scholarly journals Teach a Student to Fish? International Relations Scholars in the Classroom

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (01) ◽  
pp. 214-220
Author(s):  
Nina Srinivasan Rathbun ◽  
Brian C. Rathbun
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
The Social

ABSTRACT American higher-education institutions are under increasing pressure to prepare their students with practical skills for the workplace, and the social sciences—including political science—are not immune. Political figures have suggested—sometimes seconded by academics themselves—that research distracts academics from imparting practical skills to undergraduate students. Using a survey of international relations (IR) scholars, this article shows that this is not the case. Those who spend more time on research actually devote more time to policy-relevant research in their courses than more abstract and theoretical work, and they incorporate more contemporary issues. Research seems to encourage academics to teach their students to fish.

scholarly journals Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. v-vii
Author(s):  
Penny Welch ◽  
Susan Wright
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
National History ◽  
International Partnerships ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Social

This issue of Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences includes authors from China, Canada, France and the United States. The first two articles analyse processes of developing international partnerships and networks promoting refugee access to higher education. The other three papers concern aspects of teaching and learning: online learning in accountancy; a flipped pedagogy in sociology; and the inclusion of national history in introductory international relations courses.

Podmiotowość państwa we współczesnym świecie. Globalizacja a sterowność

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
Piotr Rutkowski ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
State Power ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Network Power

Paper examines place and role of states in the modern world. Firstly the concept of globalization will be shortly analyzed. It is a notion that, especially in the social sciences, has a lot of meanings, because it has many aspects and levels. Author will try to localize the main issues that makes globalization a complex notion. Secondly, problem of paradigm crisis in political science will be presented. Classic meanings of politics and power has been outdated, because of new phenomenons that are consequences of globalization. That means that we should try to look for notions and methods that will help us to understand surrounding world and socio-political sphere, especially when it comes to state, power, politics and international relations. Then the concept of “the art of rule” invented by Jadwiga Staniszkis will be presented. Author will emphasize that this theoretical concept will be helpful in analyzing subjectivity of states in the age of globalization. Then author, basing on this concept, will try to examine the subjectivity of state in modern world. An attempt will be also made to show what is network power and its consequences, point out the subjects that will replace state that is losing its position and think about the future of the states.

scholarly journals Supporting students' learning on 'short project' placements.

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-57
Author(s):  
David Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Learning ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
The Subject

Much of the research into higher education and its role in work-based learning (WBL), and especially in supporting undergraduate students on placements, has focussed on longer term internships and sandwich courses. Research has also focussed on subject areas that have traditionally been associated with the above; for example, Business, Health, and Engineering. By contrast, the aim of this study was to gather data from students on a much shorter period of placement, categorised as a ‘short project’ (Brennan & Little, 1996). Furthermore, the data recovered was from students studying within the social sciences paradigm, undertaking an undergraduate degree in Education Studies (not teacher education). The social sciences and humanities more generally have not been discussed to any great extent within the context of research on placement or work-based learning (see Smith, Clegg, Lawrence, & Todd, 2007); the subject of Education Studies is not covered at all by previous research. This paper considers the different ways practitioners might blend learning and support university students’ experiential and academic learning in this short project format. The results suggest that even a relatively short period of structured placement can be of significant benefit to students although for many respondents, face-to-face contact in the form of lectures and tutorials is still an important component of a blended approach to WBL.

scholarly journals The new institutionalism and international relations: A step forward

2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-358
Author(s):  
Rudy Baker
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New Institutionalism ◽  
Institutional Analysis ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
The 1960S

The behavioral revolution of the 1960s which engulfed the social sciences, and particularly Political Science and Sociology, led to a large-scale disinterest in the study and structure of institutions. The 1980s saw a new movement emerge upon the social sciences, which stressed the centrality of institutional analysis in the study of politics and society and resurrected the study of institutions as key variables. Dubbed the New Institutionalism, this movement would have profound effects on the direction of research in Political Science and Sociology. Unfortunately, the New Institutionalist movement has been largely ignored by International Relations theorists and practitioners, even though it has generated both a useful toolkit of methods, and a rich source of findings that could be of much use to International Relations theory.

"Mass society" and "civil society" as concepts in the social sciences: the nature and characteristics

2021 ◽  
pp. 103-110
Author(s):  
Eduard Fedorovich Makarevich ◽  
Oleg Ivanovich Karpukhin
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Continuous Development ◽  
Mass Society ◽  
The Social ◽  
Global Values

In order to ensure the consistent development of modern social systems, it is necessary to ensure not only the continuous development of mass society, but also its interaction with civil society in each country. The existence of such a society is a requisite for the promotion of global values - extra-sovereign democracy, market as a measure of life, talent, law, goodness, and spirituality. The material of the article may be of interest in the fields of training "International Relations", "Political Science", "Advertising and Public Relations".

The Policy Brief: Building Practical and Academic Skills in International Relations and Political Science

Politics ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Boys ◽  
Michael F. Keating
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Research Writing ◽  
Science Curricula ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Teaching Learning

The policy brief is an innovative and underutilised form of teaching, learning and assessment which provides undergraduate students with practical skills that translate directly into the workplace. This alternative to standard essays also challenges students to expand their research, writing and presentation skills. Further pedagogical advantages include assisting students in building personal development portfolios, improving internship programmes and making it difficult to plagiarise. International relations and political science curricula in the UK would benefit from the wider use of this tool.

From Science as a Vocation to Science as a Game: and the Resulting Loss of Meaning

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Alvesson ◽  
Yiannis Gabriel ◽  
Roland Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Technical Expertise ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
World Science ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Voice

Against a generalized loss of meaning in society, social scientists find it hard to undertake relevant research that addresses problems facing our world. Science has turned from a vocation aimed at improving the lot of humanity to a careerist game dominated by publishing hits in starred journals. Instrumental rewards replace the passion for discovery and the intrinsic quest for knowledge. Competition among academics and academic institutions, such as journals, universities, and professional bodies, is not intrinsically harmful. Competition in the social sciences, however, is currently resulting in large quantities of formulaic publications, increasing specialization, faddishness, opportunism, and a general ironing out of originality and relevance. Academic authorship and the voice of individual scholars is wiped out as most papers are co-authored by several researchers, each a specialist in his or her area. The result is a devaluation of scholarship and a privileging of technical expertise in narrow disciplinary areas.

A Note on “Public Policy”

1973 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Vaison
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Studies ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
Government Body

Normally in political studies the term public policy is construed to encompass the societally binding directives issued by a society's legitimate government. We usually consider government, and only government, as being able to “authoritatively allocate values.” This common conception pervades the literature on government policy-making, so much so that it is hardly questioned by students and practitioners of political science. As this note attempts to demonstrate, some re-thinking seems to be in order. For purposes of analysis in the social sciences, this conceptualization of public policy tends to obscure important realities of modern corporate society and to restrict unnecessarily the study of policy-making. Public policy is held to be public simply and solely because it originates from a duly legitimated government, which in turn is held to have the authority (within specified limits) of formulating and implementing such policy. Public policy is public then, our usual thinking goes, because it is made by a body defined somewhat arbitrarily as “public”: a government or some branch of government. All other policy-making is seen as private; it is not public (and hence to lie essentially beyond the scope of the disciplines of poliitcal science and public administration) because it is duly arrived at by non-governmental bodies. Thus policy analysts lead us to believe that public policy is made only when a government body acts to consider some subject of concern, and that other organizations are not relevant to the study of public policy.

Political Science and Public Administration: A Note on the State of the Union

1952 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 660-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roscoe C. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Russell Sage Foundation ◽  
Special Study ◽  
Woodrow Wilson ◽  
State Of The Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Original Essay ◽  
The Subject

By tradition public administration is regarded as a division of political science. Woodrow Wilson set the stage for this concept in his original essay identifying public administration as a subject worthy of special study, and spokesmen for both political science and public administration have accepted it since. Thus Leonard White, in his 1930 article on the subject in the Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, recognizes public administration as “a branch of the field of political science.” Luther Gulick follows suit, observing in 1937 that “Public administration is thus a division of political science ….” So generally has this word got around that it has come to the notice of the sociologists, as is indicated in a 1950 report of the Russell Sage Foundation which refers to “political science, including public administration….” “Pure” political scientists and political scientists with a public administration slant therefore are not alone in accepting this doctrine, which obviously enjoys a wide and authoritative currency.But if public administration is reckoned generally to be a child of political science, it is in some respects a strange and unnatural child; for there is a feeling among political scientists, substantial still if mayhap not so widespread as formerly, that academicians who profess public administration spend their time fooling with trifles. It was a sad day when the first professor of political science learned what a manhole cover is! On their part, those who work in public administration are likely to find themselves vaguely resentful of the lack of cordiality in the house of their youth.

International Relations an a World of Revolutionary Change

1949 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Easton Rothwell
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
New York ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Revolutionary Change ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Carnegie Corporation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wartime Experience

A PROJECT of collaborative research concerning major world trends affecting international relations has been launched this year at the Hoover Institute and Library. This project has been made possible by a three-year grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.1Beneath the original planning for the project lay the conviction born of wartime experience, that a deeper understanding of the dynamics of international relations could be obtained by pooling the contributions of the social sciences and related disciplines and by taking account of practical experience in the international field. The need for new and more penetrating approaches to international relations had been put by Arnold Toynbee in a few challenging words: “There is nothing to prevent our Western Civilization from following historical precedent, if it chooses, by committing social suicide. But we are not doomed to make history repeat itself; it is open to us through our own efforts, to give history, in our case, some new unprecedented turn.” Natural scientists, as well as social scientists are agreed that any “new unprecedented turn” must be sought in deeper understanding of relations among people and among nations.

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