Associate Professor of Politics
Earlham College
Richmond, IN 47374-4095
E-mail: wellingh@earlham.edu
My thanks to Julianne Foster, Janet Hutchison, Amye Rosa, and Laila Shahrokhi for introducing me to this image.
|
B. Welling Hall
Associate Professor of Politics Earlham College Richmond, IN 47374-4095 E-mail: wellingh@earlham.edu My thanks to Julianne Foster, Janet Hutchison, Amye Rosa, and Laila Shahrokhi for introducing me to this image. |
I have been teaching the Politics of Global Problems at Earlham since 1987-88. It is always one of my favorite courses.
Introduction
In the past decade a wave of unforeseen change has transformed the international scene. This general education course is designed to acquaint first- and second- year college students with problems and challenges facing the global community. This semester represents an exciting endeavor for Politics 17. For the last five week of the semester we will represent Germany and South Africa in a five-week long simulation of international conflict and negotiation. The simulation will be global in scope and will focus on a variety of issues such as arms control, human rights, international trade, Third World economic development, the global environment, international drug trafficking, and world health. Current information technology makes it possible for us to engage in this simulation, negotiating with other country delegations at other universities and in other countries via the ICONS Project. Your course fee covers the cost of participation in ICONS.
Course Objectives and Student Responsibilities
The objectives of the course are to:
1. to evaluate news about international relations with an educated frame of reference, incorporating into your working vocabulary a number of terms and concepts used by scholars, policy-makers, and other political actors.
2. to write concise statements about international relations using skills that will serve you in internships, jobs, and applications for grants.
3. to understand the meaning of and to identify "description," "explanation," and "prescription" in the analysis of contemporary global problems.
4. to contrast and compare different worldviews in understanding the causes of global problems and the conduct of policy making in international relations.
Required Texts
The following texts are available at the bookstore:
Donnelly, Jack. 1998. International Human Rights. 2d Edition
(Westview Press).
Mason, David S. 1996. Revolution and Transition in East-Central
Europe. 2d Edition (Westview Press).
Porter, Gareth and Janet Welsh Brown. 1996. Global Environmental
Politics. 2d Edition (Westview Press).
You should read a newspaper of record everyday. I recommend the Christian Science Monitor because it has free online archives going back to 1980.
ICONS Assignment
For Spring Semester 1999, students in Politics 17 will participate in the International Conflict and Negotiation Simulation. This simulation is a sophisticated effort to provide a virtual "hands on" approach to diplomacy and global problem-solving.
Group Web Page Assignment
Web pages have also been used as a group assignment for this course
(Term II 1996, Fall 1996, Spring 1997, Fall 1997).
This assignment demonstrates how to:
1. Present information clearly and concisely.
2. Evaluate the relative importance of information.
3. Evaluate how different elements of information are connected to
each other.
4. Engage in in-depth research about a global problem.
5. Learn computer literacy skills that are essential for today's careers.
Sample Student Projects