PSC 409 - S&C:Origin Modern Global Sys

Institution:

University of New England

Subject:

Political Science

Description:

This course addresses two questions that are related to the contemporary structure of the global system. One, what are the processes that have created a world economy with integrated systems of production and trade that now cover the entire globe? Two, how is it that this economically united world has become so divided and fragmented along ethnic, national, political, and cultural lines? The course examines these questions from a historical perspective by focusing on selected times, places, and events. Scholars agree that an economic system that covered a large part of the globe was formed for the first time in the thirteenth century. This system was centered in Asia and existed for about one hundred years. In the first part of the course, we will study the rise and the fall of this early world system and try to explain why, rather than surviving into the modern era, this system was eclipsed in the fifteenth century by a new one that was centered in Europe. The rest of the course is devoted to the study of the growth, expansion, and various economic and political setbacks the Euro-centered world system experienced since the fifteenth century. We will discuss which of the economic, political, and cultural factors played a determining role at crucial points in this history. One of our purposes will be to uncover the features of this world system that gave it unprecedented dynamism and longevity. This course does not study the history of the world. It uses history to explain economic, political, sociological, and cultural realities of the two global systems it studies. During the course, particular events, dates, and places will enter into our discussions only to the extent that they have had an impact on the structure of the global system in question. Throughout, our focus will always be on the connections that linked places and people over long periods and large spaces at different points in time with varying consequences.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

09/01/2006 - 09/01/2007 

Institution Website:

www.une.edu/

Phone Number:

(207) 283-0171

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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