PSCI 4820 (Spring 2009)/PSCI 4821: International Conflict

Dr. Paul Hensel
Phone: 369-7330
phensel@unt.edu
http://www.paulhensel.org
Office: 165 WH

Course Description

The primary purpose of this course is to examine the conditions that make for war and peace in world politics, as well as the range of possible solutions that might help to prevent this problem in the future. The course begins with an examination of historical patterns and trends in modern warfare. Later sections of the course then examine the causes or correlates of war, the outcomes and consequences of war, and solutions that have been offered to help prevent or limit war.

Upon completion of this course, students should be familiar with many of the factors that seem to create, worsen, or reduce military conflict between nation-states. Students should be able to apply these factors in examining real-world scenarios, such as studying historical cases of war or assessing the prospects for future conflict in troubled areas of the world. Students are expected to finish the course readings before the class period for which they are assigned, attend class regularly, show up to class on time, and participate actively in class discussion. The course will also require a midterm, quizzes, a research paper, and a final exam.

Please note that this is essentially my version of UNT's International Conflict course (PSCI 4821). It was given this course number because I was hired at UNT after the course listings for the Spring 2009 semester were already determined; once the Political Science department determined that I would teach International Conflict, this course number provided the closest fit. Nonetheless, this course offers more coverage of conflict management and possible solutions to conflict than most PSCI 4821 courses.

Required Texts

Course Requirements

(1) Examinations: two noncumulative essay exams are required. Each exam will be worth 25% of the total course grade.

(2) Research Papers: one 10-15 page research paper is required for this class; more details are provided at the end of the syllabus. This paper will count for 40% of the grade.

(3) Preparation, Attendance, and Participation: Students are required to complete the assigned readings before class, attend class regularly, and participate actively in class discussion. Class preparation will be measured through approximately six to ten (unannounced) quizzes given at the very beginning or ending of class periods, which together will be worth 10% of the total course grade; each student's quiz grade will be determined by dropping the lowest quiz score.

Rest of Syllabus

The remainder of the syllabus -- course rules, notes about the academic honor code and the Americans with Disabilities Act, assigned readings, and details about the research papers -- is only available in the complete syllabus (in PDF format). Be sure to print out that complete syllabus and be familiar with it, so that you do not fall behind or miss any assignments during the semester.



Assigned Readings

The assigned readings for this course are listed in the PDF-format syllabus. This section only includes links to online readings, to make it easier for students to acquire these readings. Be sure to print these readings early in the semester, when they are all still available at these locations (all readings were verified as being available at these locations on the first day of class); web pages are often moved or deleted during the semester, and the instructor of this course will not be responsible if you waited too long and a key reading disappeared the day before a quiz.

Also, please note that most of these readings will require you to access them by logging in with you UNT EUID. This is because UNT pays a lot of money for these electronic journal services, and they are required by the provider to limit access to UNT faculty and students.

Changes in the Betts Book

Several of the assigned readings were added or removed between the second and third editions of the Betts book. (The third edition of that book is the correct one, and is the version that was ordered through the local bookstores, but the original version of this syllabus mistakenly listed the second edition; also, two of the readings from the second edition were still included in the syllabus. The current version of the syllabus that is available from this web site has been corrected to show the third edition of the book, and to show the alternative sources for these two readings that have been removed from that edition.) Here are alternative sources for the readings in question, to make sure that everyone can be prepared for class regardless of which edition you bought:


http://www.paulhensel.org/Teaching/psci4821.html
Last updated: 22 January 2009
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