SOCS 634
The Advent of the Global Village: Globalization in the Modern World System

Gallarotti,Giulio

06/29/2009 - 07/31/2009
Tuesday & Thursday 06:00 PM - 09:00 PM

Public Affairs Center 422

Globalization is considered by many to be the most powerful transformative force in the modern world system. Modernization and technology have effectively made the world a smaller place with respect to the interdependence and interpenetration among nations, which are greater today than at any time in history. But while most agree on the transformative power of globalization, many disagree on its nature and its effects on modern society. Liberals hail globalization as the ultimate means to world peace and prosperity. Marxists see it as a means of reinforcing the inequality and unbalanced division of labor created by modern capitalism. Still others, such as mercantilists and nationalists, see it as a source of political instability and cultural conflict. This course analyzes globalization principally through this tripartite theoretical lens. It traces its origins and its evolution across the 19th and 20th centuries. It also tries to determine the impact of globalization on the most important dimensions of international relations today: on domestic and international political systems, on social relations, on cultural, and on international economic relations. Through analytical, critical, and theoretical approaches, the course attempts to ascertain the nature and impact of globalization; and ultimately shed light on the fundamental question, to what extent is globalization a force for good and evil in the modern world system?

Readings include: Benjamin Barber, Jihad Versus McWorld; Martin Wold, Why Globalization Works; Joseph Stigliz, Globalization and Its Discontents; Samuel Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations; Dani Rodrik, Has Globalization Gone Too Far?; Kevin O'Rourke and Jeffrey Williamson, Globalization and History; Frank Lechner and John Boli, eds., The Globalization Reader; and Aseem Prakash and Jeffrey Hart, eds., Responding to Globalization.

Students will be responsible for two research papers (seven pages each) and various participatory exercises in class.

For the first class meeting, please have read all the course readings listed on the course syllabus for that class meeting.

Course tuition: $2022

A syllabus for this course is available at:
Course Syllabus

Giulio Gallarotti (B.A. Hunter College; M.I.A., Ph.D. Columbia University) is professor of government. His research and teaching interests focus on international political economy, power relations, international monetary relations, international trade, international organization, and public choice. His publications include "Hegemons of a Lesser God: The Bank of France and Monetary Leadership Under the Classical Gold Standard" Review of International Political Economy (2005); The Power Curse: Influence and Illusion in World Politics (forthcoming from Lynne Rienner Press), and The Anatomy of an International Monetary Regime: The Classical Gold Standard 1880-1914 (Oxford University Press, 1995). Click here for more information about Giulio Gallarotti.

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Consent of Instructor Required: No

Format: Seminar

Level: GLSP

Credits: 3

Enrollment Limit: 18

Texts to purchase for this course:
Frank Lechner & Jon Boli, THE GLOBALIZATION READER (Wiley-Blackwell), Paperback

Jerry Mander & Edward Goldsmith, THE CASE AGAINST THE GLOBAL ECONOMY (Earthscan), Paperback

Dani Rodrick, HAS GLOBALIZATION GONE TOO FAR? (Institute for International Economics), Paperback

Martin Wolf, WHY GLOBALIZATION WORKS (Yale University Press), Paperback

READING MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE AT BROAD STREET BOOKS, 45 BROAD STREET, MIDDLETOWN, 860-685-7323 Order your books online

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