Subject to change.
Always refer to the syllabus posted on our Canvas page for the most updated version.
350K
Geographies of Globalization
Instructor: Professor Caroline Faria (cvfaria@austin.utexas.edu)
Teaching Assistant: Margaret (Maggie) Bridges (margaretbridges@utexas.edu)
Course meets: MWF 12pm-1pm, CLA 0.128
Office hours (Dr Faria): 1-2:30pm after class or by appointment, CLA 3.414
Office hours (Maggie): By appointment.
Course Description
What is globalization and what can Levis, Lux soap and lipstick tell us about it?
What are the colonial roots of our contemporary global economic order?
What happens when labor, land and love are your nation’s comparative advantage?
How did HIV/AIDS and H1N1 become global epidemics? Is Ebola next?
Where does your old cell phone end up when you throw it away?
Do patents promote or prevent access to medicines?
Can TOMS really save the world?
Welcome to GEO 350K: Geographies of Globalization! Globalization is one of the defining phenomena of our time. While some argue that it has produced a flat and borderless world, others have pushed instead for grounded understandings that attend to the entanglements of global trade with a host of socio-cultural, economic and political processes. These are all power-laden, shaped by historically produced and entrenched inequities of gender, race, and class. This course examines these kinds of geographies of globalization, taking a “global intimate” perspective that connects the macro geopolitical, geoeconomic, and historical to the contemporary and everyday realities of those living with, negotiating, resisting and driving globalization.
Key learning goals:
At the end of the class students will be able to:
 Trace how people and places are connected through globalization and, conversely, how globalization can produce heightened difference and disconnection along lines of racialized, class-based and gendered power.
 Understand the historical, cultural, economic and political drivers of globalization and both its positive and negative effects
 Recognize how macro geopolitical and geoeconomic policies and processes are expressed in everyday life, and vice versa.
 Participate in informed debate on the problems and opportunities presented by globalization, including around: labor, migration, technology, disease, tourism, and the environment.
Key skill-based goals:
During the class students will:
 Critically engage with and evaluate geographic arguments on globalization presented in textual and audio-visual media.
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 Practice geographic writing in a range of formats and for a range of audiences.
 Collect, critically evaluate and utilize geographical academic research in order to make a strong argument/ answer a carefully crafted research question.
 Strengthen skills of peer-review in a variety of forms
 Develop skills in website development or short film production
Required Texts
 A series of articles, book chapters and media links are available via Canvas.
 Film material will be available on library course reserve.
Using Canvas
 Our course will be web-assisted using Canvas at canvas.utexas.edu
. You should check this website at least twice a week.
 You will log in to the site with the same username and password that you use for your email.
 For tech support with Canvas, contact them via http://canvas.utexas.edu/ , or see the guidelines for a host of student questions at http://guides.instructure.com/m/4212 . You can also contact UT tech support via
512-475-9400. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have access to the course website.
Expectations of you
The following are strategies for completing this class with a strong and stress-free grade.
Take note!
Attend and participate in class sessions
Attendance and participation is a very important part of this class. All in-class and homework exercises will connect closely to the exams and assignments. Completing all of these is a very important and helpful way to obtain a high standard in this class. I understand that family, illness, and unexpected events may require you to miss class. With this in mind, I have designed the class so that you can miss 2-3 classes and blogs and still receive full credit.
For this reason I do not need to know if you have to miss class for a wedding, a lab, a sports game, a party, work or a job interview. However do note that missing more than 3 classes and/or blogs will begin to seriously affect your final grade. Bear this in mind as you plan your semester schedule and let me know in the first week if you are likely to miss a lot
of class time for any reason. In the event of an absence, you will need to make arrangements with other students in the class to get notes. Though not a substitute for class attendance, to aid in your review of the material I do post the lecture materials on Canvas in the following week.
Complete all assigned readings before class
All lectures and discussion will assume a familiarity with the assigned readings. You are
expected to come to all classes having completed all reading assignments, to be prepared to discuss the reading material, and to be able to participate in the class activities on the readings by sharing your thoughts, views and questions. These activities are designed to develop your critical reading skills. You will not just complete the readings, but you will put the readings to work! You can do so by asking: What are the connections between the
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readings and the theories and case studies we’ve discussed in class? What intellectual perspective is the author writing from? How does the reading help me understand the course material better and/or problematize it? What questions does the reading raise for me? In particular, raising questions about the readings in class, in your blogs and in office hours shows you are engaged and participating. I will often ask you what your questions are, come prepared to raise and discuss them!
Laptops and cell phones
Laptops can be useful tools for your learning and I recognize that completing our readings online enables you to avoid costly printing/book purchase fees. However, as we all know, they can be distracting when used in class. For this reason I do not permit laptop use in
the classroom during lectures, in-class exercises and discussion unless you have an exemption from the disability resource center. If you choose to read material in electronic form please come with your handwritten or printed notes and use these to refer to during discussion and for use in quizzes and in-class exercises. During lectures please take notes by hand. This inconvenience will be more than compensated for by the improved attention and focus you and your classmates will feel during the course.
I expect your full attention during our 60 minutes of class time. Cell phones must be
turned off and in your bags throughout our sessions. Students with phones on their desks or who use their phones in any way will not receive participation for that day’s class. If you repeatedly use your phone in class you will not receive participation credit for the semester. Please take note.
Respectful engagement
The varied experiences you bring to the classroom are our best resources for exploring the many issues raised. The course is designed to be provocative, to engage you, and to push you and your peers to rethink taken for granted assumptions. Doing so can be unsettling and that’s ok, that is what learning is all about. However we must work hard in-class to ensure that we are always respectful, empathetic and supportive. I expect you to listen actively and attentively to the opinions and thoughts of your peers, to respect the ideas of others even when they contradict or challenge your own, and to keep confidential
any conversations we have in class that relate to particular individuals.
If you recognize yourself as someone who often contributes, work on listening to others and encouraging them to speak. If you know you are quieter, push yourself to share at least one reflection with the class or in small group discussions during each session. I will call on you to do so.
What you can expect from me
Intellectual engagement
My role in the course is to provide you with a foundation in the theories around globalization and the connections between these theoretical ideas and ‘real world’ examples.
To ensure this is as rich, compelling and engaging process as possible I will regularly use a mix of media in class, combining short lectures with group discussion and individual work.
My most important role in the class is to push your thinking beyond taken for granted assumptions using the lecture material, the readings I assign, the assignments I have designed, and the questions I ask you in class. Sometimes (often) I will take on a position
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that feels uncomfortable for you, sometimes this will reflect my opinions and sometimes not.
The point is that we stretch ourselves and think critically about the ways we think about the world. I will encourage you to engage as actively as possible in this process and to push yourselves and your peers, respectfully, as we move through the class together.
Advising
You can expect me to be available via email from 9am-5pm on weekdays and to respond to your respectful emails within 2 days (usually far sooner). I will also be available three times a week during my office hours. You may also arrange to meet with me by appointment outside these times/days.
Grading
You can expect your assignments to be carefully reviewed and fairly graded according to transparent grading policies I will share with you in advance. Your assignments and exams will usually be returned within two weeks (and usually far sooner).
Other Important policies
Disability Accommodation
To request academic accommodations due to disability please contact the disability resource center through their website http://ddce.utexas.edu/disability/ . Accommodating students with disabilities is an important and valued part of my job. Please inform me as soon as possible your needs.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism, cheating and other misconduct are serious violations of your contract as a student. You are expected to know and follow the University’s policies. Plagiarism includes: using another writer’s words or ideas without proper citation, citing your source but reproducing exact words without quotation, borrowing the structure of another author’s phrases or sentences without crediting them, and buying or borrowing the work of other students. Since our written work is completed in small steps it is very easy to spot plagiarized papers. Any student who plagiarizes in any form will receive no credit for the assignment.
Without exception and however minor, in cases of plagiarism I instigate the required
procedures with the university administration. Please see the following website for more details: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php
and this useful guide to avoiding plagiarism: https://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/cwgs/_files/pdf-4/ai2012.pdf
Assignments
Except in the case of a verifiable medical/ family emergency late work and e-mailed work
will never be accepted. Please note (extenuating circumstances aside) there are also no
makeup provisions for participation credit completed in class, course assignments, midterm or final exams.
Grade contestations and incompletes
Contestations (in writing please) will receive a response within a week. I offer incompletes
(“I” grades) for students who have completed most of the class but who have serious medical/family-related issues that affect their ability to finish. Please come as early as
possible after you recognize that this applies to you.
Course assignments
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There are 4 kinds of assessment in the class and 3 options for extra-credit.
In-class participation (20%)
Due during class sessions
10 exercises will be used for assessment out of 20-30 completed in-class.
You are expected to attend all classes prepared to discuss the readings assigned for
that week. All students will be called upon to participate. Examples of ‘participation’ include the following and will be a useful way to prepare for in-class quizzes and writing exercises.
 Noting down the key words that arose for you from the readings
 Commenting on the readings and connecting readings to the lecture/other student’s comments
 Raising questions about the content of the reading or lecture material
 Responding to questions that may be posed
 Providing insights into your understanding of the key concepts
 Connecting different students’ comments and ideas together
In addition, during class we may complete a variety of short exercises intended to help you make connections between the class material and the course readings for that day. These exercises may take the form of a pop quiz on the readings, a worksheet connected to a
film or another class material, a short free writing activity, or a group activity. A portion of these exercises will be collected at the end of class sessions for grading.
Weekly Blogs (20%)
Due by 6pm on or before each Tuesday.
10 blog posts are required, 2pts/blog = 20 pts.
Additional blog posts count as extra-credit and are worth 2pts each.
Over 13 weeks of the semester you will post a short (350-400 word) blog to Canvas. The word limit is important and will be strictly monitored. Writing at least 350 words ensures you engage in the required depth, keeping within 400 words develops your skills in editing and crisp writing, and it protects the time of our class TA. The first week’s blog is required.
This acts as a way to practice the blog process together as a class. Over the course of the following 14 weeks there are 12 additional opportunities to post a blog. You are required to
post on any 9 of these weeks, based on your schedule and interest in the readings. You will receive extra-credit (2pts/blog) for any additional blogs you complete.
Your blogs will provide a thoughtful commentary and critical engagement with the readings assigned for the week. Ideally your blog should compare/contrast all the readings for the week but you may choose to focus in on 1 reading that is particularly interesting/provocative to you. However, your blog must demonstrate include reference to all the readings for that week. You may review other student’s blogs but your own must be original. Copying words and ideas from other students constitutes plagiarism and will result in disciplinary action and a failing grade. The first blog (due in week 1) has particular guidelines (see the text box below). Subsequent blogs should follow the 5 similar but more general guidelines detailed overleaf.
1.
Blogs must include a catchy blog title
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2.
1-2 key words/concepts around which the readings center.
3.
1-2 sentences reviewing the heart of the readings, what they have in common and/or how they differ. Unless readings are optional, your review should touch on all of the readings, even if just briefly.
4.
How did 1 or more of the readings make you feel? Discuss the most interesting/ frustrating/ exciting/ engaging etc aspect of the pieces for you and tell us why they made you feel that way.
5.
1-2 thoughtful questions raised by the readings to prompt in-class discussion.
A note on asking questions well:
Raising questions about the class materials is one of the most important ways you can demonstrate you are engaging critically and actively. To ensure these questions are useful to us as a class take note of the following:
 Avoid very big, general and open-ended questions (“When will these problems ever end? What can we do about this?”, “What does the future hold?”, “Why does this problem exist”?) These can be very important, but they are fairly easy to pose and don’t push you to really engage with the specific material in front of you. Instead use this blog space to articulate questions that would make for constructive discussion and that are answerable (even if several answers are possible).
 Pose questions that put the readings/audio-visual material into conversation (“How do author x and author y’s understanding of z differ? What would author x have to say about author y’s argument? How does author x’s example /argument challenge that of author y?”
 Pose clarifying questions (“What does author x mean when she uses the word “y”?
 Connect readings/class material from across the weeks (“How does the argument presented by author x connect with the readings on y from week z?”
Blog grade scheme: (0pts = late/not completed, 1 pt = under/over word count, missing
any one of 1-5 elements listed above, or failing to demonstrate some engagement with all the readings for that week (though you can do so briefly and then focus in on one piece), 2 pt = nice job, the blog addresses the 1-5 points listed above, demonstrates engagement with all the readings, and is within the word limit).
Two course exams (30%)
Due in class in week 8 (Friday 10/17) and week 16 (see your UT exam schedule)
Weighted between mid-term and final
You will complete two exams during the semester. These are designed to encourage you to review the key concepts, case studies and ideas presented in the class as we move through it.
The exams will include a series of multiple-choice, short, mid-length and essay responses in which you will be asked to define key concepts and discuss the class lectures, film and reading material. More information to come.
Final Project: “Follow the Thing” (30%)
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4 mini-assignments due over the semester. Final product due in week 15.
Grade is weighted between mini-assignments and final product.
For the final class project you will conduct a commodity chain analysis of a food or
fashion item of your choice. You will use as inspiration Cook et al’s article on the papaya fruit titled “Follow the Thing”, which we will read together over the course of the semester.
This project will ground the theoretical foundations of the class in your own geographical research on the ‘real world’. Doing so helps you to understand this theoretical material better and, in connection, the world around you that it seeks to explain. This analysis will “follow” the varied travels of your chosen commodity; including a discussion of its history, a mapping of the key sites of production, distribution and consumption, an overview of varied impacts
(positive and negative) created across the world by that commodity. Your commodity chain analysis will pay attention to its “social life”: how class, race and gendered power operate through the commodity chain and how it has been shaped by the social, economic and political shifts of the last 150 years that we discuss in class. You will complete a series of mini-assignments throughout the semester that build up to this final project. The final project can take one of two forms:
Option 1: Film/Video Mash Up/Performance Piece (5-8 minutes)
Group project (max 4 students/group), closing Q and A.
Due in-class, Wednesday 12/3 or Friday 12/5
Option 2: Website (equivalent to 1200 words/5-6 page paper)
Individual project, linked to the course website and submitted as a paper to www.turnitin.com
roughly equivalent in length to a 5-6 page paper, 12 font, double space.
Due via Canvas (as a website) and Turnitin (as a text copy), Sunday 12/7
.
Both forms require completion of mini-assignments over the course semester. You will be asked to sign up for your chosen form in the first weeks of class. No late/emailed assignments accepted. More information to follow.
Extra-Credit Opportunities
You can gain extra-credit in several ways. Each is worth the equivalent of 1 blog post (1-2pts depending on quality of engagement with course lectures and readings). In total you can receive extra-credit for up to 3 of the following:
 You can complete more than the 10 required blogs (3 max.)
 You can watch one of the films listed on our Canvas page and relate the film’s storyline/argument, key scenes and characters to the material covered in the course lectures and readings (1 max).
 You can attend a guest lecture on campus and relate the talk’s key argument/focus to the material covered in the course lectures and readings (2 max).
Course Content
To get the most out of class, you should complete the readings each week before we meet, certainly by Wednesday’s class. In most lecture sessions you will be asked to connect the
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material to that week’s assigned readings, either through discussion, pop-quizzes and/or group or individual class exercises. In these exercises I emphasize the reading material heavily.
Part 1:
Introductions
Week 1, August 25 th -29 th : Introductions
Due Wednesday, 8/27: Review our Canvas page and this syllabus
Due Sunday, 8/31: First homework blog
This week we will begin by reviewing the key goals of the course. You will use this week to familiarize yourself with the syllabus, each other, our TA and me and you will have an opportunity to access the required reading material. Your first (required) blog is due on
Sunday. Please post your blog to our Canvas site via the “modules” or “discussions” page.
By Wednesday 08/27:
 This syllabus, including the homework prompt in the text box below
 Explore our Canvas page. Come on Friday with any questions you have.
By Friday 08/29:
 Friedman, T. 2005. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21 st Century [excerpt from chapter 1, via The New York Times, pp.1] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/books/chapters/0501-1st-friedman.html
 Massey, D. 1994. A Global Sense of Place in Space, Place and Gender Polity Press, pp.
146-156.
 Mountz, A. and J. Hyndman. (2006) Feminist Approaches to the Global Intimate,
Women’s Studies Quarterly, 34(1-2): 446-463
 Watch Rotich, J. 2013. Meet BRCK: Internet Access Built for Africa TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/juliana_rotich_meet_brck_internet_access_built_for_af rica [9.33 mins]
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Blog post week 1
Post a 350-400 word blog to Canvas by 6pm on Sunday August 31 st .
‘Globalization’ is a key geographical concept. It is also one that is used in many ways and evokes different kinds of reactions, both positive and negative. Read over the following questions before you begin reading/watching week 1’s texts. Your blog should touch on some/all of these questions, within the word-limit (about 2-3 sentences for each question).
Overview of the pieces
1. What is the main ‘jist’/take home point of each piece. i.e what do they understand “globalization” to be? i.e. what are the key words they use to talk about globalization and what example(s) of globalization do they use?
What are 2-3 ways you think they feel about globalization and why do you think that? (list actual feelings: excitement, fear, hope etc)
Discussing the geographies of globalization: place and power
2. What are 2-3 of the places mentioned in the pieces and how are they presented to the reader? How do the authors/speakers suggest they are connected to one another? Do the authors/speakers emphasize the differences between these places or their similarities? What does their discussion of place suggest about the author/speaker’s attitude towards globalization?
3. How do the readings/clip engage with the issue of power inequities in globalization (e.g. those of race, gender, class, nationality)? i.e. Is this issue ignored or centered? Is globalization viewed hopefully as a way to address these inequities or pessimistically as a force that exacerbates these inequities? Or both?
Your reactions and questions:
4. What are 2-3 ways that the reading/clip make you feel? (list actual feelings: excitement, fear, hope, confusion etc)? At what exact points in the readings/lecture did you feel this way? Why do you think you had these particular reactions?
5. Having read and watched these pieces, what are 1-3 questions you have? (see the note on writing good questions on page 6 of this syllabus)
Part 2:
Histories of Globalization
Week 2, September 2 nd – 5 th : Long histories of globalization
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday 9/2 at 6pm
Monday: NO CLASS (Labor Day). Blog by Tuesday at 6pm this week as usual.
 Abu-Lughod, J. 1994. The World System in the Thirteenth Century: Dead End or
Precursor American Historical Society pp.184-193
 Silverblatt, I. 2004. “Globalization and Guinea Pigs” in Modern Inquisitions: Peru and the
Colonial Origins of the Civilized World Duke University Press. pp.99-116
 Marks, R. 2007. “The Industrial Revolution and its Consequences” in The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative from the 15
Rowman and Littlefield, 2 nd ed. pp.95-122 th to the 21 st Century
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Week 3, September 7 th – 12 th : Colonial foundations
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 8/9 at 6pm
Friday: Review day 1 - Key concepts & check-in on mini-assignment 1 progress
 Heyward, D. 1937. “YES, Carolina Gold Rice” in Moseley, W Taking Sides: Clashing
Views on African Issues McGraw Hill, 4 th ed, pp. 24-29.
 Carney, J. 2003. “NO, Agroenvironments and Slave Strategies in the Diffusion of
Rice Culture to the Americas” in Moseley, W Taking Sides: Clashing Views on African
Issues McGraw Hill, 4 th
Africa” in Moseley, W Taking Sides: Clashing Views on African Issues McGraw Hill, 4 th ed, pp. 41-45.
ed, pp. 30-34.
 Diamond, J. 1999. “YES, Why Europeans were the ones to colonize Sub-Saharan
 Jarosz, L. 2003. “NO: A Human Geographer’s Response to Guns Germs, and Steel:
The Case of Agrarian Development and Change in Madagascar” in Moseley, W
Taking Sides: Clashing Views on African Issues McGraw Hill, 4 th ed, pp. 46-52
And in preparation for our final project:
 Cook, I. 2004. Follow the thing: Papaya Antipode 36(4): 642-664. Browse the whole piece, but read carefully the abstract and “The Idea” and “The Thing”
Part 3:
Postcolonial Geographies of Production
Week 4, September 15 th – 19 th : Postcolonial shifts
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 9/16 at 6pm
Due: Monday in-class, mini-assignment 1 – a brief history of your commodity (or 1 input)
 Ellwood, W. 2009. “The Bretton Woods Trio” in The Non-Nonsense Guide to
Globalization New Internationalist, pp.29-45 [Optional related reading: http://newint.org/features/1994/07/05/simply/ ]
 Association for Women’s Rights In Development (AWID) (2002) “The World Bank and Women’s Rights in Development” Women’s Rights and Economic Change 5: 1-8
[available online: file:///Users/carolinefaria/Downloads/factsissues5.pdf]
Optional (opposing views):
 Danaher, K. 1994. “Introduction” in Fifty Years is Enough: The Case against the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund MA: South End Press, pp.1-5
 Owens, H. 1994. “Is 50 Years Enough?” Foreign Affairs [available at: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/50334/henry-owen/the-world-bank-is-50years-enough-a-child-of-war-a-parent-of-pro ]
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Week 5, September 22 nd – 26 th : Debt and the rise of neoliberalism
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 9/23 at 6pm
 Ellwood, W. 2009. “Debt and Structural Adjustment” in The Non-Nonsense Guide to
Globalization New Internationalist, pp.46-63
 Ehrenreich, B. and Horschild, A. 2002. “Introduction” Global Women: Nannies, Maids
and Sex Workers in the Global Economy Holt and Company, pp.21-33
 Basu, S. and Farmer, P. 2000. “Debt and Poverty turn a Disease into an Epidemic”
Nature 407: 13.
 Harvey, D. 2010. Crises of Capitalism Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts
(RSA) Animated [http://davidharvey.org/2010/06/rsa-crises-of-capitalism-talkanimated/] 11.10 mins
 Seager, J. 2009. “Debt” The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, 4 th ed Penguin, pp. 34.
Optional (opposing views):
 George, S. 1988. “How much is $1 Trillion?” in A Fate Worse Than Debt Grove Press,
NY. pp. 11-26
 Mwenda, A. 2007. “Take a new look at Africa” TED Talks [available online at: https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mwenda_takes_a_new_look_at_africa] 17.07 mins
Week 6, September 29 th – October 3 free? - Labor rd : Comparative Advantage I: Footloose and fancy
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 9/30 at 6pm
 Seager, J. 2009. “Working for Wages” The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, 4 th ed
Penguin, pp. 21.
 Enloe, C. 2004. “The Globe Trotting Sneaker” in The Curious Feminist: Searching for
Women in an Age of Empire UC Press, Berkeley. pp.43-56
 Wright, M. 2004. “From protests to politics: sex work, women’s worth, and Ciudad
Juarez modernity” Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 94(2): 369–386
Week 7, October 6
Love th – 10 th : Comparative Advantage II: Selling paradise: Land and
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 10/7 at 6pm
Friday, 8/10: Review day 2 - Key concepts & check-in on mini-assignment 2 progress
 Mullings, B. 1999. Chapter 3: Globalization, Tourism and the International Sex
Trade in Kempadoo, K. (ed) Sun, Sex and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean pp. 55-80
 Brennan, D. 2004. “Women Work, Men Sponge, and Everyone Gossips: Macho
Men and Stigmatized/ing Women in a Sex Tourist Town” Anthropological Quarterly
77(4): 705-733
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 Mollett, S. 2014. A Modern Paradise: Garifuna Land, Labor, and Displacement-in-
Place Latin American Perspectives [Early view]
And in preparation for mini-assignment 2:
 Re-read Cook, I. (2004) Follow the thing: Papaya Antipode 36(4): 644-658 only. “The
Following” up to and including “The Papaya Packer”
Week 8, October 13 th – 17 th : Rest and Review week
No readings assigned and no blog posts due
Due: Monday, October 13
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17 th
TH
: mini-assignment 2 – your commodity’s story of production
: MID-TERM EXAM
Monday 10/13:
 Assignment 2 peer-review, exam review 1: key concepts, short & mid-length Qs
Wednesday 10/15:
 Exam review 2: essay questions
Friday 10/17:
 **Mid term exam**
Part 4:
New Global Flows: Patents, Pollution, Pathogens & (bits of) People
Week 9, October 20 th – 24 th : Pollutants & Pathogens
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 8/21 at 6pm
 Seager, J “HIV/AIDS” The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, 4 th ed Penguin, pp. 49.
 Sparke, M. and Anguelov, D. (2012) "H1N1, Globalization and the Epidemiology of
Inequality" Health and Place 18: 726–73
 West, J. and McDonell, T. (2014) “We are Making Ebola Outbreaks Worse By
Cutting Down Forests” Mother Jones July 7 [available at: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/07/we-are-making-ebola-worse ]
 Gregson, N et al. (2010) Following things of rubbish value: End-of-life ships, ‘chockchocky’ furniture and the Bangladeshi middle class consumer Geoforum 41: 846–854
 Carroll, C. 2008. “High Tech Trash” National Geographic [available at: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/01/high-tech-trash/carroll-text ]
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Week 10, October 27 th – 31 st : Patents
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 10/28 at 6pm
 Gold, ER. et al. 2010. “Are Patents Impeding Medical Care and Innovation? PLoS
Med 7(1): e1000208. [Available at: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.10
00208 ] pp.1-5.
 Makin, K. 2004. “Canada Rules in Favor of Monsanto over Seed Saving Farmer
Percy Schmeiser” Organic Consumers Association [available at: http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/schmeiser.cfm
] pp. 1
 Zerbe, N. 2008. Sowing the Seeds of Progress: The Agricultural Biotechnology
Debate in Africa. History Compass. 6.
 Conway, G. 2003. ‘From the Green Revolution to the Biotechnology Revolution:
Food for Poor People in the 21 st Century’ Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars Director’s Forum
Optional (opposing views):
 Rupp, R. 2014. “I’m Pro-GMO and Here’s Why” 04/29 [Available at: http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/29/rebecca-rupp-im-pro-gmoand-heres-why/ ] pp.1
 Sanjay B. 2003. “Life and Death at the WTO’ ZNET 02/11 [available at: http://zcomm.org/znetarticle/life-and-death-at-the-wto-by-sanjay-basu/ ] pp. 1
Week 11, November 3 rd – 7 th : (Bits of) People
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 11/4 at 6pm
Friday 10/7: Review day 3 - Key concepts & check-in on mini-assignment 3’s progress
 Seager, J “Global Sex Trafficking” The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, 4 th ed
Penguin, pp. 19.
 Schaeffer-Grabiel, F. 2005. "Planet-Love.Com: Cyberbrides in the Americas and the
Transnational Routes of U.S. Masculinity." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society
31.2 (2005): 331-56.
 Pratt, G. Families Apart: Migrant Women and the Conflicts of Labor and Love. Minnesota
Press [excerpts]
 Bakdash, T. and Scheper-Hughes, N. 2006. Is It Ethical for Patients with Renal
Disease to Purchase Kidneys from the World's Poor? PLoS 10/24: 1699-1702.
[Available at: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.00
30349]
And at least one of the following:
 Hing, J. 2014. “Three Myths of the Unaccompanied Minors Crisis, Debunked”
Colorlines 7/1 [Available at: http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/07/three_myths_of_the_unaccompanied_min ors_crisis.html
] pp.1-2
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 Bernstein, D. 2014. “Why the Honduran Children Flee North” Consortium News pp.1
[Available at: http://consortiumnews.com/2014/07/12/why-the-honduranchildren-flee-north/ ]
 Boerma, L. 2014. “Is the Surge of Illegal Child Immigrants a National Security
Threat?” 7/7 pp1-2. [Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-the-surge-of-illegal-child-immigrants-a-nationalsecurity-threat/]
And in preparation for mini-assignment 3:
 Re-read Cook, I. (2004) Follow the thing: Papaya Antipode 36(4): 651-658 only. “The
Papaya Farmer” up to and including “The Papaya Packer”
Part 5:
Geographies of Consumption
Week 12, November 10 th – 14 th : Commodity fetishism/The power of the thing I:
Selling Civilization and Modernity
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 11/11 at 6pm
Due Monday, November 10th: Mini-assignment 3 – Your commodity’s global flows
 Marx, K. “The Fetishism of the Commodity and its Secret” [excerpt] in Capital:
Volume I pp.163-165
 Williams, R. 1976. “Modern,” and “Western” in Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and
Society pp. 208-209; 333-334.
And select three articles from the following:
 McClintock, A. 1995. Imperial Leather: Gender, Race and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest
Routledge [excerpt]
 Weinbaum, A.E, Thomas, L.M. Ramamurthy, P., Poiger, U.G. Dong, M.Y. and
Barlow T.E 2008. The Modern Girl Around the World: Modernity, Consumption, and
Globalization. Durham: Duke University Press [excerpt]
 Domosh, M. 2003. “Selling Civilization: Toward a Cultural Analysis of America's
Economic Empire in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries”
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 29(4): 453-467
 Fluri, J. 2009. “The beautiful ‘other’: a critical examination of ‘western’ representations of Afghan feminine corporeal modernity.” Gender, Place and Culture: A
Journal of Feminist Geography, 16(3): 241-257
Week 13, November 17 th – 21 st : Commodity fetishism/The power of the thing II:
Consuming cosmopolitanism and remaking a neoliberal self
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 11/18 at 6pm
 Bestor, T. 2000. “How sushi went global,” Foreign Policy 121: 54-63
 Matlon, J. 2011. “Informality and Visibility on the Periphery: A Photo Essay.”
Contexts. 10(2): 58-63
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And select two from the following:
 Edmonds, A. 2007. “The poor have the right to be beautiful’: cosmetic surgery in neoliberal Brazil” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 13(2): 363-381
 Faria, C. 2013. “Styling the Nation: Fear and Desire in the South Sudanese Beauty
Trade” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers
 Gökarıksel, B. and Secor, A. 2010. “ Between Fashion and Tesettür: Marketing and
Consuming Women's Islamic Dress” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies
6(3): 118-148
 Oza, R. “The New Liberal Indian Woman and Globalization” in The Making of
Neoliberal India: Nationalism, Gender, and the Paradoxes of Globalization Taylor and
Francis, New York. pp.21-43.
Week 14, November 24 th – 28 th : Exploring Alternatives: Philanthro-capitalism, fair trade and reclaiming the economy
Due: Weekly readings and blog post by Tuesday, 11/25 at 6pm
Wednesday, November 26 th (required): Review day 3 - Key concepts & check-in on miniassignment 4’s progress.
Friday: NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)
 Zizeck, S. 2010. “First as Tragedy then as Farce” Royal Society for the
Encouragement of the Arts (RSA) Animated 8/4 [Available at:
http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/rsa-animate-first-as-tragedy,-then-as-farce]
 Richey, L.A., and Ponte S. 2011. Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World.
University of Minnesota Press. [excerpts]
 Hull, J.B. 1999. “Can Coffee Drinkers Save the Rain Forest?” The Atlantic Monthly, pp. 19-21.
 Eric Holt Gimenez, Bailey, I. & Sampson, D. 2007. Development Report 17: 
 Fair to the Last Drop: The Corporate Challenges to Fair Trade Coffee | Food
First/Institute for Food and Development Policy. Food First. Available at: http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/1794.
And select one of the following:
 Shiva, V. 2004. “The future of food: Countering globalisation and recolonisation of
Indian agriculture,” Futures 36: 715-732
 Gibson-Graham J.K., Cameron, J. and Healy, S. 2013. Take Back the Economy: An
ethical guide for transforming our communities. [Excerpt]
And in preparation for the final mini-assignment
 Re-read Cook, I. (2004) Follow the thing: Papaya Antipode 36(4): 658-664 only.
“Papaya Fetishism” up to and including “Papaya Consumption”
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Week 15, December 1 st – 5 th : Review Week
No readings assigned and no blog posts due
Due Monday, December 1 assignments 1-3 st : Mini-assignment 4 on consumption practices & revised
Due Wednesday & Friday: Group final film presentations
Due Sunday 12/7: Final website published and word document version posted to www.turnitin.com
. [Note: No website version will receive a grade without submission of a corresponding turnitin version.]
We will close the class by reflecting on the key concepts, themes and case studies we have covered and review these in preparation for the final exam. We’ll return to our discussions on day 1 and consider how a geographic perspective has enriched, challenged or changed our understandings of the processes of globalization that we have discussed. We’ll close by considering our next steps as critical geographic scholars of the world around us.
 Monday 12/01: Mini-assignment 4 peer-review/ Exam review 1
 Wednesday 12/03: Film festival part 2/ Exam review 2
 Friday 12/05: Film festival part 3/ Exam review 3
FINAL EXAM: TBD - Check your UT student page for the date, time and location.
Happy Holidays!
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