Introduction to International Studies: Emerging Global Visions is an interdisciplinary course for IPFW students with sophomore standing who wish to deepen their understanding of an increasingly interdependent world and broaden their perspective on a variety of international topics. These topics include international politics and history, global environmental issues, international business and economics, and comparative cultural studies.

This course will be team taught by five professors, all of whom will add their own specific expertise and perspective to the study of human societies, their interaction with each other and with the planet. Although each segment will be complete in itself, the course has been designed in such a way that the five segments will show parallels and contrasts within themselves, fostering an ongoing discussion that includes many ways of looking at our world.

Three segments are intended to provide background in general issues (International Politics, Global Environment, Global Economics) and the two other segments will treat more specific instances of political, economic, and cultural interchanges in our century (Media and Globalization and France and Algeria: Then and Now)

International Politics Dr James Toole (Political Science)

toolej@ipfw.edu

The Global Environment Dr. Jenny Weatherford (Office of International Programs)

weatherk@ipfw.edu

Media and Globalization Dr. Steven Carr (Communication)

carr@ipfw.edu

Global Economics Dr. Carrie Stumph (Economics)

stumphc@ipfw.edu

France and Algeria: Then and Now Dr. Nancy Virtue (International Language and Culture

Studies)

virtue@ipfw.edu

General Course Objectives

By the end of the course the student should be able to:

1. Appreciate and analyze the importance of an international approach to fields such as political science, economics, environmental studies, history, and language studies.

2. Recognize and discuss how international studies can enhance our understanding of day-to-day life and current events.

3. Use principles or aspects of political science, economics, environmental studies, history, and language studies to generate a greater understanding of the self and others.

4. Evaluate major developments that have stimulated intellectual debate and research and shaped national and international policies and politics.

5. Understand the impact of individual decisions on the world, and world events on the individual.

Grade

Midterm exam 20%

Final exam 30%

Response papers 35%

Participation/Attendance 10%

International Activities 5%

Exams:

The midterm and final exams will be based on the individual segments that have been covered: the midterm will be on the first two segments of the course and will test student knowledge of International Politics and the Global Environment. The final exam will be on the last three segments of the course and will test student knowledge of Media and Globalization, Global Economics, and France and Algeria: Then and Now. Questions on the exams will be formulated in such a way as to test student comprehension of readings and lectures.

Response papers:

There will be a short (2-3 page) response paper due after each segment based on a question or topic that each instructor will give out at the beginning of his/her section.

Participation/attendance:

The grade for class participation is based on regular attendance, coming to class having done the reading and with comments or questions pertaining to the readings or the lectures, and useful participation in any group activities. Please come to class on time. If you miss more than 3 classes, your participation grade will be lowered. It is your responsibility to communicate with course instructor(s) in the event that you have to miss class. Instructors’ phone numbers, e-mail addresses and office numbers are listed on the course web page at (http://www.ipfw.edu/cm1/virtue/web/intl/) and on WebCT. You may also contact the course coordinator, Nancy Virtue, at virtue@ipfw.edu.

International Activities:

Each student will also be responsible for attending at least three international activities over the course of the semester including one informational meeting about study abroad with the Office of International Programs. You may attend events that are on campus or in the community. Examples of appropriate activities include but are not limited to: international films, speakers or panels on international topics, campus international student activities, informational meetings organized through the Office of International Programs, etc.

Please note that you are required, as one of these activities, to attend an informational meeting about study abroad through the Office of International Programs. If you absolutely cannot attend one of these meetings at the times scheduled, please contact Dr. Jenny Weatherford (weatherk@ipfw.edu) to make individual arrangements.

We will announce various international activities in class as they come up, but it will be your responsibility to identify activities and programs of interest to you. For each activity you attend, you will be required to fill out a brief report summarizing the activity and describing its significance. You will be required to hand in three such reports over the course of the semester. The report form can be found on the course WebCT site.

We suggest that you consult the Calendar of International Activities from the Office of International Programs for ideas and recommendations on possible international activities to attend. This calendar is found at the following link:

http://www.ipfw.edu/oip/events/default.shtml

Warning: Do NOT wait until the end of the semester to complete this part of your grade! We highly recommend that you complete at least one of the three activities before the midterm.

This range of requirements—exams, short papers, participation, international activities—will ensure both that you have a chance to assimilate the information that will be presented in this course and that you are capable of analyzing and adding your own ideas to it.

Texts

For each segment the instructor will tell you in advance whether readings will be handed out in class, or are available on WebCT, or on-line. Please make sure to obtain the texts as soon as possible when it is your responsibility to do so.

Course Schedule

January 8 Introduction

January 10 Introduction

I International Politics (Dr. Jamie Toole): Citizens of other countries often complain that Americans know little about the rest of the world. Americans have long lived in relative isolation, protected by two enormous oceans and by steady increases in their country’s military, political, and economic power. It can be argued that the only way Americans can be bothered to care about the rest of the world is when international problems come pounding on their door. This section of the class introduces basic concepts in the study of international politics, examines several theories of international relations, and looks at several issues that have become unusually important since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

January 12 An Introduction to International Politics

Readings: None

January 15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 17 Theories of International Politics: Realism

Readings: Robert Morgenthau, “Six Principles of Political Realism”

January 19 Theories of International Politics: Liberalism

Readings: Michael Doyle, “Liberalism and World Politics”

January 22 Theories of International Politics: Radicalism

Readings: John Isbister, “Explaining Underdevelopment”

January 24 Terrorism

Readings: (1) Grenville Byford, “The Wrong War”

(2) George W. Bush, Speech at West Point (June 1, 2002)

January 26 International Intervention

Readings: Michael J. Glennon, “The New Interventionism”

January 29 An American Empire?

Readings: Eliot Cohen, “History and the Hyperpower”

January 31 The Future of Conflict

Readings: (1) Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?”

(2) Fouad Ajami, “The Summoning”

II The Global Environment (Dr. Jenny Weatherford): Increasing globalization and impending climate crises make examination of worldwide environmental issues an essential part of any international studies course. We will examine issues of population growth, consumption, and changing climates, in addition to environmental and energy policies. We will explore the implications of not only the American or Western lifestyles and patterns of consumption on the planet but also those of other countries including the new industrial giant China.

February 2 Introduction to the Global Environment

Video:

February 5 Population Growth and Resource Consumption

February 7 Global Warming and other Climate Crises

Video:

February 9 Global Warming and other Climate Crises

Alternative Energies

February 12 China and Environmental Issues

February 14 Global Climate Issues and Politics

February 16 Global Climate Issues and Politics

February 19 Review with Toole and Weatherford

February 21 Midterm Exam

III Media and Globalization (Dr. Steve Carr): This section surveys various approaches and debates over the role of media during an era of globalization. Though there clearly is some kind of relationship, there is no clear consensus regarding whether its effects are beneficial or harmful, how pronounced the media are as a part of the process of globalization, or even which part of this relationship is the driver and which is what gets driven. The purpose of this section is to explore some of the various perspectives one can take in considering globalization and the media. The first part of the course considers one view of media and globalization as a process in which the powerful to exert control over the weak. After the break, we will explore alternative explanations of how, in an era of globalization, the media have served to promote and recombine diverse cultural identities in complex and subtle ways. The work of Carey, McLuhan, Schiller, Appadurai, Garcia Canclini, and Robertson will inform our discussions. Concepts covered will include global village, media imperialism, cultural flow, deterritorialization, hybridization, glocalization, and diasporic culture.

Each class session will follow an interactive model of deliberative discussion. Working in teams of 5-7, each student will sign up for a scheduled slot. On an assigned date before a scheduled class meeting, each team member will prepare a brief (250-500 word) position paper in response to the day’s assigned reading. This is the only paper assignment for this section. The response must demonstrate meaningful engagement with the concepts introduced in this reading. Team members will be expected to have read one another’s papers before class begins. Then, on the day of the team’s presentation, the team will conduct a fishbowl discussion in the middle of the classroom. Each team member will briefly (in no more than 5 minutes) summarize his or her position paper. During this time, only team members will speak. After all team members have summarized their position papers in response to the reading, other class members will be invited to participate in the discussion. The instructor will introduce and conclude each discussion with a set of broad questions and observations concerning the issues raised in the assigned reading for that day.

February 23 Case Study: Control Room (Magnolia, 2004)

February 26 Media and Globalization: Two Views (Carey)

February 28 Technology and the Global Village (McLuhan and Powers)

March 2 Globalization and the Media Imperialism Critique (Schiller)

March 5-9 Spring Break: NO CLASS

March 12 Globalization and Cultural Flow (Appadurai)

March 14 Media, Deterritorialization, and Hybridization (García Canclini)

March 16 Media and Glocalization (Robertson)

March 19 Ethnic and Diasporic Media (Appadurai)

Readings (tentative)

Appadurai, Arjun. Modernity at Large : Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Public Worlds. Minneapolis MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1996.

Carey, James. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Media and Popular Culture. Ed. David Thorburn. Boston MA: Unwin Hyman, 1989.

García Canclini, Néstor. Hybrid Cultures : Strategies for Entering and Leaving Modernity. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005.

McLuhan, Marshall and Bruce R. Powers. The Global Village: Transformations in World Life and Media in the 21st Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Robertson, Roland. "The Conceptual Promise of Glocalization: Commonality and Diversity." Art-e-Fact: Strategies of Resistance. 4 (2005). <http://artefact.mi2.hr/_a04/lang_en/theory_robertson_en.htm >.

Schiller, Herbert I. Information Inequality : The Deepening Social Crisis in America. New York: Routledge, 1996.

IV Global Economies (Dr. Carrie Stumph): Global interdependence is more and more evident

in the economic sphere with the increasing intertwining of national economies. Today, employment levels

in northeast Indiana are as much influenced by economic conditions in Asia as by the domestic U.S.

economy. Worldwide trends favoring capitalism, privatization, floating exchange rates and free trade

between countries offer the hope of higher standards of living for all people on this planet. Regional

economic blocs (e.g. NAFTA and European Union), and global actors such as the World Trade

Organization, the International Monetary Fund and privately owned multinational enterprises will play a

major role in furthering world economic growth.

March 21 Introduction to International Economics

March 23 Trade Barriers

March 26 International Finance

March 28 Regional Trade Agreements

March 30 Video: “Emerging Markets: India”

April 2 Developing countries

April 4 Discussion of a recent controversial issue

V France and Algeria: Then and Now (Dr. Nancy Virtue): In this last part of the course we will study the impact of French colonization on Algeria. We will read texts and see films about Algeria’s War for Independence from France (1954-1962), a long, brutal struggle for independence that has been compared to the Vietnam War in the United States. The literary and cinematic texts (both Algerian and French) that we will study show the cultural, economic, and political power of the French in Algeria with attention to the ways that the Algerians and the French perceived each other after centuries of French dominance. The texts will help us to appreciate the situations of peoples who are still profoundly impacted by the transmutation of their traditional culture by the French culture. It is to be hoped that these texts will help us to understand more clearly the ongoing complexities of relationships between “First World” and “Third World” nations.

April 6 Introduction to Algeria’s War for Independence

April 9 The Colonizer and the Colonized, Albert Memmi

April 11 The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo

April 13 The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo

April 16 The Guest, Albert Camus

April 18 Childhood, Habib Tengour

April 20 Algerians in France: Mémoires d’immigrés

April 23 Algerians and the French Riots of 2005

April 25 Conclusion

April 27 Conclusion

May 2 Final Exam (10:30-12:30 a.m.)