POLS 04, Introduction to International Relations

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  POLS 04
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait
Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a Political Science course for undergraduate students by Andrew Alexander at San José State University. The open textbook provides a thorough and easy to read introduction to international relations theories. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was accessibility and affordability for students. Most students access the open textbook in pdf format through the E-IR site or Canvas.

Course Title and Number - POLS 04, Introduction to International Relations
Brief Description of course highlights:  Catalogue description: Introductory survey of major topics in international relations, including global, national and individual causes of war and peace, international cooperation, north-south relations and political economy https://catalog.sjsu.edu/preview_course_nopop.php?catoid=10&coid=42533 

Student population: This is an introductory course of primarily lower division students but some upper division. The course is filled with primarily Political Science majors, though not exclusively as the course fills a general education requirement for social sciences. 

Learning or student outcomes:  Course learning outcomes include familiarity with primary theoretical approaches, actors, and events in international relations. Per general education four learning outcomes, “Area 4 courses increase students’ understanding of human behavior and social interaction in the context of value systems, economic structures, political institutions, social groups, and natural environments. Through fulfillment of the Area 4 requirement, students develop an understanding of problems and issues from different disciplinary perspectives and examine issues in their contemporary as well as historical settings and in a variety of cultural contexts.

Upon successful completion of an Area 4 course, students should be able to:
1. demonstrate understanding of the ways in which social institutions, culture, and environment shape and are shaped by the behavior of individuals, both past and present;
2. compare and contrast the dynamics of two or more social groups or social systems in a variety of historical and/or cultural contexts;
3. place contemporary social developments in cultural, environmental, geographical, and/or historical contexts; and
4.  draw on social/behavioral science information from various perspectives to formulate applications appropriate to historical and/or contemporary social issues.”

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: International Relations Theory” published through E-IR

Brief Description:  From the publisher: “This book is designed as a foundational entry point to International Relations theory. Each chapter sets out the basics of a theory whilst also applying it to a real-world event or issue, creating a lively, readable and relevant guide that will help students to see not only what theories are – but why they matter. Downloaded over 300,000 times since publication, it is the world’s most read IR Theory book published in the twenty-first century. The first section covers the theories that are most commonly taught in undergraduate programmes, from realism right through to postcolonialism. The book then expands in an innovative second section to present emerging approaches and offer wider perspectives.”

Please provide a link to the resource  
https://www.e-ir.org/p/international-relations-theory

Authors:  Eds: Stephen McGlinchey, Rosie Walters and Christian Scheinpflug

Contributors: Victor Adetula, Amitav Acharya, Sandrina Antunes, Lina Benabdallah, Isabel Camisão, Irena Leisbet Ceridwen Connon, Jeff Corntassel, Alix Dietzel, Hugh C. Dyer, Clara Eroukhmanoff, Marcos Farias Ferreira, Dana Gold, Richard Ned Lebow, Aishling Mc Morrow, Jeffrey W. Meiser, Carlos Murillo-Zamora, Sheila Nair, Maïa Pal, Alex Prichard, Felix Rösch, Archie W. Simpson, Sarah Smith, Yannis A. Stivachtis, Sarina Theys, Markus Thiel, Marc Woons and Pichamon Yeophantong.

Student access:  Students can access a pdf copy of the e-book through Canvas or through the E-IR site directly (link also provided in the syllabus and on Canvas).

Supplemental resources:  E-IR provides supplementary learning materials for students to accompany the book on international relations theories (https://www.e-ir.org/t/online-resources-international-relations), and an online glossary of international relations terms (https://www.e-ir.org/p/glossary-of-key-international-relations)

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  I previously used the Oxford Handbook of International Relations https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34331 retailing for $102.13 paperback and $108.75 hardcover - https://www.amazon.com/International-Relations-Christian-Reus-Smit-published/dp/B01M3QIOOC/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

License:  Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 license

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option.  . I was searching for a text that was more accessible for undergraduates new to international relations that was also open access. The textbook I found is tailored to students new to the field and available for free to students already overburdened by the exorbitant costs of higher education in the US. The E-IR textbook also comes with a range of other open access resources to students looking to supplement their understanding of international relations.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?  ? I searched for open access textbooks on the topic and was familiar with this outlet. I will be sure to check with OER and library resources for open access texts for my other classes as well.

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned.  Copyright and university policy is not entirely clear about whether we can freely post chapters from a book for students, and if so, how many. I am happy to learn there are resources for searching for open access textbooks. I would like to learn about other ways I can provide high quality materials to students at no or low cost. 

Instructor Name - Andrew Alexander
I am an assistant professor of political science at San José State University.

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www2.sjsu.edu/polisci/about-us/faculty-staff-directory/andrew-alexander.php
Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach.
POLS 04 - Introduction to International Relations
POLS 100M - Political Inquiry
POLS 100W - Writing Workshop
POLS 144 - Middle East Politics
POLS 155 - Wealth of Nations
POLS 170V - US Politics in Global Perspective
POLS 176   -   Digital Political Economy

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  My approach to teaching is to provide students with the tools to demystify complex systems and concepts, to challenge their views and the world as it is, and to and encourage critical thinking applied beyond the classroom. I encourage students to approach social, political, and economic questions historically, critically, and globally.

My research interests include AI and politics of technology, critical data studies, classical and global political economy, and comparative and international politics.