- 2017

Undergraduate

Minor / Major

Commencement year

This area of study entry applies to students commencing this course in 2017 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 component of any bachelors double degrees.

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

Managing faculty

Faculty of Arts

Offered by

School of Social Sciences

Coordinator(s)

Associate Professor Katrina Lee-Koo

Contact details

International relationsInternational relations (http://future.arts.monash.edu/ug-international-relations/)

Location

Caulfield Clayton

International relations as a discipline was founded after World War I and has evolved over the course of the 20th 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 major at Monash focusses on four broad areas: international security studies, global governance, international political economy and foreign policy.

Availability

International relations is listed in A2000 Bachelor of Arts at Caulfield and Clayton as a major or minor, and A0502 Diploma of Liberal Arts at Caulfield and Clayton as a major.

Outcomes

In addition to achieving the broad outcomes of their course, students successfully completing this major 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

Units

Major requirements (48 points)

No more than 12 points at first-year level may be credited to the majormajor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2017handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) and at least 18 points must be at third-year level.

Students complete:

  1. Two level 1 gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2017handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):
    • ATS1701 Terrorism and political violence: An introduction
    • ATS1873 Introduction to international relations
  2. Two level 2 cornerstone unitscornerstone units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2017handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):
  3. One level 3 capstone unitcapstone unit (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2017handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (6 points), chosen from:
    • ATS3340 International security studies
    • ATS3705 Knowledge and power in world politics
  4. Three units (18 points) from the remaining capstone unit or the elective list below with at least two units at level 3.

Minor requirements (24 points)

No more than 12 points at level 1 may be credited towards the minorminor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2017handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html).

Students complete:

  1. Two level 1 gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2017handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):
    • ATS1701 Terrorism and political violence: An introduction
    • ATS1873 Introduction to international relations
  2. Two level 2 or 3 units (12 points) as listed within the major. It is a highly recommended that students complete a level 2 unit before enrolling in a level 3 unit.

Elective list

Units are six points unless otherwise stated.

  • ATS2275/ATS3275 The European Union from consensus to crisis
  • ATS2378 The anthropology of international development
  • ATS2387/ATS3387 Beyond Gallipoli: Australians in the Great War
  • ATS2640 The ethics of global conflict
  • ATS2691 Politics, violence and memory
  • ATS2698 Middle East politics
  • ATS3248 Field methods in anthropology and international development
  • ATS3266 Washington and the world: Washington D.C study tour
  • ATS3335 International political economy
  • ATS3697 Gender and international relations
  • ATS3974 European integration and security

Relevant courses

Diplomas

  • A0502 Diploma of Liberal Arts

Bachelors

Single degrees

Successful completion of the minor or major can be counted towards meeting the requirements for the following single degree:*

Students in other single bachelor's degrees may be eligible to complete the minor or major by using 24 or 48 points of their free electives.

Double degrees

Successful completion of the minor or major can be counted towards meeting the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts component in the following double degrees:*

  • A2005 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Art
  • A2004 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music
  • B2019 Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2012 Bachelor of Business Specialist and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2020 Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2024 Bachelor of Commerce Specialist and Bachelor of Arts
  • D3002 Bachelor of Education (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • E3002 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • C2002 Bachelor of Information Technology and Bachelor of Arts
  • L3003 Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • S2006 Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts

* Students cannot complete both the minor and major in the same area of study.