Course description
This course addresses the nature of globalization and provides the main theoretical tools to understand it. It examines, in particular, whether globalization is a new phenomenon and to what extent it is the continuation—or repetition—of older historical trends. It also examines the nature of nations and nation-states, including whether these are perennial entities or whether they are themselves products of modernity; it also uncovers the ways in which ethnic and national identities have been formed and asks whether nations have been agents of globalization or obstacles to it. The course examines the origins and nature of economic globalization, as it appeared in the 1990s. This includes a critical examination of the hopes expressed at the time about an end of history and discussion of the relationship between economic globalization and such issues as democracy, peace, and poverty. It examines the ways in which global issues such as climate change, human rights, or organized crime have been influenced by globalization, as well as the dynamics of cultural globalization and its effects on national and local cultures.
