Developing a Course on Security and Intelligence with Spy Novels: An Extension of the Science Education Initiative into International Relations

Abstract

This study brings together insights from the Science Education Initiative with a new course, “Spy Novel Diplomacy: Propaganda and International Relations,” which has been taught as a General Education Seminar for first year students. The class will continue on an annual basis from the spring semester of 2020 onward. Thus what follows is a combination of the Science Education Initiative with innovative teaching that incorporates literature. After an overview, work proceeds in five additional sections. The first section summarizes the Science Education Initiative and considers its potential for more expansive implementation. Ideas from that venture are identified for adoption in the new course on Spy Novel Diplomacy. The second section explores the potential value from works of fiction and visualization in the International Relations classroom. Section three introduces the new course on Spy Novel Diplomacy, connecting at a general level with innovative teaching techniques. Section four applies insights from the Science Education Initiative to the class in specific ways. The fifth and final section reflects on the Spy Novel Diplomacy course in relation to the Science Education Initiative, along with future directions in pedagogy.

Keywords:

• Active learning
• critical thinking
• curriculum
• information literacy
• undergraduate education

Notes

1 This study follows the norm for distinguishing the subfield of International Relations from its subject matter, which appears in lower case (i.e. international relations). For an exploration of the boundaries of IR beyond its role in Political Science, notably as related to International Studies and engagements with other fields throughout academe, see Yetiv and James (2017).

2 Classics in the literature on student engagement include Marton and Säljö (1976) and Biggs (1987).

3 Another reason to pursue change is the rapidly transforming landscape with regard to higher education as a whole (Wieman 2017, 8)—a topic that includes government and campus politics and thus lies beyond the scope of the present exposition.

4 Wieman (2017, 111) reports more faculty cooperation when incentives such as course releases and extra teaching assistance are provided. These resources are unlikely to be available on a reliable basis at any given campus.

5 Pashler et al. (2008, 106; see also Rohrer and Pashler 2012, 634) acknowledge the existence of a range of self-stated preferences with regard to learning style, that is, belief by an individual that a given approach toward instruction will be better for them. While available research acknowledges that study preferences exist, it does not support the reality of individual learning styles with regard to impact from teaching. In other words, people sometimes hold faulty beliefs about what works best for them, which can cause problems and lead to suboptimal choices regarding instruction (Pashler et al. 2008, 108, 111, 116–117).

6 Reviews of pedagogy in the subfield of IR that include literature and film are available from, among others, Lieberfeld (2007), Valeriano (2013), Lobasz and Valeriano (2015), Gokcek (2014), Dyson (2015) and Van Belle (2017).

7 As instructor of record, [AUTHOR] handled grading and other administrative aspects of the course. [AUTHOR AND CO-INSTRUCTOR] developed and implemented all materials for the class together.

8 For an effective introduction to the influential Taxonomy of Learning from Bloom that underlies the scheme of organization for Table 1, see Gokcek and Howard (2013, 446).

9 This is an ideal type of situation in which everyone is capable of perfect reasoning and are aware that all others also possess this ability.

10 For additional insights about best practices in this context, such as the role of note-taking and providing an overview for a movie that does not bias the way in which students might link it to course content, see Gokcek and Howard (2013, 449) and Gokcek (2016).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Patrick James

Patrick James is Dornsife Dean’s Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He has served as President of the International Studies Association, Peace Science Society, and International Council for Canadian Studies.