Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Introduction to International Studies: 201 - Fall 2012

 
Intl 201 Introduction to International Studies
Politics, Society and the Economy in Globalization
Fall 2012
Monday and Wednesday 12:45-14:35
CRN: 11649
Important Note: IClicker will be used in this class
Class Response System

The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. ~ Milton Friedman

While the State exists, there can be no freedom. When there is freedom there will be no State. ~ Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, "State and Revolution", 1919

Course Description and Objective

The focus of this course is the state, society and economy in the context of globalization. Therefore, the major themes of the course relate directly to international studies. In order to understand transformations taking place in the world today, we need to explore the social, political and economic underpinnings of the past. Today’s paradigms were created in relation to specific events in the past, and now fuel current events. At the beginning of the 21st century, there was a modern and bureaucratic state in Europe, which emerged as a consequence of the industrialization of the late 18th century. The 18th and 19th century’s patterns of industrialization then fueled domestic migration and the migration of rural populations to the big cities, which led to mass urbanization. 

In this course, we will observe, analyze, and understand the consequences of this transformation within a comparative perspective. Every concept and phenomenon will be explored within the discipline of International Studies. As an introduction to the discipline, the purpose of the course is to develop a foundational knowledge of international studies, enhanced analytical skills, and to develop a terminology that is relevant to a broad understanding of the economic, social and political transformations of our time. 

International Studies Themes

State/Politics                           Society/Culture                                   Economy
Nation-state                            Nationalism/ethnic groups                  Capitalism
Bureaucracy                           Tradition/Modernity                            Socialism          
Colonialism/Imperialism       McDonaldization                                 Welfare State  
Ethnic Conflicts/Wars           Religion/secularism                           Neoliberalism             
Think-tanks/NGOs                 Social Movements                              The Corporations


Required Readings:
  1. Shawn Smallman and Kimberley Brown. 2010. Introduction to International and Global Studies. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-7175-1

2.     Judith Blau and Mark Frezzo,2011. Sociology and Human Rights: A Bill of Rights for the Twenty-First Century.

  1. David Harvey. 2006. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. The Oxford University Press.