Globalization and its Discontents

Catalog description

The seminar explores the notion and practice of global citizenship – the capacity and willingness to think across and beyond actual and imagined boundaries, and to develop skills that can solve problems and explore opportunities in unfamiliar contexts. The course examines globalization as a historical, economic, and cultural phenomenon. Other topics will include local resistance to global homogeneity; the notion of universal humanism; human rights; the role of language in global contexts; the idea of citizenship; the specificity of culture and arts; the idea of film or photography as universal languages; and an exploration of how New York City is an international city that has turned diversity into strength. The seminar will bring in guest speakers who identify as global citizens, and ask how your own actions – ranging from activism to business leadership – may affect change that impacts those outside of your immediate world. Who is a truly global citizen: Mark Zuckerberg, Lady Gaga, or Hillary Clinton? How would we assess their reach? How do you decenter your perspective and see the world from another point of view? As part of the seminar we will travel to NYU’s Constance Milstein and Family Global Academic Center in Washington, D.C., to visit an international organization, NGO, or federal agency that is engaged globally.