Description of the Academic Program |International Relations Program Departmental Home Page
International Relations (IR) is an interdisciplinary undergraduate concentration within the social sciences that focuses on the study of global issues from a wide variety of perspectives. It draws on courses from numerous departments including political science, history, economics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, religion, and environmental studies. Taking a broad approach, the concentration examines a range of issues including diplomacy, war, and peace; poverty, inequality, and development; trade, globalization, and economic conflict; human rights and humanitarianism; the production and role of culture and political identities; and the environment and global public health.
The concentration analyzes the roles of, and relations among, the numerous actors involved in global issues including governments, international organizations, and nonstate actors such as multinational corporations, nongovernmental organizations, ethnic groups, and insurgent or terrorist groups. The course of study in international relations emphasizes 1) the development of analytical tools to help students think critically about international phenomena, and 2) the exploration of both the empirical and the normative domains of the subject.
The IR concentration combines a number of core courses required of all concentrators, and language study, with four different tracks of study that focus on four major themes in international relations: 1) global security; 2) political economy and development; 3) politics, culture, and identity; and 4) the global environment.
IR is one of the largest concentrations at Brown. It is sponsored by, and housed in, the Watson Institute for International Studies. Most Watson Institute faculty teach courses in the concentration. In the course of a year, the Institute sponsors numerous talks, conferences, and other events on a wide range of global issues. IR concentrators are encouraged to become familiar with the Watson Institute and to participate in its many activities.
Overview of the Collection
The Library collections for international relations includes approximately 20,000 core titles. However, by its nature the international relations program is interdisciplinary in nature. Students and faculty utilize holdings not only in international relations but in political science, history, area studies, economics, public policy, development studies, sociology. Most of the collection is located in the Rockefeller Library.
The Library also subscribes to many electronic databases and materials that cover international relations. Some specific databases include International Political Science Abstracts, PAIS International, and Colombia International Affairs Online (CIAO). Students and faculty can access other relevant electronic databases and materials in other disciplines.
Brown University Libraries offers full interlibrary loan and document delivery services, which allows students and faculty in the political science department access to materials not found at Brown. The Library also lets political science students and faculty directly borrow books electronically from the major Ivy League libraries (Borrow Direct), key Boston area libraries (Virtual Catalog), and libraries within Rhode Island (InRhode). Books can be delivered to Brown in a matter of only 2 to 3 days, greatly expanding the ability of the Library to meet our students research needs.
General Collecting Guidelines International Relations materials can be acquired at the Research, Study, Basic, or Minimum levels. Research level is a collection which includes the major source materials required for dissertations and independent research, including materials containing current research, new findings, the latest surveys, primary source materials (U.S. government documents, law materials, UN depository material) and other information useful to researchers. It also includes all important reference works, a wide selection of specialized monographs, a very extensive collection of journals (both print and electronic) and access to major indexing/abstracting tools in the fields of political science and law. Study level is defined as a collection which is adequate to support undergraduate or graduate course work, or sustained independent study; that is, which is adequate to maintain knowledge of a subject required for limited or generalized purposes, of less than research intensity. It includes a wide range of basic monographs, complete collections of the works of more important writers, selections from the works of secondary writers, a selection of representative journals and important reference tools and fundamental bibliographic apparatus pertaining to the subject. Basic level is a highly selective collection which serves to introduce and define the subject and to indicate the varieties of information available elsewhere. It includes major dictionaries/encyclopedias, selected editions of important works, surveys, bibliographies, and key periodicals in the field. Minimum level is defined as a subject area which is out of the scope of the library’s collections, and in which few selections are made beyond the very basic reference tools.
Specific Collecting Guidelines
Language: English and other foreign languages.
Chronological Span: 19th century, 20th century, and 21st century primarily.
Imprint Date:
Geographical Range: From the United States and other foreign countries.
Types of Material Included: Books, monographs, journals, microforms, internet resources, audio-visual, digitized text, electronic databases, UN documents, proceedings, data sets.
Excluded: Textbooks and juvenile materials.
Special Collections
Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Sergei Khruschev Papers, Schirmer Collection on Ant-Imperialism, Grotius Collection, East Asia Collection,
