Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Master's of International Relations with Thesis

PSIR555

POLITICAL HISTORY

Course Code
PSIR555
Semester
First Term (Fall)
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
10
Course TypeCompulsory Course
Course LevelMaster's Degree With Thesis
Year of Study1
SemesterFirst Term (Fall)
ECTS10
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. have knowledge about the important events in political history and to be able to make comparison between these events.
  2. Analyse current developments from a historical perspective
  3. Examine political history from a theoretical perspective
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNo recommended optional programme components.
Course DescriptionIn this course, important developments that were experienced in political history during the period between the American War of Independence and the end of the Cold War will be covered. The local, regional and international conditions that resulted in the French Revolution, the effects of the revolution on other European countries, the wars caused by the revolution; the revolts occurred in Europe in the 19th century and their dynamics; the colonialism period; First World War; the problems caused by the Nazi Germany; Second World War; the emergence of the bipolar world order, the Korean War and Vietnam War; the Berlin Crisis and Cuban Crisis; the Detente Period, and the end of the bipolar world order after the collapse of the USSR are among the topics that will be covered in this course. During the course, a multi-disciplinary approach that considers political, economic and social factors of the developments in the world will be adopted, and both the domestic developments of the prominent countries of the period and the relations among the countries together with the general structure of the international politics will be discussed without disregarding the theoretical framework.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction
2nd Week The Way towards the French Revolution. Political, economic and cultural conditions that paved the way for the revolution. Pre-Revolution Europe.
3rd Week Events in France following the French Revolution, international reactions to the revolution.
4th Week The Age of Napoleon and Napoleonic Wars.
5th Week Nationalist movements in Europe. The Congress of Vienna,
6th Week Industrial Revolution; Emerging ideologies in Europe.
7th Week The Revolutions of 1848 in Europe.
8th Week Mid-term Exam
9th Week Unification of Italy and Germany
10th Week Reforms in Russia. American Civil War. Developments in Asia
11th Week Demographic and economic developments in Europe
12th Week Era of Wilhelm II in Germany. Emergence of imperialism
13th Week The World War I
14th Week The Bolshevik Revolution
Recommended or Required ReadingR. R. Palmer, Joel Colton, and Lloyd Kramer, A History of the Modern World, 10th Edition, Boston, McGraw-Hill, 2007.
Taylor, A. J. P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe: 1848-1918, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.
Hirschmann, E.Robert W.Strayer, R. B.Marks, The Making of the Modern World: 1500 to the Present, New York: St.Martin Press, 1989.
Stone, Norman. Europe Transformed: 1878-1919, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1999.
Chambers, Mortimer. The Western Experience, Boston, McGraw-Hill, 2007.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
  • Presentation
  • Other
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 40
Total(%) 40
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 40
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 60
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 2 2
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 6 84
Preparation for Final exam 1 90 90
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 80 80
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 2 2
Homework
Total Work Load300
Total Work Load / 30 (h)10
ECTS Credit of the Course10
Language of InstructionTurkish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3
K1 X
K2 X
K3 X
K4 X
K5 X
K6 X
K7 X
K8 X X X