Thinking Globally: Individual, Authority, and Nature in World Contexts

Goals | Faculty | Books | Grading | Blackboard | Note | Schedule | English

Course Goals and Description:

"Who are you and what in the world are you doing?" This learning community will study global dynamics by exploring the changing definitions and interconnections of the individual person, authority, and nature. It compares historic civilizations and the emergence of global dynamics through markets, the system of nation-states, colonialism, urbanization, communication technologies, and sources of knowledge and authority (science, civilization, religion). Students will develop an empirical and theoretical foundation in global patterns of interconnectedness and change and in the conflicts driving global policy debates.

Thinking Globally is a School of Global Studies course for majors and those interested in majoring in Global Studies. The purpose of Thinking Globally is to have the student develop an empirical and conceptual foundation for critically engaging institutions, policies, practices, and outcomes and to envision her or his role as a world citizen. This vision consists of the following course goals:

• acquire systematic knowledge of historical and contemporary patterns:
• historical, civilizational change and resistance
• global patterns of interconnectedness and change: markets, the system of nation-states, colonialism, urbanization, communication technologies, and sources of knowledge and authority (science, civilization, religion)
• global issues, debates, and conflicts among states, firms, groups, and individuals over policies, practices, and outcomes
• theoretical approaches, concepts, and debates
• develop an awareness of interconnectedness
• changing definitions and interconnections of the individual person, authority, and nature
• interrelations of individualism, interstate system, capitalism, and civilizations/cultures
• global, national, and local institutions
• develop skills for thinking critically about institutions, policies, practices, and outcomes
• criteria to evaluate available sources
• gather and organize information
• develop and write a coherent analytical argument
• interpret evidence and assess theories and arguments in light of evidence
• information literacy
• oral communication
• develop one's personal reflections and commitments on theoretical and practice issues

The Learning Community will meet in different formats and contexts. On Mondays (12:40 - 3:30), the faculty will present materials through lectures, discussions, and in-class exercises. In Tuesday and Wednesday noon sessions (11:40 - 1:30), there will be a film series, guest speakers, library projects, and discussion groups. On Wednesday immediately following (1:40 - 3:30), there will be breakout sessions in which the Learning Community is divided into three groups, and each group will meet with one of the three SGS faculty. The freshman English course is integrated into the community with sessions on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The themes and skills for critical thinking cut across the Learning Community. Substantive arguments and information will be topics of writing and discussion in the English section; the writing and critical thinking skills developed in the English section will be used and evaluated throughout the Learning Community.

Each faculty, graduate student, and peer mentor brings different training and expertise to the Learning Community. We will be learning from each other as we attempt to transcend the established scholarly disciplines of humanities and social sciences. We will bring together different approaches to build a better understanding of global processes. In the Learning Community we will use abstract concepts even as we grapple with detailed historical patterns and different cultural contexts. In addition to the big themes of the individual person, authority, and nature, we will use concrete themes to illustrate interconnectedness. We, for example, will develop a concept of space: landscapes, gardens, wilderness, urban space, parks, and personal space. Many empirical patterns and lines of argument will seem counter-intuitive; for example, that individualism emerged and grew with the expansion of strong centralized states and national societies; or, that a romantic emphasis on individual emotional expressiveness has grown with an increase in practical rationality; or, that governments of even the most developed countries are plagued by corruption.

The student will be challenged to engage the different teaching styles and claims of expertise from the different faculty, to integrate abstract argumentation with empirical comparative-historical evidence, and to have a high tolerance for new and counter-intuitive approaches. The immediate payoff is a lot of General Studies credits. The longer term payoff, we are confident, will involve substantive knowledge, critical thinking, and a proactive stance toward the world.

Because the School of Global Studies (SGS) was only recently established, during its first semester Thinking Globally has the following course numbers: FLA 194, POS 194, SOC 194, and ENG 101/105. It carries the following General Studies Designations:

• SBS: Social and Behavioral Sciences
• HU: Humanities (by petition)
• G: Global Awareness
• H: Historical Awareness (by petition)

Faculty and Staff:

Faculty

• Sarah Fedirka, Instructor of English
• George M. Thomas, Professor of Global Studies
• Carolyn Warner, Professor of Global Studies
• Stephen H. West, Foundation Professor of Chinese and Global Studies

Librarian

• Deborah Abston

Graduate Assistants

• Kyla Mocharnuk, Political Science
• Bill Wolfgram, Political Science
• To Be Announced, English

Peer Mentors

• Cara Adelmann
• Jessica Kokal
• Robert LeBarge

Books

Required

1. Cao Xueqin. The Story of the Stone . Penguin Classics.
2. Victor Mair, et al. Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture ( Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005)
3. Aldous Huxley. Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited (Perennial Classics)
4. Romeo and Juliet, any good edition.
5. Lee Cuba. A Short Guide to Writing about Social Science . 4 th ed. NY: Longman, 2002.
6. Jacqueline Joyce Royster, ed. Critical Inquiries: Readings on Culture and Community . NY: Longman, 2003.
7. Laura Tohe. No Parole Today . NY: West End Press, 1999.

Optional / recommended

1. Marshall G.S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: The Gunpower Empires and Modern Times (Vol. 3, Chicago Univ Press, 1977.
2. Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia, Harvard Univ Press 1993.

Packet of other readings

• A packet of the other readings will be available at a local copy shop

Course Work and Evaluations: Grades

Grade/Assignment Breakdown

This does NOT include English. See detailed English syllabus that follows.

Assignment	Points	Due Date
3 Exams	(3 @ 100 pts) 300	Sept 28, Nov 2, Dec 7 (?)
Reaction Narrative to assigned Article	25	Sept 7
Revised Reaction Narrative	25	Sept 19
Annotated Bibliography	25	Oct 3
Book Review	25	Oct 17
Topic Proposal	25	Oct 24
8-10 page Analytic Paper	125	Dec 12
Film Logs	(10 @10 pts) 100	Weekly
Participation, In-Class Work, Homework	(30 @ 5pts) 150	Weekly
Total Points	800

Grades

Letter grades will be assigned: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, E.

Blackboard: Online access to grades, materials, and announcements

This is not an online course, but there is a myASU website that contains the syllabus. We will post on the website grades, announcements, and handouts. You should view the website only as a supplemental aid and not as a replacement for attending class.

Note:

1. There is no extra credit work.
2. There will be no recording of the lectures/discussions unless special permission is given for unique circumstances. Please contact us early if you need any other services.
3. Plagiarism is not tolerated. We follow university policy found in the Student Code of Conduct and Student Disciplinary Procedures ( http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/sta/sta104-01.html ).
4. Announcements and instructions throughout the course will amplify, supplement, and possibly change the syllabus. The student is responsible for keeping up-to-date on these announcements.

Outline and Schedule:

I. What is a Person?

Week 1 - Aug 22: Introduction and Overview: What is a Person?

Readings:

• "Introduction," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture ( Honolulu : University of Hawai'i Press, 2005) pp. 1-7.
• "Shang Dynasty Oracle Bone Inscriptions," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture , pp. 8-12.
• "Shang and Zhou Ritual Bronze Inscriptions," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture, pp. 13-17.
• "The Tradition of the Daode jing ," and "Zhuangzi," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 78-95.
• Eviatar Zerubavel, Social Mindscapes, ch. 1 (22 pp.)
• Alan Fiske, "The Four Elementary Forms of Sociality" Psychological Review . Vol. 99 (Oct. 1992), pp. 689-723, available via ASU e-journals Read 689-710

Week 2 - Aug 29: What is a person? Individual I: Moral identity and embeddedness

Readings:

• "Confucius and the Birth of Chinese Philosophy," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture, pp. 45-50.
• "Filial Piety," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture, pp. 106-12.
• "Xunzi and the Confucian Way ," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 121-29.
• "Admonitions for Women," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 186-89.
• "Biographies of Exemplary Women," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 607-14.
• "In Praise of Martyrs: Widow-Suicide in Late Imperial China ," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 461-66.
• "The Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove," in ," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 251-55.
• Peter Berger, B. Berger, and H. Kellner, The Homeless Mind, (selections.)
• Alan Fiske, "The Four Elementary Forms of Sociality" Psychological Review . Vol. 99 (Oct. 1992), pp. 689-723, available via ASU e-journals read 710-717
• Film: "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman"

Week 3 - Sept 5 (Labor Day)

Continued discussions of personhood; library assignment.

Readings:

• Aldous Huxley, Brave New World , chs. 1-8.
• Film: "Blade Runner"
• Film: "Brazil"

Week 4 - Sept 12: What is a person? Individual II: Agency, rationality, and emotionality

Readings:

• Ralph Turner, "Institutions and impulse." American Journal of Sociology (selections)
• Charles Taylor. Sources of the Self, (selections)
• Christian Smith. Moral, Believing Animals: Human Personhood and Culture. 2003. Pp. 7-33 (33-43 recommended).
• Aldous Huxley, Brave New World , finish.
• David D. Laitin, Hegemony and Culture , Chicago : Univ. Chicago Press, Ch. 1
• Film: "Bend it Like Beckham"

Week 5 - Sept 19: What is a person? Individual III: Global individualisms

Readings:

• "Accounts of Bengal in Extensive Records on Four Foreign Lands ," Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 105-13.
• " Small Sea Travelogue," Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 148-62.
• "The Qianlong Emperor's letter to King George (1793) ," see http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/qianlong.html
• "The Hai-lu," see http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/hai-lu.html
• Roland Robertson, 1992. Globalization excerpted as "Globalization as a Problem," in F. Lechner and J. Boli (eds.), The Globalization Reader. 2004, pp. 93-99.
• George M. Thomas. Selections on "Religions in world society."
• Olivier Roy. "Why is Neofundamentalism Successful?" in his Globalized Islam: the Search for a New Ummah New York : Columbia Univ. Press, 2004, pp. 258-275 ..
• Film: "The Wedding Banquet"
• Film: "My Son the Fanatic"

Week 6 - Sept 26: Review for Wed Exam

II. How do people boss each other around?

Week 7 - Oct 3: How do people boss each other around? I: Comparative governance, states, and the individual

Readings:

• "The Five Phases," Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 165-68.
• "Heaven's Mandate," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 32-34.
• "Sung," in A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China (Stanford: University Press, 1985) pp. 40-52.
• "Yingying's Story," The Anthology of Chinese Literature , ed. Stephen Owen (New York: Norton Press, 1996), pp. 540-49.
• Read also: "Early Discussions of Music and Literature," in Hawai'i Reader in Traditional Chinese, pp. 130-34.
• Joseph. Strayer, "The historical experience of nation-building in Europe ." Pp. 17-27 in K. Deutsch and W. J. Foltz (eds.), Nation-building . New York : Atherton Press. 1963.
• John Boli. "Human rights or state expansion? Cross-national definitions of constitutional rights, 1870-1970. Pp. 133-149 in Thomas, G.M. et al. Institutional Structure . 1987.
• Carolyn M. Warner "The Rise of the State System in Africa " Review of International Studies 27 (Dec, 2001): pp. 869-893. available on-line via ASU catalogue
• Film: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"
• "The Return of Martin Guerre"

Week 8 - Oct 10: How do people boss each other around? II: Comparative governance, states, and the individual

Readings:

• 13 th , 14 th c. Chinese administrative maps
• Guan Hanqing, "The Butterfly Dream," trans. Stephen West
• Guan Hanqing, "The Injustice to Dou E," trans. Stephen West
• Li Xiandao, "The Chalk Circle," trans. Stephen West
• R. Nisbet, "Besieged by the state." Harper's 268(June):49-52. 1984.
• H.S. Commager, "Tocqueville's mistake." Harper's 268(Aug):70-4. 1984.
• Romeo and Juliet
• Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia . Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1993, pp. 1-52
• Film: "Romeo and Juliet"
• Farewell my Concubine

Week 9 - Oct 17: How do people boss each other around? III: Space, place, nature, progress, and democracy

Readings:

• "Travel Tips for Merchants," Shilin guangji , trans. Stephen West.
• "The Pearl-Sewn Shirt," in Stories from a Ming Collection (London: Bodley Head, 1958), pp. .
• S.N. Eisenstadt. Paradoxes of Democracy , (selections).
• R. Wuthnow. "The institutionalization of science," pp. in Meaning and Moral Order . 1987.
• Gill S. Drori et al. 2003. Science in the Modern World Polity, pp. 1-17.
• Jeffrey Herbst, States and Power in Africa pp. 2-6, 11-31
• Suzanne Daley, "11 Years Caged in an Airport: now he fears to fly" New York Times Sept. 27, 1999 (available on Lexis Nexis)..
• Film: "The Story of Qiu Ju"

Week 10 Oct 24: How do people boss each other around? IV: Global governance and civilizations

Readings:

• Cao Xueqin, The Story of the Stone: The Golden Years (New York: Penguin Classics, 1999), Introduction, chapters 1-5.
• F. D. Gaer. "Reality check: human rights NGOs confront governments at the UN." Ch. 2 in T.G. Weiss and L. Gordenker (eds.), NGOs, the UN, and Global Governance. 1996.
• J. Boli and G.M. Thomas. 1997. "World culture in the world polity: a century of international non-governmental organization." American Sociological Review 62:171-190, (selections).
• Marshall GS Hodgson, "The Impact of the Great Western Transmutation" in The Venture of Islam , Vol. 3, pp. 176-222..
• Marshall GS Hodgson, "European World Hegemony: The 19 th Century" in The Venture of Islam , Vol. 3, pp. 222-248
• Film: Interview w/ Said (video in ASU library)   HAYDEN LOWER LEVEL   D860 .S25x 1998 VIDEO SHELF
• Lawrence of Arabia (ASU West has DVD; ASU Hayden has video)

Week 11 - Oct 31: Review for Exam

III. How do People get Stuff and Money?

Week 12 - Nov 7: How do people get stuff and money? I: Non-capitalist economies

Readings:

• Story of the Stone , chapters 6-12.
• Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation . Boston : Beacon. 1944. Pp. 33-35, and ch. 4.
• Carolyn M. Warner "The Political Economy of Quasi-Statehood and the Demise of 19th Century African Politics." Review of International Studies 25 (April, 1999): 233-255 [available on-line via ASU catalogue].

Week 13 - Nov 14: How do people get stuff and money? II: Rise and nature of capitalism

Readings:

• Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation . Boston : Beacon. 1944, ch. 5.
• Fred Block "The Ruling class does not rule: notes on a Marxist theory of the State" in his Revising State Theory , (Temple Univ Press 1987) ch 3
• Excerpts from US Supreme Court decision on right of eminent domain (June 23, 2005)
• Film: "The Tree of Wooden Clogs"

Week 14 - Nov 21: How do people get stuff and money? III: Global capitalism, governance, and civilizations

Readings:

• Story of the Stone , chapters 13-20.
• P. McMichael. Development and Social Change . 2004, (selections).
• Selections from "Economic globalization" in F. Lechner and J. Boli (eds.), The Globalization Reader. 2004.
• R.T. Naylor, "Loose Cannons: Covert Commerce and Underground Finance in the Modern Arms Black Market" in Wages of Crime , Ithaca : Cornell Univ Press, 2002, pp 88-132
• Film: "The Cola Conquest"

Week 15 Nov 28: How in the world do people get stuff and money, boss each other around, and act like persons?

Readings:

• Story of the Stone , chapters 21-26.
• Peter Berger and Samuel P. Huntington. Many Globalizations. 2002. (excerpt)
• Benjamin Barber, "Jihad vs. McWorld?" The Atlantic Monthly (March) 1992
• Adam Gopnik, "The Balzar Wars" and "The Strike" in Paris to the Moon
• Anthony Lane , "The Power of One" The New Yorker p. 228, april 28 - May 5, 1997
• Film: "The Gods must be Crazy"

Week 16 Dec 5: Review for Exam on Tuesday Dec 6

 

English Section Schedule of Assignments:

(This schedule is subject to change. Changes will be announced in class.
It is your responsibility to keep up with them.)

Week 1 - Claiming Identity T 8/23 In-class: Course introduction; selected poems. Th 8/25 Due: Read "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" (CI 9). Short response #1: How does Thoreau address the title questions of this excerpt? In-class: Discussion: Claiming an identity with, through, and in writing. Discuss writing as cognitive, social, and political act.

Week 2 T 8/30 Due: Read WASS chapter 3; "Things I Shouldn't Write," excerpt from Daughters of the Can to n Delta , and "Walking out the Gate" (handouts). In-class: Introduction to reaction narrative. Th 9/1 Due: Short Response #2: Statement of self. In-class: Claiming an identity with, through, and in writing continued.

Week 3 T 9/6 Due: Read "The God of Small Feasts" and "Eleven (CI 29 and 36). In-class: Using language to shape a self (selves). W 9/7 Due: Reaction narrative to assigned article. Th 9/8 Due: Read "C.P. Ellis" (CI 47). In-class: Discussion: claiming identity and moral responsibility.

Week 4 - We, the People T 9/13 Due: Read Declaration of Independence (CI 136) and selected poems (CI 163-167). Short Response #3: Select one poem and consider how it supports, rewrites or responds to the words, ideas, and arguments presented in the Declaration. In-class: Whose rights? Th 9/15 Due: Read WASS chapters 1 and 2. Bring to class a paragraph describing your strategy for revising reaction narrative. In-class: Library research introduction.

Week 5 M 9/19 Due: Revised reaction narrative. T 9/20 Due: "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?" (CI 131) In-class: Dialoguing with reading and rhe to rical context. Short response #4: How does Douglass use ethos, logos, pathos? Th 9/22 Due: Read "A Black Feminist Statement" (CI 155) and "On the Equality of the Sexes" (available online at http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/grimke3.html ). Short response #5: List of possible annotated bibliography sources. In-class: Discussion: authority, authorship, and obligation.

Week 6 T 9/27 Due: Draft of Annotated Bibliography. In-class: Writers' workshop. Th 9/29 Due: Read "A Polyglot Nation" and "The Confusing State of Minority Language Rights" (CI 173 and189). In-class: Connecting language, identity, and authority.

Week 7 - A Place Called Home M 10/3 Due: Annotated Bibliography. T 10/4 Due: Read "A Chinese Ishmael," "The Bird of Love" and "An Autumn Fan" available online at U of VA Electronic Text Center (Go to http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/Flist.html ) . In-Class: Discussion: How do conceptions of place, home, family shape self? Th 10/6 Due: Read "Homeplace" (CI 63). Short Response #6: Book review proposal paragraph. In-class: How do conceptions of place, home, family shape self? Continued.

Week 8 T 10/11 Due: Draft of book review. In-class: Writers' workshop. Th 10/13 Due: Read "Landscape and Narrative," "Taking a Visi to r," and "Just Past Shiprock" (CI 71, 77, and 87). In-class: Discussion: author izing narratives of nation, nature, and self.

Week 9 M 10/17 Due: Book review. T 10/18 Due: Read WASS chapter 4. Short Response #7: Research paper to pic paragraph. In-class: Library research. Th 10/20 Due: Read No Parole Today . In-class: Discussion: How the self gets "mapped" and by whom.

Week 10 T 10/25 Due: Draft of to pic proposal. In-class: Writers' workshop. Th 10/27 Due: Finish No Parole Today . In-class : Discussion: The importance of names, naming.

Week 11 - Migration, Immigration, Nation M 10/31 Due: Topic proposal. T 11/1 Due: Read selected poems (CI 252-258). In-class: Discussion. Th 11/3 Due: Read "The Homeland" (CI 275). Short response #8: Select one poem and consider how its form contributes to (or undermines) its content. In-class: Discussion: Connections between form and content.

Week 12 T 11/8 Due: Read "1955" (handout). Short Response #9: With which character do your sympathies lie? In-class: View Independent Lens' "A Lion's Trail" or "Chavez Ravine." Th 11/10 Due: Catch-up day. In-class: Discussion.

Week 13 T 11/15 Due: "Space is Numeric" and "The Good Deed" (CI 538 and 549) In-class: Discussion: Authority, exchange and markets on the digital frontier. Th 11/17 Due: Short response #10: Draft of research paper claim/thesis. In-class: Library research.

Week 14 T 11/22 Due: Read "Commodifying Human Relationships" (CI 572) . In-class: Discussion: How has human experience been commodified? Th 11/24 No Class. Thanksgiving Break

Week 15 T 11/29 In-class: Presentations of research paper to pics/arguments. Th 12/1 Due: Draft of research paper . In-class: Writers' workshop. Presentations of research paper to pics/arguments.

Week 16 T 12/6 In-class: Presentations of research paper to pics/arguments.