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Temple University, Fall 2015 TR 11:00 a.m.– 12:20 p.m., Ritter Hall 111

Global Studies 2096:

Introduction to Global Studies

Prof. Mark A. Pollack Danielle K. Scherer

461 Gladfelter Hall 663 Gladfelter Hall

E-mail: mark.pollack@temple.edu E-mail: Danielle.scherer@temple.edu

Office hours: Tues 9:30-10:50 a.m., 6-6:30 p.m. Office hours: Tues 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Thurs 9:30 – 10:50 a.m. Wed noon – 1 p.m.

The 21st century is an age of globalization. Individuals no longer live their lives exclusively within local and national communities, but are touched by, and interact with, states, groups, firms and individuals across the world. In the area of international security, states have always fought, and prepared to fight, wars with other states, but these interstate wars have been joined by both increasingly destructive civil wars within countries and by international and global terrorism perpetrated by non-state actors. In the economic realm, recent decades have witnessed a dramatic opening of almost all the world’s economies to flows of international trade, finance, and people, such that all of us are now touched, in one way or another, by developments in the global economy. In the realm of culture, centuries-old national cultures, languages, and traditions that have shaped people’s world views are increasingly coming into contact – via increased travel, mass communications, and the internet – with cultures from other countries.

This new globalized world can no longer be understood – if indeed it ever could – through the tools of any single academic discipline. The Global Studies (GS) major at Temple University is designed to provide students with a comprehensive view of our globalized world, with the multiple disciplinary tools and perspectives needed to understand that world, and with the opportunity to concentrate and specialize on one of three broad tracks: Global Security, Global Economy, or Global Cultures.

This course is designed as an introduction and a road map for the Global Studies major. The first week of the course introduces both globalization as a new and transformational phenomenon, as well as global studies as a creative, interdisciplinary approach to the study of our globalized world. The remainder of the course is divided into three four-week modules, reflecting and previewing the three tracks in the GS major. The first module examines the traditional and changing nature of international security, from the causes of traditional interstate wars to the ethics of war and the possibility of humanitarian intervention, and finally facing up to the challenges of terrorism and counter-terrorism, and the prospect of a more peaceful world. The second part turns to the study of the globalized world economy, exploring perspectives on international trade, global finance, and poverty and development. Finally, the third part of the course examines the phenomenon of global and local cultures in contact, focusing on the historical experience of colonialism and post-colonialism from the 15th through the 20th centuries; the digital revolution of the 21st century; and the impact of globalization on gender relations and sexual inequality.

Learning Goals: This is a writing-intensive course, and therefore includes multiple writing assignments of various lengths and formats, designed to build multiple research, writing, revision, and citation skills across multiple disciplines. Specifically, the course aims to teach the following skills:

1. Close reading of different types of texts, including scholarly books and articles as well as primary sources such as news articles about global affairs.

2. Summary of other authors’ arguments, e.g. in an annotated bibliography or literature review.

3. Formulation and concise statement of an original thesis or argument, and elaboration of that argument in a short paper.

4. Information literacy skills, including the ability to navigate and find reliable sources in a variety of different databases available through the Temple University Library.

5. Careful citation of primary and secondary sources, in a variety of different scholarly styles (Chicago, APA, and MLA).

6. The ability to respond, meticulously and creatively, to comments and criticisms on first drafts of scholarly writing, producing more polished and enriched final drafts.

7. Test-taking skills, responding to open-ended essay prompts, IDs, and multiple-choice questions, in both take-home and in-class examinations.

Course Requirements: To teach these skills, the course features the following required assignments:

1. Four short response papers (2-3 pages, double-spaced) in response to questions on the weekly readings. Students must write at least one paper for each of the three parts of the course, but within each part you may choose freely which week you wish to write. Papers do not need to draw upon outside sources, but should demonstrate knowledge and mastery of the week’s readings. These papers are due on the first day of the assigned week, and late papers will not be accepted (6% per paper, or 24% of the grade in all);

2. Rewritten drafts of these short papers, in response to detailed comments from the professor (3% per paper, or 12% of the grade), due one week after the first draft is handed back;

3. Security track research assignment, to search the Lexis-Nexis database for news stories on a security topic to be distributed during the term, write a 4-6 page essay on the topic, and cite all articles in University of Chicago author-date style (due September 24; 9% of the grade). Revision of the same assignment in response to comments (due one week after first draft is handed back, 3%).

4. Economy track research assignment, to search JSTOR, Academic Search Premier and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed scholarly sources on a Global Economy-related question, write a 4-6 page essay on the topic, and list citations in APA style (due October 22; 9% of the grade). Revision of the same assignment in response to comments (due one week after first draft handed back, 3%).

5. Culture track research assignment, to search for, find, and consult at least one book (though Diamond) and at least three other sources (through the sources listed above), write a 4-6 page essay on the topic, and provide citations in MLA style (due November 12; 9% of the grade). Revision of the same assignment in response to comments (due December 3, 3%).

6. Participation.  All students are expected to participate in two ways - in class and online. We believe strongly that students (and professors) learn best when we learn from each other. You may earn credit for participation through our in-class discussions, and also outside the classroom by posting on the online discussion board by responding to the weekly prompts, responding to a comment from a peer, or posting and commenting on an article that you found interesting and relevant to the course (15%);

7. An in-class, closed book final exam, to be administered during exam period (15%).

Please note that all writing assignments will be graded for both form (spelling, grammar, citation style) and content (answering the study questions clearly, demonstrating knowledge of the assigned readings). Detailed instructions for research assignments (requirements 3-5) will be distributed during the semester.

One-on-one meetings. In addition to the above, graded assignments, we will schedule mandatory but ungraded one-on-one meetings to discuss how global studies fits in with each student’s overall plans for college and beyond.

Turning in Assignments.  You will submit all of your written work in two forms this semester.  By the class period where the assignment is due, you must upload a copy of your work as a Word file into Blackboard.  On the assignments page, you can find each of the assignments listed for the semester.  You will be able to upload your paper there where it will be checked for plagiarism; uploading your paper works as if you were attaching a document to an email.  You must also print a copy of your paper and bring it to submit in class. Failure to supply both a paper and electronic copy of your work will result in a grade of zero for that assignment.

Etiquette and Netiquette Part of your education involves learning to be professional; this manifests itself in several ways for the purposes of this class. Students are expected to treat each other in a courteous and respectful manner.  You need not agree with your classmates, but you need to treat each other with respect.  Failure to do so will result in a lowered participation grade.  You will not text or check your email or facebook (or any similar account) during class. When communicating with your professors or your peers for the purposes of this class, you should use the professional standards you might use with an employer. This means avoiding “text speak” or unnecessary abbreviations. More specifically, it means including some kind of greeting to introduce your email (Dear Professor X, for instance) – very few people are actually named “Hey,” and you ought not to begin your email (and certainly not to us) with such a greeting. Your email should include the class, a clear statement of why you are sending the email, a closing statement, and your name. Lastly, as with everything, you should write all e-mails and discussion board postings in full and complete sentences, and proofread your text prior to clicking send.

Disability policy: Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 or 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.

Academic Conduct: Temple University has adopted standards on academic conduct, and all students are expected to comply fully with those standards, including with reference to the important issue of plagiarism. All students should, in all assignments, fully and unambiguously cite sources from which they are drawing important ideas and/or sizable quotations (for example, more than eight consecutive words or more than 50% of a given sentence or paragraph). Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism, which is a serious act of academic misconduct and will result in a failing grade for the course and notification of the infraction to the Dean of Students. Similarly, cheating during exams, copying written assignments from other students, or providing answers to others during exams are considered acts of academic misconduct. If you are unfamiliar with policies about plagiarism or other types of academic misconduct, you may wish to consult the on-line guide to “Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Acknowledging Sources,” available at the Temple Writing Center

() or if you still have remaining doubts or specific questions, raise them directly with me.

Temple University policy on the freedom to teach and learn: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which can be accessed through the following link: .

Schedule of Topics and Readings

Week 1: What is Globalization, and What is Global Studies? (August 25, 27)

Lecture 1A: Global Studies

Lecture 1B: Globalization

What do we mean by global studies? In this introductory week, we introduce our object of study, noting the differences in emphasis when we talk about subjects like “international relations,” “global studies,” and “international studies,” which we define as the interdisciplinary analysis of world affairs. We discuss the division of academic life into disciplines (which are clustered roughly into the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities), and the advantages and disadvantages of thinking in an interdisciplinary fashion about world affairs. And we take a first, preliminary look at the phenomenon that will animate much of the semester, globalization.

Required Readings (48 pages)

Sheldon Anderson, Jeanne A.K. Hey, Mark Allen Peterson, Stanley W. Toops, and Charles Stevens, International Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Global Issues, second edition (Boulder: Westview Press, 2012), “Introduction,” pp. 1-8.

Michael Seipel, “Interdisciplinarity: An Introduction,” Truman State University, , accessed on 18 January 2008, pp. 1-7.

Steve Smith and John Baylis, “Introduction,” in John Baylis and Steve Smith, eds., The Globalization of World Politics, fifth edition (Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 1-13.

Richard J. Payne, Global Issues, 4th edition (New York: Pearson, 2013), Chapter 1, “Global Issues: Challenges of Globalization,” pp. 2-21.

Study Question: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. What is globalization? What are the various aspects of globalization, according to this week’s readings?

2. Why, according to several of this week’s readings, should global studies be an interdisciplinary? What is interdisciplinarity, and why is it both desirable and difficult?

Part I: Global Security

Week 2: Explaining War (Sept 1, 3)

Lecture 2A: Causes of War

Lecture 2B: Explaining Specific Wars: The Case of World War I

War has long been identified as one of the most analytically and normatively important questions in world affairs, and one that distinguishes international politics from domestic politics. Not surprisingly, scholars from a huge variety of disciplines – including political science, history, anthropology, psychology, and economics, among many others – have offered explanations about the causes of specific wars (such as World War I) and for wars in general. This week, we focus on international relations approaches in political science, surveying general theories of international relations and exploring theories and evidence about the causes of war at five different levels of analysis. And we look at the origins of one specific conflict, World War I, asking whether and how we might explain the causes that led to such a unique event.

Required Readings

Greg Cashman and Leonard C. Robinson, An Introduction to the Causes of War (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), introduction, pages 1-25.

Nye, Understanding International Conflicts, Chapter 3, pp. 59-83.

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. Political scientists often look for general causes of war, i.e. factors that make war more likely among states in general. In this week’s reading, Cashman and Robinson identify a number of such factors, are five different levels of analysis. What are the five levels of analysis put forward by Cashman and Robinson, and what potential causes of war do they identify at each level? Which of these proposed causes of war seems most promising to you, and why?

2. By contrast, historians often try to find the causes of single, specific wars, as Joseph Nye does in the case of World War I. How does Nye try to assess which cause or causes were most important in that particular case? Which causes seem to have been most important, and why?

Week 3: Experiencing War (Sept 8, 10)

Lecture 3A: Experiencing World War I

Lecture 3B: From the Yanomami to the US in Afghanistan

While many social scientists focus on the challenge of explaining wars, many in both the social sciences and humanities seek to chronicle and understand the human experience of war, including both the experience of soldiers on the battlefield as well as the impact of war on societies. This week, we examine the human experience of war through works in anthropology, military history, journalism and film. Lectures will focus on how different disciplines, different authors, and different media approach and express the experience of war, as well on the experiences expressed in the week’s readings.

Required Readings

Mark Allen Peterson, “Intercultural Relations: Anthropology for International Communication,” in International Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Global Issues (Boulder: Westview Press, 2008), pp. 107-129.

Napoleon Chagnon, Yanomamo (New York: Cengage, Legacy 6th edition, 2012), Introduction and Chapter 6, “Yanomamo Warfare,” pp. 1-10, and 189-210.

Denis Winter, Death’s Men: Soldiers of the Great War (New York: Penguin, 1985), Chapter 6, “Trench Life,” pp. 80-106.

Sebastian Junger, “Into the Valley of Death,” Vanity Fair, January 2008, .

The American Experience, The Great War, 1918 (film, WGBH Boston); we will watch this film in class.

Study Question: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on the following question. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. This week, we read three accounts from several different disciplines about three different conflicts: Napoleon Chagnon’s pioneering enthnography of warfare among the Yanomamo; Denis Winter’s military history of World War I; and Sebastian Junger’s journalistic account of life among American soldiers in Afghanistan. (We will also watch a documentary film on American soldiers’ experience in World War I in class.) In an essay, consider (a) how soldiers’ experiences in these three conflicts differ, as well as (b) which experiences, if any, are common to them all.

Week 4: Just and Unjust Wars (Sept 15, 17)

Lecture 4A: Just War Theory

Lecture 4B: Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect

While much of the current literature on the causes of war is located within the fields of political science and international relations, virtually every discipline in the social sciences and humanities has weighed in on the question of war, and indeed war is an area where interdisciplinary scholarship has attempted to draw on the insights of multiple disciplines to explain and understand warfare. A full survey of these approaches is beyond our scope this week, which instead focuses on two questions. First, after a brief discussion of different disciplinary perspectives on war, we examine the question of the relationship between war and gender, reading and analyzing selections from Joshua Goldstein’s book on the subject as an example of such interdisciplinary work. Second, we move from positive to normative analysis, reviewing the literature on “just war theory,” and asking about the just causes of war and the ways in which wars might be fought justly.

Required Readings

Paul Newall, “Ethics,” The Galilean Library, , accessed on 5 January 2008, read up to “Consequentialist theories” (stop before “Virtue theories”).

Richard Shapcott, “International Ethics,” Chapter 11 in John Baylis, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens, eds., The Globalization of World Politics, fourth edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. 194-206.

Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, Chapters 2-5 (pp. 21-85); focus on the key arguments, skim the historical cases.

Nicholas J. Wheeler and Alex J. Bellamy, “Humanitarian Intervention,” in The Globalization of World Politics, in John Baylis and Steve Smith, eds., The Globalization of World Politics, fifth edition (New York: Oxford University Press), pp. 510-527.

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. The first two readings for this week set the stage for our discussion of just war, by introducing (1) the subject of ethics, and (2) international ethics in particular. On the first question, what do we mean when we talk about ethics, according to Newall? More specifically, what’s the difference between (a) consequentialist and (b) deontological ethics? (Note: these are twenty-dollar words, but the basic concepts are pretty straightforward, so don’t be spooked!) Which type of ethics seems more appropriate to you, both in general and as the basics for a theory of just war?

2. Once we figure out the basic concepts of ethics, we have another question: What kind of ethical theory, if any, should we adopt on a global or international scale. In his chapter for this week, Shapcott spells out three basic approaches to international ethics. What are the three approaches; what (in brief) does each one argue; and which seems to you most appropriate as a starting point for thinking about ethics in an age of globalization?

3. Moving from ethics in general to the ethics of war: It has been said that “War is hell,” inherently based on killing of other human beings, and yet there is a widely held “just war tradition” that war can be fought justly, and for just reasons. In a brief essay, explain the concepts of “jus ad bellum,” and “jus in bello” as they appear in Michael Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars, outlining the basic rules of each. Are these rules a good basis for judging the morality of war? Why or why not?

4. The central aim of the laws of war is to limit the reasons states can go to war, yet over the past two decades, the US and other countries have claimed a right to intervene, including militarily, in the internal affairs of other states that fail to protect the lives and rights of their citizens. Where, and how, have such humanitarian interventions take place, and how, if at all, can they be justified?

Week 5: An Age of Terror, or An Age of Peace? (Sept 22, 24)

Lecture 5A: An Age of Terror?

Lecture 5B: An Age of Peace?

In the previous three weeks, we focused on the causes, consequences, ethics and human experience of interstate wars. Yet there is considerable evidence that this form of organized violence has dramatically declined in recent decades. Will this world of interstate war be replaced by a more peaceful one, or simply by a world characterized by novel, but equally fearsome, security threats and forms of violence? This question is the subject of this week’s readings. We focus on two topics. The first three readings explore the origins and morality of terrorism, as well as the challenges of counter-terrorism efforts by the US and others. The second and final pair of readings take a much different approach, asking whether the world has moved and is moving into a much less violent future.

Required Readings

Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, Chapter 12 (pp. 197-206); focus on the key arguments, skim the historical cases.

Jack Goldsmith, The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment inside the Bush Administration (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007), chapters 1 and 2, pp. 17-70.

Trevor McCrisken, “Ten Years On: Obama’s War on Terrorism in Rhetoric and Practice,” International Affairs, Volume 87, Issue 4 (July 2011), pages 781–801.

Joshua Goldstein, “Think Again: War,” Foreign Policy, August 15, 2011, .

Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (New York: Viking), “Preface,” pp. xvi-xxvi.

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. The September 11th, 2001, attacks on the United States, and the Bush Administration’s subsequent “war on terror” raised an enormous variety of legal as well as political and moral questions, including the power of the Presidency vis-à-vis the other branches of government as well as specific questions about the designation of detainees, the use and institutional set-up of military commissions to judge alleged terrorists, the use of extraordinary rendition and/or torture of terrorist suspects, and the conduct of warrantless wiretapping of American and foreign citizens. How did the administration of George W. Bush, in office during and after those attacks, respond to these challenges? Were US responses legally and morally justified? Finally how, and how much, has Barack Obama changed the US approach to terrorism during his term in office?

2. The decade since September 11th, 2001 is often depicted as an age of terror, haunted by the threat of further attacks and of other security threats such as the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Yet a number of scholars such as Bruce Russett, Joshua Goldstein (in the recommended readings) and Steven Pinker argue that the world is becoming substantially less warlike and violent over time. What evidence do these authors offer for their startling claims, and how (if at all) does each explain the apparent drop-off in global violence?

Part II: Global Economy

Week 6: The Global Economy: Economics, Political Economy, and History (Sept 29, Oct 1)

Lecture 6A: Economics, Politics, and Political Economy

Lecture 6B: Global Economic History

This week, we begin our four-week introduction to the global economy by examining three different disciplinary perspectives: economics, political economy, and finally economic history. We first ask what kinds of questions economists ask about the global economy, with a focus on the classic problems of international trade, finance, and development. Next, we introduce the hybrid field international political economy, which asks about the politics of the global economy. Third and last, we undertake a very brief survey of international economic history over the past two centuries, looking for patterns in the development of the world economy and the interrelationship between state power and global markets.

Required Readings

Paul R. Krugman, Maurice Obstfeld, and Marc Melitz, International Economics: Theory and Policy, 9th edition (New York: Prentice-Hall, 2011), Chapter 1, Introduction, pp. 1-9.

Thomas Oatley, International Political Economy, 5th edition (New York: Longman, 2012), Introduction, pp. 1-20.

Thomas Lairson and David Skidmore, International Political Economy, 3rd edition, Chapters 2 (“The Origins of a World Economy”) and 3 (“The Political Economy of American Hegemony, 1938-1973”), pp. 43-96.

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. International political economy is relatively young as a field of study, and our understanding of what it is have changed somewhat over time. What is international political economy, according to your readings? What empirical phenomena does it study, and what theoretical and methodological tools does it use to do so?

2. One of the core hypotheses of modern international political economy is the concept of hegemonic stability theory. What are the key tenets of this theory? When, and under what conditions, does it predict an open, liberal world economy? How, according to this week’s historical readings, has this theory performed in explaining global economic outcomes over the past two centuries?

Week 7: Global Trade (Oct 6, 8)

Lecture 7A: US Trade Politics and the Global Trade System

Lecture 7B: The WTO at Work

Required Readings

Jeffry A. Frieden, David A. Lake, and Kenneth A. Schultz, World Politics: Interests, Interactions, Institutions (New York: W.W. Norton, 2012), Chapter 7, “International Trade,” pp. 264-305.

James McBride, “The Future of U.S. Trade Policy,” CFR Backgrounders, June 15, 2015, .

Jeffrey L. Dunoff, Steven R. Ratner, David Wippman, International Law: Norms, Actors, Process: A Problem-Oriented Approach, second edition (Aspen Law and Business Publishers, 2006), Chapter 12, “International Economic Law,” read pp. 827-46.

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. The international trade regime today is centered around the World Trade Organization (WTO), an international organization that encourages states to lower their tariffs and engage in free trade. In a brief essay, consider the following three questions: (1) Why do economists generally believe free trade is a good idea, (2) why do states find it difficult to follow their advice, and (3) how, if at all, does the WTO help states to engage in free trade?

2. The WTO is more than a political or economic organization; it is also a legal agreement creating binging obligations on states, with a Dispute Settlement Mechanism to adjudicate disputes among its members. How does WTO dispute settlement work? Who can bring cases, how are those cases decided, and why should any state comply with the decision of an international court? Discuss with reference to the WTO Bananas disputes.

Week 8: Global Finance, and the “Globalization Debate” (Oct 13, 15)

Lecture 8A: Global Finance

Lecture 8B: The Globalization Debate

Required Readings

Joshua Goldstein and Jon Pevehouse, International Relations, 10th edition (New York: Pearson, 2012), Chapter 9, “Global Finance and Business.”

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Making Globalization Work (New York: W.W. Norton, 2007), Chapter 1, “Another World is Possible,” pp. 3-24.

Jagdish Bhagwati, In Defense of Globalization (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), Chapter 1, pp. 1-13 only; Chapters 2 and 3, pp. 28-35; Chapter 5, pp. 51-67.

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. The international economy is not just about trade. In order to engage in trade or in any kind of international transaction, states need a system for exchanging one country’s currency for another’s. What kind of exchange-rate system did the world’s states establish in 1944 at Bretton Woods, and what kind of exchange-rate system does the world have today?

2. In Week 1, we talked in broad terms about globalization as a political, economic, and cultural phenomenon. This week, we focus solely on the economic component of globalization. What is globalization, according to economists? And why do economists Joseph Stiglitz and Jadgish Bhagwati disagree about its positive or negative consequences for the world? What does each author argue is right, and what is wrong, with contemporary economic globalization?

Week 9: Development and Poverty (October 20, 22)

Lecture 9A: Explaining Development

Lecture 9B: Ending Global Poverty

Required Readings

Joshua Goldstein and Jon Pevehouse, International Relations, 9th edition (New York: Pearson, 2010), Chapter 12, “The North-South Gap,” pp. 423-31, 437-451; and Chapter 13, “International Development,” pp. 459-492.

Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw, The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy (New York: Free Press, 2002), “Introduction: At the Frontier,” pp. ix-xvii.

Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (New York: Penguin Press, 2005), pp. 1-4, 20-25, 188-220, and 288-308.

William Easterly, “The Ideology of Development,” Foreign Policy, July/August 2007, pp. 31-37.

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (New York: The Penguin Press, 2008), excerpt entitled “Reinvigorating Global Cooperation,” pp. 46-49.

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. One of the great debates of the past century has been about the types of economic policies most likely to produce prosperity in the developing countries of the global “South.” What, according to Yergin and Stanislaw, are the two sides in this great “battle of ideas”? What kinds of policies have developing countries actually adopted, according to Goldstein and Pevehouse – and which ones have been most effective in producing economic growth and prosperity?

• The so-called battle of ideas about the ideal policies to promote development have spilled over from the global South to the North, as American economists have debated the best way to help developing countries fight poverty. Why does Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs, in The End of Poverty, believe that Africa is poor, and what would he like to do about it? What does William Easterly, a former World Bank economist, say about Sachs’ plan – and how does Sachs, in Common Wealth, respond? With whom do you agree, and why?

Part IV: Global Cultures

Week 10: Colonialism and Decolonization (Oct 27, 29)

10A: European Imperialism and the Experience of Colonialism

10B: Decolonization

One of the central historical and cultural phenomena of the past five centuries has been the colonization of much of Asia, North and South America, and Africa, primarily by European great powers, followed by a rapid and tumultuous period of decolonization in the second half of the 20th century. This week’s readings explore the historical experience of colonialism and decolonization, before turning next week to the postcolonial experiences of the newly independent states.

Required Readings

R.R. Palmer, Joel Colton, and Lloyd Kramer, History of the Modern World, 10th edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007), read Chapter 16, “Europe’s World Supremacy, 1871-1914,” and Chapter 24, “Empires Into Nations: Africa and the Middle East after the Second World War.”

Fordham University, Internet Indian History Sourcebook, “The Western Intrusion,” subheading for “Clash of Cultures.” Read entries by Bentinck, Elphinstone, and Naoroji, Western Intrusion.

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on the following question. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. During a period of a few hundred years, culminating in the final three decades of the 19th century, European countries colonized and extended their empires over most of the rest of the peoples of the earth. What factors, or motives, might explain this world-historic event, according to Palmer and Colton?

2. European colonialism and imperialism ushered in a series of bitter military, political, economic and cultural clashes. In this week’s primary source readings, from the Fordham Internet History Sourcebooks project, we read several accounts of cultural clashes between British colonizers and their Indian subjects, particularly over the difficult question of the suttee. How did these contemporary writers think, not just about the tradition of suttee but also about whether the British should impose their own culture and outlaw the local tradition? What do you think, and why?

3. It is often said that colonialism and imperialism is a European phenomenon, which did not concern the United States. Does the reading for this week support that view?

4. During the three decades immediately following World War II, the former imperial countries withdrew from nearly all of their colonies around the world. What explains this rapid retreat from empire, and what new challenges did decolonization create for the newly independent countries of the so-called Third World? (Note that this last question will continue into next week!)

Week 11 Postcolonialism, Neocolonialism, and Americanization (Nov 3, 5)

11A: The Third World and Postcolonialism

11B: Neocolonialism and Its Critics

By the middle of the 20th century, the formal empires of the 19th and 20th centuries had been dissolved, and the vast majority of their former colonies achieved formal independence. Yet the experience of colonialism has continued to shape both the former colonies and the former colonizers, as well as the sometimes fraught relations between them. This week, we examine the aspirations of the newly independent states to create an autonomous “Third World,” and we examine allegations of economic, political, and cultural “neocolonialism” by the United States and other Western countries over the developing world, as well as the postcolonial experience of people in the global South.

Required Readings

Vijay Prashad, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World (London: The New Press, 2007), Introduction (pp. xv-xix), “Paris,” (pp. 3-15), and “New Delhi” (pp. 207-223).

Pramod K. Nayar, Postcolonialism: A Guide for the Perplexed (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010), Chapter 1, “Introduction: Postcolonial Thought,” pp. 1-34.

Kolawole A. Owolabi, “Globalization, Americanization, and Western Imperialism,” Journal of Social Development in Africa, Vol. 16, No. 2 (July 2001), pp. 71-91.

Jim Yardley and Binyamin Appelbaum, “In Fiery Speeches, Francis Excoriates Global Capitalism,” The New York Times, July 8, 2015, p. A8.

David Rothkopf, “In Praise of Cultural Imperialism?” Foreign Policy 107, Summer 1997, 38-53.

Additional readings to be added later in the term.

Study Question: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on the following question. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. A majority of the world’s nations today began the 20th century as colonies of European powers, only to gain their independence in the years after World War II. And yet, according to postcolonial theorists, the experience of colonialism has shaped those states far beyond the formal end of colonial rule, and in many ways, these scholars argue, Western imperialism continues in other forms. What arguments and evidence do you find in this week’s reading for this view? Does postcolonial theory generate insight into the culture, politics and societies of independent nations today? Why or why not?

Week 12: The Digital Revolution, Culture and Politics (Nov 10, 12)

Lecture 12A: The Internet Revolution, State Control, and Culture

Lecture 12B: The Twitter Revolutions: Does the Internet Promote Democracy?

As we’ve seen over the past two weeks, cultural exchanges among societies are centuries old, spread by books, films, music, ideas and people travelling across borders. All of these transnational flows have been greatly facilitated and accelerated, however, by the digital revolution of the past several decades. In the United States, the internet has dramatically changed the way that individuals and groups create and distribute (or upload) information, as well as how we consume (or download) all kinds of cultural artifacts, from books to music. The rise of social media, moreover, has altered the relationship between individuals and culture, changing that relationship from producer and consumer to network of individuals. The potential impact of the internet is perhaps most revolutionary, however, in authoritarian societies, where it raises the potential for news, ideas, and cultural influences to spread across borders and among the citizens of authoritarian states like China, who now enjoy the promise of creating networks that would have been impossible before the internet. Many scholars have gone further, claiming that the internet and social media have been responsible for the so-called “Twitter Revolutions” that took place in Iran and across the Arab world over the past decade. In this week’s readings, we examine the internet revolution and its impact on the culture, societies, and politics of countries with authoritarian regimes.

Required Readings

Jyh-An Lee, Ching-Yi Liu, and Weiping Li, “Searching for Internet Freedom in China: A Case Study on Google’s China Experience,” Cardozo Journal of Arts and Entertainment Law, Vol. 31, pp. 405-434.

Daniel Schorr, “Iran’s Twitter Revolution.” New Leader, Vol. 92, No. 3/4 (2009): 4-5.

Mike Gaworecki, “Social Media: Organizing Tool and a ‘Space of Liberty’ in Post-Revolution Egypt?” Social Policy, Vol. 41, No. 4 (2011), pp. 66-69.

Blake Hounshell, “The Revolution Will Be Tweeted.” Foreign Policy, Issue 187 (2011), pp. 20-21.

Alterman, Jon B. “The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted.” Washington Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 4 (2011): 103-116.

Gladwell, Malcolm, “Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted,” The New Yorker, October 4, 2010, available online at .

Study Questions: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on one of the following questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. In her article, Katherine Tsai examines the effects of the internet in China, focusing on the interaction among internet service providers like Google, internet users in China, and the Chinese government. Has the internet opened up Chinese society, as many of its advocates had hoped? If so, how? If not, why not? What do developments in China mean for the possible creation of new international law in the area of internet freedom?

2. The series of Middle Eastern revolutions beginning with the so-called Green Revolution in Iran in 2009 and stretching to the many revolutions of the Arab Spring in 2010-2011 have given rise to a new idea, that of the “Twitter revolution,” in which the internet and social media can not only open up closed societies but foster social revolutions and overturn authoritarian regimes. According to this week’s readings, what are the possibilities, and what are the limits, of the internet and social media in promoting openness and democracy in closed societies?

Week 13: Globalization and Gender (Nov 17, 19)

Lecture 13A: Feminism, Sexual Inequality, and the Plight of Women

Lecture 13B: Exporting Feminism

The existence of differentiated gender roles, and of sexual inequality between men and women, is a common feature of nearly every society on earth, yet it takes vastly different forms in different societies, ranging from Scandinavian countries where sexual equality has made great strides, to the many countries where women are still treated differently by both law and social custom. This week, we explore both the phenomenon of sexual inequality across societies, and the prospect that globalization may be altering gender relations and empowering – or disempowering – women around the world. We begin the week with a survey of women’s plight by two journalists, an examination of the rise of the international women’s movement by a sociologist, a legal and political science scholar’s account of the effects of international law on women’s rights, and an anthropological exploration of the role of women in the global capitalist economy.

Required Readings

Sylvia Walby, Theorizing Patriarchy (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990), Introduction, read pages 1-14.

Nira Yuval-Davis, “Intersectionality and Feminist Politics,” European Journal of Women’s Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3, read pp. 193–199.

Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009), read Introduction, pp. xi-xxii, and additional selections TBA.

Samantha Eyler, “Exporting Feminism: Are Women’s Rights Universal?” Foreign Affairs, May 28, 2015, at .

Additional readings to be added during the semester.

Study Question: Please write a 2-3 page essay (double-spaced, 12 point fonts) on the following question. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, provide an introduction or thesis statement at the beginning, and refer to relevant readings (not just to lecture) in your answer.

1. What is feminism? What strands of feminist thinking exist, according to Walby and Yuval Davis, and how (if at all) do they shape the way we look at the world and at globalization?

2. What are the primary challenges – or forms of oppression – facing women in the world today? What, if anything, can be done to promote sexual equality between women and men? Is it legitimate for the United States or other countries to “export feminism” to other countries with different traditions? Why or why not?

Part IV: Conclusions

Week 14: Summary and Conclusions (Dec 1, 3)

No assigned readings or study questions this week.

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