International Relations
Academic Subject Summer Course
Overview
The course offers students an introduction to issues and ideas in International Relations. It is intended for people interested in how modern relations between nations and people have evolved and how they are changing in a globalising world. The course is taught through a series of lectures, seminars, case studies and discussion classes with supporting English tuition.
The course combines lectures, seminars and case studies to explore a wide range of developments in international relations today including: the rise of nationalism in Europe; democratic revolutions in the Middle East; America’s waning hegemony; and the challenges of global warming and nuclear proliferation.
Students will get the opportunity to produce group presentations on a variety of different international questions, and to participate in role-playing exercises that give an insight into the practical diplomacy of international relations.
Click on the structure tab for more details and to see what structure the lectures will follow. Click here to view the International Relations flyer
The course can be taken either as a full 6-week course across Blocks 1 and 2, or alternatively as a single 3-week course covering either Block 1 or Block 2.
Email: summer@soas.ac.uk
English language requirements: Students need at least an intermediate level of English in order to understand the lectures, which are delivered at undergraduate level, and to engage in lively discussion in the seminars and tutorials.
Structure
Block 1
The focus of Block 1 is the creation of the modern international order, from the emergence of the sovereign nation-state in the 18th century, through the age of European empire to the epochs of revolution and ideological conflict in the 20th century.
How have these key international events shaped the world we live in today? In this block we will ask what international history and theory teach us about the challenges to peace and stability in the contemporary world.
Lectures
- Diplomacy, war and the territorial states-system
- Nation-states and nationalism
- Britain, imperialism and the creation of the modern world
- Revolution in world politics – from Russia to the ‘Arab Spring’
- America, the Cold War and the Third World
Block 2
This three-week course can be taken either on its own or following on from Block 1. Its focus is the changing nature of international politics today. Has economic and cultural globalisation weakened the authority of the nation-state? What are the new threats facing the international community, and how should they be managed? These are just some of the pressing political and ethical issues students will examine together in this block.
Lectures
- Europe, 1989: The end of history?
- Culture and identity in a globalising age
- Development, poverty and international relations
- Cosmopolitan politics and human rights
- International law and the United Nations
- The future of international order
How to Apply
Fees
Tuition per 3-week course £ 1035
Accommodation per 3 weeks (room only) £ 630 or £750 (catered)
We recommend you apply early if you want accommodation in SOAS Halls of Residence.
You must complete and send back the acceptance form, and pay online as soon possible. An online receipt will be produced when you use the online payment system.
Refunds of accommodation and course fees are made only at the discretion of SOAS.
Application
Please fill in the Summer 2013 online application form or print off the Summer: Application Form 2013 (pdf; 34kb) and post it to:
Head of Department International Foundation Courses & English Language Studies (IFCELS)
SOAS (University of London)
23/24 Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
UK
Pre-Course Information
A Student's Perspective
Sare DemirWhen I actually started my studies on the foundation course at SOAS, it confirmed in my mind that I had made a very good choice.
