Unit information: US Foreign Policy in 2014/15

Unit name	US Foreign Policy
Unit code	SPAI30002
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Van Veeren
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

How should the U.S. respond to global nuclear proliferation? What is the best way to navigate changes in the global economy? Under what circumstances should America use military force? How should U.S. policymakers react to rapid advances in communication technology? What issues and challenges will confront the U.S. in the future? The economic, military, political and cultural reach of the United States internationally remains significant. This makes studying and understanding the actions that the U.S. government takes in the world ‘important. Complexes of histories, institutions, practices, people, objects and ideas working both domestically and internationally – from the military to the media - shape the decision-making processes that underlie U.S. foreign policy. This unit provides theory, history, and debates on current U.S. foreign policy issues to provide students with a basis for understanding the transformations and continuities in U.S. Foreign policy as a means to pressing foreign policy issues.

The aims of this unit are to:

• develop students’ knowledge and understanding of, and ability to critically evaluate, US foreign policy;
• provide a participatory approach to learning in which students can further develop their independent research and communication skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes of this unit are to:

1. Demonstrate a sophisticated awareness of the major themes, events, structures, and actors that have influenced US foreign policy, both historically and in the contemporary era;
2. Evaluate different approaches to the analysis of US foreign policy;
3. Offer a critical evaluation of US foreign policy.

Teaching Information

A 3 hr seminar

Assessment Information

1. Individual presentation (25%)
2. 3000 word summative essay (75%)

Both assessments assess all learning outcomes

Reading and References

• Cox, M., & Stokes, D. (Eds.). (2012). US Foreign Policy. Oxford University Press
• Hunt, Michael (2009) Ideology and US Foreign Policy, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press (revised edition).
• Campbell, David (2008) Writing Security, Manchester: University of Manchester Press (revised edition).
• Doty, Roxanne Lynn (1996) Imperial Encounters: The Politics of Representation in North-South Relations, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
• Weldes, Jutta (1999) Constructing National interests: The United States and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.