Poslední úprava: doc. PhDr. Michal Smetana, Ph.D. (29.09.2020)
Politics of Nuclear (Non-)Proliferation is a new course about the role of nuclear weapons in international relations. The aim of this course is to provide the students with a basic introduction into the world of arms control diplomats, disarmament activists, nuclear experts, and scholars studying the causes and consequences of the spread of nuclear weapons. The course is recommended for active students who enjoy interactive teaching methods, challenging debates, and international security puzzles.
Due to the COVID-19 epidemic measures, this course will be (sadly) taught on-line via Zoom platform during winter semester 2021–2021. You will be receiving the link to the respective Zoom meetings via e-mail. Depending on the development of the COVID–19 situation, some rules included in the syllabus may be further adapted.
Cíl předmětu - angličtina
Poslední úprava: doc. PhDr. Michal Smetana, Ph.D. (25.08.2022)
As you are becoming experts on international relations, you simply cannot avoid the issue of nuclear weapons in the world politics of the 20th and 21st centuries. Whether you think that nuclear weapons represent the ultimate evil or they are the guardians of a long great-power peace, the spread of nuclear weapons is frequently placed among the top international security threats humanity is facing today. In this course, we will discuss the contemporary discords in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty regime; unpack new disarmament initiatives; elaborate on the current problems with nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea; assess the risk of nuclear weapon use in the Russo-Ukrainian war; and try to solve the big puzzles that keep nuclear scholars awake at nights – such as why countries develop nuclear weapons in the first place, what are the consequences of nuclear weapons spread, and why they have not been used in a military conflict since the Second World War.
Deskriptory - angličtina
Poslední úprava: doc. PhDr. Michal Smetana, Ph.D. (25.08.2022)
Most classes in this course are a lecture-seminar hybrid; while I try to share with you some basic overview of the current developments in the field and relevant academic concepts and theories, your own input and ideas are critically important for joint learning process. There will be some special lectures delivered by practitioners and other guests. Attendance in classes is compulsory, with up to three abstentions allowed (for whatever reason – no prior excuse is needed). For each class, I will ask you only for a brief preparation: usually reading a short policy article or document or watching a video.
Podmínky zakončení předmětu - angličtina
Poslední úprava: doc. PhDr. Michal Smetana, Ph.D. (25.08.2022)
After each class, I will ask you to follow up on what we’ve learned and read, on average, two scholarly articles that will elaborate on our problem in more detail. There is good evidence that from a learning perspective, this approach works much better than the traditional “read first – attend the lecture second” approach. Readings for each class will be available for you in the Moodle. After you read the articles, you will have time until Monday on the following week to provide me (and others in the class) with a brief reflection (approx. 250 words) on the readings in the Moodle forum: did it make sense? What is still unclear? How else can we approach the problem? What are some other possible applications of the concept/theory? Note that in order to pass the course, you need to read all the assigned readings and provide reflections for all of them – you can be late with your reflections up to three times during the semester but not more than that.
During this semester, you will also record your own video-podcast episode. You can either work alone or in a pair – your choice. The episode should have 40–50 minutes, half of it will be your discussion of the selected topic and the other half your interview with a foreign scholar or expert of your choice. I will provide you with a list of possible topics, but you are welcome to come up with your own: we will discuss them regularly on Moodle. Each of you should have a topic and an interviewee selected by week 5. You will submit the podcast outline/script by week 10 and the final podcast by January 15th. In addition to your own work, you will also provide feedback on the podcast outline of your classmates by week 11 (at least two detailed feedbacks!). We will upload the final podcast episodes on YouTube, to be publicly accessed by anyone.
The exam part of this course will probably be slightly different than you are used to. Whether you end up as an academic or a diplomat representing your country, you will often find yourself debating others on different issues, and this is exactly what you are going to do here as well. We will set up a debate in which you will be defending an assigned position against others, using everything you have learned during the semester. The point is not to “win” the debate and “defeat” your opponent but to demonstrate your ability to use what you have learned during the course actively. I will set at least three available dates for these debates in January.
Požadavky ke zkoušce - angličtina
Poslední úprava: doc. PhDr. Michal Smetana, Ph.D. (25.08.2022)
Evaluation is performed in accordance with the Dean’s Provision.
EVALUATION
After-class reflections:
0-22 points
Podcast:
0-25 points, -2 points for each day of delayed delivery
Exam:
0-38 points
In-class activity:
0-15 points
100-91 points: A
90-81 points: B
80-71 points: C
70-61 points: D
60-51 points: E
50-0 points: F
Remember that in order to pass the course, you need to get at least 50% of points in each of the four aspects of evaluation – that is, at least 5 points for in-class activity, 13 points for the podcast, 25 points for the exam, and 11 points for after-class reflections. Moreover, you must submit all in-class reflections (and not be delayed more than three times) and have less than three abstentions in the class.
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OKAY…A SUMMARY
Before each class: check Moodle and read the assigned reading and/or watch the assigned video
During each class: listen, ask, discuss, challenge, think; up to three absences are allowed; we observe ‘no-electronic-devices’ policy
After each class: read the assigned readings and write a short reflection on them in Moodle (approx. 250 words) by Monday of the following week; you should upload your reflections for all the assigned readings and not be delayed more than three times during the semester
By November 2: discuss your podcast topic and interviewee in Moodle and have it pre-approved by me
By December 7: upload the outline/script of your podcast
By December 13: propose a topic of your choice for the last lecture
By January 15: upload the final version of your podcast on YouTube
Between January 10 and February 13: exam sessions
Sylabus - angličtina
Poslední úprava: doc. PhDr. Michal Smetana, Ph.D. (29.09.2020)
