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Regular version of the site

Introduction to Contemporary Geopolitics

2022/2023
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
4
ECTS credits
Course type:
Elective course
When:
4 year, 3 module

Instructor

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the main concepts and research themes in contemporary geopolitics. As one of the primary perspectives within the field of political geography, geopolitics represents a broad engagement with the interactive relationships between power and place, and the construction, contestation and reconfiguration of political spaces that result. During the semester we will examine the formation of geopolitical images of the world, where these images come from, and how they have shaped our thinking and politics over time. Following an introduction to traditional and critical approaches to geopolitics, we will examine the modern history of global geopolitics from the turn of the 20th century to the present day. This class is practice-based. We will be critically analyzing articles, speeches, and movies throughout the module in class.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • By the end of the semester, students will be able to: • Define and distinguish between traditional and critical approaches to geopolitics; • Discuss the main elements of the geopolitical imagination that shape our understanding of the world and our place in it; • Describe, provide examples of, and critically analyze the formal, practical, and popular geopolitics that interact to produce our geopolitical understandings of the world.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • acquires critical, analytical, synthetic, reflective, theoretical and practical thought to be able to understand, analyse, interpret and rigorously and independently sum up international reality from a multidisciplinary standpoint
  • acquires the ability to consider and creatively respond to the essential questions as to the whys and wherefores,and the consequences of human, social, political and economic events of global society
  • generates public opinion and builds bridges with the various social sectors, allowing for the formation and dissemination of a message and culture for the benefit of humankind, conveying values based on the search for truth and common good
  • develops personal leadership focusing on communication and mediation in the context of international relations
  • applies group work with common objectives, fostering the analysis and pooling of various approaches
  • understands and analyses the international reality from the standpoint of respect and protecting democracy, human rights, cultural diversity and the values of equality, justice and solidarity. To be able to take part in discussions on current affairs, based on knowledge of international relations and an analysis of todays world
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Week 1. Justifying Geopolitical Agency: Representing geopolitical codes
  • Week 2. Embedding Geopolitics within national Identity
  • Week 3. Critiquing Classical Geopolitics
  • Week 4. Mapping Time onto Space
  • Week 5. The Geopolitics of Capitalism
  • Week 6. Feminist Geopolitics
  • Week 7. Popular Geopolitics of the Post-Cold War
  • Week 8. Popular Geopolitics after 9/11
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Seminar participation
    The seminar grade can be obtained either by in-class participation or by writing a short essay. Short essay: Each week students will prepare a short analysis of the assigned readings (around 500 words), to be submitted via mail. This should be a summary giving the gist of the reading, clearly outlining the author’s principal argument and the theoretical perspective employed. As the seminar progresses, you should be able to relate the various readings amongst each other. In-class Participation, сriteria of engagement: • Meaningful engagement with the mandatory readings demonstrated • Own critical approach to the reading and lecture materials elucidated • By bringing in concepts and empirical examples from other fields of study, the student demonstrates a complex understanding of the introduced concepts • Contribution to the class dynamics: by reflecting on earlier points and comments, students can again demonstrate a practical understanding of the discussed concepts, as well as their abilities to understand the dynamics of ongoing discussions. Conversely, redundant and self-serving comments will lower the participation grade.
  • non-blocking Online Course Assignments
  • non-blocking Quizzes
  • non-blocking Team work
    Group work consists of three tasks. You must prepare a portfolio of three assignments by the end of the course and submit it at the last session of the course. First task: Prepare a review (500-1000 words) for one of the films discussed in the course. In the review, you have to analyze the film using the theoretical approaches of geopolitics. Second task: Prepare an audio podcast on one of the course topics, at least 20 minutes long. Third task: Сritical paper Description: The essay has to review academic literature on the geopolitics and case analyses. It can also cover media materials and other primary sources if relevant. Total word count is 1000-1500 words inclusive of citations (Chicago in-text citations); with bibliography excluded. All team members receive the same grade for the essay, differentiation is not provided. In case of plagiarism, the student responsible for the part where plagiarism was found automatically gets 0. All other members of the team get the grade as if without plagiarism found. The essay should be written in 12 point font, 1.5 spacing. The title and section heading should be bold. An essay should include clear statement of a research problem; include an analysis of the case by using concepts and analytical tools within the subject that generalize the point of view of the author. You should be guided by the literature and theoretical materials discussed within the course. In your essay, you can choose one of the theoretical approach that we discussed and argue your conclusions on the example of one country. It can also cover media materials and other primary sources if relevant. An essay should include Introduction, Main part, Conclusion, Reference list. Introduction should include the following information: (1) some background information about the topic, (2) thesis statement, (3) structure of the essay. Body of the essay should cover the theoretical foundation of selected problem and evidence-based argumentation of the case. Conclusion should include the argumentative summary about the case analyses and possibilities for further development of the case. As a rough guide, the Introduction and Conclusion should be around 500 words (25%) of your whole essay. There should be no Title page.
  • non-blocking Final test
    Description: The test makes up 20% of the final grade. It consists of two parts and lasts 1 hour 20 minutes. Part one is a simple one correct answer quiz. Part two consists of open questions where students have to demonstrate their deeper knowledge of the subject.
  • non-blocking Exam
    Description: The exam makes up 20% of the final grade. It consists of two parts and lasts 1 hour 20 minutes. Part one is a simple one correct answer quiz. Part two consists of open questions where students have to demonstrate their deeper knowledge of the subject.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2022/2023 3rd module
    0.1 * Online Course Assignments + 0.2 * Quizzes + 0.15 * Seminar participation + 0.2 * Exam + 0.15 * Team work + 0.2 * Final test
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Agnew, J. A. (2003). Geopolitics : Re-visioning World Politics. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=853964
  • Introduction to geopolitics, Flint, C., 2012
  • Said, E. W. (1979). Orientalism (Vol. First Vintage books edition). New York: Vintage. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=842875

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • An, N., & Zhu, H. (2018). Conceptual and theoretical debates in modern geopolitics and their implications for Chinese geopolitics. Area Development & Policy, 3(3), 368–382. https://doi.org/10.1080/23792949.2017.1405732