Everything Old is New Again: Teaching IR in 2020

• In Event: TLC at APSA Diversity & Inclusion Track Panel 2: Inclusive Pedagogies to Meet the Challenges of the Current Moment

Abstract

The makeup of the APSA has changed radically from its founding days. This paper investigates to what extent the changes in the makeup of departments of political science, and the diversification of the backgrounds of scholars of international relations more broadly, is reflected in the way that international relations is presented in the undergraduate classroom. I compare Introduction to International Politics syllabi from the top ten departments for undergraduate study according to the 2018 Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) survey, a collaboration of Foreign Policy magazine and the College of William & Mary. I explore the extent to which the content presented in these courses reflects the increased diversity of our discipline. I measure this in two ways: through the material covered in discrete class sections and through the sex of authors of assigned readings. Despite increased research about gender, race and ethnicity in recent years within international relations, top undergraduate programs rarely feature this scholarship (or research by women) in their introductory courses.

Author

• Chana M. Solomon-Schwartz, University of Tennessee - Knoxville