SOC 301: Topics:
Globalization,
The Long View
1-3:50 Wed Asbury 117
DePauw University
Fall 2007 Professor Thomas Hall
Office: 106 Asbury, x 4519, email:
thall@depauw.edu
WEB: http://fs6.depauw.edu:50080/~thall/hp1.htm
OFFICE HOURS: Tu & Th 1:15 - 3pm; W 4-5pm;
& by appt
Last Updated
Thursday October 04, 2007
Midterm Study Guide
***FINAL VERSION***
The midterm will be Wed. October 10th, 2:30 - 4:00.
We will have a review session Mond, Oct. 8 at 8:30 in the Media Classroom.
The Midterm will cover: Hobson Chs. 1 thru 5; Lechner & Boli Parts I, III, IV, V; Liu & Shaffer thru Ch. 4; Robinson thru Ch 2; Sklair Chs. 1 thru 5; Wallestein thru Ch. 2.
The following are sample questions. The midterm questions will either be identical to those below, or shortened version of them. I purposely as many questions to help you study. The questions at the end of each section of Lechner and Boli are useful for review. For all books the editors' introductions to sections and each entry are also helpful for review. And most important your Reading Reports, item 2 are very good for review.
I will announce the number of questions and format for the midterm. Typically I have several short answer questions [one phrase to three sentences], with some choices. Then essays in groups among which you select.
Short Answer or Identify: if a
date, why it is significant, BRIEFLY; if an acronym, what it stands for.
afroeurasia
country vs state vs nation vs nation-state
culture-ideology of consumerism
eastern resource portfolios
eurocentrism
gloCalization
IMF
INGO
khan
MNC
moldboard plow
NGO
orientalism
race to the bottom
silk road(s)
simurgh
steppe confederacy
TNC
TNCC
TNS
tributary system
WB
WTO
Essays:
Note: when the question mentions one or more books, the question is asking what that or those authors say, not a general discussion. General discussions will say something like, "discuss......"
"Kinds of evidence" means what they are, such as income data, firm size data, etc, it is NOT a request to recite the specific data.
1. The articles in Lechner and Boli, along with the editors' introductions describe many different aspects of globalization, how it is measured and it consequences. What are some of the major aspects of globalization. What are some of the different measures? What are some of the criteria proposed for assessing whether globalization is a "good thing," or a "bad thing"? or more articulately, some of its benefits and some of its harms (and for whom)? What are the kinds of evidence used to make the evaluations.
2. Sklair poses three major aspects of globalization. Name them, and discuss each briefly, including the kinds of evidence he uses to support his arguments?
4. What is Hobson's major argument? What are the kinds of evidence that he presents to support it? How and why is his argument important to our understanding of globalization processes in the 21st century?
3. How and why are maps and the way they portray geography important to understanding the history of globalization? Draw on Hobson, Liu & Shaffer, Moodle maps, and lectures.
4 In class we have seen that there is often a difference between the rationalization or rationale for something at its cause[s]. First distinguish between these two. Second, illustrate with examples take from at least 3 of the books we are reading.
5. Give at least four examples of products or technologies Europe gain from "the east." Why were each of these vital for subsequent European development and globalization?
6. What evidence does Hobson present to show that "the orient" was neither stagnant nor despotic? Why is this important to our understanding of globalization?
7. According to several of our authors, Islam was vital to the eventual development of Europe. How? Why is this important for our understanding of 21st century globalization?
8. An overly enthusiastic reader of Hobson might claim, European's did nothing. How did they colonize the world? How can they claim superiority? How would you critique the initial claim?
9.What are some of the different ways people experience globalization? Why are they different?
10. Why, according to Liu and Shaffer is it important to understand that there were both land and sea routes from East Asia to West Asia?
11. According to Liu and Shaffer what kinds of "goods" spread via the silk roads? Why are these "goods" important?
12. What insights into contemporary globalization do we gain from Lui & Shaffer's account of the silk routes?
13. How does Wallerstein's account of globalization differ from that of Sklair and / or Robinson?
14. Compare and contrast Robinson's approach to globalization with that of Wallerstein and and that of Sklair.
15. What are some of the critiques of organizations designed to regulate global processes, such as the IMF, WB, WTO, etc.
16. Even those who argue that globalization is an old processes, centuries or millennia, admit that there are new processes in the last few decades. What are those new processes? Why are they significant?
17. If, indeed, new processes are at work in contemporary globalization, why is it useful to study ancient processes of globalization?
18. According to Robinson, and to a lesser extent Sklair, why is the formation of a transnational capitalist class dangerous? Who is harmed by this? How? Why?
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Send comments or questions to thall@depauw.edu