Webinar: Teaching Concepts as Windows into International Relations 

Teaching undergraduate students to understand and engage with international relations theory through the traditional ‘isms’ can be challenging.  But what if we introduced concepts as an alternative and accessible way of thinking about – and teaching – international relations? In this webinar and panel discussion, Felix Berenskötter — reader in international relations in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and director of the MA International Relations program there — will discuss the relevance of, and pedagogical approaches to, working with concepts as windows into world politics. It is premised on the view that concepts play a crucial role in ordering and giving meaning to reality for both academics and practitioners.

Berenskötter, author and editor of the new Sage textbook Concepts in International Relations, will discuss the relevance of, and pedagogical approaches to, working with concepts as windows into world politics. It is premised on the view that concepts play a crucial role in ordering and giving meaning to reality for both academics and practitioners. Joined by chapter authors Somdeep Sen of Roskilde University and Tanja Aalberts of Vrije Universiteit, the trio will discuss the analytical and political power of concepts, their relationship to IR theories and significance in real world politics, and how they can help students to understand IR better.

The webinar, part of Sage’s Politics Webinar series, is free.