Readings

The following books have been ordered at the bookstore and should be purchased and brought to class when they are being discussed. They will be supplemented by a variety of articles and web resources.

Manfred B. Steger, Globalism: The New Market Ideology 2nd ed. (Rowman and Littlefield, 2002). A scholarly survey of the meanings of globalization and a critique of the dominant ideology behind it.Note: if you purchased the first edition (without Bin Laden on the cover), print out the new preface here.

Amy Chua, World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability (Bantam Doubleday, 2004). A highly-readable and provocative exploration by a Yale law professor of how globalization can exacerbate ethnic tensions and instability.

Peter Singer, One World: The Ethics of Globalization, 2nd. ed. (Yale University Press, 2004). An examination of the moral meaning of globalization and of ethical responses to it by one of the world's leading philosophers.

Films

Films are an important part of the content of the course, and I expect you to take them seriously. Think of them as illustrated guest lectures. Take notes on them. Questions to ask include: What is the filmmaker's point of view? What key points does the filmmaker want to make? Does he or she provide convincing evidence? What did you learn from the film? How does the film relate to the readings and other materials in the course? How do you evaluate it overall?

You may expect from me: careful preparation for each class; availability and readiness to assist students to do well in the course; timely and fair grading of assignments and exams; and respectful treatment of students. In turn I expect from you: 1) regular attendance and participation in class; 2) completion of the reading in advance of the class for which it is assigned and readiness to discuss it; 3) respect for the opinions of other students; 4) on-time completion of work--with notice in advance if you are unable for legitimate reasons to meet an assigned deadline or take a scheduled test. Please remember that the Rutgers-Camden catalog states that for every hour of class time, students are expected to put in two hours of work outside of class. I expect this. See the Daily Schedule webpage for day-by-day assignments.
Your course grade will be based on: 1) An in-class exam on sections I-II (20%); 2) a take-home essay exam on sections III-IV (30%); 3) the Globalization and Development Virtual Tour (10%); 4) a final exam (30%); 5) attendance and class participation, including assigned and WebCT bulletin board postings (10%). The final exam will be selectively cumulative, focusing on new material but including highlights from earlier parts of the course. Study guides will be provided for the multiple-choice parts of exams. Up to 1/2 grade of extra credit may be earned by exceptional class participation and/or by relevant and substantive postings to the WebCT bulletin board.

Most Americans know very little about the rest of the world.  Most U.S. newspapers carry very little international coverage apart from superficial reporting on immediate crises, and the network news shows are even worse.  However, there are a few bright spots in the bleak media landscape.  On regional television, WYBE carries Deutsche Welle's German Journal at 5:00 p.m. weekdays; the French Le Journal (with English subtitles) at 6:00 p.m. weekdays, and BBC news at 6:30 p.m. NJN carries BBC news at 7:00 p.m. weekdays. I strongly urge all students to sample each of these news shows regularly during this course. In terms of print media, the New York Times is probably your best U.S. bet for global news coverage (global coverage is immeasurably better in most other countries, even in lesser newspapers).  The Times is available online, once you register (for free).   You will need to have registered to access some of the readings for this course.The links on the left toolbar of this page are also useful for tracking recent developments.
Please Note: You are responsible for knowing the approximate locations on a world map of the various countries discussed in the readings. You may want to purchase a world map or print one out from the internet, e.g. at the University of Texas map collection.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-10:45 a.m. and 3:15-4:00 p.m. My office is Room 211 in the sociology building at 405-7 Cooper Street (entered from the campus side); phone 856-225-6013. I am often available other days by appointment. I encourage questions and other communications by email; my email address is wood@camden.rutgers.edu. However, please do not email me questions whose answers are easily available at the course website. My homepage is at http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/~wood/