Admission requirements
This course is only open for students that are enrolled in the Minor Ecology, Migration and Tolerance: Limits to Cooperation.
Description
The sustainable development goals launched by the United Nations in 2015 were envisaged to meet contemporary and future global challenges and provide a powerful indication of what our collective human development could look like. This course will bring a historical perspective to students’ understanding of the role of the UN and its contribution to global governance.
The course will begin by examining the development of international cooperation and concepts of internationalism in the interwar era, before discussing the origins of the UN and the historical and political forces that shaped it. Tension between nationalism and internationalism is at the heart of the UN’s history and this will be investigated. To what extent did the cooperation forged during the Second World War continue to influence the development of ideals in the postwar period? How did the postwar decolonization movements challenge the remnants of ‘imperial vision’ inherent in the new institution? In the Cold War context, how dominant were Western foreign policy aims?
Throughout we will consider how the UN has been analysed in academic literature; as a “historical site” (Amrith & Sluga, 2008), as a “borderland” (Sayward, 2017), or using the concept of the “Third UN” (Carayannis & White, 2021) to include the involvement of non-state actors in the knowledge and norm production of the UN. The course will conclude with a number of case studies intended to explore the history of contemporary challenges faced by UN agencies, such as humanitarianism, environmentalism, and human rights, in more depth.
Course objectives
Students will learn about the origins of the UN system and will become familiar with the idea of the UN as a historical site for examining intersecting issues.
Students will be able to distinguish and explain connections with contemporary global challenges. This will be achieved through in-class discussion and group activities.
Students will have the opportunity to build on the knowledge gained through the course and apply it to a well-defined case study for their final essay.
Students will become familiar with methods of primary source analysis and searching digital archives relevant to conducting research on international organisations.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Eight lectures and four seminars.
Assessment method
Assessment and Weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| In-class assignments and participation | 30% |
| Final Essay | 70% |
End Grade
If the End Grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), or the Final Essay is lower than 5.5, there is a possibility of retaking the 70% of the Final Essay.
Students who score an overall insufficient grade for the course, are allowed to resubmit a reworked version of the Final Essay. The deadline for resubmission is 10 working days after receiving the grade for the essay and subsequent feedback. In case of resubmission of the essay, the final grade for the essay will be lowered as a consequence of the longer process of completion.
Retaking a passing grade
Please consult the Course and Examination Regulations 2024 – 2025.
Exam review and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organised.
Reading list
To be announced. Readings will be accessible via the Library Catalogue and/or Brightspace.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA International Studies
Remarks
All other information.