Sunday, September 20, 2015

Caroline Snyder- First Blog Post

Caroline Snyder
International Relations
Professor Shirk
21 September 2015

First Blog Post
This Calvin and Hobbes comic represents the main idea of constructivism in international relations. Constructivism is based around the concept that relations between states is not always set in stone. Societal and worldly “norms” are constantly changing. This theory is significant within the comic because Calvin proposes that the question in his math homework is irrelevant since the traffic patterns in his neighborhood are constantly changing and there is no way to determine the correct answer. Constructivists would agree with Calvin. I also believe that constructivism seems to be the most legitimate International Relation’s theory that we have learned about. When you read at Calvin and Hobbes with a critical eye, you can catch some constructivist themes.

     Besides physicists, constructivists would also say that is very unlikely that you would constantly drive at forty miles per hour and Mr. Jones at thirty-five miles per hour. Your speed is not consistent and there are different factors that go into it. This also applies to states. A state does not always act in the same way. Constructivism says that predicting what a state might do in a certain situation is impossible. Going back to the math question, constructivists would say that there is no telling what Mr. Jones’ 1991 Honda Accord will do on a certain day. His car could run smoothly or it could make a disturbing sound on fifty-mile drive towards you and he will have to stop to get it checked. If the car worked yesterday, it does not mean that it will still work the next. History is contingent. As we all know, Calvin is also a dare devil. He could easily imagine Hobbes and himself driving the car as if they were racecar drivers. Stability should not be assumed when it comes to Calvin. Constructivists use this idea in the real world.

     Identity plays just as important of a role to Calvin as it does in constructivism. In constructivism, identity and interest are directly linked. The theory works as “we are X, therefore we should do Y”. It works the same for Calvin. He is a boy who is a member of the Get Rid Of Slimy GirlS club, so he should tease and plot to annoy Susie Perkins, his neighbor. He, like constructivists, believe that identities can decide allies. Hobbes is, obviously, his ally and Susie is his “enemy”. Alter-casting can also be seen in Calvin and Hobbes. Alter-casting is the idea that by creating “self”, you create an “other”. This goes hand in hand with the comic strip. Calvin, just by being Calvin, forms Hobbes. It is impossible to think about the one without thinking of the other.

     Calvin and Hobbes has many constructivists concepts imbedded in it when you start to think about it. Constructivism appears to be the most optimistic, again like the comic, and forgiving theory which is what I like about it. I understand that this was an elaborate analogy between constructivism and a comic about a boy and his stuffed tiger, but the more I thought about it, the more it worked!

7 comments:

  1. Hi Caroline,

    This was very creative and interesting to read. I think you managed to make the analogy between constructivism and the comic work and it made a lot of sense. I think it's so funny how you can begin to find political theory in everything.

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  2. Hey Caroline!

    Good job on your blog post! I really liked the analogy that you used here describing how Calvin and Hobbes represents the main ideas of Constructivism. I wrote about Constructivism in my blog post as well. I made the analogy between a Constructivist education setting and the similarity to the core concepts of Constructivism as a political theory. Reading your perspective, and finding out that there are constructivist concepts imbedded in Calvin and Hobbes is really interesting. Constructivism is an optimistic political theory, and I agree that Calvin and Hobbes shares that outlook as well. Good job!

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    1. Thanks Alex! I enjoyed reading your blog post as well. I continue to encounter these international relations theories throughout daily life now that I have learned more about them and how they affect the real world.

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  3. Hi Caroline,

    I really liked this creative comparison of Constructivism to Calvin and Hobbes. It is also interesting to note, that Hobbes is named after the famous Realist thinker, Thomas Hobbes. However, this could be ironic due to the clashing bleak and depressing views of Thomas Hobbes with the funny and lighthearted views of Hobbes the Tiger. So also through some irony, Calvin and Hobbes relates to constructivism.

    -Ben

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  4. Hi Caroline,
    I enjoyed your comparison and found it very interesting. I really liked how you talked about Calvin's identity with Susie in relation to how states interact with each other. My only question would be in your second paragraph, when you are talking about the car and how the cars would be unlikely to maintain speeds and thus it would be harder to predict when they would pass each other. Although I agree with the idea that History is ever changing, and prediction is nearly impossible, wouldn't it be reasonable (in a liberal viewpoint) to think that states to have tendencies? To be more specific, that in the case of states, you could perhaps have an idea of what a state will do based on how that have reacted in the past, and that not all actions are completely random?

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  5. Hello!
    It was refreshing to see the connection between the comic and an IR theory. I agree with the constructivist view point. Circumstances determine everything-- so to solely look at the past actions of a state to predict future actions, without considering current events would be misguided. However, some states do react consistently with their previous actions, but just because they don't doesn't make the reaction extreme.

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  6. Hello!
    It was refreshing to see the connection between the comic and an IR theory. I agree with the constructivist view point. Circumstances determine everything-- so to solely look at the past actions of a state to predict future actions, without considering current events would be misguided. However, some states do react consistently with their previous actions, but just because they don't doesn't make the reaction extreme.

    ReplyDelete