The Global Power and Politics Section offers the following courses
2nd Year Courses
POST 2200 (GP) – Introduction to Global Politics
The global system and its evolution with a survey of different approaches to analysis. Issues include economic globalization, democratization, international organization, security, civil society, human rights, social movements and nationalism. (support course for International Development Studies). Staff.
3rd Year Courses
POST 3200H (GP) H - Ordering world politics I: U.S. foreign policy in the 20th century and beyond.
This course aims to provide a critical perspective on the efforts to construct and regulate the global order represented by U.S. foreign policy. A theoretically informed review of the historical record is used to achieve an understanding of current trends. Recommended: POST 2200/2230. Alternates with Post-Cast 3210H.(GP).
POST-CAST 3210H (GP) H - Ordering world politics II: Canadian foreign policy in the 20th century and beyond
This course aims to provide a critical perspective on the efforts to construct and regulate the global order represented by Canadian foreign policy. A theoretically informed review of the historical record is used to achieve an understanding of current trends. Recommended: POST 2200/2230. Alternates with POST 3200 (GP) H.
POST-SOCI 3230Y (GP) – Nationalism and political order in global perspective (Pickel)
Why nationalism has survived and revived under globalization; how ethnicity is politicized and national identities constructed; nationalism’s positive and negative forms and its relationship with democratic values. The course incorporates philosophical, historical, sociological, anthropological and economic approaches to explain and assess varieties of nationalism. Recommended: POST 2200/2230. Excludes POST – SOCI 3230.
POST 3250H (GP) - Post-communist transformation (Pickel)
Studies the political and economic transitions of formerly Communist countries in comparative and global perspective. Includes Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, China, Vietnam and Cuba. Recommended: POST 2200/2230.
POST 3960Y (GP) - Socialism: theory and practice (Pickel)
This course explores the significance of socialist politics and Marxist analysis under neoliberal globalization. Surveys philosophy, political economy, ideology; communism, social democracy, postcommunist transformations; Eastern Europe, China, Cuba. Strongly recommended: POST 2200/2230.
POST 3905/3906H (GP) – Reading Course
Designed to provide an opportunity for more intensive examination of material studied in other Global Politics courses. Prerequisite: permission of the Section.
The following 3rd-year courses also satisfy the requirements of the Global Politics Emphasis Programme:
ENGLISH 3707H: Literature and Globalization
In this course we will be concerned with literature that explores the political, economic, cultural and existential effects of globalization. We will also, inevitably, be concerned with the effects of globalization on literature itself. The course is not intended, in any way, as a literary history of globalization; while we will touch on both the colonial and postcolonial eras, our focus will be primarily on contemporary literature and the ways in which it confronts the ontological and epistemological challenges of a postmodern, globalized world. Our approach to this material will rely both on literary analysis and readings drawn from the social sciences. (H. Hodges)
HIST 3150Y (3150H) – Triumph & Tragedy; United States Foreign Policy, 1945-1990
Major factors and historical processes that shaped American foreign policies during the Cold War, with special attention to the Soviet-American confrontation, third world revolutions, the emergence of the Central Intelligence Agency, the War in Vietnam, and the interactions between foreign and domestic policy making in American politics.
Excludes HIST 3952H and HIST 3150. (D. Sheinin)
WMST - POST(GP) 3880 - The politics of gender and globalization
This course focuses on how globalization is transforming gender dynamics that underpin relationships between and within states, markets, civil society, and households. It introduces students to feminist perspectives on the global political economy, focusing on specific issues such as: international trade agreements, labour, security, migration, health, environment, and human rights. Prerequisite: either one 200-level course in Politics or Women’s Studies or permission of the instructor. Recommended: POST 2200 or WMST 2010.
Excludes POST-WMST 3880 (C. O’Manique)
4th Year Courses
POST 4200H (GP) F - Politics of globalization I: Thinking Critically, Thinking Globally (Neufeld)
“Thinking globally” has become a watchword of living in an era of globalization. Drawing on current theories of world politics, as well as insights afforded by social and political theory, this course explores the issue of how to think critically in global terms.
Prerequisite: POST 2200/ 2230 or permission of the instructor.
POST-SOCI 4210Y (GP) – Advanced Seminar – Emphasis in Global Power and Politics (Pickel)
A special course reviewing major approaches to the study of global power and politics designed for senior students in the social sciences interested in acquiring tools for exploring multidisciplinary literature in the globalization field.
POST 4340H (GP) W – Beyond International Relations: Colonial and Post-Colonial Theory (Neufeld)
The goal of the course is to analyze the relationship between Western political thought and the project of imperialism. Readings in classical colonial as well as contemporary post-colonial theory will provide the foundation for reflection and discussion. Above average reading and writing requirements.
Prerequisite: POST 4220(GP) H or permission of the instructor. POST4200 (GP) H strongly recommended.
POST 4960H (GP) W – Politics of Globalization II: The Global Imagination (Neufeld)
This course will draw on C. Wright Mills' notion of the "Sociological Imagination" - in particular, the link between "personal troubles of milieu" and "public issues of social structure" - to frame the question of globalization. The course makes use not only of scholarly literature, but also fiction and film. Above average reading and writing
requirements.
Students are strongly encouraged to take POST4200 (GP) H as well.
POST 4905/4906H (GP) – Reading Course
Designed to provide an opportunity for more intensive examination of material studied in other Global Politics courses.
Prerequisite: Permission of the Section
POST 4030 (GP) – Thesis Option – Emphasis in Global Power and Politics
A scholarly project on a specific topic to be developed and carried out under the supervision of a member of the Section.