It is not unusual to hear truly fantastic claims about the nature international law, that it is not really law, that it is dead, that it is useless, and the list goes on. This attitude is not particularly new: a famous eighteenth-century philosopher once described international lawyers as "miserable comforters." To allow students to make sense of these claims and the broader contemporary discussion about international law, this introductory course pursues two main goals. The first is to reflect on the place and function of international law in international relations, asking for instance whether international law is simply a reflection of power politics. The second goal is to provide a sense of the historical development of the discourse we now call international law, but was at various points termed "law of nations," “droit des gens,” or yet still "ius gentium.” To that end, the course delves into legal thought and practice concerning the use of force (i.e. the laws of war), the protection of property rights across borders, the right to mobility, colonialism, and many more. We will read texts by the likes Francisco de Vitoria, Hugo Grotius, Emer de Vattel, as well as major treaties and rulings from international courts. The course ends with a reflection on the state of international law today.