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Popular culture, particularly motion pictures, offer a view into a society's norms, beliefs and political culture. While that view might be skewed from time to time, it is still a useful way to discern "proper behavior" and accepted norms. This paper argues that artifacts from popular culture can be used as data, open to interpretation and analysis. To demonstrate this, the paper utilizes a case study approach to illustrate how film can be useful in identifying political traits and culture. By analyzing films about international events and situations as examples, the paper identifies how American films have portrayed other countries and cultures to better understand the evolution of American political culture. Using a case study approach to the topic, the paper demonstrates there has been a change in political culture with regards to the "other," and film and popular culture help to illustrate and evaluate that change. It concludes by arguing that the analyses of the messages and lessons contained in national cinemas can be transferred to the classroom to help students improve media literacy as well understand political issues from different perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the dynamics of non-traditional identification of threats on the international security systems and their amelioration. It mentions that there has been a great impact of various factors on the security systems including demographics, changes in technology, and environmental factors. It also discusses public statements made at the 2012 United Nations General Assembly debate to analyze the major challenges faced by the governments.

An essay on the role of films, television programs and online content in expressing various theories and attitudes towards war, peace and cooperation is presented. It mentions that films can enhance students' awareness of different concepts and demonstrate conveying of messages to citizens within a polity. It suggests instructors to help students analyze and interpret messages that are contained in moving images.

The article evaluates an assignment for a general-education, introductory-level international politics course at a midsized state university in the U.S. It reports that the assignment is designed to engage students on multiple levels since a majority of the students who enroll in the course are not political science major. It informs that the assignment as a part of the internationalization of the curriculum movement within the organization American Political Science Association (APSA).

While conversations across disciplines have always been problematic, increasingly discussions across fields have become more difficult. While bridging this gap can be complicated, many in the academy understand the benefits of promoting classes and discussions between the fields. However, skillfully navigating this tricky pedagogical course can be challenging, as many students do not understand the connection between international relations and American government classes. At the same time, instructors of political science are under increasing demand to incorporate new methods of teaching and discourse into the classroom. Despite protestations to the contrary, often the discipline has been reluctant to embrace new methods and looked upon alternatives to the traditional lecture with skeptical eyes. While recognizing the importance of the method of lecturing, the discipline also needs to embrace methods that help illustrate points made within readings to current political science students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many commentators lament the performance of American high school and university students on studies that test knowledge about international politics, current events and basic understandings of the international system. By tracking approximately 120 students, the study explores what relationship, if any, there is between how well students perform on a current events quiz at the beginning of the semester and their final grade. The study notes how students demonstrate what information they know, misinformation they have, their choices in research topics, and their likelihood of success in international politics courses. It is hoped that the information provided can help to discern effective strategies to generate interest in international politics, overcome cognitive barriers, and build confidence among the general student population. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations, which was built on the Westphalian model of strong state actors, sovereignty, and territorial borders, has had a very difficult time addressing problems that cause severe security issues, which fall outside the traditional definition of a security threat. By examining the work of the United Nations Security Council, one can observe the difficulties states have had in trying to come to grips with non-traditional threats in the post-Cold War period, such as terrorism, state collapse and gross human rights abuses. This paper uses data from a database created to chart the work of the UN Security Council to examine how the development of new, non-traditional, issues have been addressed by that body. While overall, the work of the Security Council has been less than what one might wish, the data does suggest an evolution of sorts in the terms of how the notion of security has evolved during the past two decades. Preliminary findings suggest that less than five percent of the resolutions emanating from the Security Council can be classified as addressing new security threats; rather there is an increase in Security Council attention to these topics but under the guise of more traditional ones. For instance, several of the renewals of peacekeeping mandates have made illusions to the need to combat sexual exploitation and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Additionally, the Security Council, because of its Chapter V responsibilities, has been forced to consider the impact of other phenomena, such as state failure or collapse and terrorism, which are now found to pose a different type of security threat. This paper will argue that while many scholars and commentators, including this one, would prefer a more robust response to these problems, there has been a remarkable evolution in the work of the Council that may portend a change in activity. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the development of a database used to ascertain the response of the UN Security Council to different types of threats to international security. The paper treats the Council as a collective of states, instead of a single entity. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the usefulness of directed undergraduate coding of data to promote critical thinking and writing. It discusses the institutional barriers as well as the benefits to students of such a project. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confucius has been quoted as saying, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” This has become a mantra for many of us in the disciplines of social science to engage students in innovative techniques for our classrooms. Political scientists, like their colleagues in other disciplines, have begun to move beyond the traditional lectures, which we argue still has an important role in the undergraduate classroom, to use different forms of media to engage students. Some resourceful educators and dynamic campuses have begun to give students “hands-on” experiences to help them understand the dynamics of modern day politics. While hearing, seeing and doing may help students better understand politics, there are activities that we, professionals and society at large, would prefer that student did not engage in. Most people do not want to see students “doing” genocide in order to have a better understanding of the dynamics that lead to genocide. This paper reviews the importance of engaged-learners when discussing issues of civil and political rights. The authors have sought new and innovative ways to have students think critically about human rights and social justice. This paper is a preliminary report on how their students have received techniques such as films, role-playing, research, and observation. While the authors come from different sub-fields (American politics and international relations), they have been seeking out other professionals and have had a running dialogue between themselves and other professionals on new techniques and methods. Our conclusions suggest that students are “entertained” in classrooms that employ such methods, which is not necessarily a benefit although students are engaged, but they also have a better understanding of how to critically think about the issues and understand the plight of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]