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IDEA
The word “globalization” is one of the
new buzzwords we hear used by politicians, economists,
literary magazines, corporations, labor leaders, sports
enthusiasts, club kids, human rights activists,
environmentalists, and movie stars. Books about it top the
NY Times bestseller list, including journalism such
as Naomi Klein’s No Logo (2000), Franklin Foer’s
How Soccer Explains the World (2004), and Thomas
Friedman’s The World Is Flat (2005); autobiography
such as John Perkins’s Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
(2005); philosophy such as Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt’s
Empire (2000); and novels such as Barbara
Kingsolver’s The Poinsonwood Bible (1998). We will
not have time to read most of these books in class (way too
long!!!), but we will read some short articles by the same
authors. In addition, we will talk about movies as different
from each other as Fight Club (1999), Zoolander
(2001), Blood Diamond (2006), and Babel (2006)
and listen to hip hop about globalization by artists such as
Kanye West, Nas, and Mos Def.
Is globalization good? Is it bad? Is
asking whether it’s good or bad the wrong question? People
don’t always agree on what the word “globalization” means,
but perhaps we can start by defining it as “the integration
of a world market and the movement of capital, commodities,
culture, and peoples across national boundaries.” If what
the politicians and journalists say is true – that
globalization affects every aspect of our lives, from the
food we eat and the clothes we wear to the jobs you will
compete for after you graduate from college – then how do we
understand it all? And what can you as a student do to
prepare yourself for a rapidly changing world?
GOALS
This class has three goals: (1) to
introduce you to an on-going debate about globalization by
exposing you to a variety of viewpoints so as to develop
your critical thinking skills; (2) to enjoy the many forms
of culture, from hip hop and movies to novels and
philosophy, that address all this stuff that the
journalists have decided to call “globalization”; and
finally – most importantly – (3) to learn the tools of
classical rhetoric along with modern research techniques so
as to become better writers and public speakers. Throughout
this class, I will be assigning texts about “globalization”
not only to teach you about the various issues today that
might affect your future careers after graduation, but also
to teach you some of the practical skills for succeeding
here at St. Benedict/St. John’s. Towards those three goals,
we will watch some movies, read some arguments about
globalization, keep up with current events in the
newspapers, write several short papers, and revise them to
make them better. Then, in the spring semester, we will work
on a long academic research paper on a global issue of your
choosing. In addition, we will from time to time work on
some creative projects.
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