What is it like to study politics and IR?

Does the course feel varied? Do you study different ideologies? Which regions do you focus on, and is it very UK-focused? Please mention your uni as well, I am looking into different places

Reply 1

Havermelkelite_

Completely depends where you go. In my Political Science course we have four specialisations you choose in your second year: International Relations, Political Theory, Comparative Politics and Public Policy and Governance. You study different ideologies in almost every class, just to different degrees - mostly in political theory, but everything links to ideology in some way or another. International Relations is quite theory based, which is something lots of people don't realise until they study it. If you like to think about politics practically then you would enjoy Public Policy and Governance. I don't study in the UK, so there is no real reason for my course to be UK-focused, but I've found that lecturers use the UK as an example quite often. Most of our assignments allow us to cover any country or region we want if we can justify why it's relevant to the assignment brief. I usually pick the UK since I know the political landscape the best. If you want variety that's available too: we've covered France, Germany, Italy, Haiti, China, India and Latin America in some of our classes. I study in the Netherlands, so we are often taught about Dutch politics but the lecturers definitely make sure it's accessible to international students, and nobody seems to have an issue with this. We also have half our third year where we can study literally anything we want: take electives, take a minor course, study abroad or take an internship. You could study Political Economy, Art Restoration or Water Management if you really wanted to. It's worth noting that the course is taught in English. If you're interested in doing your degree overseas (which sounds more daunting than it actually is, mind you) just lmk and I can give you some pointers.

Reply 2

SOAS Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by aesthetic-artery

Does the course feel varied? Do you study different ideologies? Which regions do you focus on, and is it very UK-focused? Please mention your uni as well, I am looking into different places

Hi,

I’m a final-year International Relations and Arabic student at SOAS, and I’d be happy to share my experience. We study a broad variety of theories at SOAS, from looking at traditional theories such as realism and liberalism that have historically dominated IR discourse to critical theories like feminism and post-colonialism. I think what sets SOAS apart from other places is that they give equal time and attention to theories that are historically under-examined in mainstream IR.

Another thing that differentiates SOAS from other universities is that we study International Relations from perspectives beyond the Anglo-American canon, focusing on the Middle East, Asia and Africa. But this isn’t to say that we ignore America and the UK, as our studies often examine how the world is interconnected. For example, I’ve studied how anti-colonial resistance in Bengal took inspiration from the Irish independence movement and how domestic policing in the UK reflects counterinsurgency techniques from wars in the margins.

At SOAS, you also have the opportunity to choose modules that focus on the international relations of specific regions, after your first year. I decided to focus on the International Relations of East Asia and South Asia. In the South Asian module, I particularly liked that we examined the security perspectives of smaller states in the region, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. As well as, non-conventional security issues, including questions of economic and environmental security posed by the sharing of international rivers and climate change.

I’d say the course is definitely varied, as there's lots of different modules to choose from. Some of my favourite are ‘Introduction to Political Economy’, ‘War and the International’ and ‘Republicanism, Empire and Revolution’.

Hope this helped, let me know if you have any other questions!

-S, Final year BA International Relations and Arabic

Reply 3

aesthetic-artery

Original post by SOAS Student Rep

Hi,
I’m a final-year International Relations and Arabic student at SOAS, and I’d be happy to share my experience. We study a broad variety of theories at SOAS, from looking at traditional theories such as realism and liberalism that have historically dominated IR discourse to critical theories like feminism and post-colonialism. I think what sets SOAS apart from other places is that they give equal time and attention to theories that are historically under-examined in mainstream IR.
Another thing that differentiates SOAS from other universities is that we study International Relations from perspectives beyond the Anglo-American canon, focusing on the Middle East, Asia and Africa. But this isn’t to say that we ignore America and the UK, as our studies often examine how the world is interconnected. For example, I’ve studied how anti-colonial resistance in Bengal took inspiration from the Irish independence movement and how domestic policing in the UK reflects counterinsurgency techniques from wars in the margins.
At SOAS, you also have the opportunity to choose modules that focus on the international relations of specific regions, after your first year. I decided to focus on the International Relations of East Asia and South Asia. In the South Asian module, I particularly liked that we examined the security perspectives of smaller states in the region, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. As well as, non-conventional security issues, including questions of economic and environmental security posed by the sharing of international rivers and climate change.
I’d say the course is definitely varied, as there's lots of different modules to choose from. Some of my favourite are ‘Introduction to Political Economy’, ‘War and the International’ and ‘Republicanism, Empire and Revolution’.
Hope this helped, let me know if you have any other questions!
-S, Final year BA International Relations and Arabic

thank you so much! do you know anyone who does politics and ir at a different school, and if so, how does your course compare to theirs?