Suggestive readings
B.Chakrabarty and R. Pandey (2010) Modern Indian Political Thought, New Delhi: Sage
Publications.
P. Chatterjee (1993) The Nation and its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories, New
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
R. Pradhan (2008) Raj to Swaraj, New Delhi: Macmillan (Available in Hindi).
S. Islam (2006) Bharat Mein Algaovaadaur Dharm, New Delhi: Vani Prakashan.
Note: Examination scheme and mode shall be as prescribed by the
Examination Branch, University of Delhi, from time to time.
GENERIC ELECTIVES (GE-4): Understanding International Relations
Credit distribution, Eligibility and Pre-requisites of the Course
Course title & Credits Credit distribution of the Eligibility Pre-
Code course criteria requisite
Lecture Tutorial Practical/ of the
Practice course
Understanding 4 3 1 - NA NA
International
Relations
GE-4
Learning Objectives
This course aims to make students understand the intersections between politics, economics,
culture and nature that shape human life in the contemporary world. These intersectional
relations foreground the multiple interactions that constitute the reality of the group life of
humans. The issues around which the course is designed consists of the role of state in
international politics, cultural identities such as the nation and, issues such as global poverty
and global inequalities. Additionally, the course dwells on the psycho-cultural and politico-
economic causes of violence, oppression and injustices that make the world a contested
space. It examines the ways in which information technology shapes the course of human life
in the age of globalization and how the phenomenon of the international manifests both in the
virtual and the material world. Going beyond the Westphalian conception of territoriality, the
course looks at the ways in which International Relations manifests in the realm of
art/cinema/museums.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students would be able to:
• Understand the nature of the contemporary world in which we live through connected
histories, economies and societies.
• Analyze the ways in which our world is shaped in both territorial and non-territorial
forms leading to basic planetary understandings of both human and non-human
relations.
• Enhance cognitive abilities to map out the multiple and complex interactions in
international relations between peoples, histories and civilisations.
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• To understand the role of the state and its interface with the market, probe into the
cultural identities of a nation, analyse global poverty and climate change politics.
• To critically analyse the politics of ‘common yet differentiated responsibilities.’
• Think critically about issues of global inequalities, violence, and injustices in the age
of globalization.
• Appreciate the ways in which aesthetic articulation(s) problematize and interrogate
the international and our ways of being therein.
SYLLABUS OF GE-4
UNIT – I (7 Hours)
Making Sense of the World
1.1 What is International Relations?
1.2 Understanding Space: How do we sense our planet
1.3 Ways of knowing and being: - Peoples, Histories and Civilisations
UNIT – II (12 Hours)
States, Nations and Markets
2.1 State and Diffusion of authority/power
2.2 Nations and Nationalism
2.3 States and Markets
UNIT – III (12 Hours)
Inequalities
3.1 Politico-military inequalities: big states, small states
3.2 Economic inequalities: rich states, poor states
3.3 Climate Change: Global commons and differentiated responsibilities
UNIT – IV (7 Hours)
Sites of Conflict and Forms of Violence
4.1 Changing Landscape/ Nature of Conflict
4.2 Forms of Violence
UNIT – V (7 Hours)
Knowing our Virtual and Creative World: The Visual Turn in International
Relations
5.1 Internet
5.2 Museums
5.3 Cinemas
Essential/recommended readings
1.1. What is International Relations?
David Blaney, “Where, When and What is IR?” in Arlene B, Tickner and Karen Smith (eds.),
International Relations from the Global South: World of Difference, New York: Routledge,
2020, pp. 38-55.
1.2. Understanding Space: How can we understand our planet.
Simon Dalby, “What happens if we don’t take nature for granted,” in Jenny Edkins and Maja
Zehfuss (eds.), Global Politics: A New Introduction, New York: Routledge, 2008, pp. 39-60.
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