other and at the same time create a foundation for further studies in international relations. The course introduces students to the various analytical approaches to international relations, such as liberalism, realism, constructivism and critical theories and basic discussions around epistemology and ontology. The course design aims to enable students to relate these theories to ongoing events in global politics. A key objective is therefore to ensure IR students have the basic knowledge to make their further studies in the subject field of international relations easier and enable more in-depth analyses and discussions through the various other courses in the master program. Through compulsory group work students are introduced to each other and teamwork, a working form also important for any future employee. Students collaborate on a writing assignment and are thereby also introduced to the NMBU Library, searching for relevant sources and how to reference them. 

Through out this four-week intensive course in the August-block, students are also introduced to relevant administrative routines, rules and regulations pertaining to the study program. The outline of the international relations program is discussed, in particular the combination of core courses in IR theories and research methods, and the elective courses that can form part of students individual study plan. 

The course provides a basic introduction to international relations, main theories and how to use them analytically. At the end of the course, the student has:

Learned the core content of and how to use the main theoretical approaches to international relations, including realism, liberalism, constructivism, and critical theory;  

Experience with teamwork, learned to know other students and how to be a team player and a resource to each others learning process;

Learned how to write a good paper in international relations; and

Training in basic principles of academic writing, such as how to properly cite references, and has completed a plagiarism quiz (with the submission of plagiarism declaration). 

Learning methods include lectures, discussions, group work, oral and written presentations, and consultations with academic advisor.

Attendance: Generally speaking, and across academic disciplines, there is a strong correlation between lecture attendance and a student's final mark for any given course. Despite one or two exceptions, poor attendance usually translates into poor final marks. This is because you will not have had the forum to discuss ideas, nor will you have had a comparable guide to the ideas and problems discussed during the lecture course. It is therefore strongly recommended that you attend all lectures. It is also recommended that the students organize so called colloquies, discussion groups in where they can discuss their ideas on religion and politics, however, this is up to the students them-selves. 

Independent work: Of course, independent work is as important as attendance. It is advised that you read broadly and think about what you're reading. On average, and other commitments notwithstanding, you are expected to give about day a week to this course. That's at least six to seven hours per week. It is recommended that you do at least two hours of preparation a week for the seminars and at least an hour of additional reading before rather than after the lecture. Lectures are to help you with the reading not to substitute for it. Good preparation will greatly reduce the amount of work you will put into writing your essays, and also the amount of revision work you will have to do before the exam.

The format of the seminars: Each group is expected to use 15 minutes to present their paper in the seminar, each group will also be expected to act as a discussant once, the discussant role require that the group read up on the topic, preferably wider than the required readings list, and prepare questions for the presenting group and their paper. It is expected that the discussant group prepare for at least 10 minutes, the remaining time will be set of for class discussions

Supervision during group work and collquiums.

Office hours and procedures are established at the first class meeting. A course outline is handed out at the same time. Information about time and place of lectures and seminars is available in Time Edit on NMBU's website under course code (EDS203). 

Reading is comprised of one major textbook and additional readings. 

Main textbook: Baylis, J.; Smith, S. and Owens, P.. 2017: The Globalization of World Politics. An introduction to international relations. Seventh ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Addition readings: Under each lecture compulsory readings from the main textbook are listed, as well as additional readings, students should strive to read some of the additional readings as well as the compulsory readings, the student is not required to do additional readings but should strive to include some of these works in their reading. It is expected that the students use the library and the internet independently to find the readings other than the text book that should be bought or borrowed. Your ability to conduct independent research will be made evident by the content and bibliography (literature list) of your essays, essays based on a limited number of sources will most commonly receive a lower mark. Please feel free to ask for help and advice. 

Evaluation will be based on a group paper and graded pass or fail. The group distribution will be selected by the module convener, the group is then to plan its meetings and produce a draft paper to present in the seminar. Plagiarism in the draft paper will be seriously stricken down on, as will failure to contribute. The paper should be maximum 10 pages, written in font 12 and the Times New Roman Style, with 1.5 line spacing.

The Harvard system for quotations shall be used. This standard can be acquired from the NMBU Library (Can be accessed at: http://www.umb.no/library/article/citing-literature-and-making-reference-lists), and is based on the Harvard quotation system. The student is expected to follow this reference system, failure to do so will result in marks being deducted, and in the worst case scenario, a fail. 

Exam only in English.