Nations, Regions and the Global Economy

Sociology 145.01

This course focuses on the changing global economy, its impact on distinctive regions, and the ways nations and regions are responding to rapid globalization and economic change.  We will pay particular attention to recent trends in global production and financial systems.  Then we will compare various regions, examining their development strategies, responses to globalization and unique challenges, given their position in the global economy.  Asia, Latin America, and Africa will be the primary regions of focus in this section of the course.  Finally we will critically examine the social, political and environmental impacts of globalization and look at how the global economy impacts selected segments of the population.    

Required Readings

There are 3 required books and several required articles for this course.  The books may be purchased at the Duke University Bookstore. Articles are listed as A1, A2, A3... in the syllabus.  Articles are on Electronic Reserve in the library (accessible from the library web page).

Books:

McMichael, Philip. 2000. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Vogel, Ezra. 1991.  The Four Little Dragons: The Spread of Industrialization in East Asia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Stiglitz, Joseph E. 2002. Globalization and its Discontents. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Articles:

A1: Gereffi, Gary. 2001. “Shifting Governance Structures in Global Commodity Chains, With Special Reference to the Internet.” American Behavioral Scientist 44:1616-37. (PDF)

A2: Bales, Kevin. 1999. “The New Slavery.” Pp. 1-33 in Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. Berkeley: University of California Press. http://www.lib.duke.edu/access/reserves/

A3:  “The Bondage of Poverty that Produces Chocolate” and “What it Takes to Stop Slavery”

New York Times July 29, 2001 and April 22, 2001 (distributed in class).

A5: Zakaria, Fareed. 1994. “Culture is Destiny: A Conversation with Lee Kuan Yew.” Foreign Affairs 73:109-126. http://www.lib.duke.edu/access/reserves/

A6: The Foreign Policy Interview: Singapore’s Big Gamble. 2002. Foreign Policy (May-June 2002). http://www.foreignpolicy.com/issue_mayjune_2002/singapore.html

A7:  Krugman, Paul. 1997.  “Whatever Happened to the Asian Miracle?”  Fortune, Aug. 18, 1997. http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/perspire.htm

A8: Evans, Peter. 1998. “Transferable Lessons? Re-examining the Institutional Prerequisites of East Asian Economic Policies,” Journal of Developmental Studies 34:66-86. (PDF) 

A9: Gereffi, Gary. 1994. “Rethinking Development Theory: Insights from East Asia and Latin America.” Pp.26-56 in Comparative National Development, edited by A. Douglas Kincaid and Alejandro Portes. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. http://www.lib.duke.edu/access/reserves/

A10: Castells, Manuel and Roberto Laserna. 1994. “The New Dependency: Technological Change and Socioeconomic Restructuring in Latin America.”  Pp.57-83 in Comparative National Development, edited by A. Douglas Kincaid and Alejandro Portes. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. http://www.lib.duke.edu/access/reserves/

A11:  Spener, David, Gary Gereffi and Jennifer Bair. 2002.  “Introduction: The Apparel Industry and North American Economic Integration.” Pp. 3-12 in Free Trade and Uneven Development: The North American Apparel Industry after NAFTA, edited by Gary Gereffi, David Spener and Jennifer Bair.  Philadelphia: Temple University Press. http://www.lib.duke.edu/access/reserves/

A12:  Buchmann, Claudia. 1999. “Educational Inequality and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education 29:503-515. http://www.lib.duke.edu/access/reserves/

A13:  Freedman, Richard B. and David Lindauer. 1999. AWhy Not Africa?@ NBER Working Paper number 6942 (PDF)

A14: Harden, Blaine. 2001.  “The Dirt in the Machine,” New York Times Magazine. August 12, 2001. http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=8dafa488071480b880c70088fdca8468&_docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVzb-lSlAl&_md5=66ef436bb2e22899b25ce8ec6d4d9bf2

(or, in Lexis-Nexis Academic click guided news search, select general news, select major papers, enter dirt in Headline and Harden in Author, and previous two years in step 4.  click search)

A15: Ake, Claude. 1993. “The Unique Case of African Democracy.” International Affairs 69:239-44. (PDF)

A16: Hitt, Jack. 2002. “The Eco-Mercenaries.” New York Times Magazine August 4, 2002: 24-29. (distributed in class).

Course Requirements

Your course grade will be based on class participation (which includes two short “current issues” papers), a research paper, a midterm and a final exam. 

In evaluating your class participation, I will consider both your participation in class generally and your contributions to the “current issues” discussion.  Four times during the semester we will devote a class to the discussion of current issues related to the topics covered in that section of the course.  You will be in one of two groups.  Each group will be responsible for contributing material to two discussion sessions during the semester.  This will involve turning in a 1-2 page paper which links topics covered in class to a related issue, current event, personal experience, etc. (see course schedule for due dates).  You are encouraged to turn in the materials to which your comments pertain (i.e., newspaper or magazine article, web page, etc.) with your comments.  These papers will serve as topics for class discussion.   The sources listed below are great starting points for searching for current issues.     

Mid-term Exam:  A take-home midterm will be distributed on Monday October 30^th and will be due at the BEGINNING of class on Friday, October 4^th.  We will not have class on Wednesday October 2^nd so that you have sufficient time to complete the midterm.  While you may use your class notes and readings during the exam, your answers on the exam are to be entirely your own.

Research Paper:  You will write a 7-9 page research paper that explores more deeply one of the topics we cover in the course.  Further guidelines for research papers will be forthcoming.  Due dates for parts of this project are on the schedule.  Once you have selected your topic, (due Friday, October 18^th) you will be divided into “writing groups” of a few people.  A first draft of your paper will be due on Monday November 4^th.  At this time you will distribute copies of this draft to your writing group and hand in one copy of the draft.  On Monday November 18^th, thorough comments on each of the other group member’s drafts are due. (You need to turn in TWO Copies of this assignment: one for the author and a second copy for me.)  Technical comments (i.e., grammar, punctuation) may be written on the drafts themselves; but the substantive and stylistic comments must be typed in a separate document and number-coded in the draft.  Your goal is to help the authors improve their papers through comments and suggestions. This draft process serves two purposes.  As a writer, you have the opportunity to have numerous people read and respond to your writing, which can help you improve your written communication skills.  As an “editor” you learn editing skills.  Editing others’ writing is easier than editing your own, so practicing in this way can help you learn how to edit and improve your own writing.  Once you receive comments from your writing group you will have a chance to revise your papers before the final paper is due on Wednesday December 4^th.  This paper is worth 30 percent of your final course grade (I will consider your revisions based on comments to your first draft in establishing this grade).  Ten percent of your course grade will be based on the quality of your comments on other students’ drafts.

Final Exam: The final exam will be on Monday December 9, 2002 from 7-10 p.m.  Alternative scheduling of the final exam will be considered for only the most extreme circumstances. 

Finally, one reason that Americans tend to know so little about the rest of the world is due to the U.S.-centric focus of American news media.  I strongly encourage you to strive to find good sources of international news coverage and refer to them regularly during the semester.  The New York Times is probably the best national newspaper in terms of global news coverage.  It is available online after you register for free.  The local PBS station, UNCTV, airs the Newshour with Jim Lehrer at 6 p.m. and BBC NEWs every weekday at 11 p.m. both offer indepth coverage of global issues.  National Public Radio (NPR) on FM 91.5 (WUNC) and 90.7 (WNCU) is an excellent source of news coverage.  All of these media sources have websites; use them to expand your horizons this semester!
http://www.nytimes.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
http://www.npr.org/

The above requirements comprise the final grade as follows: