The social sciences increasingly utilize film as a teaching tool. This is reflected by a growing amount of publications on the topic, which are predominantly reporting positive results. Incorporating the medium seems to allow for more adaptive and engaging ways of teaching. Judging from the existing literature, however, its application in the…

When new graduates begin employment in industries such as government, consultancies, or the nongovernmental sector they are expected to have the skills needed to write politically-informed reports accurately. Teaching how to write briefing notes provides students with an important skill, but also provides an effective instrument for examining…

This article utilizes the online world politics simulation Statecraft to examine how students perceive the influence of simulations on their political ideologies as well as their expectations about behavior and outcomes within the constraints of a virtual world. This paper does not evaluate learning outcomes or student understanding of class…

Critics contend that current college graduates lack necessary skills for the workplace. What are the aptitudes that employers seek? How can classroom instruction and assessment help develop these capacities, particularly in an international relations class? Numerous surveys of employers indicate they value cross-cutting "soft"…

Reports findings of a 1976 survey of political scientists concerning curriculum development in intergovernmental relations. Compared with a 1968 survey, responses show expanded treatment of topics related to American federalism, and an increase in intergovernmental relations content in introductory political science courses at larger colleges and…

Discusses using popular detective and espionage fiction in courses related to area politics, international relations, political terrorism, socialization, and bureaucratic politics. Suggests several novels and ways in which they may be integrated into courses. (KC)

Discusses how theory and science are integrated into "Introduction to International Relations" and "International Relations Theory", two undergraduate courses at Pennsylvania State University (University Park). Highlights five issues that are used in the author's approach to teaching theory and science. (CMK)

This article describes an undergraduate simulation that formulates Iraqi regimes following the removal of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime. This exercise reinforces student comprehension and awareness for a range of legal and political topics--including group decision making, international law, diplomacy, and human rights--by actively engaging the…

The author describes a course in which undergraduate political science majors are taught to read international relations literature critically. Seven specific objectives in judging the literature are included. (DE)

Education about national security has always been part of the social studies curriculum in U.S. high schools. But its focus has been simply chronological and episodic with major attention given to war, particularly the decision to enter it and the conduct of U.S. military forces. Little attention has been given to the evolution and structural…

Summarizes six curricular approaches to the teaching of international relations at the college level. Assesses some of the purposes and rationales of these approaches and discusses the merits of each approach. Concludes that development of curricula has largely failed to address questions of both substance and pedagogy. (KO)

Presents a simulation game given in a freshman-level international relations course on the Indian and Pakistani dispute over Kashmir (India). Explains that the simulation covers three or four class periods where the students take the role of international policymakers and resolve a mock acute crisis in the Kashmir region. (CMK)

Explains using the Bosnian war crimes simulation to introduce international law and its political and legal ramifications in the course "Introduction to International Politics." Discusses the characteristics of the simulation, its effectiveness, and the response by students. Offers an evaluation of the exercise. (CMK)

This subunit on the foreign policy of the USSR is part of one of four resource units in an eleventh grade area studies course. This subunit begins with a list of objectives, the generalizations, skills, and attitudes to be learned in this section. The materials treat the relations of the USSR with other countries and introduce the USSR's split…

Focuses on the use of a service learning project within the course, "The Politics of International Relations", in which the students worked with a refugee resettlement in a nongovernmental organization. Discusses the concepts that the service experience enabled the students to grasp, how the project encouraged global citizenship, and an assessment…