The Contemporary World Topic 7

• An Introduction to Global Studies
• Globalization


  Series of social processes including deterritorialization, interconnectedness between the local and global, and compressing of time
• Dimensions of globalization


  • Economics
  • Politics
  • Culture
• Nation-state


  Emerged as the dominant political unit globally
• Nation-states face internal and external challenges from competitors like international governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and multinational corporations
• Types of international organizations


  • Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)
  • Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
• Human rights


  Originated from various schools of thought and have a complex historical background, with debates over their universality vs cultural relativism
• Human rights are monitored and enforced by the UN and other actors, with emerging rights like the right to water and DNA rights
• Global environmental challenges


  • Climate change
  • Deforestation
  • Ozone depletion
  • Water issues
  • Air pollution
  • Desertification
  • Habitat/species loss
  • Pesticides
  • Waste production
• Population and consumption


  Global population growth, aging, migration, and urbanization are linked to increased consumption patterns, especially in agriculture and consumer culture
• Infectious diseases are impacted by globalization through environmental changes, the food industry, urbanization, and air travel
• Gendered issues


  • Poverty and development
  • Labor and migration
  • Human security and rights
  • Education and health
• Information and communication technologies (ICTs)


  Enabled the Information Age and Digital Age, with both benefits and challenges like the digital divide
• War and violent conflict have evolved over history, with complex causes, ethical/legal dimensions, and high costs in terms of deaths, environmental damage, and military spending
• Peace


  Defined in various ways, with a history of modern peace movements and efforts by states, international organizations, and individuals to promote peace
• The academy's slowness in making the various globalization processes and effects the object of interdisciplinary analysis is due in part to organizational structures in higher education, many of which encourage disciplines to be protective of their boundaries
• Despite such barriers, the interdisciplinary nature of so many of the major issues facing the world at the beginning of the twenty-first century has pushed against, and is increasingly breaking through, some of those long-standing disciplinary boundaries
• Global Studies


  A distinct interdisciplinary field that emerged at a time when globalization was increasingly and profoundly affecting multiple areas of people's everyday lives
• Global Studies enhances our understanding of global phenomena by bringing the methodologies and discourses from a variety of disciplines to bear on many of the most pressing issues of our day
• Global Studies makes connections not only among various disciplines but also between the local and the global, and oneself and others
• Global Studies provides a framework that allows us to explore the ways in which the personal is global and the global is highly personal
• Chapter 1


  1. Providing an overview of what constitutes Global Studies

  2. Discussing the historical context for the evolution of the field in concert with competing conceptualizations of globalization

  3. Addressing various dimensions of globalization including economic, political, and cultural processes

  4. Discussing the term "global citizenship" and its relationship to ideas like belonging, civic responsibility, and civic engagement
• Chapter 2


  1. Presenting the historical background to the development of the nation-state as the primary social, political, and economic organizing structure of human society

  2. Tracing the expansion of the nation-state from Europe via colonialism

  3. Outlining some of the internal and external threats facing the modern nation-state

  4. Exploring the increasing number of marginal and failed states and the dangers and opportunities these present
• Chapter 3


  1. Delving much deeper into the structure, roles, and relationships between international organizations and the nation-state

  2. Presenting the historical background for the development of international organizations

  3. Examining the major international organizations operating in the world today

  4. Discussing the evolution of non-governmental organizations and the changing nature of the roles they play
• Chapter 4


  1. Discussing the evolution of human rights, the various schools of thought that undergird human rights, and the key founding documents of the modern human rights movement

  2. Exploring the debates over different interpretations of human rights

  3. Examining the monitoring and enforcement of human rights with a focus on transnational justice mechanisms

  4. Considering evolving notions of humanitarian intervention including the "right to protect" (R2P)

  5. Discussing newer human rights discourses including the right to water, sexual rights, and the right to one's own genetic material
• Chapter 5


  1. Providing a detailed discussion of global climate change including its causes and impacts

  2. Discussing other ongoing global environmental challenges such as the global water supply, air pollution, plant and animal extinction, and waste production

  3. Exploring various strategies being developed and deployed to improve the global environment
• Chapter 6


  1. Describing current population statistics and projections including the demographic issues they will produce

  2. Discussing debates about and strategies for meeting the challenges posed by population growth and increasing consumption patterns
• Chapter 7


  1. Tracing the history of infectious diseases and exploring the interactions between globalization and infectious diseases

  2. Discussing disease in the context of migration, air travel, food production, and urbanization

  3. Surveying the current challenges posed by infectious diseases including treatment questions over the availability of pharmaceuticals
• Chapter 8


  1. Defining key terms before launching into a detailed discussion of how globalization affects women and men differently

  2. Discussing the intersection of gender, poverty, and development

  3. Exploring human security and human rights issues that are particularly pressing for women

  4. Discussing education and health issues that affect women, their families, and their communities
• Chapter 9


  1. Exploring the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and evolving conceptions of the Information Age and the Digital Age

  2. Looking at the emergence of networks and the communication changes that networks like the Internet and the World Wide Web have engendered

  3. Examining the relationship between "new media" and globalization
• Chapter 10


  1. Tracing the history of violent conflict and looking at both its causes and attempts to prevent it

  2. Examining some of the costs of war including human casualties, environmental destruction, economic damage, and the diversion of resources from development to supporting the war machine
• Chapter 11


  1. Exploring the history of peace movements

  2. Discussing peaceful forms of conflict resolution

  3. Focusing on organizations that work to eradicate violent social conditions that are antithetical to peace
• Each chapter endeavors to provide readers with a thorough understanding of the competing approaches that scholars bring to bear on the topics presented
• Instead of prescribing solutions, the book asks questions and presents multiple perspectives, encouraging readers to think critically about the issues presented and to come away with a better understanding of how connected we all are to one another
• Facilities all over the globe, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Singapore, and China
• Health and environmental problems are global
• Human beings all over the world are contributing to problems (global climate change being an important example) that affect the entire globe and that can only be effectively responded to by coordinated global action
• Global studies


  Academic field that emerged in the contemporary globalizing context, as scholars increasingly grappled with changes that were rapidly shrinking the globe and intensifying social, political, and economic connections
• Discipline-specific approach


  • Scholars initially tended to approach globalization solely through the frameworks of their specific disciplines
• Over time, many scholars began arguing persuasively that globalization involves too many different types of forces and issues for it to be understood adequately through the lens of any single discipline