MDVL 270L Global Trade & Commerce: Medieval and Early Modern Perspectives |
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General Education: G - Global Interdependencies, W - Writing (Harpur Req) Today, the lines that divide global spaces appear to be more porous than ever before. New technologies allow us to traverse vast distances (virtually and physically) that in the past required the commitment of arduous journeys to cross. In this globalized age, geographic space seems to be compressed by technologies of communication and transportation. However, it could be argued that the framework for contemporary global interconnectedness lies in the past, with the rise of long-distance trade networks in the medieval and early modern era. These networks that spanned Europe, Asia, Africa, and eventually the Americas were crossed at much slower speeds along dangerous maritime and caravan routes. However, the desire to obtain faraway commodities served as the key motivation for many major pre-modern cartographic achievements, technological innovations, and cross-cultural encounters. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives and a range of textual, material, and literary sources, this course explores the interconnectedness of pre-modern world trade markets, as well as the far-reaching span of highly desired commodities and the deep imprint of the cross-cultural exchange that emerged from early commercial interactions. TR 10:05 AM – 11:30 AM S2 145 |
ANTH 280K Economic Anthropology |
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General Education: N - Social Science This course gives students a general introduction to the basic concepts and theories in the field of economic anthropology. It explores different systems of production, exchange and consumption in both local and global contexts. This course looks at comparative approaches to economic life in both Western and non-Western societies within a cross-cultural perspective. It aims to provide better understanding of how global market forces can act upon production, exchange and consumption in local-level economies. Several topics are explored including theoretical approaches in economic anthropology (formalism, substantivism, Marxism, and cultural economics); comparison of production strategies (hunter-gatherer, horticulture, pastoralism, agriculture, industrialism); forms of exchange (reciprocity, redistribution and market exchange); meanings attributed to money, commodities and the market. This course is suitable for first year students: previous courses in anthropology are useful but not required. TR 10:05 AM – 11:30 AM LH 012 |
SOC 307 Consuming Interests: The Sociology of Food |
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Instructor: Ravi A Palat A global history of power, identity and the environment as seen through the prism of food, examining famine and hunger; preparation and consumption of food as a gendered practice; state regulation of food provisioning and quality; eating patterns at home and in restaurants; labor relations in the food industry; ethnicity and foodways; eating disorders and diets; and attempts to resist 'medical imperialism.' TR 1:15 PM – 2:40 PM LH 003 |
ECON 317 The Economy of China |
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General Education: W - Writing (Harpur Req) Prerequisite - Grade of C or better in ECON 160 or ECON 162. This course analyzes the economic growth and social development of China since economic reform started in 1978. In addition to introducing the facts and policy issues behind economic "miracle" of China powered by economic reform, the course also examines broad implications of Chinese economic reform on society, the environment, as well as international relationship. Format: Grading: attendance and participation, 10 percent; 50-minutes test, 30 percent; term paper, 40 percent; presentation, debate, discussion of paper, 20 percent. There will be a test in multiple choice and simple question format on basic knowledge of China and the Chinese economy. The test will be held at the end of semester. The term paper is an independent paper in connection with a group of four students on both sides of some controversial issues, such as Sino-U.S. trade conflicts, intellectual property rights, China's role in world oil market, real growth rate of China, etc. Then each team presents its paper in the class, discusses (and debates) with the team on the other side of the issue. Optional activity: watching one or two movies banned by the Chinese government on post-reform Chinese society. Books: Gregory Chow, CHINA'S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION, Blackwell Publishing, 2002. WU, Jinglian, Understanding and Interpreting Chinese Economic Reform, Thomson, 2005 MWF 10:50 AM – 11:50 AM UU 102 |
ECON 350 US Financial Systems-Markets & Institutions |
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Instructor: Kenneth W Christianson Prerequisite - Grade of C or better in ECON 162. Study of the role of financial systems in the U.S. economy, including the banking system, credit unions, foreign exchange, the bond market and interest rates, the Federal Reserve, and debt and equity markets. Exploration of the ways in which capital is distributed throughout the economy and how it affects community development and the distribution of income. Topics include the role and history of money and banking, the financial system and the determination of interest rates, the role of capital in society, banking management and regulation, monetary policy and theory and the role of the Fed, and community development financial institutions. Focuses on the issues of predatory lending, the current credit crisis and recession, and the political economy of financial reform. Format: Grading is based on midterm and final examinations, three group projects and class presentations, four short assignments, and participation. Attendance and class discussion are expected and will influence the final grade. We will study monetary policy by creating our own currency in class. Books: Mishkin, Economics of Money, Banking and Financial Markets, 9th edition MW 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM LH 003 |
SOC 380A The World of Sugar and Coffee |
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General Education: N - Social Science An examination of the historical transformations of sugar and coffee production and consumption from rare items of luxury consumption to common items of mass consumption from 1400 until today. The course includes discussions of changing environmental and geographical condition, labor, market formation and merchant communities, interstate rivalry and war. TR 2:50 PM - 4:15 PM LH 005 |
ANTH 380W Economic Underworlds & Globalization |
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General Education: N - Social Science This course explores the other side of globalization by looking at the theory and ethnography of 'illicit' economies in the contemporary world. It aims at challenging dichotomies such as legal/illegal, licit/illicit and formal/informal, by examining the everyday practices of people making a living in 'the gaps' or 'shadows' of globalization in culturally diverse contexts. Several topics are explored including borderland practices, illegal transnational migration, arms smuggling, the global diamond trade, the transnational consumption of drugs, America's sprawling informal economy and the ethnography of the organs-trafficking underworld. This course also addresses some of the difficult ethical and methodological challenges these extra-legal activities pose to anthropologists. MWF 10:50 AM – 11:50 AM SSW 329 |
ECON 381E Economic Development in Africa |
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Instructor: Nonso Y Obikili Prerequisite – Grade of C or better in ECON 160 or 162. This is a course in applied economics of Africa, with a multidisciplinary approach. It surveys the main characteristics of African economies, their development paths, strategies and policies, in comparison to other emerging economies. Discussion of geo-politics, history, institutions, technology and economic factors will help understand Africa’s growth and development challenges. Case studies use recent statistical data to address development issues in selected countries from Sub-Saharan Africa. Format: Lectures, case studies and students’ class presentations. Grading will be based on the following elements: exam 1, 30 percent; exam 2, 30 percent; Home Work Assignments and presentations, 25 percent; class participation and attendance, 15 percent. Students will work in groups of two or three on case studies. Books: Required - Nnadozie, African Economic Development. Optional - The World Bank, Can Africa Claim the 21st Century? MWF 2:20 PM – 3:20 PM AAG 021 |
MGMT 411 Global Strategic Management |
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Instructor: Vishal K Gupta Capstone course providing conceptual tools for integrating functional skills acquired in previous courses. Emphasis is on strategic and socially responsible operation of the total enterprise in a global environment. Combines lectures with in-depth case analyses and simulations or research studies of actual industries in real time. Students research industries and companies, make oral presentations and write research papers. Prerequisites: All 5 junior core courses. Completion of all required courses and senior standing. TR 2:50 PM – 4:15 PM AA 370 |
MDVL 501R A World of Goods: Medieval/Early Modern Era |
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Instructor: Nancy A Um A World of Goods: Medieval and Early Modern Commodities in Cross-Cultural Perspective Drawing on interdisciplinary methods and historical, material, visual, and literary sources, this course examines how mobile commodities that were procured or produced in the southern and eastern hemispheres and consumed around the pre-modern world were charged with different registers of cultural, social, and economic value and meaning across space and time. Included on the list are comestible commodities such as spices and coffee and manufactured products such as Asian and Islamic textiles, Chinese porcelain, and “Oriental” carpets. The course looks across the spheres of production, circulation and consumption of these goods to suggest an important role for material goods in pre-modern world historical studies. Issues will include how technological innovations responded to market demands, the relationship between geography and goods, the sustained exoticization of foreign products, the development of local imitative markets, and the important role that foreign goods played in the conception of luxury registers of consumption. This seminar is open to graduate students in any field. W 9:40 AM – 12:40 PM FA225 |
PLSC 668 Seminar in World Political Economy |
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Instructors: Katja Breidt Kleinberg This advanced graduate seminar is designed to provide a survey of theoretical and empirical work in the subfield of international political economy. Research in this area explores the interaction of economics and politics. Students will become familiar with the major theoretical frameworks used to analyze the impact of international and domestic forces on economic policy and the causes of cooperation and conflict in international trade and finance. Finally, the course will introduce students to current debates in the subfield. T 2:50 PM – 5:50 PM FA 352 |
