| LEC # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1: Introducing Technology in International Relations | ||
| 1 |
Introductory Session and Trade-Networking Presentation Focus: Course overview. We will also discuss how countries are becoming more economically intertwined and what such interconnectedness might mean for international relations. | |
| 2 |
Examples of Technology Advances Focus: We will discuss recent technology advances and how they may affect international relations and policies. | Angell, Norman. The Great Illusion. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1912, chapters 1-2. Friedman, Thomas. "The Ten Forces That Flattened the World." Chapter 12 in The World is Flat. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. ISBN: 9780374292881. |
| 3 |
Global Agenda! Simulation Focus: We will discuss the development of a computer simulation designed to teach students about international relations. We will also brainstorm international relations technology and policy issues and discuss the final project. |
Global Agenda! Hughes, Barry. International Futures Web site and demonstrations. |
| Week 2: Technology in Government, and Vice Versa | ||
| 4 |
Governing the Internet Focus: In the previous class we discuss how technology affects governments; in this class we talk about how governance structures should be formed to regulate technology. We will specifically discuss how one developing technology, the Internet, should be regulated. | Palfrey, John G., Jr. "The End of the Experiment: How ICANN's Foray into Global Internet Democracy Failed." The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, no. 02 (January 2004). (PDF - 1.1 MB) Siochru, Sean O., Bruce Girard, and Amy Mahan. Global Media Governance. New York, NY: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002, chapters 10-11. ISBN: 9780742515666. Talbot, David. "The Internet Is Broken." Technology Review (December 2005/January 2006): 62-69. World Summit on the Information Society. |
| 5 |
Technology for Government Accountability: Dangers and Opportunities Focus: We will discuss how advances in IT are changing government structures and its implications for international relations. | Hague, Barry N., and Brian D. Loader, eds. "Digital Democracy: An Introduction." In Digital Democracy; Discourse and Decision Making in the Information Age. New York, NY: Routledge, 1999. ISBN: 9780415197380. Malina, Anna. "Perspectives on Citizen Democratisation and Alienation in the Virtual Public Sphere." In Digital Democracy; Discourse and Decision Making in the Information Age. Edited by Barry N. Hague and Brian D. Loader. New York, NY: Routledge, 1999. ISBN: 9780415197380. |
| 6 |
System Dynamics and International Relations Focus: We have discussed how interconnected the world is becoming. System dynamics can be a useful way for capturing the complexities of such changing international relations. Travis Franck will present the latest World-3 Model, a policy analysis tool that allows for simulation of alternative futures. | Choucri, Nazli, Christi Electris, Daniel Goldsmith, Dinsha Mistree, Stuart E. Madnick, J. Bradley Morrison, Michael Siegel, and Margaret Sweitzer-Hamilton. "Understanding and Modeling State Stability: Exploiting System Dynamics." MIT Sloan Research Paper No. 4574-06TBD. (January 2006) Meadows, Donella, Jorgen Randers, and Dennis Meadows. Limits to Growth. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2004, preface. ISBN: 9781931498586. Meadows, Donella. The Global Citizen. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1991, pp. 15-17 and 28-33. ISBN: 9781559630580. |
| Week 3: Wrap-Up | ||
| 7 |
Knowledge and Information for Sustainable Development Focus: Presentation and available opportunities through the Global System for Sustainable Development. | The GSSD Site will be the basis of the discussion. Please browse through it and get a sense of what it's for, and how it can be used. |
| 8 | Presentations for Assignment 3 | |
