Globalization: Then and Now

By several measures, the global economy was more fully integrated in 1900 than it is today. Thus, the current march of globalization is neither inevitable nor unprecedented. In this course, we will examine the foreign economic policies of the major powers (particularly the United States and Great Britain) that fostered these two eras of globalization. We will also consider the normative arguments made by both the advocates (Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, and Paul Krugman) and the skeptics (Karl Marx, Alexander Hamilton, and Dani Rodrik) of market integration. We will use this perspective to understand and evaluate current trends in the global economy. (Prior experience in economics and/or political science recommended.) This course counts as elective credit towards the Political Science major. (International Relations and Foreign Policy)/