Semester I: 2012-2013

 

GE6212: MAPPING GLOBAL ECONOMIC CHANGE

 

7 August 2012 (tentative)

 

Lecturer:        Professor Henry Yeung

                        Room: AS2 03-04; Tel: 6516 6810; E-mail: henryyeung@nus.edu.sg;

                        Homepage: http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/geoywc/henry.htm

 

Venue:           Department Meeting Room

 

Time:             Monday 2:30 – 5:30 pm

 

AIMS

 

*    To develop an in-depth understanding of the material and discursive processes of globalization.

 

    To evaluate the distinctive contributions of geographical research to globalization studies.

 

OBJECTIVES

 

By the end of the module, graduate students should have a sound understanding of:

 

    The constitutive processes of globalization;

    The complex relationships between material manifestations of globalization and the discourses of globalization; and

    Different approaches to and perspectives on globalization in the social sciences and the distinctive contributions of human geography.

 

MODULE DESCRIPTION

 

This module examines the complex debates on economic globalization and assesses the contributions of human geography to these debates. In particular, we will discuss and evaluate the spatial processes and ramifications of global economic change that is associated with globalization tendencies. We will also analyze the role of states, labour, capital, technology, and politically contested discourses of globalization in shaping global economic change. This module will be a graduate seminar comprising student presentations and discussions. Attendance and full preparation are the basic requirements. Ph.D. candidates will be expected to cope with additional written materials, as well as added responsibility in the seminar context.

 

SEMINAR PROGRAMME

 

The module comprises 11 three-hour seminars during each Monday 2:30pm from 13 August 2012 onwards.  With the exception of the first and the last classes, each session will comprise a one-hour seminar presentation on a pre-arranged topic by a selected graduate student, a one-hour discussion of a particular reading, and a one-hour group discussion.

 

The following is a list of seminar topics and assigned readings.  Each graduate student will take responsibility for preparing TWO research papers (3,000-4,000 words). All graduate students are also expected to study the readings in advance of each seminar.

 

ASSESSMENT

 

The final mark will be derived from seminar presentations (30%) and research papers (70%).  There is no examination for this graduate module.

 

DETAIL SEMINAR OUTLINE

 

Seminar 1. Introduction to globalization (13 August 2012)

 

* Dicken, Peter (2011), Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy, Sixth Edition, London: Sage. Please read the whole book and familiarize yourself with the key thrusts and content of the book. AVAILABLE -  CL RBR (Loans Desk 1) -  HD2321 Dic 2011

 

* Yeung, Henry Wai-chung (2009), ÔGlobalization - EconomicÕ, in Rob Kitchen and Nigel Thrift (eds.), International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Oxford: Elsevier. Obtain the PDF copy from me please.

 

Ritzer, George (2011), Globalization: The Essentials, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

 

Video: Globalisation is Good, England: Electric Sales Ltd., Call No: HF1359 Glo 2005  DVD (c. 2005 and 49 minutes)

 

 

Seminars 2-4. Globalization: key thinkers (3-17 September 2012)

 

Core Text:

 

* Jones, Andrew (2010), Globalization: Key Thinkers, Cambridge: Polity. CL RBR (Loans Desk 1) -  JZ1318 Jon 2010

 

Additional Readings:

 

Held, David, McGrew, Anthony, Goldblatt, David and Perraton, Jonathan (1999), Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture, Cambridge: Polity.

 

Mittelman, James H. (2000), The Globalization Syndrome: Transformation and Resistance, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

 

Ritzer, George and Atalay, Zeynep (eds.) (2010), Readings in Globalization: Key Concepts and Major Debates, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

 

Rosenberg, Justin (2000), The Follies of Globalisation Theory, London: Verso.

 

Sassen, Saskia (ed.) (2007), Deciphering the Global: Its Scales, Spaces and Subjects, New York: Routledge.

 

Seminar topics:

 

1. How does the conception of globalization vary among different thinkers? (Keo)

2. What are the main points of contention in the still evolving globalization debate? (Augustin)

3. What are the ways through which the divergent thinking about globalization can be reconciled? (Guanie)

 

Research paper topic: (Min Hye)

 

Critically evaluate the current state of Òthinking about globalizationÓ described in Andrew JonesÕ (2010) book and offer your proposal for a future research agenda in globalization studies.

 

 

Seminars 5-7. Geographies of globalization (24 September and 1-8 October 2012)

 

Core Text:

 

* Herod, Andrew (2009), Geographies of Globalization, Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. CL RBR (Loans Desk 1) -  JZ1318 Her 2009

 

Additional Readings:

 

Cameron, Angus and Palan, Ronen (2004), The Imagined Economies of Globalization, London: Sage.

 

Sokol, Martin (2011), Economic Geographies of Globalisation: A Short Introduction, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

 

Warwick, Murray (2006), Geographies of Globalization, London: Routledge.

 

Seminar topics:

 

1. How ÒglobalÓ is the global economy? (Minhye)

2. What are the discursive imaginations of globalization? (Augustin)

3. How can globalization be manufactured and governed? (Keo)

 

Research paper topic: (Augustin)

 

Critically evaluate Andrew HerodÕs (2009) spatial explanations of geographies of globalization.

 

 

Seminars 8-10. Making globalization work (15-29 October 2012)

 

Core Text:

 

* Stiglitz, Joseph (2006), Making Globalization Work, New York: W.W. Norton. CL RBR (Loans Desk 1) -  HF1359 Sti 2006

 

Additional Readings:

 

Bhagwati, Jagdish (2004), In Defense of Globalization, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Büthe, Tim and Mattli, Walter (2011), The New Global Rulers: The Privatization of Regulation in the World Economy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

 

Gills, Barry K. (2011), Globalization in Crisis, London: Routledge.

 

Munck, Ronaldo (2011), Globalization and Contestation: The New Great Counter-Movement, London: Routledge.

 

Rodrik, Dani (2007), One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions and Economic Growth, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

 

Rodrik, Dani (2011), The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy, New York: Norton.

 

Rudra, Nita (2008), Globalization and the Race to the Bottom in Developing Countries: Who Really Gets Hurt? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

Seminar topics:

 

1. Is globalization really a good phenomenon? (Keo)

2. What are the key players in globalization? (Minhye)

3. What is the impact of globalization on political and economic governance? (Guanie)

 

Research paper topic: (Keo and Guanie)

 

Assess the core argument(s) for globalization in Joseph Stiglitz (2006) and explain the extent to which you concur with them.

 

 

Seminar 11. Remaking the global economy (5 November 2012)

 

Core Texts:

 

* Dicken, Peter (2004) ÔGeographers and ÒglobalizationÓ: (yet) another missed boat?Õ, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol.29(1), pp.5-26.

 

* Harvey, David (2011), ÔRoepke lecture in economic geography - Crises, geographic disruptions and the uneven development of political responsesÕ, Economic Geography, Vol.87(1), pp.1-22.

 

Additional Readings:

 

Amin, Ash (2002), ÔSpatialities of globalisationÕ, Environment and Planning A, Vol.34(3), pp.385-99.

 

Amin, Ash (2004), ÔRegulating economic globalizationÕ, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol.29(2), pp.217-33.

 

Barnett, Clive, Cloke, Paul, Clarke, Nick and Malpass, Alice (2011), Globalizing Responsibility: The Political Rationalities of Ethical Consumption, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

 

Cox, Kevin R. (2004), ÔGlobalization and the politics of local and regional development: the question of convergenceÕ, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol.29(2), pp.179-94.

 

Domosh, Mona (2010), ÔThe world was never flat: early global encounters and the messiness of empireÕ, Progress in Human Geography, Vol.34(4), pp.419-35.

 

Economic Geography, Vol.78(3), 2002. Special issue on global economic change, pp.253-386.

 

Elden, Stuart (2005), ÔMissing the point: globalization, deterritorialization and the space of the worldÕ, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol.30(1), pp.8-19.

 

OÕDowd, Liam (2010), ÔFrom a Ôborderless worldÕ to a Ôworld of bordersÕ: Ôbringing history back inÕ, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Vol.28(6), pp.1031–1050.

 

Peck, Jamie and Yeung, Henry Wai-chung (eds.) (2003), Remaking the Global Economy: Economic-Geographical Perspectives, London: Sage.

 

Scott, Allen J. and Storper, Michael (2003), ÔRegions, globalization, developmentÕ, Regional Studies, Vol.37(6/7), pp.579-93.

 

Smith, Neil (2004), The Endgame of Globalization, London: Routledge.

 

Sidaway, James D. (2012), ÔGeography, globalization, and the problematic of area studiesÕ, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol.102.

 

Taylor, Peter J. (2007), ÔProblematizing city/state relations: towards a geohistorical understanding of contemporary globalizationÕ, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol.32(2), pp.133-50.

 

Yeung, Henry Wai-chung (1998), ÔCapital, state and space: contesting the borderless worldÕ, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol.23(3), pp.291-309.

 

Yeung, Henry Wai-chung (2002), ÔThe limits to globalization theory: a geographic perspective on global economic changeÕ, Economic Geography, Vol.78(3), pp.285-305.

 

Seminar topics:

 

1. To what extent does globalization serve as a causal explanation of empirical events?

2. How do geographers link global processes to place-based geographies?

3. Does globalization lead to the end of geography?

 

Research paper topic:

 

What are geographersÕ distinctive contributions to the debate on globalization and how might your own work advance those contributions?