International Relations

The international relations concentration offers students the opportunity to combine insights from political and other social sciences with language and humanistic studies in order to examine pressing questions related to war, peace, trade, security, justice and power. This concentration complements majors in the social sciences, area studies, and world languages in particular, but it is appropriate to all students committed to engaging with issues arising from the globalized nature of the modern world.

Intended Learning Outcomes for the Concentration

Requirements for the Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
PSCI 121	International Relations	1.00
Any one course from the following list of complementary disciplines:		1.00
ECON 261	Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
ENVST 137	Introduction to Environmental Studies
ECON 382	International Economics
HIST 195	Global: 1500-Present
ID 234	Human Geography
SOAN 247	Disasters
SWRK 122	Global Challenges
One world language or two area-specific course(s) from the following list:		1.00-2.00
One course numbered 232 or higher in Chinese, Japanese, Norwegian, or Russian; or one course numbered 250 or higher in French, German, or Spanish. The course must be taught in the target language.
Two courses focused upon any single contemporary world region or country (e.g., Africa, Asia, China, Germany, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East, or Russia). Can be from any department and may include courses completed in approved St. Olaf study abroad or away programs. No more than one course in this option can come from the Political Science Department. Area studies courses should have at least 50 percent of the course content dedicated to target country or region. (See Courses tab for list of pre-approved courses.)
Two additional political science courses in the international subfield at Level II or III:		2.00
ES/PS 201	Topics in Global Environmental Politics
PSCI 205	International Organizations
PSCI 222	International Political Economy
PSCI 245	Asian Regionalism
PSCI 257	Foreign Relations in the Americas
PSCI 258	World Politics
PSCI 285	International Law
PSCI 297	Washington D.C. Politics and Intl Relations Practicum (study away) (Upon instructor/program director approval.)
PSCI 321	Seminar in International Relations
PSCI 322	Seminar: Economic Statecraft
Total Credits		5-6

Courses by contemporary world region or country:

Students must take two courses focusing on the same region and the courses do not need to be from the same department. No more than one of the two courses can be from the political science department. Other courses may be approved in consultation with the director of international relations.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Central America and South America
ENGL 251	Major Chicano/a Authors
HIST 193	Modern Latin America
HIST 245	Environmental History of Latin America
LAMST 333	Contemporary Latin American Issues
SOAN 237	Forging a Latin American Culture
SPAN 250	Family and Gender Roles in Spain: 1900 to Present
SPAN 271	Cultures of Spain
SPAN 272	Cultures of Latin America
SPAN 312	Voices of the Spanish-Speaking World
Europe
ENGL 229	Twentieth-Century British and Irish Literature
ENGL 330	Advanced Studies in Literary Eras: British
FREN 271	The Francophone World
FREN 272	Contemporary France
FREN 273	Period Studies
FREN 372	Topics in Francophone Studies
GERM 247	Germanic Fairy Tales (Taught in English)
GERM 249	German Cinema (Taught in English)
GERM 251	History and Memory
GERM 252	German-speaking Societies in Global Context
GERM 272	Turning Points in German History
GERM 273	German Media History and Media Literacy
GERM 276	Green Germany
HIST 121	The Making of Modern Russia
HIST 203	Ancient: Greece
HIST 222	Modern Scandinavia
HIST 299	Topics in History (when the topic is approved)
HIST 320	Research Seminar: Modern European History
NORW 224	Topics in Contemporary Nordic Lit: Window on Society (Taught in Englis
NORW 244	The Sámi: Traditions in Transition (Taught in English)
PSCI 282	Russian and Eurasian Politics
PSCI 382	Seminar: The Geopolitics of Eurasian Energy
REL 275	Religion and Empire in Greece and Turkey (study abroad)
RUSSN 262	20th-Century Russian Literature (Taught in English)
RUSSN 372	Topics in Contemporary Russian Society
Middle East and North Africa
BIO 253	Water in Morocco: Precious, Precarious, and Problematic (study abroad)
FREN 235	French Language and Moroccan Culture in Fez (study abroad)
HIST 189	Topical Seminar
HIST 291	Introduction to African History
ID 234	Human Geography
MEST 202	Topics in Modern Middle Eastern Studies
REL 217	Christian and Islamic Ethics: Conflicts and Cross-Pollination
REL 248	Judaism
REL 271	Bible in Context:Hist/Geography/Culture in Israel & Palestine (abroad)
SOAN 236	A Sociology of the Arab World
Sub-Saharan Africa
ENGL 206	African Literature
HIST 256	Slavery in West Africa: Ghana (study abroad)
Asia
ART 259	The Arts of China
ART 260	The Arts of Japan
ASCON 215	Asian Conversations III (study abroad)
ASCON 216	Asian Conversations III (on campus)
ASCON 220	Asian Conversations: Engaging Asia with Voice and Representation
AS/ES 277	Environmental Sustainability in Japan (study abroad)
AS/RE 253	Hinduism
ASIAN 156	Contemporary China Through Film (Taught in English)
ASIAN 235	Modern Japanese Literature (Taught in English)
ASIAN 310	Buddhism through Text and Image
ASIAN 333	What is a Hero?
CHIN 302	Third-Year Chinese II
CHIN 320	Special Topics in Chinese
CHIN 351	Chinese Language and Society through the Media
ENGL 204	South Asian Literature
HIST 250	China: Past and Present
HIST 251	Revolutionary China
HIST 345	East Asia Seminar
JAPAN 301	Advanced Japanese I
JAPAN 302	Advanced Japanese II
JAPAN 320	Special Topics in Japanese
MUSIC 239	Javanese Gamelan
PHIL 127	Zen and the Art of Judo

*Note: Some courses may be relevant to more than one world region or country. Contact the program director with questions about how these courses might count toward the international relations concentration.