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

http://www.pdx.edu/cae/classroom-response-systems-clickers-resource-page

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 21^st century, there was a modern and bureaucratic state in Europe, which emerged as a consequence of the industrialization of the late 18^th century. The 18^th and 19^th 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.

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

Middle East Studies: 247 Fall 2012

Middle East Studies

INTL 247C (11678)

FALL 2012

Monday and Wednesday -17:30 - 18:45 PM

Instructor:  Tugrul Keskin

This course provides a foundation for upper level Islam and Middle East Studies courses at Portland State University. The “Middle East” as a region did not exist as such according to “Middle Easterners” such as Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Jews, Iranians, and other groups native to the area. The term “Middle East” is an artificial and fabricated concept, which was created by European and American imperialist powers in order to divide, conquer and exploit natural resources in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The objective of this course is to understand the basic social and political aspects of the Modern “Middle East” from the insider perspective, using the Non-Orientalist Approach. It is difficult to understand Middle Eastern societies and political actors without first exploring the fundamental principles and facts regarding the history of the region because events today are a continuation of the past. I will therefore introduce you to topics such as Orientalism, economic underdevelopment, the emergence of the nation-state, European and American occupations, and the revitalization of religious fundamentalism in the Middle East. The destruction of religious and ethnic harmony between the Jews, Muslims and Christians in the Middle East as a consequence of imperialist policies and occupations will also be explored. 

Required Reading:

1. Mehran Kamrava. The Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War. University of California Press, 2011. ISBN: 9780520241503
2. Tugrul Keskin, The Sociology of Islam: Secularism,Economy and Politics. Ithaca Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-86372-371-1
3. The Arab Awakening, The Nation Magazine: Special Issue, September 2011.

Sociology of Africa Spring 2012

THE ARAB SPRING: A Year that Changed the World Portland State University Saturday, February 25th, 2012 10 AM to 10 PM

Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights
invites you to attend the conference

THE ARAB SPRING:
A Year that Changed the World

Portland State University
Saturday, February 25th, 2012
10 AM to 10 PM

— Registration begins at 9:00 AM —

The events of the Arab Spring have been awesome and inspiring, opening up the possibility of a regional landscape that is almost unfathomably different from what would have been predicted just one year ago. Students United For Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER, of Portland State University) has organized a wide-ranging conference that is designed to analyze the events of the Arab Spring, its regional and international implications, and its effects on the future of Palestine. The following speakers will be featured:

As'ad AbuKhalil, Professor of Political Science at California State University, speaking on the role(s) of the United States in the Arab Spring;
Deepa Kumar, Associate Professor of Media Studies and Middle East Studies at Rutgers University and author ofIslamophobia and the Politics of Empire, speaking on Islamophobia and the Arab Spring;
Joel Beinin, Professor of History and Middle East History at Stanford University, speaking on workers' rights in the Arab Spring;
Nora Barrows-Friedman, a reporter for the Electronic Intifada as well as correspondent for Al Jazeera, speaking on human rights in Palestine;
William Parry, journalist and photographer, will present his recently published book, Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine;
Mokhtar Alkhanshali, Yemeni activist, and Wael Elasady, local activist and co-host of the KBOO radio program "One Land, Many Voices," will be speaking on the revolutions in Yemen and Syria;
Jesse Hagiopan, social justice activist, and Tasha Triplett, PSU student and local activist, will speak about the Black Liberation movement and Palestine.

Light lunch will be served. The speaker portion of the conference will wrap up with an evening plenary panel, "The Challenges and Prospects of the Arab Spring."

The conference will conclude with a Cultural Night Celebration from 7:30 to 10:00 pm in the Smith Memorial Student Union Multicultural Center (room 228).

We hope you will join us for this day of revolutionary learning!
Please visit our facebook page for more information and a detailed schedule.

In solidarity,

Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER)
super@pdx.edu

Cosponsored by:
Arab Persian Student Union
International Socialist Organization
Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights
Friends of Sabeel
Jewish Voice for Peace
Portland BDS Coalition
Sociology of Islam
Lutherans for Justice in the Holy Land
Peace Action Committee of the First Unitarian Church