POL SCI 2590: Globalization: Prospects and Problems

Course Description

Globalization is a multidimensional construct, which calls for its study from a multidisciplinary perspective: i.e., economics, political science, history, and anthropology. The course will explore the forces undergirding economic globalization, as well as the factors that are giving rise to a global democratic dispensation. It will also examine previous forms of globalization including archaic globalization, proto-globalization, and modern globalization as well as so-called deviant globalization - the trade in illicit goods and services, which are also highly lucrative: e.g., human trafficking, prostitution, endangered species, narcotics, organ transplants, small arms, etc. Finally, the course will explore cultural globalization and the rise of a global 'pop culture.' The course will include a comparative analysis of the impacts of globalization in all of its manifestations on social groups (e.g., men and women, ethnic and racial minorities, young and old, classes), countries, and regions.