- 2019

Undergraduate

Minor / Major

Commencement year

This area of study entry applies to students commencing this course in 2019 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)

Dr Ben Wellings

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 and 21st centuries. 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 and a minor, and in 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 level 1 may be credited to the majormajor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2019handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) and at least 18 points must be at level 3.

Students complete:

  1. Two level 1 gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2019handbooks/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/2019handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):
  3. One level 3 capstone unitcapstone unit (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2019handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (6 points), chosen from:
    • ATS3335 International political economy
    • 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/2019handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html).

Students complete:

  1. Two level 1 gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2019handbooks/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 including cornerstones, capstones and electives. It is highly recommended that students complete a level 2 unit before enrolling in a level 3 unit.

Elective list

Units are 6 points unless otherwise stated.

  • ATS2088Not offered in 2019 Russia and the US: Comparative politics
  • ATS2378 The anthropology of international development
  • ATS2625 Mobile worlds: Borders, displacement and belonging
  • ATS2640 The ethics of global conflict
  • ATS2691Not offered in 2019 Politics, violence and memory
  • ATS2698 Middle East politics
  • ATS3399 The politics of identity
  • ATS3690 Reflections on humanity: Truth, freedom and power
  • ATS3697 Gender and international relations
  • ATS3935 Professional practice
  • ATS3974Not offered in 2019 European integration and security
  • any remaining cornerstone or capstone units not already completed

International study tours

  • ATS2275/ATS3275 The European Union from consensus to crisis
  • ATS2276Not offered in 2019/ATS3276Not offered in 2019 Modern Italian political thought
  • ATS3248 Field methods in anthropology and international development
  • ATS3266 Washington and the world: Washington D. C study tour

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:*

  • A2004 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music
  • A2005 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Art
  • B2019 Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2020 Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2038 Bachelor of International Business and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2039 Bachelor of Marketing and Bachelor of Arts
  • B2046 Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts
  • C2002 Bachelor of Information Technology and Bachelor of Arts
  • D3002 Bachelor of Education (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • E3002 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) 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.