Politics 329 Globalization Politics Spring 2015 Stephen Crowley Tuesday 7-9 pm King 341 Office: Rice 211 Office Hours: Tues. 2:00-4:30; or by appointment (please sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/scrowley) e-mail: scrowley@oberlin.edu Phone: 775-8286 This seminar will examine what is arguably the dominant trend of the post-cold War world: the increasingly global nature of capitalism, together with the compression of the world through new technologies, and the consequences and reactions these trends have spurred throughout the world. We will examine how competing theoretical perspectives on globalization help explain why this issue has generated such conflict and controversy. We will explore the impact of globalization on the Third World, on labor, the environment, state sovereignty and world culture, before asking what possible alternatives to globalization exist. Course Requirements The seminar will involve reading and discussing a number of different perspectives and debates about both globalization and the conflict it has generated. Through these we will jointly explore and debate theoretical models, ideas, and hypotheses that should prove fruitful in the writing of your research paper. Since this is a seminar, you are expected to complete the weekly reading and come to class prepared to discuss the issues raised. The first ten sessions will involve critical discussion of the readings. The day before each class (i.e., Monday) you are to post critical comments about the week s reading on the seminar s Blackboard discussion forum. These will form the basis for our collective discussions and are essential for the success of that enterprise. Please note: I request that you not use laptop computers or other electronic devices during class time. Even if laptops might not be distracting to the user, they can be distracting to other students, and in a discussion-oriented seminar we want to give one another our full attention. (Plus, laptops, smart phones and all that other crap are made with sweatshop labor; see below.) The extended research paper (approximately 20-25 pages) will compromise a major part of this course, and is due no later than the scheduled exam time for this class. To make completing the paper more manageable, we will break the research and writing into a number of components, according the following schedule:
- a meeting with instructor to define a topic sometime before class on March 10. - a 1-2 page proposal for your research topic, which should include a statement of your research question(s); justification of the topic in terms of its interest and importance; any anticipated problems and proposed solutions, due March 13. - an annotated bibliography, which identifies and evaluates a variety of research materials, due March 20. - a meeting with the instructor to discuss your progress during the week of April 20. - a 1-2 page introduction to your paper, including your thesis statement, due April 24. - a detailed outline of your paper, due May 1. - a complete draft of your paper, due May 5. - a presentation of your works in progress to the class; the last three sessions will be devoted to these presentations and discussion of your papers in progress. - the final paper, along with your draft(s) and the other above materials, will be due no later than May 16. Grades will be assessed in the following manner: Class participation, including your regular postings to the Blackboard discussion forum and the in-class presentation, will be 50% of the grade. The remaining 50% will be based on the research paper. Reading: The following books have been ordered for purchase at the Oberlin College bookstore: Ha-Joon Chang, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism (Bloomsbury, 2008) Aravind Adiga, White Tiger (Free Press, 2008) David Harvey, The Enigma of Capital (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) [this book is available as an e-book via OBIS] Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate (Simon & Schuster, 2014) These books we will be reading substantial portions of, so their purchase is recommended: Martin Wolf, Why Globalization Works (Yale University Press, 2004) Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents (Norton, 2002) The other reading will be available on Blackboard.
Class Schedule February 3: Introduction no assigned reading February 10: Liberalism Thomas Friedman, Lexus and the Olive Tree, "Opening Scene", chapts. 6-7 Martin Wolf, Why Globalization Works, preface, chapters 2-6 Gregg Easterbrook, Sonic Boom, introduction February 17: Mercantilism and the State Robert Gilpin, "The Nature of Political Economy," in Robert Art and Robert Jervis, International Politics Ha-Joon Chang, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism, prologue, chapts. 1-6, and 8 Watch the 4-minute video, The iphone Economy : http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/20/business/the-iphoneeconomy.html?ref=business February 24: Marxism and Globalization Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto [part 1, "Bourgeois and Proleterians"] Immanuel Wallerstein, World Systems Analysis, chapt. 2 David Harvey, The Enigma of Capital, pp. 8-66; 88-116; 119-121; 140-172; 204-214 Take a look at this video of a presentation by Harvey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qop2v_np2c0 March 3: Globalization and Inequality Charles Lindblom, The Market as Prison, The Journal of Politics, Vol. 44, No. 2, 1982 Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents, chapts. 1-2; 4 Branko Milanovic, The Haves and the Have-Nots, pp. 95-140; 149-164; 171-175; 182-186 [available as an e-book via OBIS] March 10: Globalization and the Commodification of Labor Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (Boston: Beacon Press, 1957), chapts. 6-7, 12
Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Two Cheers for Sweatshops, New York Times Magazine, Sept. 24, 2000 Frances Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins, "Why Can't People Feed Themselves" in Robin Broad, ed., Global Backlash Robert Ross, Slaves to Fashion, chapts. 5-6 Ken Silverstein, Shopping for Sweat: The Human Cost of a Two-Dollar T- Shirt, Harpers, January 2010 March 13: Paper proposal due March 17: The Environmental Critique Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate (chapters to be assigned) Chandran Nair, Constraining Consumption, RSA Events Video, http://www.thersa.org/events/video/vision-videos/chandran-nair March 20: Annotated bibliography due March 31: Global Culture Arjun Appadurai, Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, chapters 1 (to page 16); chapter 2 Amartya Sen, How to Judge Globalism, American Prospect, 13, no. 1 (Jan. 2002) Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Our Right to Remain Separate and Distinct, in Jerry Mander and Tauli-Corpuz, eds., Paradigm Wars Kwame Anthony Appiah, The Case for Contamination, The New York Times, January 1, 2006 Paul Hooper, Understanding Cultural Globalization, chapt. 6 Chrystia Freeland, The Rise of the New Global Elite, The Atlantic, January/February 2011 April 7: The View from Below Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat (pp. 3-36) [skim] Aravind Adiga, White Tiger April 14: Reaction and Resistance Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders, in The Politics of Globalization David West, Social Movements in Global Politics, pp. 127-129; 138-149 Heikki Patomaki and Teivo Teivainen, A Possible World, chapts. 12-13
Asbjorn Wahl, Austerity Policies in Europe: There is No Alternative, Global Labour Journal, vol. 3, issue 1, 2012 Peter Evans, Is an Alternative to Globalization Possible? Politics & Society, vol. 36 no. 2, June 2008 Michael Burawoy, From Polanyi to Pollyanna: The False Optimism of Global Labor Studies, Global Labour Journal, vol. 1, issue 2, 2010 Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything, conclusion Week of April 20: Individual meetings to discuss your work in progress April 21, April 28 and May 5: presentations of draft research papers April 24: Paper introduction due May 1: Outline due Draft paper due: May 5 May 16: Final research papers due