POLS 184 (17951) Dr.
Brandon Valeriano
Summer 2011 BSB
1115
University of Illinois at
Chicago MTRF 1:00 – 4pm
International Politics and Film
This
course will use the medium of film to explain and discuss important topics in
international politics. Film provides a
window to the world and this course will explore how various aspects of
international politics have been covered and dramatized by movies and
television. Emphasis will be placed on
international conflict, but topics such as diplomacy, civil-military relations,
nationalism, international interventions, clash of civilizations, and espionage
will be covered. Film will be used to
explain theories, events, and history.
This is not a film course, but a politics course, so filmmaking nuance
and subtext will not be analyzed. To
goal is to grasp the complex nuances of international affairs.
Required Books
·
James Blight and
Janet Lang.
The Fog of War: Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamera. (ISBN: 0742542211)
·
Joshua Goldstein
and Jon Pevehouse.
International Relations Brief: 2010-2011 Update (5th edition). (ISBN: 0205791301)
Suggested Iraq War Books
The Gamble (examines the surge, sequel to Fiasco)
Imperial Life in the Emerald City
Bush at War Woodward I
Plan of Attack Woodward II
State of Denial Woodward III
Office Hours
Office 1147
BSB
Office Phone: 312-413-7274
Office Hours: 12:30-1pm MTRF
Email and GChat:
drbvaler@gmail.com
Web page:
tigger.uic.edu/~bvaler
Course Blog: bvaler.blogspot.com
Schedule
5/16: Introduction
Duck Soup
(Humor and Prestige)
Read: Chapter 1, Pages 1-9 (Core Principles)
5/17: Lecture Day
Basic IR Concepts
Read: Chapter 1, Pages 10-34
IR Theories
Read: Chapter 2 and 3 (entire)
5/19: Morality, Anarchy, and
Order
Lord of the Flies
Read: Online: http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Books/Texts/Aquinas/JustWar.html
5/20: Power Politics
300
Read: Thucydides, “Melian
Dialogue,” Essentials, Online
http://tigger.uic.edu/~bvaler/Melian%20Morgenthau%20Mearshiemer.pdf
Review Chapter 2
Morgenthau: National Interest (APSR)
5/23: Power Politics vs.
Morality
Munich
Review: Online: http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Books/Texts/Aquinas/JustWar.html
Read: Chapter 6, 241-259
5/24: Liberalism
Wilson
Read: Wilson, “The Fourteen Points,” (Page 17-18, Essentials)
Review: Chapter
3 (pgs 63-86)
Chapter 6, Pages 209-240
5/26: Lecture Day
Bush Doctrine
Read: National Security Strategy 2002
http://tigger.uic.edu/~bvaler/nss.pdf
Marxism
Read: Chapter 3, pgs 91-95
Star Wars and World Politics
Read: Think Tank, Politics of the Death Star
Gender Theory
Read: Chapter 3, pg 96-108
Refresh yourself with Lord of the Rings
5/27: Bush Doctrine
High Noon
Review: Bush Doctrine
MIDTERM
5/30: No Class, Memorial Day
5/31 Marxism and 1st Person Perspective
All Quiet on the Western Front
Read Online: Tolstoy, “Patriotism and Government”
Zinn, “Just
Cause, Not a Just War”
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/JustCause_NotJustWar.html
6/1 Make Up Day/No Class
Read: Fog of War Book
6/2 No Class
Green Zone (Watch on
own)
6/3 No Class
Fog of War/Iraq Paper Due
6/6 What Causes War
Butter Battle War
Why We Fight (1942, John Ford)
Read:
Chapter 4, entire
6/7 Civil Wars and Ethnic Conflict
Battle of Algiers
Review:
Chapter 4, Conflicts of Ideas 116-130
6/9 Deterrence
Dr. Strangelove
Read: Herman
Kahn’s Doomsday Machine
Online: http://tracearchive.ntu.ac.uk/frame2/articles/borg/kahn.html
Review: Chapter 4, WMD (pgs. 149-157)
6/10
What We Didn’t Cover (Lawrence of Arabia, Gandhi)
Read:
Gandhi, “Passive Resistance” http://www.mkgandhi.org/swarajya/ch017.htm
“Of Means and Ends” http://www.mkgandhi.org/swarajya/ch016.htm
Final