CULTURE and GLOBALIZATION

Description:

Does globalization promote peace, prosperity, and democracy? Or, does it in fact decrease our chances to improve life by creating the world, in which minority wins and majority looses? The answer depends on how inclusive globalization is vis-à-vis local cultures, on the one hand, and how inclusive local cultures are, on the other. The central goal of this course is to explore the relationships between globalization and culture and to clarify the impact of one on another. The course deals with theoretical issues, as well as comparative cases that help to understand the cultural consequences of globalization. Students are expected to learn theoretical, as well as practical, aspects of interaction between globalization and culture.

This is also a GE III course, a part of the cluster “America and World Affairs”

(I happen to coordinate the cluster, so please contact me with further questions)

Requirements: 

Attendence and participation – 10% of the grade

Exam (open notes) – 30%

Research paper, individual or group-based (10-15 pages) – 30%

In-class presentation, group-based (7-10 minutes) – 20%

Pop quiz (closed notes) – 10%

The format of paper and presentation will be discussed separately.

Readings: 

J. Rapley. Globalization and Inequality. Lynne Rienner, 2004.

A. Sen. Identity and Violence. Norton, 2006.         

Articles on electronic reserve (e-r), by email (*), and through SFSU electronic library (e-l) (the link: http://sfx.calstate.edu:9003/sfsu/a-z/sfsu)
 

Calendar (tentative):

The course schedule (readings are tentative and subject to change):

Week 1 Jan 28, 30 Globalization: Cultural or Universal?

Sen, 103-119; *Weber, “Objectivity”;

Rapley, 6-15, 49-70; *Taylor, The Way the Modern World Works

I. GLOBALIZATION AS A CULTURAL PHENOMENON: THEORY

Weeks 2-3 Feb 4, 6, 11 The Promise of Globalization – Universalism and Cultural Assimilation

*Fukuyama, End of History?; *Fukuyama, Their Target; Friedman, The world is flat (e-r) Critigue: Rapley, 75-99; *Tsygankov, The Irony of Western Ideas

Feb 11 Video “The Jesus Factor”

Weeks 3-4 Feb 13, 18, 20 The Dark Side of Globalization: Clash of Cultures

*Huntington, Clash of Civilizations?; *Margalit and Buruma, Occidentalism;

*Baran, Fighting the War of Ideas

Critique: Rapley, 126-137; *Said, The Clash of Ignorance; Sen, 1-17, 40-58

Feb 20 Video “Orientalism”

Feb 20 Assignment due

Week 5 Feb 25, 27 The Dark Side of Globalization: Crash of Cultures

Rapley, 116-126; *Barber, Jihad vs. McWorld; *Ferguson, Crush of Civilizations;

Kaplan vs. Friedman exchange (e-r); *Cooley, Globalization and National Security

Weeks 6-7 Mar 3, 5, 10 Alternative Globalization and Cultural Dialogue

Sen, 59-83; *Tsygankov, War of Civilizations; *Telhami, Where Are The Arab World’s Moderate Voices?; Rapley, 31-42; *Rachman, Illiberal Capitalisms

March 5 Presentation guidelines

March 10 Game “Cultural Dialogue” / Assignment feedback

Sen, 84-102; *Berlin, Pluralism of Values

II. CONSEQUENCES OF UNIVERSALISM

ETHO-CULTURE

Weeks 7-8 Mar 12, 17, 19 Clash of Ethno-Cultures: the Breakup of Yugoslavia

Taras and Ganguly 2002, chaps. 5, 9 (e-r);

*Snyder and Ballentine, Nationalism in the Marketplace of Ideas;

*Thomas, The case against Kosovo independence

Mar 12 Presentations begin

Mar 17 Video “Blood and Belonging”

Mar 19 Game “Nationalism”

Week 9 BREAK

Mar 31 Cesar Chavez Day Observed: No Classes

ECONOMIC CULTURE

Weeks 10-11 April 2, 7  Crush of Economic Cultures: Shock Therapy in Russia

Is Neoliberalism Culturally Sustainable?

Rapley, 152-162; *Rodrick, Sense and Nonsense in Globalization Debate;

*Milanovic, Two Face of Globalization

Weeks 11-12 April 9, 14, 16

Neoliberalism and Russia’s Shock Therapy

Kotz and Weir, Revolution from Above, chaps. 9-10 (e-r);

*Wedel, Tainted Transactions

Video “Return of the Csar” 

Week 13 Apr 21, 23 Review / Exam

Apr 23 Exam

POLITICAL CULTURE

Week 14 Apr 28, 30 Breaking Non-Western Political Cultures: Iraq

Does Globalization Require Authoritarianism?

Rapley, 107-116; *Zakaria, The Rise of Illiberal Democracy;

*Plattner, Liberalism and Democracy;

*Moubayed, A balance sheet for America’s Iraq

GENDER CULTURE

Week 15 May 5, 7 Universalism and Gender after 9/11

Is Globalization Good for Women?

*Agathangelou and Ling, Power, borders, security, wealth; *Bunch, Whose Security?;

Oyewumi, The Invention of Women (e-r)

Week 16 May 12, 14 Moving Beyond Universalism: Modest Proposals

Rapley, 163-169; Sen, 120-148

May 19 Paper is due