Introduction to Globalization SIS 123 / GEOG 123 Instructor: Dr. Matthew Sparke For Professor Sparke's home page and links to some of his publications click here Course Syllabus

Learning Objectives:

How do you make sense of people when they argue that they are 'pro-' or 'anti-globalization'? Why was the 'Battle in Seattle' about more than just Seattle? How are goods, capital and people moving around the world in new ways? How do these movements change politics locally and globally? How do they relate to national security and national sovereignty? Why does increasing global interconnectedness between countries also lead to greater inequality in countries? How are we all connected together, and who are "we"?

This course aims to help you start answering these sorts of questions by examining globalization in all its diverse forms of world-wide  interconnection. Such interconnections include economic ties, political ties, cultural ties, and social ties. These ties can be analyzed independently, but they also need to be understood in terms of how they operate in conjunction with one another to produce the overall effect that has been given the single label globalization.  When it is talked about in this singular way, globalization often seems overpowering, inevitable and unstoppable, and the first three weeks of the course address how the term 'globalization' is often used like this in political speech in order to achieve particular political goals. However, by moving on to also learn about some of the actual component ties connecting the world together more tightly you will be able to see globalization as something less monolithic, something that is being contested and reworked, something that ties the world together in a range of both  constraining and empowering ways, something that is constantly changing, and something that therefore can also be changed.

There are 3 main skills you will develop in this class: 1) research skills, that will be developed through researching how, where and why a particular global corporation has globalized; 2) debating skills, that will be developed in section discussions of videos and political struggles such as the 'Battle in Seattle'; and 3) writing skills, that will be developed through the preparation of an independent research report on a global corporation. With a mix of videos and broad-based lectures, the class is very interdisciplinary in scope, serving as a gateway to international studies, political science, sociology, law, geography, anthropology, women's studies, business, economics and the humanities.

At the end of this course, you will come away with more than just some additional knowledge and skills.  More importantly, you will have learnt how to ask your own questions about global dynamics, and you will have also learnt about new resources (ranging from news sources and databases to other UW courses) that will help you set about doing research and answering your questions. Ultimately, a successful experience in this course will lead you to think more actively about how you yourself can work within global ties to change them for the better.

 

Required Texts

1) GEOG/SIS 123 Class Reader from Professional Copy and Print at 4200 University Way AFTER THURSDAY AT 12:30PM

2) Luis Alberto Urrea, The Devil's Highway: A True Story, Bay Back Books: New York, 2004. Please note this is the UW's Common Book for 2008. It links to the theme of migration and citizenship which is addressed in week 9 of this class, but is also required reading for all first year students. For more information on the common book and related talks visit click here and for a great interactive mapping of the Devil's Highway click here

Recommended Texts

In addition to the required texts, there are also two recommended books for the course. The first is Global Inc. by Medard Gabel and Henry Bruner (Metropolitan Books, New York, ISBN 0805073957). This is a glossy corporate look at transnational corporations that features colorful maps of TNC growth patterns and their global networks. It will be very useful background for preparing the main class term paper. The second recommended text is How to Succeed at Globalization by El Fisgon (The New Press, New York, ISBN 1-56584-727-x). This book counters the corporatist style of Global Inc. with a critical leftist history of global capitalism that is brought to life with powerful cartoons. It will be a very valuable text to read alongside the assigned class reading of business magazines and shareholder reports.

Beyond these two books, there are also some other recommended texts and films available on reserve in Odegaard. Click here for a list. AND in addition, I thoroughly recommend a cd for background listening (while writing, not during lecture!). Its called, Another World is Possible and it includes songs by Manu Chao/Tonino Caroton, the Asian Dub Foundation, Femi Kuti, Salif Keita, Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, The Skatalites, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Idir, Nitin Sawhney, Grandaddy, Massive Attack and The - Underground Resistance [Recording Label: Uncivilized World
ASIN: B000B6TRBG].

 

Assessment of student work:

Midterm Exam (in class Oct 23rd)	20%
Final Exam Monday Dec 8, Kane 130: 10:30 - 12:20	40%
Research project /Service Learning, deadline Dec 3rd	40%

Please note that the average grade for the class is about 78% or 2.8. For a more detailed breakdown see the 123 grade guide.

Definitions of student work:

a) The midterm exam

This will be an in-class exam on Oct 23rd consisting of 1 essay question and 10 short answer keyword identification questions based on key terms . Overall the exam will test your knowledge of what has been taught in lectures throughout the first part of the quarter.  You will be given three potential essay questions in advance (click here for the midterm preparation sheet); of these, one will be selected for the actual midterm. This exam is worth 20% of the final grade, i.e. 10% for the essay and 10% for the key term identifications.

b) The final exam

This will be a 2 hour exam consisting of 2 essay questions and 10 identifications. The exam will be Monday Dec 8, Kane 130: 10:30 - 12:20. It will test your knowledge of what has been taught in lectures throughout the quarter.  5 questions will be given in advance, 3 will be selected for the final exam, and, of these, you will have to choose 2 to answer. There will also be 10 identification questions requiring short 3 - 5 sentence responses. This exam is worth 40% of the final grade.

c) Research work  (please note in Fall 2008, some students will be able to do service learning instead if they are in sections AM or AT you are interested in this please try to register in either sections AM or AT. For further information on the requirements for the service learning option in these special sections, click click here)

The research work which will contribute 40% towards your final grade consists of three different gradable components. The focus of the research will be to investigate how a large transnational corporation (TNC) has globalized. You will have to find out where it has globalized to, why it has globalized, when it has globalized and how. The overarching goal is to enable you to conduct and write-up a significant piece of independent research. The aim is also to help you see how you can bring together insights from lectures and already exisiting academic writing with primary research conducted by yourself on a large corporation you are especially interested in. The teaching assistants (or TAs) will guide this research process and will evaluate you not just on your final research report (worth 25% of overall grade), but also on your contributions to section workshop discussions (worth 5% of overall grade) your initiative as a researcher (worth 5% of overall grade) and your end of quarter poster presentation (worth 5% of the overall grade). Each of these components is discussed in turn below.

i) Research Report The research report itself should be between 8 and 10 pages long (approx. 3,500 words). It should be double-spaced, in 12 point characters in the 'Times' font. The report must use examples of wider trends of which the particular business you are investigating is part. You should use the Harvard reference system, and should conclude with a full reference list in the following format:

References:
BRENNER, N. (1999). Beyond state-centrism? Space, territoriality, and geographical scale in globalization studies. Theory and Society, 28, pp. 39-78.

BYGRAVE, M. (2002). "Where have all the protesters gone? Anti-globalisation activists no longer make headlines, but they haven't disappeared." Guardian Weekly, August 1-7, p. 21.

SPARKE, M. ( 2005) In the Space of Theory: Postfoundational Geographies of the Nation-State, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

SPARKE, M. (2004) "Passports into Credit Cards: On the Borders and Spaces of Neoliberal Citizenship," in Joel Migdal ed. Boundaries and Belonging, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 251 - 283.

SPARKE, M. (2004) “Political Geographies of Globalization: (1) Dominance,” Progress in Human Geography, 28,6 777–794.

WORLD BANK (2002) World Bank Delivers Statement at World Summit on Sustainable Development. Accessed on the web on September 4th, 2002 at:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20063799~menuPK:34463~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

Research reports should be your own work and must not be copied or otherwise plagiarized from another source whether it be an internet site or another student. In the case of plagiarism students will receive 0% for the whole research work component of the grade (40% of total). They may also, depending on the severity of the case and its legal implications, be referred to the university administration. To understand better the meaning and implications of plagiarism click here.

ii) Workshop contributions Each week there will be two sections scheduled with the TAs. Some days the TA will use this time to clarify the class material, including lectures, readings and key term definitions.In addition, however, you will sometimes be expected to discuss additional materials. a) There will be a number of films shown in class and these will be discussed in section using a debate model b) Other days will be dedicated by the TA to facilitating your own primary research. To these workshops you will be expected to bring updates of your work in progress, including examples of articles you have found in academic journals as well as materials relating to your particular empirical focus. TAs will keep track of who contributes in these ways to the sections and how, and will give a grade between 0 and 5% accordingly.

iii) Research initiative This portion of the grade will be mainly based on how well you follow the instructions for preparing your research report. If you simply follow the timetable carefully you will get between 1 and 3%. If you ask innovative and probing research questions too, you will get up to 4%. And if you also show particular initiative at setting up an interview with someone or tracking down a hard to find company report or going out of your way to investigate a complex academic literature, you will guarantee yourself a full 5%. The 3 students who excel most in showing research initiative will be given book awards.

iv) Poster Presentation On Wednesday Dec 3rd in section time you will be asked to summarize the main points of your research report in both text and graphic form on a 'poster' board. The board should be approximately 18 inches by 24 inches. You will present your poster to the other students in your section and answer their questions about your project. One half of the section will go first at exhibiting their posters while the other half of the class goes around and asks questions (and fills out evaluation forms). Then the roles will be switched for the secon dhalf of section time. The main aim of this excercise is to give you an opportunity to demonstrate how much you have learned with your research. It will help you thus to discover how to synthesise your findings and share them in an interesting way with your fellow students. The poster doesn't have to be especially pretty or arty; the important point is that it should serve as a vehicle for spurring discussion and allowing you to express your findings verbally. At the end of the session students will put a star on the poster and accompanying discussion they found most illuminating. The poster that wins the most stars will go forward to an overall class competition, and the best 3 posters in the class will win book prizes. TAs will evaluate the poster presentations at the same time and give a grade of between 1 and 5%. Grading will be based on synthesis, clarity and style, but anyone who has made a sincere and reasonable effort is guaranteed a grade of 4 or 5%.

To assemble your poster. Get a board about 18 by 24 inches in size. Think about the main ideas you want to get across from your research on your chosen TNC. Think about the best ways to express those ideas on the poster: possibilities include text, graphics, photos, maps, tables and charts. Lay out the post using pencil first. Prepare yourself to answer questions about your project posed by the TA and/or your fellow students.

 

Week by week schedule of lectures, sections, and assignments

Week 1: Introductions
Sept. 24th	TA Section I: TAs Introduce themselves and students to each other. Go over how to find the syllabus online, how to access the password protected sections, and how to get the most out of the class.
Sept.25th	Lecture 1: What is globalization? Click-> PDF Reading: After lecture 1 all you need to read is this schedule and syllabus. Read them carefully all the way through.
Sept. 26th	TA Section II: TAs answer questions about first lecture and getting started in the class, and then organize class discussion around possible term paper topics.
Weekly assignments: Between Thursday and Monday be sure to get a copy of the reader
Week 2: Globalism in Action
Sept. 30th	Lecture 2: Making sense of globalization - 'the elephant' and its implications Click ->PDF Reading: Chapter 1 of the reader
Oct 1st	Section I: TAs introduce how to use Lexis-Nexis and other useful databases for TNC research. Discuss use of worksheets for moving through the term-paper research tasks. For UW library support designed specifically for Intro to Globalization research work click the following library resources pages.
Oct 2nd	Lecture 3: Making sense of globaloney - the three myths of globalization in action and neoliberalism Click -> PDF Reading: Chapter 2 of the reader. Preparation for section: Use Lexis Nexis or buy a copy of The Wall Street Journal , The Financial Times, The Economist, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune or some similar pro-business magazine or paper and look for an article in which an editorialist or policy maker or corporate executive says something along the lines:- 'we need to change in this way because of globalization' or 'because of the need to remain globally competitive, we need to do x'. Cut the article out or copy it and bring it to section on Friday. If you can't find an argument like this, at least look for an advertisement used by a TNC that uses globalization imagery to market itself and bring that to section. Also read definition of CAPITALISM from the reader, and for those interested in extra reading, check out the critiques of Thomas Friedman written by Matt Taibi , Vandana Shiva, and, yes (!), Matthew Sparke.
Oct 3rd	Section II: Share and discuss examples of 'globaloney'
Weekly assignments: Go to web, review at least 7 sites listed on the class resources page http://faculty.washington.edu/sparke/resources.htm. In addition, review at least 5 websites of transnational corporations (TNCs) and identify a corporation to study. Remember the choice you make now you will have to work with for the whole quarter. So be sure to pick a TNC that interests you (for whatever reason) and about which you think you can track down plenty of information. The research reports should not simply parrot back what the company's own website says. They should be analytical, questioning, comprehensive and clearly based on independent research. So again, don't just pick a TNC that seems to have a lot to say on its own website, and be absolutely sure to do the research before section on Tuesday 10th when you will have to tell the TA which TNC you have picked. Note too that you might also want to read some business magazines to get a sense of a TNC that will interest you . If you can't find the corporate website using http://www.google.com, try http://www.hoovers.com If you would like to explore links based upon the names of particular CEOs you are interested or based on corporate records try http://www.anywho.com, or http://www.knowx.com, or http://www.tracersinfo.com or http://www.sec.gov. Remember your key task is to answer the 4 main questions about the TNC: where, why, when and how has it globalized? So pick a TNC that you are interested in, but also one that you think will be easy enough to research. This is also a good time to check-out the library resource page that has been set up to help you with 123. Click library resources pages PLEASE NOTE TOO that the ready-to-print worksheets for the whole 123 TNC research project are availble if you click here
Week 3: Globalism in Question
Oct 7th	Lecture 4: Comparing neoliberal Globalization with anti-neoliberal global visions Click --> PDF Reading: If you have not done so already, listen and take notes on David Harvey's interview on KPFA radio's website click ->here Plus: definitions of NEOLIBERAL, NEOLIBERALISM, IDEOLOGY, DISCOURSE, HEGEMONY, GLOBALIZATION, and ANTI-GLOBALIZATION in the reader. Also make sure that you have now read all of the Globaloney chapter (Chapter 2) from the reader. After this reading, prepare a handout to bring to section on Wednesday that illustrates how your chosen TNC has gone about creating a brand or corporate identity that uses some sort of globalist imagery. And for students who really want to read more, get a copy of David Harvey's book, A Brief History of Neoliberalism, and to see the review by Thom Hartman click --> here. For connection to Commanding Heights website and time-map click ->here For listening to David Harvey on the rise of neoliberalism as a policy-making doctrine click ->here
Oct 8th	Section I: Hand in note to TA describing which TNC or at least which sort of TNC you are thinking about researching. Use section time to discuss examples you have found of globaloney myths in action in TNC advertising or share-holder reports.
Oct 9th	Lecture 5: From Seattle to Porto Alegre: This is What Democracy Looks Like Reading: a) UW archive on Seattle anti-WTO protests click, b) definition of BATTLE IN SEATTLE from reader, c) Matthew Sparke, 2005 “The World Social Forum and the Lessons for Economic Geography,” click --> PDF If you have time, please also check here to read the WTO's own website response to critics. And for students who really want to read more, get a copy of David Harvey's book, A Brief History of Neoliberalism, and to see the review by Thom Hartman click --> here Today Jamaica Kincaid will be giving a Danz lecture in Kane Hall 130 at 6:30 pm Thursday, October 9. Any student who can document attendance at this event for their TA on Oct 10th will win extra credit of 1% towards the midterm grade.
Oct 10th	Section II: Discuss TNCs chosen by students and assign students to sub-groups based on sectors, types of company and/or areas of the world in which or from which TNCs have developed. Sub-groups should do three things: i) create an email list for the subgroup; ii) explain to each other their reasons for picking particular TNCs; iii) share examples of how the group's chosen TNCs have created particular sorts of brands and logos. Compare and contrast some of the advertisements used by TNCs that use images of the globe or globalization to explain the corporation's business.
Weekly assignments: Prepare for upcoming debate in section by reading online the excellent textual material produced by PBS in conjunction with the Frontline show on Is Walmart Good for America? - including the Introduction, and all the subsections of 'the Secrets of Walmarts success' (click here PBS) . I especially recommend The Transforming America and the China Connection subsections, and the interview with Gary Gereffi from the PBS webpage. You might further find some great debating points in the Frontline online discussion of their show (also at PBS)
Week 4: Commodity chains
Oct 14th	Lecture 6: Commodity chains and world trade - lecture will also use short sections from Mardi Gras: Made in China, Odegaard Media, DVDand No Logo Odegaard Media Click -> PDF Reading: Chapter 3 Sections A, B and C. from the reader plus the definitions of COMMODITY, COMMODITY FETISHISM, CONSUMERISM and COMMODIFICATION in the reader
Oct 15th	Section I: Review lecture and reading material up to this point. Plus create groups and assign roles for the debate on "Is Wal-Mart good for America?"
Oct 16th.	Lecture 7: Tracing TNC growth and change from the East India Company to Wall-Mart: including sections of films on Wal-Mart Click -> PDF Reading: Chapter 3, section D.Plus definitions of of RACE TO THE BOTTOM, DOWNWARD HARMONIZATION FDI, OFFSHORING, SUBCONTRACTING, SOURCING EFFICIENCY, HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION For those who really want to engage more deeply with the commodity chain literature or simply for those still trying to finalize a choice of TNCs to study there is a great website organized by a group of scholars who study commodity chains at http://www.ids.ac.uk/globalvaluechains/. For the link to the Workers Rights Consortium webpage click --> here
Oct 17th	Section II Debate on Wal-Mart in section
Weekly assignments: Re-read chapters 1 through 3 to prepare for midterm
Week 5: TNCs
Oct 21st	Lecture 8: When, why, where and how have TNCs globalized? Re-mapping the corporation: guest lecture by Professor Sarah Elwood For Professor Elwood's step by step guide to producing a low-tech computer map of your TNC click here
Oct 22nd	Section I: Review material for in-class midterm on October 23rd For prep sheet click here
Oct 23rd	Guest lecture from UW librarian Anne Zald on using the library resources to conduct your own TNC research, and... Midterm ( For prep sheet click here )
Oct 24th.	No section today: Use this time to begin weekly assignments outlined below
Weekly assignments: Find company reports of your own chosen TNC. The TNC website may itself have back issues of summary reports. If not, and if the company is a publically held corporation (listed on the stockmarket), then one option is to call the company's shareholder relations office and ask if they have an annual report. Another way is to search the internet further for reports at the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) website http://www.sec.gov or at http://www.FreeEdgar.com Alternatively private companies have to file a brief report with the Secretary of State's Dept. of Corporations, and to access these reports call the relevant Department of Corporations. Do major substantial research into your corporation with a view to doing two tasks:- 1) Prepare a map YOURSELF depicting the extent of the corporation's global scope. (The examples provided by the maps in Global Inc. should serve as a guide). The places from where it sources products (ie where the products come from) in one color, and the places to which it markets products in another color. Alternatively draw two maps, one depicting where the commodities are made and one of where they are sold. You may find that if you are dealing with a huge TNC like GE or Unilever that it is also easier to just focus on one particular commodity produced by the TNC. PLEASE NOTE: YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FIND THESE MAPS IN THE MAIN LIBRARY OR THE BUSINESS LIRBARY. EVERY YEAR THE BUSINESS LIBRARIAN COMPLAINS ABOUT THE EXTRA DEMANDS ON HIS TIME MADE BY 123 STUDENTS ASKING FOR READY-MADE MAPS. THEY DO NOT EXIST! YOU HAVE TO CREATE THEM YOURSELF USING IINFORMATION YOU HAVE ALREADY GATHERED ABOUT WHERE YOUR TNC SOURCES FROM AND WHERE IT MARKETS ITS PRODUCTS. You can get world and regional map templates to print out and mark-up from http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/ 2) Write a 3 page report on whether the corporation is globalizing mainly for market access reasons (i.e. reaching a bigger market that couldn't be reached without locating some part of the company overseas), for sourcing efficiency reasons (e.g. cheaper labor, reduced taxes, less rigorous environmental protection rules, access to high-skilled labor and so on) or for some complex mix of the two. If at all possible, try also toaddress how the company is entering the foreign area.
Week 6: Labor
Oct 28th:	Lecture 10: From Fordism to Post-Fordism Click PDF Reading: Chapter 4 Sections A and B from the reader, plus definitions of FORDISM/ POST-FORDISM, DEINDUSTRIALIZATION and NIDL from the reader.
Oct 29th	Section I: Bring 3 copies of your 3 page report to section. Share with your TNC research subgroup. Read each others' 3 page reports and offer ideas for improvement in real time.
Oct. 30th	Lecture 11: New international divisions of labor and the new challenges of worker organization Reading: Chapter 4 Sections 4Cand 4D from the reader
Oct. 31st.	Section II: Before giving back Midterm exam scripts with grade at the end of section, TAs will also discuss what students generally did right and wrong in their answers.
Weekly assignments: 1) Find at least two academic articles (or books) that discuss the TNC you are researching. Write a one paragraph summary of each article, noting a) its main argument; b) its disciplinary and theoretical approach; and c) the source and type of data used to make the argument. You will hand in these summaries to your TA in section on Nov7th for extra 2% credit on the term paper. 2) Research whether, when and how the TNC you are studying has sought to use the prospect of mobility or has invoked free trade rules to make a government do what it wants. One way to do this is to investigate what subsidies states and local governments have given to a TNC at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org Another good option done in conjuction with research into subsidies is to search the newspapers of the city or cities in which the TNC has offices, factories or other facilities. Here you might find stories about how the TNC extracted these local subsidies and tax breaks using particular threats of mobility and job loss. As well as Lexis-Nexis, other good links for this are http://metalab.unc.edu/slanews/internet/archives.html and http://ajr.newslink.org/daily.html You might also try investigating whether the corporation has been mentioned in the US congress at http://thomas.loc.gov/ If you would like like to find out more about how your TNC has acted vis-a-vis environmental laws see http://scorecrd.org
Week 7: Law
Nov 4th:	Lecture 12: The global constitution of transnational trade law Reading: Chapter 6, section 6a
Nov 5th:	Section I: For those who want the extra-credit, hand in one page summaries of the two journal articles. This is NOT obligatory. TAs will facilitate sub-group discussions amongst students about how TNCs have used mobility to pursue profit making opportunities.
Nov 6th:	Lecture 13: Uneven rights of personhood: the corporation versus humanitarian law from below Reading: Chapter 6, sections 6b and 6c Click PDF Reading: Chapter 6b from the reader At 7pm in Kane 120 Mike Davis will be speaking on: "Who Will Build the Ark? Architecture in an Age of Catastrophic Convergence". Students who can demonstrate attendance at the talk to their TAs in section on Nov 7th will win 1% extra credit towards their grade on the Final exam.
Nov 7th	Section II TAs will discuss journal articles, explaining how they are refereed, edited and published, and how to make sense of them using examples discovered by students.
Weekly assignment: Write a first draft of your research report on your chosen TNC. [To make sure you have all your research on your TNC in order and in one place, please feel free to use the worksheets provided here. You may then also find it useful to use the research report template - provided here - to organize your argument ]. The report must explain where, why, when and how the TNC has globalized over a particular period of time. You must make this period of time clear in the title of your paper (e.g. "The global expansion of Coca-Cola from 1945 to 2000"). You should also include at least one map in your paper showing the spread of the TNC, either in terms of markets or sourcing or, ideally, both. If you can include more than one map, showing its global scope at two different moments of time, this will help. Ideally the draft of the paper should also cite and discuss at least 2 academic articles relating to the company or its sector. High quality papers will additionally address the quantitative growth in the TNC's earnings, its changing share price over the same period, and any data you have discovered relating to its labor practices and pay rates. REMINDER: Research reports should be your own work and must not be copied or otherwise plagiarized from another source whether it be an internet site or another student. In the case of plagiarism students will receive 0% for the whole research work component of the grade (ie they will forfeit all 40% of the total). They may also, depending on the severity of the case and its legal implications, be referred to the university administration. To understand better the meaning and implications of plagiarism click here.
Week 8: Money
Nov 11th:	VETERANS' DAY No class
Nov 12th	Section I Bring 4 copies of your draft paper to class (it must be at least 7 pages long). Share with your research sub-group.. Be sure to incoporate insights from the 2 academic articles in your own paper. Peer subgroups develop and give feedback on draft papers in class time. Further writing help is provided by the following: Odegaard Writing Ctr & Geography Writing Ctr Note: two new sites on coporate responsibility worth consulting are: http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/ http://http://www.changetowin.org/campaigns.html Prepare for debate on Friday on the IMF. Check out and compare the websites of the IMF and Jubilee South, and the World Bank and the Whirled Bank. For further critical commentary and analysis of the IMF see Oxfam's site the Global exchange site
Nov 13th	Lecture 14: Bretton Woods and Rise of Global Finance Click-> PDF Reading: Chapter 5, plus definitions of INFLATION, CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT, FISCAL POLICY, BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, BONDS, BRETTON WOODS AGREEMENT, CAPITAL, IMPORT SUBSTITUTION, Also go to the websites of the Bretton Woods Project IMF, Jubilee Plus, Susan George, and New Economics (from class resources page) in order to prepare for debate in Section on February 15th. For some useful discussion of the falling dollar check out the recent NPR report from Nov 8th, 2007, and also read the recent articles from the Financial Times on the capital account focused theses about the dollar's decline Click $ and Click $$
Nov 14th	Section 2: TAs lead discussion on credit card scores, indebtedness and college finance, also divide sections into two sides for debate on IMF
Weekly assignment: It is not obligatory, but if you want more feedback on your term paper from your TA, fully revise it to be handed in to the TA in section on Nov 19th. Remember to put your name and student number on the cover, as well as the title you have chosen. High quality reports should contain maps, graphs and illustrations too. It is vital that the report answer the 4 basic questions set at the beginning: namely, where, why, when and how has the TNC globalized? Further writing help is provided by the following: Odegaard Writing Ctr & Geography Writing Ctr
Week 9: From Money to Migration
Nov 18th:	Lecture 15: Life, Debt and Global Poverty Management - including film, Life and Debt Click-> PDF Reading: Revise chapter 5 plus definitions of DEBT CRISES, IMF, IDB, CAPITAL FLIGHT, GLOBAL SOUTH, HIPCSs, DEBT CRISES, IMF, IDB, CAPITAL FLIGHT, GLOBAL SOUTH, HIPCSs, PRIVATIZATION and NEOCOLONIALISM.
Nov 19th:	Section I: Section II: Debate - "We believe that the IMF needs to be abolished." Bonus of 2% towards grade in final exam for students who contribute most significantly to debate (on either side)..
Nov 20th:	Lecture 16: Migration and the neoliberalization of citizenship Click-> PDF Reading Click --> PDF for Professor Sparke's Neoliberal Nexus article
Nov 21st:	TAs explain how to write a good introduction and conclusion, as well as how to complete the bibliography correctly
Weekly assignments: Revise term paper to hand in for final grading at section on Wednesday Dec 3rd. You will have the Thanksgiving holiday to work on this, but please remember that on Dec 3rd you will also have to present a poster based on your term-paper. This means you will probably want to spend the weekend after Thanksgiving working on the poster and so the more work you do on the term paper now, the better!
Week 10: Geopolitics
Nov 25th:	Lecture 17: Making sense of the Iraq war Click-> PDF Reading Click-> PDF for Professor Sparke's article on Geconomic Hope
Nov 26th	No section
Nov 27th:	THANKSGIVING
Nov 28th	THANKSGIVING
Weekly assignments: Finish term paper to hand in for final grading at section on Wednesday Dec 3rd. Complete poster for section presentation on Dec 3rd.
Week 11: Alternatives
Dec 2nd:	Lecture 18: Utopias, E-scapes, Ironies and Alternatives Click here to find out more about the kinds of alternative commodity chains that Global Exchange seeks to build. Also check out the UW Students for Fair Trade website at http://students.washington.edu/sfft/ Reading:
Dec 3rd:	Poster presentations of research reports and peer evaluations. For the poster presentation you will be asked to summarize the main points of your research report in both text and graphic form on a 'poster' board. The board should be approximately 18 inches by 24 inches. You will present your poster to the other students in your section and answer their questions about your project. Using the forms that have been prepared and can be printed out you will also take turns at evaluating other students' poster. (Please be sure to bring these forms to class) NOTE: No points can be awarded for posters that are handed in early or late. The point of this project is in the presentation of the work which is facilitated by the poster, not in the poster itself (so it doesn't have to be exceptionally pretty or arty). At the end of the session students will award stars to the best poster, and that poster will be entered into the overall class competition.
Dec 4th:	Lecture 19: Awards for best research initiative and best poster. Preparation for Final including discussion of 10 short answer question materials. Reading: Catch up missed readings from earlier in the quarterClick-> PDF
Dec 5th	Section II: TAs administer student evaluations and review class material for final exam
Final Examination Monday, DECEMBER 8, 2008, Kane 130 from 10:30-12:20