Global Politics and Culture

Globalization and the increased interconnectedness created by the rapid flow of capital, people, goods, images and ideologies across national boundaries requires a new set of specialized educational tools. The two-year MSc in Global Politics and Culture prepares students to analyze the complex interactions between the political, economic, cultural and social trends which are having profound effects on our contemporary world.The student will gain:

- An interdisciplinary perspective on the implications of globalization on civil society, state power, changing patterns of national culture and global markets and technologies.

- A clear understanding of the effects of globalization on key actors in the global arena whether NGOs, global corporations, international campaigning groups, states or multilateral institutions.

- The ability to employ interdisciplinary approaches to the practical challenges posed by globalization through an internship undertaken in a global company or organization.

Core and Elective Courses

Geography
Even if the flows of goods, services, money and information are intensifying at a global level, there is a quest for nuanced conceptions of globalization processes where place and nation still matter. The discipline of geography offers perspectives on human activity taking place in the interface between economy, culture and politics at local, regional, national and international levels. The course on Knowledge Management in a Global Economy looks as looking at the strategies and actions which occur at the interface between economy and culture, with knowledge development across cultural boundaries a central focus. A second course, on Theories of Social Change, examines development challenges such as poverty alleviation and growth, globalisation and marginalisation, gender and development, civil society mobilisation and other post-development discourses.

History
The course focuses on the development of multinational companies and their role in global capitalism. What are their competitive advantage and why have they had such success in recent decades? We will compare the ‘business-systems’ of different countries and examine the complex relationship between companies, politics and civil society. Why are American, German and for example South Korean companies so different?

Political science
The first of two courses provides an introduction to the field of international political economy, focusing on the interaction between markets and states at the international level. The students will be introduced to various theoretical models as well as previous empirical studies. Students also benefit from a second course which provides a broad overview of historical and comparative methods and methodologies.

Empirical Research Methods
The course provides an introduction to the most important relevant empirical research methods regarding the Arts and Social Sciences. Techniques for the gathering of data include interviewing, observation and use of written sources and public documents. A basic introduction to the analysis of data, emphasing charts, correlation and graphic forms of presentation, will also be offered.

Cultural studies
Globalization is also a cultural phenomenon involving the sharing of and/or disputes over ideas, values and stories, brought about by the increasingly rapid dissemination of mass media across the globe. But is globalisation, in all its aspects, producing a homogenised world culture? Or has it produced a neo-tribalism in which no one culture dominates? In globalization literature this debate is discussed in terms of convergence or divergence, with global transformations being regarded by some as bringing into effect increased cultural sameness and by others as resulting in local and particular developments.

Social anthropology
The course will examine social and cultural aspects of the globalization process. On the one hand, the intensification of global interconnectedness entails increased standardization, homogenization and universalization as Western ideologies circulate more widely. On the other hand, this process is given heterogeneous local expression, resulting in hybridization, creolization and various forms of resistance and accommodation to unifying impulses. The deterritorialization of culture, and the flow of commodities, advertising and media have established new premises for the construction of meaning and the formation of identities. New subjectivities and identities emerge, along with new social imaginaries and cultural repertoires. Through a survey of theories of globalization and an examination of several cases, the course will examine the variety of ways in which this occurs.

Religion
The course focuses on the activities of trans-national actors and international organisations, and the conceptions of religion, nation, ethnicity and science which guide them. Regional focus is mainly (but not exclusively) the Middle East. Examples of relevant problem-areas are debates about multiculturalism and integration on national levels, and the corresponding debates about democracy, human rights, science, natural resources, and security on the level of the global society. The course will also provide further study of the methodological and theoretical issues related to the study of religion, as well as deeper study of selected topics in the history of the discipline. The course will thereby provide a further understanding of various approaches, how theories are formed, and related issues.

Economics
This course introduces the students to the main causes of economic non-development and conditions of economic development. Internal as well as external obstacles to development will be discussed, with an emphasis on the domestic conditions in developing countries. Important topics will be different theories of dual economies, the relationship between economic growth and foreign trade, the relationship between population growth and economic growth, the role of the state, and the possibilities and limitations of foreign aid.