The purpose of this course is to encourage students to foster critical thinking and to deconstruct current prevailing notions of international relations. Furthermore, students will be encouraged to deconstruct and understand how their own positionality may impact their research endeavors. Finally, students are also encouraged to think critically about IPS itself and its fallouts.
The purpose of International Political Sociology (IPS) is to explore power relations at the micro, meso, and macro levels, while concomitantly unraveling the interconnectedness of these levels. As a field of study, IPS aims at critically questioning established assumptions found in classical international relations theories. Drawing inspiration from diverse academic domains like anthropology, sociology, geography, and history, IPS employs a wide spectrum of methodologies including, but not limited to, discourse analysis, ethnography, and interviewing. A key emphasis is placed on cultivating reflexivity and recognizing one’s positionality.
Throughout this course, students will receive an extensive introduction to the roles played by critical security, post-colonialist, feminist studies, as well as the politics of the Anthropocene within the context of international relations.
Course outline:
1. Introduction to IPS
2. The theoretical frameworks of IPS
3. The methods of IPS
4. Case study: postcolonialism in international relations
5. Case study: feminism in international relations
6. Case study: the politics of the Anthropocene
7. Case study: security and the construction of threats
8. Case study: knowledge networks and expertise
9. Critiques of IPS
