Courses

Globalization

This undergraduate course examines globalization along its diverse but inter-related dimensions, including economic, cultural, and political globalization. The course begins with a historical overview of globalization. Second, the course examines economic globalization and its governance with a focus on the major international organizations involved in the governance of international trade and financial flows, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The examination of global economic governance is supplemented with a focus on the differences in living standards between the developed and developing worlds—global inequality—and its relevance. Third, the course focuses on political globalization, specifically examining how the state’s role and capacities have changed in the contemporary era of globalization. It will also analyze the prospects and difficulties for democracy in a globalizing world. Fourth, the course focuses on cultural globalization, seeking to analyze what happens to societies when Western culture acquires global influence, and conversely what happens when cultures of other societies enter Western societies through migration. Finally, the last section of the course will explore the effect of globalizing processes on identities and end with a discussion of globalization and ethics.