Course Outline

PSCI 387: Globalization

Fall 2022
Department of Political Science
University of Waterloo

Instructor: Dr. Maissaa Almustafa

Email: maissaa.almustafa@uwaterloo.ca

Class meetings: Thursdays, 4:00 pm – 5:20 pm

Classroom: RCH – Rod Coutts Hall 207
Office hours: By appointment

Territorial Acknowledgment: We acknowledge that we are living and working on the traditional
territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples.
The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six
Nations that includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River.

Course Type: This is a blended course that involves a mix of asynchronous and synchronous
components. Asynchronous activities of the course are due on Tuesdays whereas class in-person
meetings will take place on Thursdays from 4:00 pm to 5:20 pm at RCH Rod Coutts Hall 207.
Course Description: This course examines the complex phenomenon of globalization from an
interdisciplinary perspective. It explores the conceptual framework, emergence and historical
development of globalization, structures and politics of global governance, global institutions and
actors and, most importantly, the impacts of globalization on communities and individuals in
different parts of the world.
The course aims to address the political, economic, and social aspects of globalization by
discussing questions like: What is globalization and when did it start? Who are the actors involved
in (re)producing and contesting globalization and what are their roles (e.g. states, social
movements, corporations, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations,
etc.)? What are the processes and practices related to globalization? How are these processes and
practices experienced by various communities around the world? Thus, the course involves
discussions of various perspectives of globalization and explores a number of global contemporary
themes including global pandemics, forced displacement, global wars, climate change, indigenous
identities, and social movements.
Additionally, the course aims to enhance students’ critical thinking skills through engagement with
carefully selected scholarly literatures and other class materials. Students are required to
meaningfully participate in class activities through discussion sessions, reflection and analytical
papers.
Course Objectives: The course aims to allow students to:
1. Build a critical perspective of globalization and its impacts through engaging with
interdisciplinary scholarly literature and other assigned class materials.
2. Utilize course materials to explain the varying dimensions of globalization including its
politics, power dynamics, actors, and contemporary themes and crises.
3. Demonstrate solid communication skills in written assignments and contributing to discussion
sessions that evaluate the conceptual framework, emergence, developments, and impacts of
globalization.
4. Develop collaborative work skills by demonstrating meaningful and respectful engagement in
a classroom environment.

Pre-Requisites: PSCI 150

Communication:
Please contact me via email (maissaa.almustafa@uwaterloo.ca) if you have questions/concerns
pertaining to the course. Do not wait to talk if you are having any difficulties or concerns. I will
use Learn to post additional course material, assignment notes, and any last-minute class
announcements.

Email Policy: I will do my best to answer your emails within 24-48 hours.

Email Etiquette: When you are communicating with Professors using email:
1) Make sure the subject line of your message identifies a) the course number and b) the nature of
your query (for example: PSCI 387 Assignment Question).
2) Make sure to provide your name and student number,
3) Finally, please use proper sentences, not shorthand and proper salutations and signature with
your name (“Hey” is not an acceptable salutation and I will not reply to emails that do not bother
to provide basic courteous information (e.g. Dear Professor and your name).

Course Website: The course outline, details for assignments, class announcements, grades, etc.
will be available on the course website on LEARN. If you have questions about when assignments
are due, late policies, etc., your first source of information is the course outline.

Accommodations: Accommodations, including for emergencies, serious illness or religious

observances will be made for both class attendance and written work. Documentation may be
required. Where possible – such as in the case of religious observances - it is expected that I be
notified in advance. Should you feel uncomfortable discussing the need for accommodation with
me directly please feel free to contact accessible learning to discuss your situation. If you are
registered with Accessible Learning, it is your responsibility to schedule a time to write the tests
and exams with them in advance. They will not accommodate you if it is a last-minute request.

University Regulations:
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the
University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.

Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid

committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is
unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid
offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek
guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean.
When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under
Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties,
students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm

Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life
has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 -
Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm

Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 -
Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline
if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm

Academic Integrity website (Arts):

http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/arts/ugrad/academic_responsibility.html
Academic Integrity Office (uWaterloo): http://uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/

Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this
course. Turnitin® is to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented.
Students’ submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative
(e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy
and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time
assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin® in
this course. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of
term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit the alternate assignment.

Accommodation for Students with Disabilities: Note for students with disabilities: The Office
for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all
academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities
without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic
accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the
beginning of each academic term.

Mental Health Support: All of us need a support system. The faculty and staff in Arts encourage
students to seek out mental health support if they are needed.
On Campus:
- Counselling Services: counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca / 519-888-4567 ext. 32655
- MATES: one-to-one peer support program offered by Federation of Students (FEDS) and
Counselling Services
- Health Services Emergency service: located across the creek form Student Life Centre
- Off campus, 24/7:
- Good2Talk: Free confidential help line for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-
5454
 - Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519-749-4300 ext.
6880
- Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247
- OK2BME: set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning
teens in Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 extension 213.

Full details can be found online on the Faculty of Arts website

Download UWaterloo and regional mental health resources (PDF)
Download the WatSafe app to your phone to quickly access mental health support information

Academic freedom at the University of Waterloo: Policy 33, Ethical Behaviour states, as one
of its general principles (Section 1), “The University supports academic freedom for all members
of the University community. Academic freedom carries with it the duty to use that freedom in a
manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base teaching and research on an honest and
ethical quest for knowledge. In the context of this policy, 'academic freedom' refers to academic
activities, including teaching and scholarship, as is articulated in the principles set out in the
Memorandum of Agreement between the FAUW and the University of Waterloo, 1998 (Article
6). The academic environment which fosters free debate may from time to time include the
presentation or discussion of unpopular opinions or controversial material. Such material shall be
dealt with as openly, respectfully and sensitively as possible.” This definition is repeated in
Policies 70 and 71, and in the Memorandum of Agreement, Section 6.

Writing and Communication Centre: The Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) works
with students as they develop their ideas, draft, and revise. Writing and Communication specialists
offer one-on-one support in planning assignments, synthesizing and citing research, organizing
papers and reports, designing presentations and eportfolios, and revising for clarity and coherence.

You can make multiple appointments throughout the term, or you can drop in at the Library for
quick questions or feedback. To book a 25 or 50-minute appointment and to see drop-in hours,
visit Writing and Communication Centre http://www.uwaterloo.ca/wcc . Group appointments for
team-based projects, presentations, and papers are also available.

Required Text Books: Text books will be available at UW Library as course reserves.
- Anna Tsing’ Friction: An ethnography of global connection (2005)
- Jan Aart Scholte's Globalization: a critical introduction (2nd ed., 2005)
- Weekly assigned readings that will be available online through Learn.

Course Assessments:
20% Participation and discussion
50% Short reflection papers
30% Final analytical paper
100% Total
Participation and Discussion (20%, 2% per each class meeting)
Attendance of class meetings is mandatory and you are expected to complete the assigned readings
and come ready to meaningfully participate in class discussion sessions. Meaningful participation
includes:

- Coming to classes having completed the assigned readings.

- Willingness to share opinions, ideas, and reflections and to listen to other opinions during
class discussion sessions.
- Asking relevant questions.

Class discussion sessions will take place during class meetings. Active and thoughtful participation
in class discussion sessions is essential for this course. During these sessions, you and other
classmates will discuss and elaborate on your weekly reflection papers. Your discussion
contribution should demonstrate your understanding and critical engagement with the assigned
materials. Thus, it is very important that you prepare for class discussions by completing the
weekly assigned readings and documentaries.

Your responses to other classmates should be relevant, thoughtful, and constructive and should
demonstrate your ability to positively engage in a group discussion. You will be evaluated on the
basis of your active, thoughtful, and informed participation in class discussion sessions.

Short Reflection Papers (50%: 10 papers, 5% per paper)

You must submit ten short reflection papers based on the weekly assigned readings. This
assignment is designed to enhance your critical engagement with scholarly literature.
Your papers should not summarize the readings but identify their main arguments, reflect,
critically engage, and analyse those arguments and discuss conceptual connections the readings
make to the general themes of the week. To facilitate this assignment, you may consider answering
the following questions for each reading:
- What is the main argument of the reading?
- What are your thoughts on the main argument of the reading?
- How does the reading enhance or change your understanding of the theme as a global issue?
- How does one author’s argument relate to the other readings on the theme?

The word limit of each paper is 500 words, double spaced. Short reflection papers should be
submitted to the assigned folder on Learn. Reflection Papers are due on Tuesdays at 11:59 pm,
starting Week Two (September 13th).

Late weekly assignments will be penalized and marked out of 2.5% instead of 5%. No weekly
reflections will be accepted after the start of our class meetings on Thursdays at 4:00 pm.

Final Analytical Paper (30%)

You are required to submit one final analytical paper based on one of the course weekly themes.
This final paper offers you the opportunity to develop your analytical and critical approach by
building your own thesis about a theme and critically examine it, using assigned readings,
documentaries, lecture slides, and external resources if needed.
In the introduction of your paper, you must clearly present your thesis statement and explain your
paper outline. You are encouraged to personally engage with the theme and explain how the
assigned resources, including readings and documentaries, assisted you with understanding the
theme or changed your perspectives. Thus, writing in first person format is encouraged.
Final papers should be 2500 words, double-spaced. You can use any formal citation style (i.e.
MLA, Chicago, APA) of your choice, but it should be consistent throughout the paper and should
include a bibliography/works cited/references page. Please note that your citation list does not
contribute to the word limit of your final paper.
Final analytical papers must be submitted to the assigned folder on Learn no later than Thursday,
December 8, 2022 by 11:59 pm. A late penalty of 5% per day, including weekends, will be applied
for any late submission. No final papers will be accepted after Tuesday, December 13, 2022.
Course Schedule:

Week One: September 6-8, 2022 - Introduction to the course

Dr. Almustafa will discuss course’s outline, themes, objectives, policies, and requirements.

Week Two: September 13-15, 2022 – What is Globalization?

James, & Steger. (2014). A Genealogy of “Globalization”: The Career of a Concept.
Globalizations, 11(4): 417–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2014.951186

Scholte. (2005). Globalization: a critical introduction (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan, pp 13-48.

Week Three: September 20-22, 2022 – Is Globalization in a crisis?

Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, & Hofmann. (2019). Of the Contemporary Global Order, Crisis, and
Change. Journal of European Public Policy. 28 October 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2019.1678665

James, & Steger. (2021). Globalization in question: why does engaged theory
matter? Globalizations, 18(5): 794-809, DOI: 10.1080/14747731.2020.1842045

Week Four: September 27-29, 2022 - Different perspectives of Globalization (I)

Appadurai. (1990). Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy, Theory, culture
& society. 7(2-3):295-310.
Tsing. (2005). Friction: an ethnography of global connection. Princeton University Press, pp 1-
77.

Guest speaker
Week Five: October: 4-6, 2022 - Different perspectives of Globalization (II)
Amin. (2017). The Sovereign Popular Project; The Alternative to Liberal Globalization. Journal
of Labor and Society, 20(1): 7–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/wusa.12276

Said. (1987). Orientalism. New York: Vintage. Preface and Introduction (2003).

Week Six: 11-13 October, 2022 - Reading week – No classes

Week Seven: October 18-20, 2022 – Global Governance and Global Actors
Barnett, L. (2002). Global governance and the evaluation of the international refugee regime.
International Journal of Refugee Law. 14(2/3): 238-262.

Kumar. (2021). The Ebbing influence of WHO - Rise of Multistakeholderism. In B. Brennan, G.

Berrón, M. Drago, & L. Paranhos (Eds.), The Great Takeover: Mapping of
Multistakeholderism in Global Governance. People’s Working Group on
Multistakeholderism. https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/great_takeoverbook_-
_14_jan_2022.pdf

Guest speaker

Week Eight: October 25-27, 2022 - Global Pandemics

Braidotti. (2020). We" Are in This Together, But We Are Not One and the Same. Bioethical
Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-020-10017-8.

Faiola. (2020). The virus that shut down the world. The Washington Post. 26 June 2020.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/coronavirus-pandemic-globalization/

Mbembe. (2021). The universal right to breathe. April 13 2020. Critical Inquiry.
https://critinq.wordpress.com/2020/04/13/the-universal-right-to-breathe/

Week Nine: November 1-3, 2022 - Global Forced displacement

Almustafa. (2021). Reframing Refugee Crisis: A European Crisis of Migration or a Crisis of
Protection. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 40(5): 1064-1082.

Appadurai. (2019). Traumatic Exit, Identity Narratives, and the Ethics of Hospitality. Television
& New Media, 20(6), 558–565. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419857678

Documentary: Human Flow by AI Weiwei (2017)

Week Ten: November 8-10, 2022 - Globalization and Indigenous Identities

Coleman, & McCarthy. (2013). Critical Mass, Global Mobilities, and the Haudenosaunee. In Ilcan
S. (ed.) Mobilities, Knowledge and Social Justice. McGill University Press. Pp. 277-299.

Tsosie. (2012). Indigenous Peoples and Epistemic Injustice: Science, Ethics, and Human Rights.
Washington Law Review (87): 1133-1201.
Documentary: Stealing a Nation by John Pilger (2004)

Week Eleven: November 15-17, 2022 - Globalization and our Planet

Jones (2016). Borders, Climate Change, and the Environment, in Jones, Violent Borders (London:
Verso, pp 140-161.

Shiva. (2018). Earth democracy: sustainability, justice, and peace. Buffalo Environmental Law
Journal, 26, 1.

Week Twelve: November 22-24, 2022 – Globalization and Democracy

Almeida, & Chase-Dunn. (2018). Globalization and Social Movements. Annual Review of
Sociology, 44(1): 189–211. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-073117-041307

Held. (2009). Restructuring Global Governance: Cosmopolitanism, Democracy and the Global
Order. Millennium: Journal of International Studies 37(3): 535–547.

Documentary: What is Democracy? By Astra Taylor (2018)

Week Thirteen, November 29 – December 1 - Final Reflections on Globalization

Latour, Stengers, Tsing, & Bubandt. (2018). Anthropologists Are Talking – About Capitalism,
Ecology, and Apocalypse. Ethnos, 83(3): 587–606.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2018.1457703

Rodrik. (2020). Why Does Globalization Fuel Populism? Economics, Culture, and the Rise of
Right-wing Populism. IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc.
Final analytical paper is due on Thursday, December 8th, 2022 at 11:59 pm.