Sharing a syllabus for a Global Studies Theory class

INTL 390

Theoretical Foundations of Global Studies

Tuesday, 10-11:50am

UTS 305

Prof. Shawn Smallman

Rm. 345, East Hall

Phone: 503-725-9978

E-mail: smallmans@pdx.edu

Office Hours: Friday, 10 am-noon.

Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the leading schools of thought in Global and International Studies, from foundational theories to contemporary post-structuralism. The course will also use case studies, so that students may see how different theoretical frameworks may be applied to the same global issue.

Hybrid Course: This is a “hybrid” course, meaning that instruction is made up of both weekly face-to-face classroom time and online activities. To access D2L, go to the d2l.pdx.edu. To login, enter your odin ID and your odin password. If you do not have an odin account, or are not sure what your odin ID or password is, go to https://www.account.pdx.edu/ or contact the Information Technology Help Desk at help@pdx.edu or 725-HELP. For D2L help in person, please go to the 2nd floor computer lab in the Broadway building. All assignments will be submitted in the Dropbox feature of D2L. Please e-mail the faculty member directly rather than through D2L.

Learning Outcomes: The students in the course will:

  1. Gain an understanding of a number of key ideas and theoretical approaches for analyzing and interpreting global social and cultural realities.
  2. Learn to analyze and evaluate competing theories.
  3. Apply one or more of these theoretical frameworks to analyze a concrete problem or case.

Basis for Grade: 

Reading and Video Quizzes (40% of the final grade): Students will complete brief reading quizzes on D2L throughout the term as indicated on the syllabus. Quizzes will cover readings and other online materials and will help students prepare for class discussions. Quizzes should be completed no later than 11:59am on Wednesday each week so that the instructor can review student reflections on the reading before class. Different students may have different questions for the quiz, based on their group in the class. The typical quiz will be a question that will entail a two to three paragraph response. You will have two and a half hours for each response. You may have only one attempt to take the quiz. If something so important comes up that you are unable to complete the quiz, please contact the professor. Remember: the quizzes will always be on the material for the upcoming class. There are nine quizzes in total, because there is no quiz the first week.

On-line Discussion (30% of the final grade): Following class each week, I will post some questions on the discussion board. These questions will follow up on our in class discussion; that is, discussions will cover the material from the last class. Students will be asked to reply to at least one of my questions and to reply to at least one of their peer’s comments. Participation in online discussion will be graded based both on participation and the quality of the response. Questions will be posted each week by noon on Friday. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm.

Theorist slideshow (30% of final grade): Students will produce a slideshow (ie. Powerpoint or similar program) describing the life and thought of one theorist. The slideshow should be based on seven to ten sources, and be visually appealing. The slideshow should have 12-16 slides. The best slideshows may be used as optional reading in future classes (if the student chooses, which is not required) and so help other students. The slideshow will be uploaded onto Dropbox in D2L by 11:59 pm on Monday, March 3rd.

Reading:

There are no books assigned for this class. All of the reading will either be giving as a stable URL in the syllabus, or as a document under “course content” for that week in D2L. Remember: not all reading is in course content of D2L, so you should always check the syllabus. 

Late policy: late submissions of the slideshow will be penalized (except in case of verifiable illness or family emergency) three percent a day for each day that they are late (including weekends) up to a maximum of thirty percent of the final grade. Please be certain to check that when you submit your slideshow into Dropbox that you receive a confirmation e-mail. Discussion posts and quizzes may not be submitted late without the instructor’s permission.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is the submission of another person’s work as your own.  It is also a serious academic crime.  Any instance of plagiarism will result in an automatic “O” for that assignment. You may not share your quiz responses with other students.

Disability: Any student who has a disability that may require some special arrangements in order to fulfill the course requirements should contact the Disability Resource Center at the start of the course to make appropriate arrangements. The DRC is located in 116 Smith Memorial Student Union, and their phone number is (503) 725-4150.

Topics: True academic inquiry must follow its own course. For this reason, there may be changes and additions to the schedule that follows.

Week One, Introduction and Purpose of Theory

Class meets on Thursday, January 9th.

Quiz: There is no quiz during the first week.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, January 10th. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Reading and video: Garth Massey, Ways of Social Change, 42-76. This is available in D2L.

Week Two: Classical and Modern Liberalism

Class meets on Thursday, January 16th

Quiz: the first quiz will cover the readings and video for week two, and will be due by 11:59pm on Tuesday, January 14th.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, January 17th. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Reading and Video:

E.K. Hunt, “Classical Liberalism and the Triumph of Industrial Capitalism,” Property and Prophets, Harper and Row, New York, 1972, 40-55.

Andrew Moravcsik, “Liberal Theories of International Relations,” 2010. Available in course content in D2L.

James Piereson, “John Maynard Keynes and the Modern Revolution in Political Economy” Soc: Symposium, the fortunes of capitalism 49: 263-273. Available in the course content of D2L.

Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, “Keynes was Right!” Indiana Law Journal  87:1 (2012), 59-62. Available in the course content of D2L.

Video: “Theory in Action: Liberalism” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZbDMUaqwE8

Week Three: Neoliberalism

The class meets Thursday, January 23rd.

Quiz: the quiz will cover the reading and video for week three, and will be due at 11:59 pm on Tuesday, January 21st.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, January 24th. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Readings and videos:

Watch the following case study: Argentina’s Collapse in 2002: a Neoliberal failure? (Wide Angle Film, PBS: the Empty ATM). Available in “Films on Demand” in the library’s “Streaming Video” database at this stable URL: http://stats.lib.pdx.edu/proxy.php?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=6059&xtid=36163

It is also available at the following website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/the-empty-atm/full-episode/670/

Note: When you access this database off campus you will have to log-in with your ODIN name and password. If the log-in box doesn’t show up, check to see if you have a pop-up blocker active.

F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom – Abridged version for Reader’s Digest, April 1945. Available at http://www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/upldbook43pdf.pdf. Last accessed April 9, 2013. 

Milton Friedman, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits,” New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970. Available at http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html. Last accessed April 9, 2013.

Week Four: Classical Marxism and Neo-Marxism

The class meets on Thursday, January 30th.

Quiz: the quiz covers the material for week four, and must by done by 11:59pm on Tuesday, January 28th. 

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, January 31st. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Reading and videos: watch “Heaven on Earth: From Harmony to Revolution” PBS documentary. Stable URL at the Library’s “Films for the Humanities” page: http://stats.lib.pdx.edu/proxy.php?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=6059&xtid=35664

Reading: E.K. Hunt, “Socialist Protest Amid the Industrial Revolution,” Property and Prophets, Harper and Row, New York, 1972, pp. 56-73.

Sue Collins, “`E ticket to Nike Town,” Counterblast: e-Journal of Culture and Communication, 1:1 (November 2011): http://www.nyu.edu/pubs/counterblast/issue1_nov01/pdf_files/collins.pdf

Michael Curtis, “Early Socialism,” and “Marxism,” Great Political Theories, Vol. 2, Avon Books, New York, 1981, pp. 130-147 and 155-180.

Karl Marx, “So Called Primitive Accumulation,” Capital, Vol. I, Part 8, Chapters 26-33, Vintage Books, New York, 1977, pp. 873-940. Also available at http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch26.htm. Look at the bottom for links to later chapters. Accessed April 3, 2013.

Week Five: Critical Theory and the Frankfurt School

The class meets on Thursday, February 6th

Quiz: the quiz covers the reading and video for week five, and must be done by 11:59 on Tuesday, February 4th.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, February 7th. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Reading: Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” Dialectic of Enlightenment, 1944. Available at http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/adorno/1944/culture-industry.htm. Last accessed April 22, 2013.

Herbert Marcuse, “The New Forms of Control,” One Dimensional Man, 1964. Available at http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/works/one-dimensional-man/ch01.htm. Last accessed April 22, 2013.

Week Six, Postcolonialism

Class meets on Thursday, February 13th.

Quiz: the week quiz covers the reading for week six, and must be done by 11:59 on Tuesday, February 11th.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, February 14th. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Jean Paul Sartre, “Preface,” in Frantz Fanon, Wretched of the Earth, 1961. Available at http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/1961/preface.htm. Last accessed April 22, 2013.

Frantz Fanon, “Conclusion,” Wretched of the Earth, 1961. Available at http://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/fanon/conclusion.htm. Last accessed on April 22, 2013.

Harald Fischer-Tiné, “Post-Colonial Studies,” European History Online, available at http://www.ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-and-the-world/postcolonial-studies/harald-fischer-tine-postcolonial-studies. Last accessed April 29, 2013.

Video on Edward Said. Please watch parts one and two:

Powerpoint on Foucault in course content for week six.

Week Seven: Feminist Theory.

Class meets on Thursday, February 20th.

Quiz: the quiz covers the reading and video for week seven, and must be done by 11:59pm on Tuesday, February 18th.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, February 21st. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Reading:

Simone de Beauvoir, “The Second Sex 25 years later – Interview,” 1976. Available at http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/1976/interview.htm. Last accessed April 22, 2013. 

Chandra T. Mohanty, 1988, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses,” Feminist Review, No. 30, Autumn, pp. 61-88. Available as a PDF in D2L.

A brief interviews with the feminist scholars of International Relations, Cynthia Enloe: http://www.theory-talks.org/2012/05/theory-talk-48.html

http://www.theory-talks.org/2012/05/theory-talk-48.html

Week Eight: Green Theory- no class this week.

NO CLASS THIS WEEK. This week is entirely on-line. Students should use the additional time to complete their slide-shows which are due in Dropbox at 11:59pm on Monday, March 3rd.

Quiz: the quiz covers the reading and video for week eight, and must be done by 11:59 on Tuesday, February 25th.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, February 28th. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material on Green Theory.

Reading and Video: 

Garrett Hardin, “Tragedy of the Commons,” Science, 1968: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/162/3859/1243.full

Thomas Friedman, “No Drill, Baby, Drill,” NYT, 2009: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/opinion/12friedman.html?_r=1&em

Robert J. Smith, “Resolving the Tragedy of the Commons by Creating Private Property Rights in Wildlife,” CATO Institute

Video: Wide Angle, PBS: “the Burning Season.” Free market solutions to global warming.

Stable URL (you will have to sign into the library): http://stats.lib.pdx.edu/proxy.php?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=6059&xtid=39930

Week Nine: Development and “Peak Theories.”

Monday, March 3rd: the slideshow project is due in Dropbox.

The class session will be on Thursday, March 6th.

Quiz: the quiz covers the reading and video for week nine, and must be done by 11:59pm on Tuesday, March 4th.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, March 7th. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Reading and Video:

Arturo Escobar, “Imagining a Post-Development Era? Critical Thought, Development and Social Movements,” Social Text 31/32 (1992), pp. 20-56. 

Modernization and Dependency Theory; Hans Rosling’s TED talk: “Let my Data Set Change your Mindset.” This talk is available on-line at Ted Talks: http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_at_state.html

There is also a stable URL in the library database (you will have to sign in): http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=48450&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=TEDTalks:%20Hans%20Rosling%E2%80%94Let%20My%20Dataset%20Change%20Your%20Mindset&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID=

Ugo Bardi, “Peak Civilization.” Available in D2L course content.

Week Ten: International Relations and Security; Careers; Theory Mapping.

The class session will be on Thursday, March 13th.

Quiz: the quiz covers the reading and video for week ten and is due on Tuesday, March 11th.

Discussion: a question will be posted by noon on Friday, March 14th. Students should respond to the instructor by Saturday at 11:59pm, and respond to a peer comment by Monday at 11:59pm. The discussion question will cover material from the previous class.

Reading and Video:

Barnett and Adger, “Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict” in Political Geography 26 (2007), 639-655.

Watch the following Youtube videos:

“Think for a moment about Human Security,” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy6uhleHBro

“Professor Mary Kaldor on Human Security and Global Governance,” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo7_X-67peo

“Theory in Action: Realism” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnKEFSVAiNQ

There is no final exam in this course.

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