Although often separated, the global challenges of our contemporary world have many connections and parallels. They also share common histories that inform contemporary problems and possible opportunities for meaningful reforms. This course will emphasize the value of comparative analysis in framing, analyzing, and addressing contemporary global challenges through strategic analysis, institutional innovation, and diplomacy. Course sessions will highlight the value of developing an integrated view of globalization and its many challenges and opportunities. The course will use historical and contemporary analysis to develop new theories for global change that have direct policy relevance. The goal is to prepare students to understand global dynamics and apply that understanding to real world problems.
This will be an intensive reading course, emphasizing critical reading, comparative analysis, and group discussion. The assigned readings will include conceptual, empirical, and historical materials to provide a comparative framework for examining globalization in its many dimensions.. Grading will be based on class participation, weekly one-page response papers, and a final 20-page research paper on a topic related to the class, chosen in consultation between each student and the professor. The final paper should be relevant and helpful for each student’s academic and professional goals.
This class meets with HIS 381. LBJ is the home department.