GEOG 105: Global Issues
Citrus College Course Outline of Record
| Heading | Value |
|---|---|
| Effective Term: | Fall 2022 |
| Credits: | 3 |
| Total Contact Hours: | 54 |
| Lecture Hours : | 54 |
| Lab Hours: | 0 |
| Hours Arranged: | 0 |
| Outside of Class Hours: | 108 |
| Strongly Recommended: | ENGL 101. |
| District General Education: | D2. Behavioral Science |
| Transferable to CSU: | Yes |
| Transferable to UC: | Yes - Approved |
| Grading Method: | Standard Letter |
Catalog Course Description
Course Objectives
- Synthesize world issues of cultural, political, economic and environmental importance
- Analyze historic and current demographic, social and cultural changes in migration, inequality, environmental sustainability, war and cultural identity.
- Examine solutions to global issues and the progress made in resolving them. Investigate whether regional culture has made an impact on the issue, and whether local cultures are negatively affected by the issue.
- Evaluate the role that activism plays in resolving world issues. Decide if the role that activism plays in developed countries differs from the role that activism plays in underdeveloped countries for social and environmental issues.
- Critically assess the arguments of proponents and critics of globalization and draw on relevant readings to support their arguments.
- Apply historical and analytical knowledge to specific areas of the global economy and write on the nature of international trade, economic crises, financial liberalization, neoliberalism, global division of labor, international economic development, gender and globalization, security and the environment.
Major Course Content
Module 1: Globalization and the modern world (25% of semester)
Topics:
Perceptions of the world: Political, Physical and Ethnical/Moral
Emergence of modern culture; the world in 1300s, 1600s, 1920s, 1950s and today
Film : "History of the world in two hours" by the History Channel
Post WWII trends and innovations
The U.S global economic structure
Globalization Theory
Capitalism
Modernity
Neoliberalism
The IMF, World Bank and WTO
Module 2: Issues of Equality, Culture and Diversity (25% of semester)
Topics:
Culture and the definition of humanity
Migration
Cultural Relativity
Discrimination and Racism
Poverty
Labor Movements and Unionization
Patriotism, Paternalism and equality
Gender Inequality as measured with the GII
Social class and the transnational politics of solidarity
Hate groups and civil rights
Social and Political Activism
Film: "Inequality for all"
Film: "Life and Debt"
Module 3: Issues of Religion, War and Conflict (25% of semester)
Topics:
Sovereignty and the State
Global models of Peace and War
World Order
Terrorism and Post 9-11 Global Structural Privilege
The Bush Doctrine/Neo-emperialism
The future of conflict, perspectives on peace in Palestine, Israel, Syria, North Korea and Russia
Module 4: Issues of Development, Health and the Environment (25% of semester)
Topics:
Economic Development and inequality
Comparative Advantage, Neocolonialism
Global Health Indicators
Threats to environmental resources
Air, water and land pollution
Climate Change and globalization
Colonial Legacy in less developed nations
Pandemics and disease
Global Solutions, reforms and activism
Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook
Keck, Margaret E., and Kathryn Sikkink. 1998. “Transnational Advocacy Networks in International Politics: An Introduction.” In: Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Pp.1-37
Johnston, Josée. 2003. “We Are All Marcos? Zapatismo, Solidarity and the Politics of Scale.” In: Gordon Laxer and Sandra Halperin, eds., Global Civil Society and Its Limits. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp.85-104
Evans, Peter. 2008. “Is an Alternative Globalization Possible?” Politics & Society 36(2):271-305.
Examples of Required Writing Assignments
- Include a thesis statement: Stating the global issue and how the organizations/social movements involved in your research is actually solving it.
Paragraph 1- Describe what type of Social Movement/organization: Its it addressing a Deprivation in Society? Is it Resource Mobilization? Its it Mass Movement? Does it represent the concepts of Globalization? Does it practice non-violence?
Paragraph 2- Propose your research plan, stating the issue, the organization(s) currently solving the problem and their methods
Paragraph 3- Propose a theoretical model with which to approach the problem/solution. Contact the organizations media representative for more info on mission statements or goals for the organization that may have a model of how they work.
Paragraph 4- Propose field research, what is unknown about the issue, what needs to be understood better
Paragraph 5- Investigate sources of funding, compile an estimated budget, and describe how the funds will be used to carry out your task
Examples of Outside Assignments
- Students choose 6 to 10 countries for analysis. - Data selection: Research Census data. Assemble the data in a table. 10 points - Analysis: Write a reflection on what you learned. 20 points
Sample:
Use the following countries in your analysis: Afghanistan Bolivia Cambodia China France Lithuania Tanzania Turkey United States
Look up the following information for each country on www.prb.org and assemble it into a table. Your table should be easy to read and fit onto one page. If you cannot fit it onto one page, please make sure that all column and row labels are present on the second page.
Crude Birth Rate (Births per 1,000 population) Crude Death Rate Rate of Natural Increase Infant Mortality Rate (Infant deaths per 1,000 live births) Life Expectancy GNI PPP per capita . . . and any other data you find personally interesting.
Include a column or row in your table in which you identify which stage of the demographic transition you believe each country to be in.
Once you have assembled your table, write a two- to three-page paper (500 to 750 words) on what you have learned from assembling this information: Do there appear to be any trends or relationships between the data? Are there any data that surprise you?