international-relations/ug-arts-international-relations

aos

Monash University

Undergraduate - Area of study

Students who commenced study in 2014 should refer to this area of study entry for direction on the requirments; to check which units are currently available for enrolment, refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your area of study.

print version

This area of study entry applies to students commencing this course in 2014 and should be read in conjunction with the relevant course entry in the Handbook. Any units listed for this area of study relate only to the 'Requirements' outlined in the Faculty of Arts component of any bachelors double degrees.

Managing facultyFaculty of Arts
Offered bySchool of Political and Social Inquiry
Campus(es)Caulfield, Clayton

Notes

  • Unit codes that are not linked to their entry in the Handbook are not available for study in the current year.

Description

International relations as a discipline was founded after World War I and has evolved over the course of the century. However, its core purposes remain the same: to explain seemingly intractable global problems and the political nature of responses to them, and to consider whether there are global responsibilities. The discipline advances critical knowledge about the causes, consequences and challenges of mitigating conflict and promoting cooperation within and across states and societies. It is concerned with the relationships between international structures, processes and political institutions including states, non-government organisations (NGOs), social movements, and international organisations such as the United Nations and its specialised agencies, the World Trade Organisation, NATO, and the European Union. Concepts of power, sovereignty, security and the state are central to the subject matter of international relations. Students are encouraged to develop critical thinking, creativity, team work, research-based learning and analytical writing skills in order to understand contemporary changes and historical continuities in international relations.

International relations at Monash aims to offer students an understanding of many aspects of contemporary global politics and economics, coupled with a solid intellectual grounding in the key debates, historical events, and political institutions in which the discipline is immersed. The international relations program at Monash specialises in four broad areas:

  • international security studies
  • global governance
  • international political economy
  • foreign policy.

Students may specialise in one or more of these areas, but are encouraged to choose their units so as to explore the different approaches to international relations.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the major, students will be able to:

  • recognise, interpret and analyse mainstream and critical theoretical perspectives and conventional and alternative concepts in the study of international relations across its four subfields (security studies, international political economy, foreign policy, global governance)
  • apply these perspectives and concepts to illuminate and examine a new or existing problem in the study of international relations
  • comprehend and constructively engage with current affairs, international relations scholarly articles and books, and put them in an appropriate theoretical and empirical context
  • communicate orally and in writing using clear and persuasive language appropriate for an international academic community and a general audience
  • demonstrate creativity and self-learning through research-based projects
  • synthesise skills of creativity, team work, critical thinking, self-learning and analytical writing through differentiated assessment tasks of individual or group oral presentation using multimedia resources and a research-based written essay or reports.

Units

Minor in international relations

Students completing a minorminor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2014handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) in international relations must complete four units (24 points), including:

(a.) two first-year gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2014handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

  • ATS1353 Introduction to politics
  • ATS1873 Introduction to international relations

(b.) additional elective units from the list below (12 points)

Note: Students can take the second-year cornerstone units from the major as electives.

Major in international relations

Students completing a majormajor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2014handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) in international relations must complete eight units (48 points), including:

(a.) two first-year gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2014handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

  • ATS1353 Introduction to politics
  • ATS1873 Introduction to international relations

(b.) at least two second-year cornerstone unitscornerstone units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2014handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points), chosen from:

  • ATS2340 International security studies
  • ATS2624 Global governance
  • ATS2694 International political economy
  • ATS2706 Foreign policy analysis: Washington and world politics

(c.) at least one third-year capstone unitcapstone unit (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2014handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (6 points), chosen from:

  • ATS3690 Reflections on humanity: Truth, freedom and power*
  • ATS3705 Power and justice in world politics

(d.) additional elective units from the list below (18 points)

A minimum of three units (18 points) must be completed at third-year level.

Note: Students can take the remaining cornerstone and capstone units as electives.

* This unit is also a capstone unit for politicspolitics (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/politics/ug-arts-politics.html). Students doing a major in international relations and a major in politics need to choose a different capstone unit for each major. A unit cannot be counted twice towards different majors.

Extended major in international relations

Students studying an extended major in international relations (60 points), must complete an additional 12 points of third-year level elective units.

Elective units

  • ATS2376 Political anthropology: Ethnic and national identities in the modern world
  • ATS2378 Development of the third world
  • ATS2387/ATS3387 Beyond Gallipoli: Australians in the Great War*
  • ATS2395 Australia in a globalising world
  • ATS2640/ATS3640 The ethics of global conflict
  • ATS2691 Politics, violence and memory
  • ATS2692 Progress and despair: Modern political ideologies and theories
  • ATS2693 Politics and the media in Australia
  • ATS2698 Middle east politics
  • ATS2701 Terrorism and insurgency in global politics
  • ATS2719 Political and social theory
  • ATS2853/ATS3853 Political passions*
  • ATS2903 Leaders, publics and power
  • ATS2942 Fanatics and fundamentalists: The global politics of violence
  • ATS2945 Australian government and politics
  • ATS2961 Political ideas in context: Nature, law and revolution
  • ATS2975 Building blocs: The European Union and the Asia-Pacific
  • ATS3287 War and peace: Models of conflict resolution*
  • ATS3462 International crime and justice
  • ATS3522 Governing the European Union
  • ATS3632 Post conflict: Justice, memory, reconciliation
  • ATS3639 Poverty, ecology and international justice
  • ATS3688 Foreign policies of the great and emerging powers
  • ATS3695 Australian public policy
  • ATS3697 Gender and international relations
  • ATS3699 Parties and power
  • ATS3703 Arms control and world politics
  • ATS3708 Issues in global politics
  • ATS3836 Victorian parliamentary internship
  • ATS3854 Unconventional power: Conspiracy, confrontational politics and controversial religion
  • ATS3905 Democratic theory
  • ATS3973 The political economy of European integration
  • ATS3974 European security

* Taught in Prato, Italy. This unit will require payment of an additional fee that may cover items such as accommodation, entry fees, excursions, coaches, transfers, flights and university administration.

Relevant courses

Diplomas

  • 2327 Diploma in Liberal Arts

Bachelors

Single degrees

  • 0002 Bachelor of Arts
  • 3907 Bachelor of Arts (English Language)
  • 3910 Bachelor of Arts (Global)
  • 4077 Bachelor of Arts (International)
  • 1366 Bachelor of Arts (Languages)
  • 1638 Bachelor of Arts Scholars Program
  • 4042 Bachelor of Journalism
  • 0202 Bachelor of Letters
  • 1275 Bachelor of Professional Communication

Double degrees

  • 4640 Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • 4098 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business
  • 0550 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Accounting)
  • 0553 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance)
  • 0555 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Management)
  • 0556 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Marketing)
  • 0542 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce
  • 0170 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Economics
  • 1541 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education (Primary)
  • 1641 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education (Secondary)
  • 0080 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws
  • 3054 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music
  • 0530 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
  • 3426 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work
  • 0002 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Theology
  • 0530 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Visual Arts
  • 3779 Bachelor of Arts Scholars Program and Bachelor of Commerce Scholars Program
  • 4403 Bachelor of Arts (Global) and Bachelor of Commerce
  • 3537 Bachelor of Arts (Global) and Bachelor of Science
  • 4634 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • 4644 Bachelor of Environmental Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • 4426 Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Business
  • 4425 Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Commerce
  • 4069 Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Science
  • 4648 Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts