Why study International Relations?

This 15 minute talk gives students an idea of what it is like to study International Relations at University. It pays particular attention to the discussions and themes of a first year module and suggests two reasons why the subject matter is important. It goes through how studying IR not only helps make sense of a global, and interconnected, world but it also how IR is a part of our everyday lives as citizens. In order to do this, it draws on two case studies, Nuclear Politics & Global Health Politics, to show how we ask questions, and try and discover answers, to these ongoing experiences. It closes, by way of a discussion of how the first year module at Aston University provides students with practical skills to do this and describes how library skills, employability skills, and research & writing skills are embedded in the course to help students thrive within, and beyond, this first year experience.

The recorded video of the short talk will be sent to you via email, meaning that students can listen and re-watch in their own time. The talk can also be easily shared onto school online learning systems.

Aston academics are also available for individual follow-up sessions to provide guidance to learners interested in studying languages at University. To arrange this, please get in touch at [email protected].