International Affairs is multi-disciplinary so it can be a challenging major but that is also what makes it interesting. There is a lot to learn in order to understand complex relationships between countries. Each country’s cultural differences are important to understand. Culture affects political and economic relationships. Successful communication is based on an understanding of a country’s history, traditions and language. Governments, multi-national corporations, nongovernmental organizations, people and their ideologies are main actors.
I’m learning about (a) global, (b) regional, and (c) domestic (local) issues. Three examples of knowledge needed to understand relationships between world stage actors are (a) how capital globalization impacts regional and local issues (Global Economy), (b) how consumer spending in one country impacts manufacturing in another (Global Trade) and (c) how food rich countries impact food poor countries (Food Security).
I like to learn with a group so that I can be a part of discussions on world affair topics. I also like to have input and feedback on my progress. I am involved in lectures, seminars and I have tutors available for my International Relations classes as well as my other classes. This system works well for me. I study with a small group of students so we can discuss the class work and current issues.
I have good resources for reading and writing about global issues. I’m confident with my computer skills but I know I will have to work hard to learn statistical analysis techniques and apply the result to real world situations. On top of preparing reports and analyzing data, I need to be able to present my results and ideas well in speeches.
President Obama studied political science with an emphasis on International Relations. That’s only one example of a great job a person can find after graduation.
