Module Information

Module Identifier
IQ32420
Module Title
The Dream of Internationalism: The League of Nations and its Legacies
Academic Year
2018/2019
Co-ordinator
Dr Patrick Finney
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Seminar 5 x 1 Hour Seminars
Lecture 18 x 1 Hour Lectures
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment 1 x 2,500 word essay  50%
Semester Assessment Seminar Participation  10%
Semester Exam 1.5 Hours   (1 x 1.5 hour exam)  40%
Supplementary Assessment 1 x 2,500 word essay  50%
Supplementary Assessment 1 x 500 word assignment in lieu of seminar performance  10%
Supplementary Exam 1.5 Hours   (1 x 1.5 hour exam)  40%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Critically analyse and systematically evaluate key developments in the history of the League of Nations
2. Demonstrate systematic and detailed knowledge and understanding of core arguments in the historiography of the League
3. Demonstrate systematic and detailed knowledge and understanding of the League’s achievements and limitations in a range of thematic activity areas
4. Demonstrate systematic and detailed knowledge and understanding of the core arguments in the internationalist theorizing which informed the work of the League

Brief description

The period between the two world wars witnessed an unprecedented attempt to abolish war between states and to promote peaceful international cooperation. The institutional heart of this ambitious experiment was a new international organization, the League of Nations. Forged in reaction to the bloody catastrophe of the First World War, the efforts of the League to transform the international system ultimately proved disappointing as it could not prevent the outbreak of a second, even more terrible, global conflict. Yet the League left numerous important legacies in global politics and international thought, and made a significant contribution to the longer term development of transnational civil society.
This module explores the intellectual and political origins of the League and its creation at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. It then analyses the full range of the League’s activities in the realms of: collective security and arbitration; disarmament; economics and finance; minority protection; the mandates system; and social and humanitarian affairs. The module also explores the decline of the League and its relationship to its successor, the United Nations. It will also assess the contributions made by thinkers associated with International Politics in Aberystwyth to the internationalist thought from which the League developed and how they responded to its perceived failure in the 1930s.

Content

The lectures and seminars on the module will cover:
The origins and creation of the League
Collective security
Disarmament
Economics and finance
Minorities, refugees and technical cooperation
The mandates system
Advocates and enemies of the League
Aberystwyth, International Politics and the League experiment
The League, the United Nations and transnational civil society

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number N/A
Communication Students will learn how to present their ideas both verbally and in writing and how to assert themselves to advantage. They will understand the importance of information and clear communication and how to exploit these. They will know how to use the many sources of information available and how to use the most appropriate form of communication to the best advantage. They will learn to be clear in their writing and speaking and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. Seminars will be run in groups where oral discussion and presentations will form the main medium of teaching and the emphasis throughout the module will be on student participation and communication.
Improving own Learning and Performance The module aims to promote self-management but within a context in which support and assistance is available from both the convenor and the fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and to exercise their own initiative, including searching for sources, compiling reading lists, and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their coursework and presentation topics. The need to conduct a seminar presentation and to meet coursework deadlines will focus students’ attention on the need to manage their time and opportunity resources well.
Information Technology Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format. Also, students will be encouraged to search for sources of information on the web, as well as seeking sources through electronic information sources. Students will also be expected to make use of the resources that will be available on Blackboard.
Personal Development and Career planning The discussions in particular will help to develop students' verbal and presentation skills. Learning about the process of planning coursework and a presentation, framing the parameters of the projects, honing and developing the projects and seeing them through to completion will contribute towards students' portfolios of transferable skills.
Problem solving Independent project work and problem solving will be one of the central goals of the module; the submission of coursework will require that students develop independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The need to research and prepare seminar presentations will also enable students to develop independent project skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider extreme cases; reason logically; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of students' ability to work alone can be undertaken.
Research skills The submission of coursework will reflect the independent research skills of students. The need to locate appropriate research resources and write up the results will also facilitate research skills. Research preparation for a seminar presentation will also enable students to develop independent project skills. A final examination will ensure that an assessment of students' ability to work alone can be undertaken.
Subject Specific Skills Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of subject specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject specific skills include: - Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module - Ability to evaluate competing perspectives - Demonstrate subject specific research techniques - Apply a range of methodologies to complex historical and political problems
Team work Seminars will consist in part of small-group discussion where students will be obliged to discuss as a group the core issues related to seminar topics. Such class room debates and discussions are a vital component of the module.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6