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WELCOME TO POLI 142A

Welcome to POLI 142A U.S. Foreign Policy

Each week, you will be expected to log into the Learning Management System (Canvas) and participate in the weekly assignments: read the required text, watch lecture videos to enhance your learning, and complete reading quizzes to practice and demonstrate your knowledge. Your participation and engagement with the learning activities is crucial to succeeding in this course.

Given the asynchronous format required by university policy this fall, all lectures will be pre-recorded and posted to the Canvas page in advance of their normally scheduled times (listed below for information). There are 19 lectures scheduled. Each lecture may be broken up into shorter segments and will be designated, for example, as Lecture 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. Students are responsible for the material in all segments of the lectures (as well as readings) on the quizzes for the appropriate week (see below).

If you are new to this learning environment, take a moment to get acquainted with the learning management system and make sure you have all the necessary materials and resources to succeed in this course.

Now, please follow the steps below to continue your orientation to this course.

Step 1: Read the course syllabus and course schedule

The course syllabus will provide you with the course schedule, course objectives, explanations of assignments and assessments, grading policies, and instructor contact information. Please read it carefully. You should have a deep familiarity with the schedule and process of the course. The syllabus is available here. It is also broken down in lectures and weeks on the Modules page.

Step 2: Access your course materials

Textbooks:

There are two books available for this course which can be purchased through the UCSD bookstore or online. I strongly urge that you purchase the basic history text by LaFeber. Additional readings will be available on Canvas. In addition, more contemporary topics towards the end of the quarter are covered mostly in articles. All articles are available online through the UCSD library web portal.

Walter LaFeber, The American Age: U.S. Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad, 1750 to the Present (Second Edition). New York: W. W. Norton, 1994.

David A. Lake, The Statebuilder’s Dilemma: On the Limits of Foreign Intervention. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016. Available electronically through UCSD Library: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt20d88d7 Links to an external site.

Lecture Videos:

Each week, you will watch short lecture videos that align with your chapter readings. The videos are already linked within the weekly module in the order you should watch them. You can also access all course videos in the course's Media Gallery.

The recommended browser is Chrome; however, if you are using Safari, see the Technical Requirements page and follow the instructions to ensure access.

Zoom Video Conference:

We will be using ZOOM, a video conferencing tool to conduct office hours and virtual meetings.

OFFICE HOURS:

Office hours will be held remotely and by appointment only, usually on Tuesdays between 1-3 PM. A signup sheet is available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L1Zku4IFyRaoIFcfnt4vSgru4PrLhAlBY1cxdNLQUkA/edit#gid=0 Links to an external site. .

The TAs and I will also be available to answer questions via email. Please note that if you do not receive a response in 48 hours, you should feel free to resend your email. Sometimes a first email gets overlooked.

To Join an Office Hour at the scheduled time, click the Zoom LTI PRO link in the left-hand navigation menu.

VIRTUAL MEETINGS

On Thursdays from 2-3 PM, I will be available for group discussion via Zoom. Nothing can substitute completely for a live in-person class, but this is an opportunity to ask questions about the readings or lectures and raise issues for discussion. I will not be covering additional material in these sessions, only answering questions you might have or addressing issues you would like to discuss (this can include current events). Under university rules on remote teaching, these synchronous group discussion sessions are not required and no course credit is assigned for participation.

Please make sure to check the course calendar for any scheduled Zoom meetings. You can also access the Zoom scheduler by clicking Zoom LTI PRO in the left-hand navigation menu.

Step 3: Read the Technical Requirements Page

The Navigating Canvas and Technical Requirements pages identify the browsers, operating systems, and plugins that work best with Canvas. If you are new to Canvas quickly review the Canvas Student Orientation materials.

Step 4: Read about academic integrity and guidelines for online interactions.

Online community and integrity are essential to a successful learning experience. Review the Community Guidelines & Academic Integrity page.

Step 5: Familiarize yourself with available academic support services

View the Student Support Section for more information on campus resources and community support.