Rev. 11-6-08
Editorially revised 04-23-09
Undergraduate University Curriculum Committee
Course Proposal Form for Courses Numbered 0001 – 4999
1.
Course Prefix and Number:
2.
Date:
3.
Requested Action (check only one box):
X
4.
POLS 3140
October 5, 2009
New Course
Justification for new course, revision, unbanking, or renumbering:
This course, “Politics of Globalization,” was created in response to two broad
University goals, emphasized both at the state level and at ECU: to “promote more
global awareness through the ECU curriculum,” in ECU’s Plan for
Internationalization (2005), and “New courses will be developed as needed to make
ECU students more globally aware and competitive” in the 2008 UNC Tomorrow
plan. In preparing students for a global world, it is essential that they be given a
broad introduction to the core issues in globalization, so that their understanding
goes far beyond buzz words. This course, which requires no prerequisites and
opens the issues to the interested general student, will facilitate that stronger
awareness.
The Department of Political Science has a very strong international, comparative,
global component in the major curriculum. Some of these courses are specialized,
and require prerequisites. POLS 3140 will provide a broad ranging overview of the
issues of globalization for non-majors as well as for majors, so contributing to the
promotion of global awareness, and it will be available to fulfill the requirement for
globally-oriented courses in the general education curriculum.
5.
Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
3140. Politics of Globalization (3) Sources, consequences, processes of
globalization; topics include economic liberalization, spread of democracy,
multicultural global civil society, international conflict, economic development,
human rights.
6.
If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
7.
Page number from current PDF undergraduate catalog:
8.
9.
The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee
The Service-Learning Advisory Committee
149, 151, 482
1
10.
The Academic Standards Committee must approve Foundations Curriculum Credit
11.
Course Credit:
Lecture Hours
3
Weekly
Per Term
or
=
Credit Hours
Total Credit Hours
3
s.h.
s.h.
25
12.
Anticipated yearly student enrollment:
13.
Affected Degrees or Academic Programs:
Degree(s)/Course(s)
3
PDF Catalog Page
Change in Degree Hours
N/A
14.
Overlapping or Duplication with Affected Units or Programs:
X
Not Applicable
15.
16.
Instructional Format: please identify the appropriate instructional format(s):
X
Lecture
Online
17.
Statements of Support:
(Please attach a memorandum that addresses the budgetary and staff impact of this
proposal.)
18.
Syllabus – please insert course syllabus below. Do not submit course syllabus as a separate
file. You must include (a) the name of the textbook chosen for the course, (b) the course
objectives, (c) the course content outline, and (d) the course assignments and grading plan.
Do not include instructor- or semester-specific information from the syllabus.
A. Textbooks:
Kesselman, Mark. 2007. The Politics of Globalization. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company
Rodrik, Dani. 1997. Has Globalization Gone Too Far? Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics.
B. Course Objectives:
This course is designed to introduce students to major issues, debates, and controversies surrounding
globalization. At the end of the semester, each student will:

Develop an understanding of global political economy to make critical judgments about issues and
problems regarding processes of globalization that directly influence our daily lives.
2



Become familiar with the role different cultures, ideologies, and traditions play in the politics of
globalization.
Have a better grasp of the role the US plays in world politics as a leading economic and military power.
Be well-prepared for upper level classes on political economy, international politics, and other related
courses.
C. Course Outline:
Week 1: Introduction: Understanding Globalization
Readings:
Kesselman, Chapter 1, “Introduction”
Keohane and Nye, “Globalization: What is new? What is not? (and so what?)”
Week 2: Historical Roots of Globalization
Readings:
Kesselman, Article 2.2., “The great transformation: the political and economic origins of our time”
Kesselman, Article 2.3., “How to judge globalism”
Kesselman, Article 2.5., “Sinking Globalism”
Week 3: Limits of Globalization: National Economies, Sovereignty, and Global Integration
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.2, Article 2.4.,“Globalization and its limits”
Kesselman, Chpt.3, Article 3.1., “The Lexus and the olive tree”
Kesselman, Chpt.3, Article 3.2., “It is a flat world after all”
Week 4: Benefits of Globalization: Economic Growth, Democratization, and Competitiveness
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.3, Article 3.3., “Why globalization works”
Kesselman, Chpt.3, Article 3.4., “Globalism’s discontents”
Week 5: Costs of Globalization: Economic Inequality, Dependency, and Labor Exploitation
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.3, Article 3.5., “The Two Faces of Globalization”
Rodrik, “The Developing Countries' Hazardous Obsession with Global Integration”
Soros, “The Capitalist Threat”
3
Week 6: Globalization, Cultural Diversity, and Imperialism
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.10, Article 10.2., “Globalization and Culture”
Tomlinson, “Cultural imperialism”
Cowen, “Why Hollywood rules the world, and whether we should care”
Week 7: The State, Sovereignty, and Globalization
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.6, Article 6.1., “The retreat of the state”
Kesselman, Chpt.6, Article 6.2., “The fate of the state”
Kesselman, Chpt.6, Article 6.3., “The state and globalization”
Week 8: Global Governance and the United Nations
Readings: Kesselman, Chpt.7, Article 7.1., “National, Regional, and Global Governance”
Week 9: Regionalism and the European Union
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.7, Article 7.1., “National, Regional, and Global Governance”
Week 10: International Financial Institutions: the IMF and the World Bank
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.7, Article 7.2., “Globalization and its discontents”
Kesselman, Chpt.7, Article 7.3., “The IMF strikes back”
Kesselman, Chpt.7, Article 7.4., “The mother of all governments: the World Bank’s matrix for global
governance”
Week 11: The Global Dimension of Conflict: Terrorism, Interstate Wars, and Civil Conflicts
Readings:
Barber, “Jihad vs. McWorld”
Huntington, “Clash of Civilizations”
Fukuyama, “The end of history”
Kesselman, Chpt.9, Article 9.5., “The global dimension of religious terrorism”
Tibi, “The challenge of fundamentalism”
4
Roy, “Globalized Islam: the search for a new ummah”
Week 12: Transnational Contentious Politics: NGOs and Globalization
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.9, Article 9.1., “Activists beyond borders”
Kesselman, Chpt.9, Article 9.4., “The ecology of the movements”
Week 13: Multinational Corporations and Economic Globalization
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.5, Article 5.2., “Reebok and the global footwear sweatshop”
Kesselman, Chpt.5, Article 5.3., “Two cheers for sweatshops”
Kesselman, Chpt.5, Article 5.4., “Falling fortunes of the wage earner”
Week 14: Deglobalization and the Alternatives to Globalization
Readings:
Kesselman, Chpt.11, Article 11.1., “Alternatives to economic globalization”
Kesselman, Chpt.11, Article 11.4., “Deglobalization: Ideas for a new world economy”
Kesselman, Chpt. 11, “Conclusion: What is to be done: Fix it or nix it?”
D. Course Evaluation:
Examination 1 – 20%
Examination 2 – 20%
Final Examination – 20%
Book Review Assignment – 20%
Attendance and Participation – 20%
A: 90-100
C: 70-79
B: 80-89
D: 60-69
F: 59 and below
Examinations (60%)
All three exams will be closed-book, in-class exams. These exams will include short identification/essay, multiple
choice, and true-false questions.
Written Assignment: Book Review (20%)
Each student is expected write to a review of a book that addresses issues on globalization. The purpose of this
assignment is to allow students to critically evaluate the book’s thesis, arguments, and methods of analysis.
5