International Relation History

International Relation Theory

American Foreign Policy

This course will examine the leading conceptual approaches to the analysis of American foreign policy and some of the key foreign policy issues in American history, especially in 20th and 21st centuries. The relationship between International Relations Theory and the study of foreign policy will be a central concern of the class.

    The course will be conducted as a seminar. Students will be expected to complete the readings assigned for each session prior to each class meeting and to participate actively in class discussions. One (or more) students (depending on the size of the class) will be assigned responsibility for reviewing the required readings orally during each session prior to the general discussion. Quizzes will be held at random.

    Presentations should be critical and comparative. A bare-bones outline of the argument developed by the author(s) should be presented briefly (8 minutes) and then critiqued (2 minutes). Each presentation should identify the theoretical focus, methodological approach and the major substantive conclusions of the work(s) discussed. Everyone should choose 3 out of all the presentations to write reports and submit them for grading at the end of the semester.

Contemporary Chinese Legal System

Course Description and Objectives: This course is optional for all the students of "China Studies" Master Program, which offers an overview of the contemporary legal system of the People's Republic of China. It will first discuss the historical, philosophical, and ideological foundations of modern Chinese law; then it surveys the major components of the Chinese legal system, including the constitutional system, the political, legislative and judicial structures in China. In addition, it explores the dispute resolution and access to justice in the country. In the end, the issue of legal transplant in the current legal Chinese legal system will be analyzed with the illustration of the legal protection of IP. Further an internship is provided and the students are arranged to visit a law firm and have face-to-face discussion with the Chinese lawyers to have a general understanding of Chinese legal professions. The course is based on theories of legal sociology and legal pluralism. The students are encouraged to take a multi-disciplinary and comparative approach to the study of Chinese legal system, understanding Chinese legal system as it is embedded in the historical, cultural, economic, political framework of China by comparing and contrasting Chinese law principles and concepts with the counterparts in their home countries. The students should understand not only the differences themselves but also why there are such differences. The academic views of famous western and Chinese scholars are introduced, and the students are encouraged to have critical thinking of such diversified views and analyze their methodology and arguments.