Unit information: US Foreign Policy in 2012/13

Unit name	US Foreign Policy
Unit code	SPAI30002
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. Edmunds
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

As the world’s most powerful state, the United States is a key player in global politics, and its foreign policy has been studied from a number of different perspectives within academia. This unit takes a broadly constructivist approach to the analysis of US foreign policy. We will discuss the ideas and assumptions that underpin the formulation and justifications of US foreign policy, as well as examining central examples of US foreign policy practices throughout its history. After evaluating the utility of constructivist approaches to foreign policy analysis, some of the themes covered on this course will include: the legacies of the eighteenth-century foundation of the US state for subsequent US debates about interventionism versus isolationism in world affairs; the impact of the nineteenth century notion of ‘manifest destiny’, both in the war against Mexico and more recently; US military involvement in Pacific Asia (especially in Vietnam); the Vietnam Syndrome, the end of the Cold War and the War on Terror; and twentieth-century popular cultural representations of US foreign policy.

The aims of this unit are to:

• provide an overview of critical constructivist approaches to the study of US foreign policy;
• develop students’ knowledge and understanding of twentieth and twenty-first century 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:

• develop a sophisticated awareness of the major themes, events and structures that have influenced US foreign policy, both historically and in the contemporary era;
• develop an understanding of critical constructivist approaches to the analysis of US foreign policy;
• develop the ability to apply these frameworks to the analysis of US foreign policy;
• enhance existing research skills in the area of US foreign policy analysis;
• develop sophisticated communication skills, both orally and in written form.

Teaching Information

Option 1 – A 1hr lecture and 2 hour seminar

Option 2 – A 3 hr seminar

The following methods will be outlined and used in the seminars:

• Listening and speaking in discussion
• Note-taking
• Essay writing
• In-seminar debate
• Independent research
• Seminar presentation

Assessment Information

• Essay 40%
• Seen exam 60%

Summative 2,000-word essay addresses learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Summative seen 2-hour exam addresses learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Reading and References

• Cox, Michael and Stokes, Doug (eds) (2011) US Foreign Policy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, second edition.
• 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.