Instructor Insights

Instructor Insights pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Course Overview

This page focuses on the course 17.408 Chinese Foreign Policy as it was taught by Professor M. Taylor Fravel in Fall 2013

This course explored the leading theoretical and methodological approaches to studying China's interaction with the international system since 1949. Readings included books and articles that integrate the study of China's foreign policy with the field of international relations.

Course Outcomes

Course Goals for Students

This was a graduate-level seminar. The main goal was to introduce students to the leading scholarship on China’s international relations.

 

Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

Permission of the instructor

Requirements Satisfied

Student Information

17.408 is a small seminar course that is primarily taken by PhD and Master's students in Political Science. Enrollment has ranged from 5-20.

 

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

Seminar

2 hours per week
  • Met once a week for 2 hours per session; 11 sessions total; mandatory attendance.
  • Active participation in the seminar was a requirement.
  • To stimulate discussion, students were assigned as discussants each week.
 

Out of Class

10 hours per week
  • Weekly readings were assigned to prepare for each class session.
  • Students had to complete one research paper on a topic of their choice.
 

Semester Breakdown

WEEK M T W Th F
1 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
2 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
3 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
4 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
5 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
6 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
7 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
8 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
9 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
10 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
11 No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
12 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
13 Work on research papers. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
14 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
15 Seminar session. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
16 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT; assignment due date.
Displays the color and pattern used on the preceding table to indicate dates when classes are not held at MIT. No classes throughout MIT
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when class sessions are held. Seminar session
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table which indicates dates when assignments are due. Research paper due date
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when no class session is scheduled. No class session scheduled
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when students were working on research papers. Work on research papers