Office Hours: MWF 11-12 (Fretwell 435N)
Email: gbweeks@email.uncc.edu
Website: www.uncc.edu/gbweeks
We hear about the concept of “globalization” all the time, but it is often poorly understood. Part of the problem is that globalization is a very complex phenomenon, with far-reaching implications. In order to start getting a better grasp of it, this class has two main goals. The first is simply to explore the complexities themselves, which means analyzing the cultural, political, and economic effects of globalization. In this way, we can come to basic conclusions about the potentially positive or negative impacts globalization has on different parts of the world (or even different parts of the United States). We may well find that different people in the class will ultimately disagree on what is good or bad. We certainly do not need to agree, but we do need to be sure our conclusions are based on solid analytical foundations.
The second goal is to understand the dynamics of how cultures in different countries function, and how they interact with others. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 showed in stark terms how critical this understanding is. Other examples, such as trade, are less deadly but no less important. People react to different facets of globalization in different ways. We are doomed to ignorance if we don’t understand why.
Current Events – We will spend a few minutes at the beginning of each class to discuss current events. I expect you to come prepared to bring them up, and then together we’ll analyze them. We’ll focus specifically on how these events relate to the general topic of globalization. The last quiz will be current event-based.
Grading – there will be a midterm exam, which will count for 40% of your grade. It will be on February 27. The final exam will also count 40%. It will take on Monday, May 10 from 12:00-3:00. They will consist of short answer questions from lecture and reading. There will also be four quizzes, each of which will count for 5% of the total grade. The first three quizzes will require you to provide definitions of terms from both lecture and the readings. The last quiz will cover current events. These quizzes are not intended to trip you up. If you have come to class and done the readings, there will be no surprises. If you miss a quiz without prior authorization, you may not make it up.
Quiz 1: February 2
Quiz 2: March 19
Quiz 3: April 5
Quiz 4: April 30
Readings – there are two required texts:
Rosa Dierks, Introduction to Globalization (Chicago: Burnham, 2001)
Charles W. Kegley, Jr. and Eugene R. Wittkopf (eds.), The Global Agenda: Issues and Perspectives 6th edition (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2001).
There are also a number of required articles. All of them will be available through WebCT.
You access WebCT
through 49er Express, which is a link on the homepage of the university. Your login name is the first part of the
email address given to you by the university (I have the list if you’re not
sure) and your password is your student ID number (if you have used WebCT
before, then just use whatever password you chose). If you have never done this, you can get all the necessary
instructions at http://www.uncc.edu/webct/WCT_STUDENT/student49er_access.html
Rosa Dierks, Introduction to Globalization (Chicago: Burnham, 2001): Introduction and Chapter 1, (pp. 1-18)
Week 2 (Jan 19-23) – Cultures in their Own Context
Lawrence Harrison, “Introduction.” In Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington, Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. NY: Basic Books, 2000: xvii-xxxiv
Carlos Montaner, “Culture and the Behavior of Elites in Latin America,” in Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington (eds.). Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. NY: Basic Books, 2000: 56-64
Dwight H. Perkins, “Law, Family Ties, and the East Asian Way
of Business” in Ibid.: 232-243
Samuel,
Huntington, “The Coming Clash of Civilizations: Or, the West Against the Rest”
Ch. 17 in The Global Agenda
Rosa Dierks, Introduction to Globalization (Chicago: Burnham, 2001): Chapter 15 (pp. 243-259)
Week 4 (Feb 2-6) – Cultural Relativism and
Universality
Robert B. Edgerton, “Traditional Beliefs and Practices: Are Some Better Than Others?” in Ibid.: 126-140.
United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted 1948), http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
Dierks, pp. 93-116
“The Nation-State is Dead. Long Live the Nation-State.” The Economist 23 December 1995
Anne-Marie Slaughter, “The Real New World Order.” Foreign Affairs 75, 5 (September/October 1997): 183-97.
Week 6 (Feb 16-20) – Globalization of Information: Making Policy and Setting Agendas in the New “Knowledge Millenium”
Dierks, pp. 148-163; 187-210
Margaret G. Hermann and Joe D. Hagan, “International
Decision-Making: Leadership Matters.” Foreign
Policy 110 (Spring 1998): 124-137
Robert O. Keohane
and Joseph S. Nye, Jr. “Power
and Interdependence in the Information Age” Ch. 2 in The Global
Agenda
Week 7 (Feb 23-27) – Toward Global Governance
MIDTERM
EXAM ON FEB 27
David Held and Anthony McGrew, with David Goldblatt and
Jonathan Perraton, “Managing the Challenge of Globalization and
Institutionalizing Cooperation Through Global Governance.” Ch. 12 in The Global Agenda
“Reforming the United Nations: Pepe Kofi’s Unruly Flock.” The Economist 8, August 1998, 19-21
Harvey Starr, “The Institutional Maintenance of
Twenty-First Century World Order” Ch.
19 in The Global Agenda
PART
III – ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION
Week 8 (March 1-5) – The Globalization of Trade
“Trade Winds.” The
Economist November 6, 1997
Dierks, pp. 57-71
Robert Gilpin, “Three
Ideologies of Political Economy” Ch. 22 in The Global Agenda
Week 9 (March 15-19) – Multinational Corporations and Non-Governmental Organizations
QUIZ
2 ON MARCH 19
Dierks, pp. 97-147
Debora L. Spar, “The Spotlight and the Bottom Line: How
Multinationals Export Human Rights,” Foreign
Affairs March/April 1998
Bruce Russett, “How
Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations Create a System for
Peace” Ch. 20 in The Global Agenda
Week 10 (March 22-26) – The Globalization of Finance
Dierks, pp. 47-56
Kathleen Newland, “Workers of the World, What Now?” Ch. 25
in The Global Agenda
Ethan B. Kapstein, “Global Rules for Global Finance” Ch.
28 in The Global Agenda
Greg Mastel, “The TWO and Nonmarket Economies” Ch. 29 in The Global Agenda
Nancy Birdsall, “Life is Unfair: Inequality in the World”
Ch. 31 in The Global Agenda
PART
IV – SOVEREIGNTY
Week 11 (March 29-April 2) – The United States and Europe
“Towards an Uncertain Future.” The Economist November 22, 2003.
“Europe: Stability or Instability.” The Economist November 8, 2003.
Richard N. Haass, “What to Do with American Primacy” Ch.
13 in The Global Agenda
Week 12 (April 5-9) – Latin America
QUIZ
3 ON APRIL 5
NO
CLASS ON APRIL 9
Alison Brysk, “Globalization: The Double-Edged Sword,” NACLA Report on the Americas
July/August 2000
Manuel Orozco, “Globalization and Migration: The Impact of
Family Remittances in Latin America,” Latin
American Politics & Society 44, 2 (Summer 2002): 41-67.
Richard Falk, “The New Interventionism and the Third
World” Ch. 16 in The Global Agenda
Week 13 (April 12-16) – The Global Commons
John L. Petersen, “Entering the 21st Century.”
Ch. 32 in The Global Agenda
Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, “Ecological Myths:
One Planet, One Experiment.” Ch. 33 in The
Global Agenda
Tim Lang, “Dietary Implications of the Globalization of
Food Trade.” Ch. 35 in The Global
Agenda
Seth Dunn, “Climate Change: Can the North and South Get in
Step?” Ch. 37 in The Global Agenda
Marvin S. Soroos, “The Tragedy of the Commons in Global
Perspective.” Ch. 41 in The Global
Agenda
Week 14 (April 19-23) – Human Rights
Henry Kissinger, “The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction,” Foreign Affairs 80, 4 (July/August 2001): 86-96
Kenneth Roth, “The Case for Universal Jurisdiction,” Foreign Affairs 80, 5 (September/October 2001): 150-154.
David P. Forsythe, “Human Rights: From Low to High Politics in International Relations” Ch. 18 in The Global Agenda
Week 15 (April 26-30; May 3) – Thinking about Terrorism, then Conclusion and Review
QUIZ
4 ON APRIL 30
Walter Laqueur, “Terror’s New Face: The Radicalization and
Escalation of Modern Terrorism” Ch. 8 in The
Global Agenda
Robert A. Sirico, “The Trouble with Sanctions” Ch. 9 in The Global Agenda