The IR concentration is one of the largest concentrations at Brown. The objective of the International Relations concentration is to foster creative thinking about pressing global problems and to equip students with the analytic tools, language expertise, and cross-cultural understanding to guide them in that process. To this end, the concentration draws on numerous departments including political science, history, economics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, religious studies, and area studies. The IR concentration is organized around a multidisciplinary core and two sub-themes: security and society, and political economy and society. It has a three-year language requirement that must be linked to the student’s selected region of the world. All concentrators are required to undertake a capstone project using research in a second language.
Requirements
The IR concentration requires 14 courses and the equivalent of 3 years study of a second language.
| Core Courses 1 | ||
| ANTH 0110 | Anthropology and Global Social Problems: Movements, Mobilities, Migration | 1 |
| ECON 0110 | Principles of Economics | 1 |
| HIST 1900 | American Empire Since 1890 | 1 |
| POLS 0400 | Introduction to International Politics | 1 |
| or POLS 0200 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | |
| SOC 1620 | Globalization and Social Conflict | 1 |
| Track Requirements (five courses from ONE track distributed between the sub-themes: 2 | 5 | |
Security and Society: | ||
Conflict (two or three courses): | ||
| War and Society | ||
| Nations within States | ||
| Modern Genocide and Other Crimes against Humanity | ||
| Global Security After the Cold War | ||
| American Foreign Policy | ||
Society (two or three courses): | ||
| Ethnographies of Global Connection: Politics, Culture and International Relations | ||
| Religion and Global Politics | ||
| Global Media: History, Theory, Production | ||
| Ethnic Politics and Conflict | ||
| The International Law and Politics of Human Rights | ||
| War in Film and Literature | ||
| Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the Modern World | ||
Political Economy and Society: | ||
Economics (two or three courses): | ||
| Intermediate Microeconomics | ||
| Intermediate Macroeconomics | ||
| Current Global Macroeconomic Challenges | ||
or ECON 1540 | International Trade | |
or ECON 1550 | International Finance | |
Political Economy (two or three courses): | ||
| Two Billion Cars: Humans, Markets, Cultures, and the Automobile | ||
| Money, Work, and Power: Culture and Economics | ||
| Globalization and the Rise of Asia | ||
| Politics of the Illicit Global Economy | ||
| Money and Power in the International Political Economy | ||
| Regional Focus 3 | 2 | |
| Research Methods 4 | 1 | |
| Capstone Course, from the following options: 5 | 1 | |
Senior seminar paper (see website for approved senior seminars) | ||
Directed research project (Independent Study) | ||
| Total Credits | 14 | |
| 1 | Required for all students, preferably to be taken during their freshman or sophomore years. Advanced Placement credit does not count toward the concentration. |
| 2 | This is only a subset of the more comprehensive list of applicable courses. |
| 3 | Both courses must be on the same area. Content must build on track of study. Students are required to link these with language study. |
| 4 | Prior to 7th semester. Quantitative or qualitative course from approved list. |
| 5 | Must be taken senior year. Must incorporate language skills. |
Detailed lists of courses that satisfy these requirements may be obtained from the IR program website: www.watsoninstitute.org/IR.
The program has a director, an associate director/concentration advisor, and a faculty advisor for each track to assist students in planning their academic programs.