2010-11 Catalog

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Offering Description

500 Years of Globalization

Fall and Winter quarters

Faculty: Jeanne Hahn political economy, political science

Fields of Study: geography, history, international studies, political science and sociology

Fall: CRN (Credit) Level 10023 (16) Jr - Sr  Signature Required Students must interview with the faculty and submit a portfolio of previous work that includes a sample of written work and Evergreen evaluations or previous transcripts. For more information, contact Jeanne Hahn at (360) 867-6014 or hahnj@evergreen.edu. Applications received by the Academic Fair, May 12, 2010, will be given priority. Qualified students will be accepted until the program fills.  

Winter: Enrollment Closed  CRN (Credit) Level 20022 (16) Jr - Sr  

Credits: 16(F); 16(W)

Class Standing: Junior - Senior

Offered During: Day

Prerequisites: previous study in political economy, political science, and history beyod the introductory level.

Description

The world is undergoing unprecedented flux and transformation. Some argue we are in the midst of a passage to a qualitatively different world. How do we understand this, historically and in the present? What is the future of the nation-state in the face of the hypermobility of capital, the re-emergence of nationalism, the increasing disparity and similarity between the "first" and "third" worlds, and the attempt of the U.S. to assert global military dominance? Is the public sphere disappearing in the face of privatization and neoliberal policy? Or is neoliberalism dissolving under the impact of the current global economic crisis? What might take its place? These are big questions; every person on earth has a stake in the answers.

In the fall, we will focus on a study of the evolution of historical capitalism and the international political economy to understand the process by which over the past 500 years Europeans (and later Euro-Americans) created capitalism and the nation-state, redrew the world map through colonialism and imperialism, established the rules of the international system, and initiated the process by which the rest of the world generally became poor and powerless.

In the winter, we will focus on the post-World War II period to the present and assess the rapidly changing global political economy and recent geostrategic developments. We will explore the relationship between transnational corporations and multilateral institutions, investigate the neoliberal agenda as expressed through public policies in the first world and structural adjustment programs in the third world, and examine changing structures of power under the current crisis in global capitalism and apparent crumbling of its neoliberal policy apparatus. We will look directly at the rise of revolutionary nationalism and the nature of global social movements and change. Students will write frequently, engage in a major research project, and analyze world developments through the daily New York Times and one foreign newspaper.

Maximum Enrollment: 25

Preparatory for studies or careers in: the social sciences, history, law, globalization, political economy, geography, education, historical sociology, and informed citizenship.

Campus Location: Olympia

Online Learning: Enhanced Online Learning

Books: www.tescbookstore.com