Globalization

Instructors

• Stephen C Nelson - 847 4912589 - 601 University Place # 240

Meeting Info

• Annenberg Hall G21 - TuTh 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

• Globalization is arguably the most powerful force shaping international and domestic politics today. When observers discuss the effects of globalization, they may refer to any of a number of its different facets: economic, political, social, and environmental. In this course we will focus primarily on economic globalization - the increase in the cross-border flows of goods and services, workers, firms, and money.
  This course is intended to take stock of globalization in light of the global economic meltdown. What is globalization? Are its effects on the economic fortunes of individuals in wealthy democracies different than in developing countries? Does the reduction of barriers to economic exchange harm national cultures? Is terrorism linked to globalization? Does globalization erode or enhance American military power? Has globalization gone too far - or has it not gone far enough? These are the kinds of questions that will be discussed in the course.
  
  Globalization is the object of both misplaced ire and adulation. The intense public debate about it has, for this reason, generated more heat than light. To get a better handle on globalization we will draw on a variety of theoretical approaches and a wide range of evidence provided by political scientists, economists, sociologists, historians, and journalists. Globalization is such a massive topic that it is impossible to address all of its manifestations in a nine week course. This syllabus is my attempt to cover as much territory as possible given the constraints.
  
  The course is organized around six major topics: (1) conceptualizing globalization; (2) assessing the constituent parts of economic globalization (trade, finance, foreign direct investment, and immigration); (3) how different national styles of capitalism in the advanced industrial countries have adjusted to pressure from rising economic globalism; (4) how developing countries joined the globalization bandwagon and whether global economic inequality has increased or decreased as a result; (5) the consequences of increasing economic integration for distinct national cultures; (6) the challenges to globalization posed by transnational terrorism, geopolitical rivalries, and the series of economic crises after 2008.

Learning Objectives

• Students enrolled in the course will be able to demonstrate mastery of core concepts and analytical perspectives employed in the study of globalization; they will explore how well the analytical approaches explain (or do not explain) the empirical evidence in different issue areas that fall under the "globalization" umbrella; and they will be able to assess the quality of different arguments and have a springboard from which to initiate their own research projects.

Teaching Method

• Lecture and teaching assistant-led discussion sections

Class Materials (Required)

• There is one required book for purchase: Martin Wolf, Why Globalization Works (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005). ISBN: 0300107773

Current as of 05/06/13 11:23:22 AM

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