What Is This Thing Called Globalization?
Duke freshmen of 2009 are born into a world defined by many as “global.” Globalization is one of the buzzwords of the twenty-first century, used by academics and laypeople alike to define a wide range of phenomena from the decreasing role of nation states in world politics to increased communication and economic relations between continents. But what does it really mean? In this course we will look at different aspects of what is generally defined as globalization, and your task as the student will be to research and write about an example phenomenon for one of these aspects. Possible topics would be the AIDS epidemic as an example of global health issues, Zapatistas as an example of anti-globalization movements, or McDonalds as an example of transnational corporations. For all these examples we will try to understand what makes our selected topic “global,” and how is it related to different aspects of globalization.
We will start the semester by reading Manfred Steger’s “Globalization: A Very Short Introduction,” which will lead us through the economic, political, cultural and ideological dimensions of globalization. After we gain a better understanding of the fundamental concepts as a class, we will move on to additional common readings to deepen our grasp. Meanwhile, each one of you will choose individual topics and start reading about those for your major writing assignments. First of the two major writing projects will be an analytical essay, where you will read and evaluate secondary sources to analyze your topic. We will gradually build up to this ten-page essay by short writing assignments like a proposal, an annotated bibliography, and a book review. The second major writing assignment will be an argumentative essay, where you will take and defend a position based on your research for the analytical essay. There will be a process of drafting and revising for each major writing assignment where your classmates, as well as your instructor, will review your drafts through written feedback and class workshops to help you refine your final draft.
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