History of Globalization and International Relations
University of Amsterdam, Department of History
Fall 2023
This syllabus is the route map and the rule book for our course. In the interest of equal
treatment of all in the course, we will need to keep to it rigorously. Therefore, you need to
familiarize yourself with everything in it. Read this syllabus more than once; print it out, or
download it, but in any case, keep a copy on hand and consult it from time to time.
Tuesdays, 1 pm – 3 pm, OMHP D0.09
Thursdays, 11 am – 1 pm, OMHP D0.09
Policy on Recorded Lectures:
** Many students will have questions concerning whether, and under what circumstances,
lectures will be recorded and put online. At the end of this syllabus, you will find the
Department of History policy on the recording of lecture courses.
To emphasize, as a rule we will not make available any recordings of class lectures.
Instructors
Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Buettner, Bushuis D 0.05. E.A.Buettner@uva.nl
Dr. Ruud van Dijk, Bushuis C1.10. Ruud.vanDijk@uva.nl
Course Objectives
Insight into the relationship between globalization and international relations is essential for
understanding recent international history and, indeed, today's world. It is the goal of this
lecture course to explore this relationship for the period since the 1860s. Lectures and
readings will consider themes such as the emergence and transformation of the nation-state
model; European expansion and modern imperialism; the era of the two world wars; the rise
of the United States; the Cold War, decolonization, and the rise of a liberal-democratic order
after 1945; the ebb and flow of globalization; migration; social, cultural, and ideological
transfers and flows across borders.
Language
English (lectures, written assignments, all communication).
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Lectures
The main goal of our class meetings is to foster a learning environment where everyone can be
fully focused on the material at hand, through our lectures and by way of any discussion that
may develop. In order to be successful, we all need to observe the following rules:
* Latecomers are disruptive, so do your best to be on time. If you have to come in late, be
careful to do so quietly. People leaving early are equally disruptive. If for some important
reason you have to leave early, give some warning before class starts, find a seat close to the
door, and try to leave as unobtrusively as possible.
* This is a no-screen class, meaning that the use of electronic devices such as laptops,
tablets, or telephones for note-taking or anything else is not permitted.
These things are distracting; we all know this. The temptation to wander off onto the web is too
great, and once you do, you are no longer participating in the class. Also, performing other
tasks, visiting social media sites, or just roaming the World Wide Web is distracting to those
around you. Furthermore, once you have checked out in this way, we as instructors lose any
meaningful contact with you, making it harder for us to gauge whether our points are sinking
in, whether clarification is needed, or whether it's time for a break.
Don't just take our word for it: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/business/laptops-notduring-lecture-or-meeting.html.
We do, however, encourage you to take handwritten notes during lectures.
Old school is real school!
* Talking to other students in the middle of lectures is unacceptable: it is disturbing to them
and to the instructors. Students who do so will be asked to stop—thereby interrupting the
lecture for everyone else—and if they do not, they will be asked to leave.
* Even though this is a lecture course, it is still possible—indeed, we encourage it—to raise
your hand and ask for clarification in case something is not clear, or, even better, to ask a
question dealing with the substance of the material under discussion.
Literature
Jürgen Osterhammel and Niels P. Petersson, Globalization: A Short History (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2005). Available at Athenaeum Boekhandel, Spui;
www.athenaeum.nl.
Scholarly articles and other material--see the schedule (below).
In order to practice your basic research skills, and to become familiar with resources relevant
to the study of the history of globalization and international relations, you are to locate many
of the readings yourself. Be sure to start collecting digital copies early!
In order to keep up and be in a position to do well on the papers, please read the assigned
materials prior to the class meeting for which they appear on the schedule.
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Evaluation
Two take-home papers (no exams)
Paper #1 (covering all material through the 28 September lecture).
Due date: Tuesday 3 October (1 pm: as a Word file, via Canvas).
Paper #2 (covering all material after the 28 September lecture).
Due date: Wednesday 25 October (5 pm: as a Word file, via Canvas).
Each paper must be between 1250 (minimum) and 1500 (maximum) words. Each paper should
contain footnotes (Chicago style) and a bibliography (which are not included in the word
count). Precise instructions will be included with the assignments.
NOTE: barring very exceptional circumstances (and with the consent of the instructors) neither
paper can be submitted before the last lecture—that is, until all the included material has been
covered in class.
The final grade will be made up of the average of these two papers.
* The due dates are firm.
* The assignments for the papers will be posted on Canvas.
* The grades for the individual papers (and ultimately the final course grade) will be posted on
Canvas.
Extensions and “do-over” (“herkansing”) policy:
Save for exceptional cases (serious illness, family emergencies) there will be no extensions and
no do-overs. With respect to extensions, they are only granted in case of a serious illness or an
emergency; there needs to be credible communication at the earliest possible time, with proper
documentation (e.g. a doctor's note) to the instructors. A do-over/herkansing at the end is only
an option for students who have done both the first and the second papers, and whose final
grade is between 4,0 and 5,5. In this case, the do-over/herkansing option will be comprehensive
and decide the entire mark (thus, it is not simply a do-over of one of the two papers). The
maximum mark for a do-over/herkansing will be 6,5.
Academic Integrity
Fraud and Plagiarism
It is unethical and against the rules to present the work of others as your own without proper
attribution. Instructors are obligated to warn the "Examencommissie" when they suspect fraud
or plagiarism. Academic fraud or plagiarism can result in academic sanctions.
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Within the scientific community intellectual originality is highly valued. If you copy someone
else's work, or claim ideas as your own without citing their original source, this is considered a
form of intellectual theft. This rule protects others' intellectual property as well as yours.
The history program is committed to academic integrity and has strict rules regarding fraud and
plagiarism. Fraud and plagiarism are defined as any act or omission on the part of a student
that renders wholly or partially impossible a correct assessment of their knowledge,
understanding and skills.
If a lecturer suspects that an assignment is partly or wholly plagiarized, they obliged to inform
the Exam Board of their suspicions. Their determination on the validity of the suspicion may
result, inter alia, in excluding students from taking examinations and from engaging in other
educational activities for a period of up to one year.
All information on what the UvA considers plagiarism and what the procedures are can be
found here. These regulations apply to all coursework; every student is expected to be familiar
with these regulations.
Concerning AI, Chat GPT, etc.:
With the appearance of AI systems such as Chat GPT, we all have a new challenge on our
hands. We want to direct your attention to the opening clause of the UvA Fraud & Plagiarism
policy: "Fraud and Plagiarism means action or inaction by a student that makes it partially or
entirely impossible to make an accurate judgment about his knowledge, insight, or ability" (our
own translation). The whole purpose of academic study is development of one's own
knowledge, insight, and abilities. We all use tools, but in our context, AI constitutes a
difference in kind (an alternative "intelligence" to your own), rather than in degree (for example
a Google search). The rules also make its use problematic, if not illegal. Thus: stick to the
basics, keep it real, do your own work!
Social safety
The UvA is committed to providing a positive study and work environment in which we treat
each other with respect, nobody feels unsafe, and everyone can develop their talents. We want
everyone to feel assured of a safe basis for work or study and, if necessary, for having difficult
or critical conversations. You can, of course, report inappropriate behavior to faculty, study
advisors, the Program Director and/or confidential advisors. For more information, the Code of
Conduct and the various desks set up for students, see the UvA's Social Safety page.
Find the links to the most important UvA guidelines, regulations and codes of conduct here.
***
Schedule
First week of block 1 (4-8 September 2023): no scheduled teaching
During this preliminary week there are no class meetings, but we advise you to use the time to
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get a head start on the assigned reading:
+ Please start by reading as much as you can of Jürgen Osterhammel and Niels P. Petersson,
Globalization: A Short History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005), which is
assigned in connection with next week’s first lecture.
+ If you still have time, you can move on to other chapters and articles you’ll need to cover
by the end of the course.
+ In addition, you should make preliminary efforts to access and download readings that are
not already included as PDFs on Canvas (under the ‘Modules’ section). These mainly include
digital resources accessible via the UvA library catalogue, but also include some that are
publicly available online through the links indicated below. Gathering these readings early on
will ensure that you have them on hand when you need to read them, and later consult them
again when writing your essays.
Tuesday, 12 September
Introduction: Concepts
Read:
+ Jürgen Osterhammel and Niels P. Petersson, Globalization: A Short History (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2005). Please read the preface, and chs. 1-4.
+ Jonathan Xavier Inda and Renato Rosaldo, ‘A World in Motion’, in Jonathan Xavier Inda and
Renato Rosaldo (eds.), The Anthropology of Globalization: A Reader (Malden, MA: Blackwell,
2002), pp. 1-34.
[A copy of this book is held in the UvA Bibliotheek; this chapter has been scanned and is
available as a PDF via Canvas.]
Thursday, 14 September
Introduction: Rise of the Modern State, 1840s-1870s
Read:
Jürgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth
Century (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), 469-513.
[find a scan of this chapter on Canvas]
+ Akira Iriye, "Japan's drive to great-power status." Chapter 12 of Marius B. Jansen, ed., The
Cambridge History of Japan Vol. 5 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 721782.
[find it at the site of the UB — databases — Cambridge Histories Online]
+ Otto von Bismarck, "Blood and Iron" Speech (excerpt), 1862.
[Available online via: http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=250]
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Tuesday, 19 September
Imperialism
Read:
+ Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper, ‘The Empire Effect’, Public Culture 24:2 (2012), 239247.
[Site of the UB — e-journals]
+ Danielle Kinsey, ‘Assessing Imperialism’, in John McNeill and Kenneth Pomeranz (eds.),
The Cambridge World History, Vol. VII, Part 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2015), 331-365.
[find it at the site of the UB — databases — Cambridge Histories Online]
+ M. K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Ahmedabad:
Navajivan Publishing, 1927), 51-73, 126-140, 155-158, concerning his time as a student in
England and as a lawyer in South Africa.
[Accessible online via http://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/pdf-books/my-experimentwith-truth.pdf; also, the PDF is available on Canvas]
+ Judith M. Brown and Anthony Parel (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Gandhi
(Cambridge University Press, 2011). Please focus on ch. 2, Jonathan Hyslop, ‘Gandhi 18691915: The Transnational Emergence of a Public Figure’, 30-50 (but see also ch. 1, Yasmin
Khan, ‘Gandhi’s World’, 11-29, if you have time.)
[find it at the site of the UB — databases — Cambridge Companions Online]
Thursday, 21 September
Globalization and the Great War, 1890s-1918
Read:
+ Osterhammel and Petersson, Globalization, ch. 5.
+ Carl Strikwerda, "World War I in the History of Globalization." Historical Reflections 42:3
(2016), 112-132.
[UB — e-journals]
+ Volker Berghahn, "Origins." Chapter 1 of The Cambridge History of the First World War
Vol. 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 16-38.
[UB — databases — Cambridge Histories Online]
+ J.A. Hobson, "The Ethics of Internationalism," International Journal of Ethics 17:1 (1906),
16-28.
[UB — e-journals]
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Tuesday, 26 September
Nationalism
Read:
+ Cemil Aydin, ‘Pan-Nationalism of Pan-Islamic, Pan-Asian, and Pan-African Thought’, in
John Breuilly (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the History of Nationalism (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2013).
[UB — databases — Oxford Handbooks Online]
+ Aviel Roshwald, ‘On Nationalism’, in John McNeill and Kenneth Pomeranz (eds.), The
Cambridge World History, Vol. VII, Part 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015),
306-330.
[UB — databases — Cambridge Histories Online]
+ Judith M. Brown and Anthony Parel (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Gandhi
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), ch. 3, Judith M. Brown, ‘Gandhi as a
Nationalist Leader, 1915-1948’, 51-68.
[UB — databases — Cambridge Companions Online]
+ Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism (New York: Macmillan, 1917). Please be sure to read the
chapter entitled 'Nationalism in Japan', 65-114. NOTE: pp. 65-114 are the pages of the original
printed text; if you are looking at the pages of the PDF, then the chapter runs from pp. 74-123.
In any case, please read this entire chapter!
[A copy of this book is held in the UvA Bibliotheek; a PDF is also available via Canvas.
Alternatively, find the text at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40766/40766-h/40766-h.htm].
If you would like to read more of Tagore, please do so: for example, consider having a look at
parts of the chapter called 'Nationalism in the West,' especially 19-38 (of the original text; or,
28-47 of the PDF version). But this would count as optional reading, whereas the 'Nationalism
in Japan' chapter is required.
Thursday, 28 September
Peacemaking and Crisis, 1918-1931
Read:
+ Erez Manela, "Imagining Woodrow Wilson in Asia: Dreams of East-West Harmony and
the Revolt against Empire in 1919," American Historical Review 111:5 (2006), 1327-1351.
[UB — e-journals]
+ Jonathan Wright, "Stresemann and Locarno," Contemporary European History 4:2 (1995),
109-131.
[UB — e-journals — JSTOR]
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+ "Gustav Stresemann - Nobel Lecture," June 29, 1927.
[find it at: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1926/stresemann/facts/]
Tuesday, 3 October
Crisis and World War, 1931-1945
Read:
+ Ian Kershaw, "Hitler and the Uniqueness of Nazism," Journal of Contemporary History 39:2
(2004), 239-254.
[UB — e-journals]
+ Akira Iriye, “The Emergence of Geopolitics,” and “The Road to Pearl Harbor.” Chapters 10
and 11 of Akira Iriye, ed., The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations Vol. 3
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 152-192.
[UB — databases — Cambridge Histories Online]
+ Henry Luce, "The American Century," Life Magazine, February 17, 1941.
[find it in Diplomatic History, 23:2 (1999), 159-171. UB — e-journals; or the original, via
Google Books]
* First paper due today, 1 pm—To be submitted via Canvas.
Thursday, 5 October
Decolonization
Read:
+ Osterhammel and Petersson, Globalization, ch. 6.
+ Prasenjit Duara, ‘Decolonization and Its Legacy’, in John McNeill and Kenneth Pomeranz
(eds.), The Cambridge World History, Vol. VII, Part 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2015), 395-419.
[UB — databases — Cambridge Histories Online]
+ Martin Shipway, ‘Introduction: Decolonization in Comparative Perspective’, in
Decolonization and Its Impact: A Comparative Approach to the End of the Colonial Empires
(Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008), 1-16.
[This chapter has been scanned and is available as a PDF via Canvas]
+ Kwame Nkrumah, ‘Introduction’, in Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (New
York: International Publishers, 1965), ix-xx.
[Accessible online via: https://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/books/Economics/NeoColonialism_KwameNkrumah.pdf]
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Tuesday, 10 October
Cold War, 1945-1975
Read:
+ David C. Engerman, “Ideology and the origins of the Cold War, 1917-1962.” Chapter 2 in
Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad, eds., The Cambridge History of the Cold War Vol.1
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 20-43.
[UB — databases — Cambridge Histories Online]
+ “The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Kennan) to the Secretary of State. Moscow, February 22,
1946.” Foreign Relations of the United States 1946: Eastern Europe, The Soviet Union, 696709.
[find it at the library, PC Hoofthuis, or: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments]
+ Jeremi Suri, "The Rise and Fall of an International Counterculture, 1960–1975," The
American Historical Review 114:1 (2009), 45-68.
[UB — e-journals]
Thursday, 12 October
Global Migration
Read:
+ Adam McKeown, ‘Global Migration, 1846-1940’, Journal of World History 15:2 (2004),
155-189.
[UB — e-journals]
+ Leo Lucassen, ‘Islam and the Colonial Legacy: Algerians in France (1945-2002)’, in The
Immigrant Threat: The Integration of Old and New Migrants in Western Europe since 1850
(2005), 171-196.
[A copy of this book is held in the PCH Bibliotheek; this chapter has been scanned and is
available as a PDF via Canvas.]
+ Abdelmalek Sayad, The Suffering of the Immigrant (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2004), 2862.
[A copy of this book is held by the UB; this chapter has been scanned and is available as a PDF
via Canvas.]
Tuesday, 17 October
Global Cultural Transfers
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Read:
+ Elizabeth Buettner, ‘“Going for an Indian”: South Asian Restaurants and the Limits of
Multiculturalism in Britain’, Journal of Modern History 80:4 (2008), 865-901.
[UB — e-journals]
+ Penny M. Von Eschen, ‘The Real Ambassador’, in Satchmo Blows up the World: Jazz
Ambassadors Play the Cold War (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006), 58-91.
(Have a look at other chapters of this book too if you have time.)
[You can find the electronic version of this book via the UB catalogue; also, pp. 58-91 are
available as a PDF via Canvas.]
+ Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘Pilgrimage to Nonviolence’, in The Autobiography of Martin
Luther King, Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson (Abacus, 2000; originally published 1998),
121-134.
[Available online via: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/chapter-13-pilgrimage-nonviolence]
Thursday, 19 October
Toward One New World Order? Since 1975
Read:
+ Osterhammel and Petersson, Globalization, conclusion.
+ G. John Ikenberry, "The restructuring of the international system after the Cold War,"
Leffler and Westad, Cambridge History of the Cold War Vol. 3, 535-556.
[UB — databases — Cambridge Histories Online]
+ Nathaniel Rich, "Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change." New
York Times Magazine, August 1 2018.
[Available online via: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/01/magazine/climatechange-losing-earth.html, or via UB website]
+ "The Clinton White House and Climate Change, Part II: Engaging the Oval Office: Like
Biden, Clinton Faced Big Challenges: Presidential Role Was Vital to the Strategy; China,
Congress Presented Major Tests for the White House; Post-Mortem Cable Laments 'Clock Ran
Out' on Clinton, Criticizes China, EU, and G-77 for Obduracy." National Security Archive
Briefing Book # 754, April 5, 2021.
Read the introduction by Robert Wampler, and as many documents as you want.
[https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/environmental-diplomacy/2021-04-05/clinton-whitehouse-climate-change-part-ii-engaging-oval-office ]
Wednesday, 25 October, 5 pm
Second paper due—To be submitted as a Word file, via Canvas.
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***
Department of History policy on recorded lectures
Fundamentally
Lecture courses are only recorded as rare exceptions; seminars do NOT get recorded. This
document explains why, and it lays out the procedure in exceptional cases.
Why not?
A major disadvantage of recorded classes is the effect on the spontaneity and freedom with
which you can participate. It is important that both students and instructors can speak freely,
and we'd like to keep it that way. Instructors and students do not participate as easily in a class
if it is recorded. They are less at ease, because their contribution is no longer exclusive to the
moment. For example, they worry that recordings get shared, and that they are used for a
different goal or audience than for which they are created. These concerns not only are
legitimate, they also cause unease and less interaction, diminishing the quality of instruction.
An added argument is that the easiest way to secure the privacy of data is not to collect them in
the first place; what isn't stored cannot leak and will not get dispersed.
This touches on a second reason: student and instructor privacy carries a lot of weight. Student
images and voices that become part of the recording are private data. Privacy rules do not allow
simple storage or sharing of these. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit
Persoonsgegevens) is very clear on this: recordings that show, or make audible, students have
to be genuinely necessary in order to override these privacy concerns. Therefore, the instructor
needs to be able to explain the necessity of the recording, and necessity only applies if the
advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and if these disadvantages are justified.
We are unable to demonstrate that necessity. Studies (e.g. M.R. Edwards & M.E. Clinton, "A
study exploring the impact of lecture capture availability and lecture capture usage on student
attendance and attainment," Higher Education 77 [2019] 403-421) show that interest in
participating in a class often declines during recording. This, in turn, leads to procrastination
behavior and binge-watching -- not a suitable approach to learning. In addition, a lower turn-out
not only affects those students not attending class, but also their fellow-students and instructors.
The number of participants in class discussions is more limited, causing the interactive and
didactic value of instruction to decline further.
Another reason to practice restraint in the recording of classes concerns the general approach to
university studies, and the way we interact and care for each other. Education at the University
of Amsterdam, and the History Department, takes place on-site. We believe that it is important
for students to develop and retain proper study and work habits, and to maintain contact with
the Department. Part of this is that, as a person and as a group, you participate actively.
Moreover, these study and work habits also apply to many professions that connect to your
studies. Student well-being is an important factor also. This is enhanced when you have the
sense of belonging somewhere, getting a sense for norms for achievement and interaction, and
that possible problems get flagged early on. All this works less well remotely, certainly if the
number of contact moments with fellow students and instructors goes down.
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Exceptions
Time-table overlap (with elective courses or other programs) or scheduling conflicts (such as
with work) are not valid reasons to request a recording; the student needs to bring up any timetable overlap with a mandatory course from his/her own program at the earliest possible time
with the relevant instructor and/or coordinator of classes.
Students who in general attend class meetings, but are incidentally or very temporarily unable
to participate in person-- for example due to illness -- will not get access to recordings.
Fundamentally it is your own responsibility to keep up, for example to ask a fellow student for
class notes. An instructor can, of course, try to help finding desirable and realistic ways to get
access to class materials after the fact -- for example in the form of a hand-out, summary, an
extra assignment, or a class meeting for review.
Students who structurally can participate less well in lecture classes, for example due to a
chronic illness or a disability, can get in touch with a study advisor. Under very specific
circumstances, recorded classes made available in these cases can offer a solution for these
groups of students.
If for public health reasons (e.g. a new wave of Covid) social distancing becomes necessary and
attendance at lecture courses has to be limited, or on-site lecture classes have to be scrapped
altogether, then our intention is to shift over to forms of on-line teaching.
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