HONOR 3377 - International Consumer Policy

Scholarship on globalization, like the process of globalization itself, is expanding at an astounding pace, making it impossible for a single course to even survey this scholarship. This course therefore examines globalization from a particular perspective, that of consumers. Globalization creates both new opportunities and new problems for consumers. It also generates new avenues for, and new barriers to, consumer participation in shaping the process of globalization. The course begins with an explanation of globalization, emphasizing its dynamics, benefits, and seeming inevitability. Then we examine the three major criticisms of globalization: exacerbation of inequality, destruction of the natural environment, and homogenization of culture. The course is designed to meet the needs of students for whom globalization is an area of academic specialization, such as economics, politics science, sociology, and business, as well as students who are "merely" curious about the subject.