Make Them Participate in World Politics: A Semester-Long Project

• In Event: Creativity in World Politics Pedagogy

Abstract

Introductory Courses in World Politics or International Relations face an uphill battle, namely that most of the content introduced and discussed seems – at first at least – far removed and out of reach of the average college student. This paper discusses a semester-long assignment in my Fundamentals of International Relations courses throughout the Spring 2024 semester, in which students must become involved in a policy issue in world politics. Students have to accomplish four specific tasks, which build on one another: they write up a pre-assessment of their understanding of world politics and their role in it; they identify a world politics policy issue of their choice, articulating the policy debate and its relevant stakeholders; they define their own position on the issue and map out two potential paths to get involved; they present the evidence of said involvement and reflect on how they have perceived their (first) foray into world politics. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the assignment and demonstrate through anonymized reflections on the task how the assignment encouraged students to become more mindful of the effects of world politics around them. By demonstrating to them through the assignment that they can in fact be involved in world politics (even from their dorm rooms), students gain a better understanding of how the international system works and more importantly that they are not only observants of a process but active participants and change-makers.

Author

• Jennifer Ostojski, Colgate University