Component: Global Cultures
Description: The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the field of economic geography and to develop your geographical understanding of the world political economy in the era of Globalization. We will approach the economy as a historical and social creation that is fundamentally shaped by the intersection of politics, culture, gender, race, and the biophysical world. We will examine how space(s) and place(s) are produced by and, in turn, produce economic processes. Also, we will investigate the asymmetrical (developed versus developing countries) nature of the global networks of economic relations in which our own lives are enmeshed, while addressing issues of uneven global development and the position of non-western societies in the capitalist system. In order to establish a basis for understanding the geographies of economic exchanges we will discuss and read about such issues as colonialism, industrialization, globalization, free trade, migration, the developing world, poverty, race, gender, and more.