GEOG 301—Global Economic Geography Spring 2013 A systematic survey of human economic activities. Analysis of resource exploitation and use, including agriculture, extractive activities, industry, commerce, and service functions. Recommended for business and liberal arts majors. This is an approved Global Culture (GC) course. MWF 11-11:50 Butte 503 Dr. Jacque Chase--jchase@csuchico.edu Office Hours: MWF 12-1 and MW 3-4 Butte 527 We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly—Martin Luther King “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 1963 Structure and Objectives of the Class Economic Geography focuses on the distribution of production, consumption and circulation on the earth’s surface, and how and why this distribution is changing. What are the forces that drive the “creative destruction” of economic space and place? How are new global players like China going to influence where and how you work? Do globalization and technology erase the friction of distance in our economic transactions? How do transnational corporations create and destroy productive spaces? How has the mobility of the workforce changed, and why? Which cities will take command of the global economy? How do we explain the emergence of places like Silicon Valley, Hollywood, or Bangalore? Can people plan for regional prosperity? All these questions are animated by the restless geography of a diverse capitalism. This course takes a broad social science approach to the subject of global economic geography. We will at times draw on social, cultural, political, and psychological realms to understand the uneven and dynamic nature of the global economy. You are not expected to have previous knowledge of economic theories or models, although we will go over some of these. The course is a combination of interactive lectures, class discussions on readings, and exercises. In general, I will introduce a new topic or set of topics each Wednesday. The course will not meet on most Fridays, marked in red in the course calendar. During these times you will be required to complete exercises that help you practice and understand concepts in the readings. You will have basic reading quizzes every Wednesday that help me establish your attendance and the extent to which you are getting readings done in advance of each new topic. We reconvene on Monday, at which time you will show your critical understanding of the non-textbook readings. Throughout the course you will also practice “critical writing” and “critical seeing,” which will be explained later. During the entire course you will be practicing critical thinking skills that you will use the rest of your intellectual life (in school and beyond). You will find that the skills you will practice here will hone your abilities and make reading and writing (as well as seeing) more meaningful to you. These are lifelong capabilities. 1 The textbook gives us a “short cut” to intellectual trajectory of economic geography. The main focus of our critical reading, however, will be chapters and articles that are related to the enduring yet current issues in economic geography (such as location of production). Learning Outcomes This course will introduce or expand on five of the Geography and Planning Department’s student learning outcomes (SLOs): Formulate geographic research questions. Recognize the presence and application of regional, local and global dimensions of the social and physical worlds in data. Understand varying interpretations of causality, interaction, policy and values in humanenvironmental relationships. Understand the ways we use the environment can affect future generations and other human and natural systems. Analyze information from different physical or social sciences from a geographic perspective. The course will reinforce the following learning objectives of general education (global cultures): Recognize and appreciate the diversity of the world economy. Learn to think critically about the economic and cultural diversity of the world economy and theories that explain this diversity. Know basic factual information related to global economic diversity. Course Requirements Activities Points Participation/Critical Reading 2 Critical Writings 2 Critical Seeing Exercises 9 Other Friday Exercises 14 Skeletal Reading Quizzes Final Project Total 50 60 40 90 28 32 300 Attendance will be taken every day, either in the form of reading quizzes (also graded—no make ups), participation, or roll. I will drop students who miss more than one class in the first two weeks of class. Absences will affect your participation grade. Do not plan trips or schedule work during times when you should be in class. In addition to attendance, your participation grade will be based on how well prepared you are to discuss the critical readings in class. I will provide a rubric for your own notes on the readings that you must complete prior to class. I will usually collect these on days we are scheduled to discuss the readings (usually on Mondays). This is not about getting it “right” but making an effort and improving critical reading skills. 2 I do not accept assignments turned in to my mailbox or to my email, unless you have been instructed to do so. Computer or printer breakdowns are not acceptable excuses for missing work so please plan ahead and leave time for emergencies. When you are asked to post an assignment to Blackboard Learn, please make sure you have the computer connectivity to do so if you plan to work from home. If you are having ANY problems with Blackboard Learn that seem to be systematic (and not related to your own computer), please let me know immediately by my regular email (jchase@csuchico.edu). Please put your name and “GEOG 301” in the subject area. Cell phones, computers and other media will be turned off when you come into class. Many announcements, your grades, assignments, handouts, and other materials will be on Blackboard Learn. You are responsible for checking Blackboard Learn for information. If you want to contact me outside of class you should use the Blackboard Learn email. If it is an emergency, you can use my regular email, but make sure you put your name and “GEOG 301” in the subject area. Be aware of the campus’s policy on academic honesty. If I have any reason to suspect you have copied any portion of your papers or gotten unauthorized help, I will send the information to Student Judicial Affairs and you risk failing the course. If you have questions about what constitutes academic dishonesty, please ask. Americans with Disabilities Act: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability or chronic illness, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Please also contact Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) as they are the designated department responsible for approving and coordinating reasonable accommodations and services for students with disabilities. ARC will help you understand your rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act and provide you further assistance with requesting and arranging accommodations. Accessibility Resource Center--Student Services Center 170-- 530-898-5959--arcdept@csuchcio.edu Starting the second week of class we will mostly follow this sequence: Wednesday Start new topic. Quick skeletal reading quiz followed by introduction of the topic through interactive lecture, discussion, or speaker. Friday No class held but students complete project and turn in by 5 p.m. that day to Blackboard Learn. Professor available during office hours and by email for help. Monday End topic. Critical reading assignments turned in. Exercises handed back to students. Discussion on readings and /or exercises. A note on the readings: You will to do a lot of reading in this class. By developing critical reading skills, 3 you will find it easier to get through all kinds of readings. As you learn how to dissect your readings you will find it easier to understand and appreciate them even if they are not written in a light style. You will also break down your reading before you even begin by seeing its structure (“skeletal reading”). What you should hand in when you do a critical seeing or critical writing assignment: Put your name and the title of the page at the top of the first page. All pages should be numbered at the bottom right or center of the page. Write double-spaced with one-inch margins all around. Use indentation to denote the beginning of a paragraph. Do not insert additional spaces between paragraphs. Your font should be 1112.You may print on both sides of the paper or use the clean side of scratch paper when you print an assignment. You always have the option of revising and resubmitting a paper as long as you submit a complete paper to begin with. (In other words, this is not a way to give you an extension.) All late assignments will be marked down. Course Purchases 1. Wood, Andrew and Susan Roberts. 2011. Economic geography: Places, networks, flows. London and New York: Routledge. Available at the AS bookstore. Noted as WR in calendar. About $45. 2. All other readings are on Blackboard Learn. 4 COURSE CALENDAR Spring 2013 Introduction Jan. 28, 30 (M,W) Feb.1, 4 (F, M) Warm up, introductions, quick write, critical reading example Pre-course assessment Von Thunen/transportation and rent Weber/transportation and raw materials Location: Traditions WR 13-23 Chapters 1, 2 from The Box (Levinson) Enterprise Record article on Sierra Nevada in N. Carolina (Sweeny 2012) Reading Quiz #1 Friday Critical reading on Levinson Ch. 1-2 due Monday Critical writing #1 Exercise on Weber due Monday Feb. 4 in class and on Blackboard Learn Quantitative Revolution Feb. 6, 8, 11 (W, F, M) Regional Multipliers Feb. 13, 15, 18 (W, F, M) Christaller central place/Retail Geography/Spaces of Consumption Feb. 20, 22, 25 (W,F,M) Corporate Geog;/Fordism Wal*Mart’s global model Feb. 27, Mar. 1, 4 (W, F, M) Role of government in economy/Neoliberal thought Private sector in New York Times article January 7 (Rich) Globalization and its discontents, Ch. 3 (Stiglitz) Mar. 6, 8, 11 (W, F, M) Micro Firms/HH/Informal "Global back channel" and "Culture of the copy" from Stealth of Nations (Neuwirth) Mar. 13, 15 (W, F) Foreign Direct Investment: Dimensions, patterns, explanations Product Cycle March 18-22 Mar. 25 (M) WR 43-49 Economic impacts of prisons on rural places (Farrigan and Glasmeier) Consumption WR 26-33; 36-43 Starbucks and Seattle (Lyons) Two-for-one at the Pyramid of the Sun (Lida) The Firm/Institutional Approaches WR 53-71 Fordlândia Intro , Ch. 1 (Grandin) Globalization WR 73-93 The Box Ch. 14 (Levinson) Reading Quiz #2 Wednesday Critical reading on Farrigan and Glasmeier due Monday Exercise #1 on regional multiplier due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn Reading Quiz #3 Wednesday Critical reading Lyons; Lida due Monday Critical seeing #1 on spaces of consumption due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn Reading Quiz #4 Wednesday Critical reading on Grandin due Monday Exercise #2 on global firms due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn Reading Quiz #5 Wednesday Critical reading on Rich; Stiglitz due Monday Exercise #3 on role of state due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn Reading Quiz #6 Wednesday Critical reading on Neuwirth due Monday Critical writing #2 on Informal Economies due in class on Friday and on Blackboard Learn Reading Quiz #7 Wednesday Critical reading on Levinson due Monday Exercise #4 on product cycle due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn SPRING BREAK Spring Break Trade, Commodity Chains, Technology Guest speaker, TBA WR 93-97 Ch. 5 from Fresh: "vegetables" (Friedberg) 5 Reading Quiz #8 Wednesday Critical reading on Friedberg due WEDNESDAY Exercise #5 on commodities: Map your breakfast Mar. 27, 29 (W, F) Monday April 1 Holiday Political Economy/uneven development of capitalism/labor Apr. 3, 5, 8 (W, F, M) Measuring and Visualizing Development/Emerging Nations Apr. 10, 12, 15 (W, F, M) Population/development/women Professor at Conference WEDNESDAY—no class Apr. 17, 19, 22 (W, F, M) Local/Regional quotients and shift-share Apr. 24, 26, 29 (W, F, M) Clustering/Economies of Agglomeration May 1, 3, 6 (W, F, M) On the Fringes of Globalization May 8, 10, 13 (W, F, M) Project Presentations Wednesday and Monday May 15, 17 W, F Project Presentations Wednesday and Friday May 20 12-1:50 (M) Project Presentations due Monday Geographic Inequalities/Uneven Development under Globalization WR 99-101 Reading Quiz #9 Wednesday Boomtown girl (Hessler); Mfg in US (Davidson); Global elite Critical reading on Hessler; Davidson; Freeland articles (Freeland) Due WEDNESDAY Exercise #6 on outsourcing due SUNDAY by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn WR 101-24 Reading Quiz #10 Wednesday Global land grab (Zoomers) Critical reading Zoomers due Monday Critical Seeing #2 on mapping due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn Japan fertility decline (Boling); America's Egypt; (Mitchell) ONLINE Reading Quiz #11 Wednesday Critical reading on Boling; Mitchell Due Monday Exercise #7 on population: due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn WR 125-30 Reading Quiz #12 Wednesday City of Quartz, Ch. 7 on Fontana (Mike Davis) Critical reading on Davis due Monday Exercise #8 on location quotient due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn WR 130-36 Reading Quiz #13 Wednesday New Argonauts (Saxenian) Critical reading on Saxenian; Florida due Monday The world is spiky (Richard Florida) Exercise #9 on clustering due Friday by 5 p.m. on Blackboard Learn New Guinea: The godsend of cargo; New Guinea redux (Linden) Reading Quiz #14 Wednesday Critical reading on Linden due Monday No exercise this week Work on project on Friday and provide update No reading Attendance both days is required. Friday activity TBA. Feedback will count as critical reading. We will decide your presentation dates by lottery. No reading This week and next you must attend only ONE hour of presentation on a date other than your own. Your feedback will count as a critical reading. 6 Course Bibliography Boling, Patricia. 2008. Demography, culture, and policy: Understanding Japan’s low fertility. Population and Development Review 34(2):307-26. Davidson, Adam. 2012. Making it in America. The Atlantic Monthly, January/February. Davis, Mike. 1990. City of quartz: Excavating the future in Los Angeles. New York: Vintage Books. Chapter 7 on Fontana. Florida, Richard. 2005. The world is spiky: Globalization has changed the economic playing field, but hasn’t leveled it. The Atlantic Monthly, October. Freeland, Chrystia. 2011. The rise of the new global elite. The Atlantic Monthly, January/February. Friedberg, Susanne. 2009. Fresh: A perishable history. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press. Glasmeier, Amy K. and Tracey Farrigan. 2007. The economic impacts of the prison development boom on persistently poor rural places. International Regional Science Review 30:274-99. Grandin, Greg. 2009. Fordlandia: The rise and fall of Henry Ford’s forgotten city. New York: Metropolitan Books. Introduction and Chapter 1. Hessler, Peter. 2001. Boomtown girl: Finding a new life in the golden city. The New Yorker, May 28. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/05/28/010528fa_fact_hessler?printable=true (accessed 1/23/2010). Levinson, Marc. 2006. The box: How the shipping container made the world smaller and the world economy bigger. Princeton University Press. Selected chapters. Lida, David. 2009. First stop in the New World: Mexico City, the capital of the 21st century. New York: Riverhead Books. Chapter: Two-for-one at the Pyramid of the Sun. Linden, Eugene. 2011. The ragged edge of the world: Encounters at the frontier where modernity, wildlands and indigenous peoples meet. New York: Plume. Chapter 3 “New Guinea: The godsend of cargo;” Chapter 4 “New Guinea redux.” Lyons, James. 2005. ‘Think Seattle, act globally:’ Specialty coffee, commodity biographies and the promotion of place. Cultural Studies 19(1):14-34. Mitchell, Timothy. 1995. The object of development: America’s Egypt. In Power of development, ed. Jonathan Crush, 129-57. London: Routledge. Neuwirth, Robert. 2011. Stealth of nations: The global rise of the informal economy. New York: Pantheon Books. Rich, Mokoko. 2007. Private sector gets job skills. New York Times. January 7. 7 Stiglitz, Joseph. 2003. Globalization and its discontents. New York: W.W. Norton. Chapter 3 Freedom to choose. Sweeny, Katy. 2012. North Carolina on tap. Chico Enterprise Record. January 25. Saxenian, AnnaLee. 2006. The new argonauts: Regional advantage in a global economy. Harvard University Press. Zoomers, Annelies. 2010. Globalisation and the foreignisation of space: Seven processes driving the current global land grab. The Journal of Peasant Studies 37(2): 429-47. 8 Your Name ___________________________________________ An email other than your Blackboard Learn contact_____________________ Where are you from? Where have you lived? Picture Here What’s your major? Tell me something about yourself Tell me something about how you learn What other classes are you taking this semester? 9