Trade and Environment Research
Syllabus and Basic Course Requirements
Dr. James Lee
School of International Service
American University
Washington, DC
 Office: Bender Annex 158
Phone: 885-1691
Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, 4:00-5:00
EMAIL: jlee@american.edu
 REQUIRED TEXTS
(1) Buy the course packet in the bookstore.
(2) Web Pages That Suck: Learning Good Design by Looking at Bad Design, Vincent Flanders and Michael
Willis, March, 1998, Softcover, 266 pages, Published by Sybex, ISNB: 078212187X.
Online price
if ordered through CLBooks: $31.20, which is 20% off (www.clbooks.com)
Shipping charges range
from $4.95 to $9.95 depending on delivery timing. Order your book with another student as shipping
charges drop dramatically for the second book. Also be sure to see the related Web site at
www.webpagesthatsuck.com. The contact for this is Kevin Ivanetich, kevini@clbooks.com
The book
comes with a CD-ROM that includes a lot of good software.
(3) Buy an HTML book of your choosing, preferably one that is fairly new.
There are many books on HTML and you should choose one appropriate to your computer skill level.
You can also easily download documentation on HTML from a variety of WEB sites, which is usually more
current than most books. Here are some suggested HTML titles.
Steve Wright, Instant HTML: Programmer's Reference, Birmingham, Canada: Wrox Press, 1996. $15.00
Laura Lemay, Teach Yourself With Web Publishing with HTML in a Week, Sams Publishing, 201 West 103rd
ST., Indianapolis, Indiana, 46290, (sams.net). (This is the book used in Dr. Doolittle's class.)
Buy lots of 3 1/2" x 5" DOS-formatted disks, preferably high-density. I will require you to turn
in some assignments on disk and some in hard copy.
(4) The materials for trade and environment will use existing Web documents as well as xeroxs and
handouts of related articles.
Purpose of the Course
The course intends to unite a critical issue with a technique for disseminating it. Thus, the course
brings together trade and environment with the Web. There are basically two aspects to the class,
both of which will involve the Web.
First, you will individually undertake a cases study on trade and
environment that will be added to existing TED cases.
Second, you will in a group create a Web site that relates to international
relations in some manner. This will be added to the existing projects that form Etown, an electronic
village.
Class meetings are organized in two parts. One part will consist of lectures and presentations and
another part of going to the computer lab and working on various projects. We will meet in the
Anderson Lab. You will be introduced to case studies and the application of one particular approach
to trade and environment issues under a project called the Trade Environment Database (TED).
At the TED Web site you can find explanations of the case method categories, prior case studies that
have been undertaken, and templates for completing case studies. Each of you will be required to
complete a case study, in draft and final forms.
The Big Picture
This class is part of an effort to link up several classes in several disciplines. The vehicle for
the interaction is the Web, but the subject for discussion revolves around the term globalization.
We have a special interest here in trade and the environment in the globalization context. This
class will put up materials on the Web that will be reviewed and developed in concert with several
other courses occurring about the same time.
In the Course Key Links that follow, these Web companion courses will be partners during the course
in the sense that they will be welcome to the research we provide on the Web and part of the virtual
conferences we envision. They include the following near-term courses.
SOC: School of Communications
CGS: Center for Global South Summer Institute
ID: International Development
Grading
There are assignments, quizzes and projects, which are undertaken by individuals and groups. Each
has a draft and final version.
Assignments and Grade Value<
TED Case Study Searches (5 percent)
TED Case Study Draft (15 percent)
TED Case Study Final (25 percent)
Participation and Attendance (10 percent)
HTML Quiz (10 percent)
Etown Proposal (5 percent)
Etown Web Page Draft (15 percent)
Etown Web Page Final (25 percent)
These assignments obviously relate to one another. A good case study will be wasted by a bad HTML
exposition of it. Likewise, learning HTML as part of the group project will contribute to success
in the individual coding of the case studies. These grades are inter-related, both explicitly and
implicitly.
Grade/Numerical Score Table:
A 93-100 C 73-76
A- 90-92 C- 70-72
B+ 87-89 D+ 67-69
B 83-86 D 63-66
B- 80-82 D- 60-62
C+ 77-79 F 0-59
Criteria used when grading research projects
Two brief notes on grading. The "draft" is not intended to mean a hastily thrown together product,
but rather a somewhat complete product that needs refinement and direction. My grading of it
therefore intends to provide input to achieve a higher grade and a better paper for the final
version. Also, since your work may be available for many others to read at some point when it is
added to the TED cases on the Internet, a matter of personal pride is at stake. Some assignments will
be graded equally on the basis of the technical aspects of the product and on the conceptual basis
for the technical work. This conceptual basis should draw from some aspect on IR theory, interpreted
in the broadest sense. Out-reaches to other disciplines are quite welcome. Technical detail and
sophistication in examining compelling conceptual arguments is what I look for.
Grade: A-F (0-100)
Assignments will be graded on four dimensions.
___20___ Analysis
___20___ Writing
___20__ Sufficiency
___20___ Brilliance
One final note on grading. My goal is to get the best paper from you and for you to achieve a high
grade. One reason why I have structured the assignments in two parts is so that a product can be
refined over time, but also so that the grade can be improved. I am looking for quality work and
will gladly trade extra time for assignments for better work. I also understand that in undertaking
these case studies that information will be arriving to you at differing points in time. If you want
an extension, ask for it beforehand and I will gladly grant it. Keep me informed of your progress.
Click here to see the schedule and dates of the class
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