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Introduction to International Relations and European Studies (IRE 101/IREb1001/IREn5501)

Lecturers:

Petr Kaniok, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of International Relations and European Studies

Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno

Phone: 549 493 571

Email: kaniok@fss.muni.cz

Kateřina Fridrichová, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of International Relations and European Studies

Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno

Phone: 549 496 761

Email: 219609@fss.muni.cz

Course Objectives and Description

This course aims at providing students with a historical and conceptual background in the disciplines of International Relations and European Studies, thus making it possible to gain an appropriate understanding of significant events, processes, and actors in international and European politics. In the first part of the course, we introduce the most important concepts and issues in the International Relations that constitute the underlying structure of the modern international system and substantially shape the behaviour of its actors. In the second part, the focus of this course moves towards the process of European Integration as embodied in the European Union. Students learn about the key milestones of the integration process, basic overview of the EU decision-making system, and content of the most important policies. The course also summarizes the most important events and trends shaping recent development in the EU.

The course is organized as e-learning using classroom in MS Teams software. Students are encouraged to download this app through MUNI information system (https://it.muni.cz/en/services/microsoft-office-365).  A recording of the sessions will remain in the MS Teams chat for following 21 days and then will disappear.

 Assignments and Grading

Following assignments are a part of the grading. Because the course includes three different codes (and therefore differ in the amount of awarded credits)

Class essays:

For IRE101 enrolled students: Each student is required to submit 4 short essays referring to the sessions 2-6 and 8-12 respectively, and dealing with the essay topics/questions assigned to each session. Please note there are ten sessions available, so out of these, you can choose four to which you wish to submit your essay. Each essay must conform to formal requirements (font size 12, one-and-half spacing, appropriate referencing, and at least one additional resource beyond the assigned reading), and consist of two parts: summary of the readings (half a page), and your own views/criticism (up to 1 page). Essays need to be uploaded into IS two days before the session, which discusses the topic. For each essay you can get up to 2 points; therefore, the overall value is up to 8 points.

For IREb1001 enrolled students: Each student is required to submit 8 short essays referring to the sessions 2-6 and 8-12 respectively, and dealing with the essay topics/questions assigned to each session. Please note there are ten sessions available, so out of these, you can choose eight to which you wish to submit your essay. Each essay must conform to formal requirements (font size 12, one-and-half spacing, appropriate referencing, and at least one additional resource beyond the assigned reading), and consist of two parts: summary of the readings (half a page), and your own views/criticism (up to 1 page). Essays must be uploaded into IS two days before the respective session is held. For each essay you can get up to 2 points; therefore, the overall value is up to 16 points.

For IREn5501 enrolled students, this assignment does not apply.

Mid-term exam: You will get two questions out of which you respond to the one you prefer. These questions draw on topics included in the assigned readings/class sessions. Overall value up to 10 points. You will write the exam in the IS ROPOT system.

Final exam: The exam will consist of six questions (two at 6 points each, four at 4 points each). The questions draw on topics included in the assigned readings/class sessions. Overall value up to 28 points. You will write the exam in the IS ROPOT system.

 The grading scale is as follows:

IRE101: F 0-25, E 26-29, D 30-34, C 35-38, B 39-42, A 43-46.

IREb1001: F 0-29, E 30-34, D 35-39, C 40-44, B 45-49, A 50-54.

IREn5501: F 0-20, E 21-24, D 25-28, C 29-32, B 33-35, A 36-38.

Workload

369 pages of assigned readings (29 pages per week, based on a semester of 13 weeks).

Petr Kaniok can be reached either face to face (Monday 12.30 - 13.30) or via regular Zoom consultations (Mondays https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/98377820112?pwd=TW1MaFZuanBLcWtHcCs5ZUlWSW5sdz09 from 12.30 - 13.30, Tuesdays https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/98889949860?pwd=bzFpazZzelQrTDBWVnJpaU5Vc0hJUT09, from 9.00 - 10.00; Wednesdays  https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99666053327?pwd=WUd2QlpmUkgxbElUdEx1aUl2bTRlUT09, from 12.00 - 13.00).

Kateřina Fridrichová can be reached either face to face in the Office 4.27  (Monday 9.00 - 10.00 am) or via Teams preferably during the on-line office hours  Tuesdays 13.00 - 14.00 and Thursdays 14.00 - 15.00. Contact me via MS Teams chat beforehand.