Upload your completed final exam essays by the due date noted in Canvas and on the course syllabus. You may upload your essays in a single document or as two separate documents.
POSCI 3: Introduction to International Relations (online)
Final Exam
Directions
Your final exam will consist of two essay questions and will cover the material we have studied thus far. This is an open-note (but closed colleague) exam, and all work must be your own. You are required to integrate course materials in your responses. You are also required in one of the question prompts to draw on credible outside sources in your answer. For each question, your answer must state your thesis and be supported with relevant information (including specific examples, material from assigned course readings, material from other online course resources, and credible outside sources that you have identified on your own).
The following two essay prompts, both of which you must complete, will enable you to reflect on your work in the course and demonstrate your understanding of the concepts and past and present realities in international relations. Be sure each essay includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. Your conclusions should follow logically from the information you have presented in your essays. Any quotations, specific information, and ideas drawn from outside sources (including course materials) must be cited and referenced in APA format or some other standard citation format. Each essay should be between 500-1,000 words in length, not including references. Essays should be double-spaced, with1-inch margins, and in a 12-point font.
Each essay will be graded on a 50-point scale. The exam will be worth a total of 100 points. Essays will be evaluated based on evidence of critical thinking and analysis, integration of course concepts, evidence of mastery of course concepts, accuracy of the information provided, essay organization, and quality of writing (including proper citation of sources).
Essay 1
Using your Peralta email, create your free account for unlimited online access to the New York Times. If you have not done this already,
Go to nytimes.com/passes and “Create Account”
Enter your peralta.edu email address and a password that you can remember
Log-in to your Peralta email and confirm the creation of your New York Times
After this, you will have unlimited access to New York Times online while enrolled with Peralta. If you are unable to create a nytimes.com account, please note that you can access up to 10 full articles for free each month, which should be sufficient to complete this essay.
Browse nytimes.com. Select an article from nytimes.com that relates in some way to international relations (op-eds are also fine). Look at headlines for the day or conduct a keyword search of the website for content on a topic of interest to you. An article from the nytimes.com archives is fine, but try to focus on an article that addresses some current international issue. In the bibliography for your essay, include the full citation information for your chosen article using APA or some other accepted citation style.
In an essay of between 500-1,000 words, please respond to the following:
Briefly summarize the main points covered in your selected article.
Relate your article to a larger international or global problem that we have studied in this course and discuss that larger problem. Why should we care about this problem?
In your discussion of the larger problem,
Identify at least two actors at any level of analysis (such as the individual, domestic, systemic, and/or global levels) and how they contribute to the problem; and
Identify at least two actors at any level of analysis (such as the individual, domestic, systemic, and/or global levels) and how they may help with mitigating this international or global problem.
Finally, comment on the ways in which this problem affects you or your community – and what you can do or have done to address this larger international problem.
Essay 2
Consider the topics and organizations that we have examined in global political economy and global governance. Propose a reform of some aspect of the international system. How is your proposal an improvement over what currently exists? What might be some of the drawbacks to your proposal? What are some barriers to realizing your reform, and who/what are advocates for your cause? Offer your response in an essay of 500-1,000 words. In your essay, you must reference relevant course materials; please also cite any outside sources as appropriate.
