Global Politics HL Experiences

[Guest Prenzios]

I'm thinking of doing Global Politics at HL, but as it is quite a new subject, i am wondering if anyone has any experiences with it.

thoughts?

[terribletouw]

Yay another politics person! I'm just starting it HL now. It's a really great class I'd definitely recommend it. My whole class is doing it HL even though we have to take it accelerated because there's no November session yet, so you can tell we like it One thing to remember thought is that there's barely any past papers and things so that's a bit of a struggle, but everyone is in the same situation so it's alright.

Edit: dropped it to SL but it's still great

Edited September 24, 2015 by terribletouw

[kartikeya]

I do it at SL and it is a great subject.Surely my favourite

[azara]

I don't know if you ever decided, but I'm doing it too (with terribletouw) and I'm still doing it at HL.  One piece of advice that I have is make sure you know who's going to teach it.  Often, it can be allocated from other subjects the school thinks is "politicky", like history or economics.  Make sure that teacher is going to be competent, because a teacher unsure of the subject is not helpful.

 

In itself, tt's an absolutely fabulous subject.  The syllabus is fascinating and well-rounded, covering four topics - a sort of foundation unit, which covers concepts, roles of actors, and international conventions and change, development, human rights, and peace and conflict.

 

The essay questions, in my experience, are great because they're very broad.  You can choose which direction to take them, and you can talk about them forever.

 

There is very little supporting material available.

 

Bits of advice if you do it:

1) purchase the Andrew Heywood "Global Politics" textbook.  It's a uni textbook and a hard read, but it aligns very nicely with the syllabus and has great explanations and examples.  Read the whole thing.

2) know what's going on the world! If you have a good understanding of the international news, and you get why countries are doing what they're doing, you have both examples and a lot of the foundational theory down pat.  For me, specific examples are far more difficult to remember than the logic and the theories, so if you know the news, you can come up with current, relevant examples which support your points and make you look smart, no matter the question.

3) there are a lot of "own work" activities - the engagement activity is irritating, but must be done.  Get it over with.

 

Overall, I really enjoy it

[kartikeya]

I just changed it to HL from SL. I changed chem to sl

[kartikeya]

Can you get a 7 easily?

[Dutchie]

On 4-12-2015 at 2:06 PM, kartikeya said:

Can you get a 7 easily?

No. No, you can't. However, English Lang Lit A HL is a subject that will really push you a step forwards towards that 7. After all, it is essay writing. I´m doing the course myself and even my EE is on it, so, having some experience myself, READ READ READ! That is all you can really do. I don´t even take notes because there is no point! Read research papers from organizations about concepts such as constructivism, read papers from famous theorists such Joseph Nye or Noam Chomsky, read papers that critically analyze the ideologies of the aforementioned theorists and lastly read trustworthy comments politicians have on of current events (politics related, of course). 

 Daily involvement in this subject is the only way you could get a 7  if you( like me) are quite new to the whole idea of politics. 

[AlexanderPetrie]

On 4/13/2017 at 1:13 PM, Dutchie said:

No. No, you can't. However, English Lang Lit A HL is a subject that will really push you a step forwards towards that 7. After all, it is essay writing. I´m doing the course myself and even my EE is on it, so, having some experience myself, READ READ READ! That is all you can really do. I don´t even take notes because there is no point! Read research papers from organizations about concepts such as constructivism, read papers from famous theorists such Joseph Nye or Noam Chomsky, read papers that critically analyze the ideologies of the aforementioned theorists and lastly read trustworthy comments politicians have on of current events (politics related, of course). 

 Daily involvement in this subject is the only way you could get a 7  if you( like me) are quite new to the whole idea of politics. 

Hey, I'm doing my EE in global politics, but have no idea how I'm supposed to structure it or what information to put in. Is there anyway you could send me yours and give me any advice? would be greatly appreciated as theres literally no exemplar EE's online.

[fjooiks]

Yay another politics person! I'm just starting it HL now. It's a really great class I'd definitely recommend it. My whole class is doing it HL even though we have to take it accelerated because there's no November session yet, so you can tell we like it  One thing to remember thought is that there's barely any past papers and things so that's a bit of a struggle, but everyone is in the same situation so it's alright.