Autobiographical Reflexivity and IR Thinker Students are required to write a think piece (500-1,250 words) about their personal perspectives on global issues, using personal narratives (does your personal “story” have an impact on how your see the world?).
Students must also select an IR thinker, and through an understanding of their “story” must decide whether their life “narrative” may have influenced a specific idea/theory they developed or espoused. Students will be required at read ONE piece of academic work (at least 10 pages) written by the author. See pages 18-19 for additional information.
All the Sources Needed Are Included
Autobiographical Reflexivity and IR Thinker Essay Question
In critical approaches of IR, researchers have sought to contextualize their own writing, particularly when they want to illustrate their research methodology and how certain circumstances and social contexts have shaped their ideas.
Assignment
The main question to guide your assignment is: do personal “stories” and narratives (social context, perspectives, childhood, personal background, education, socio-economic background, interactions with individuals, etc.) have an impact on how one views the world, why or why not?
Students are required to:
• Write about their personal perspectives on global issues, using personal narratives (does your personal “story” or a specific event in your life have an impact on how your “see” the world?);
• Select an IR thinker (see list below; if you have an author not listed, please see me or your TA for approval) and understand their personal “story”;
• Select and read a specific piece/section of academic work (at least 10 pages) written by the selected IR thinker;
• Write about the IR thinker’s personal narrative and whether it may have influenced a specific idea/theory they developed or espoused; and
• Students are encouraged to write about themselves and the IR thinker in a comparative manner, where possible
Autobiographical Reflexivity and IR Thinker Essay Writing Guidelines
Length: 500-1,250 words; use references as required
Some IR Thinkers
Realism
E. H. Carr
Robert Gilpin
George Kennan
Hans Morgenthau
Susan Strange
Kenneth Waltz
Liberalism
Michael Doyle
Francis Fukuyama
David Held
Robert Keohane
Woodrow Wilson
Joseph Grieco
Marxist, Critical Theory
Robert Cox
Andre Gunder Frank
Johan Galtung
Immanuel Wallerstein
Andrew Linklater
English School
Hedley Bull
Martin Wight
Michael Walzer
Feminism
Jean Bethke Elshtain
Cynthia Enloe
J. Ann Tickner
Historical Sociology
Anthony Giddens
Charles Tilly
Benedict Anderson
Constructivism
Alexander Wendt
John Ruggie
R. B. J. Walker
Nicholas Onuf
Martha Finnemore
Kathryn Sikkink
Post-Structuralism, Critical Approaches
Richard Ashley
James Der Derian
Cynthia Weber
David Campbell
Jenny Edkins
You may want to consult: Martin Griffiths, Fifty Key Thinkers in International Relations (London: Routledge, 2007), E-book (Available online; York University library)
Autobiographical Reflexivity and IR Thinker References
For further reading:
• Stephen Gill, Power and Resistance in the New World Order (New York: Palgrave, 2008), Chapter 1: “Personal, Political and Intellectual Influences”, pp. 1-10.
• Ilan Kapoor, ‘Hyper-self-reflexive Development? Spivak on Representing the Third World ‘Other’,’ Third World Quarterly, 25, 4, 2004.
• Morgan Brigg and Roland Bleiker, “Autoethnographic International Relations: Exploring the Self as a Source of Knowledge”, Review of International Studies, 36, 3, 2010.
• Cecelia Lynch, “Reflexivity in Research on Civil Society: Constructivist Perspectives”, International Studies Review, 10, 4, 2008.
