The course on Issues in Contemporary World deals with a synoptic view regarding colonialism and nationalism which mostly defines the early 20th century global history. Anti-Colonial movements and the new political order after the end of the 2nd World War determined the course of decolonization and the making of the independent states of Asia and Africa. Another important global development which was instrumental in multi-dimensional transformation across the world is the process of globalization. Globalization in the late 20th century should be analyzed in the context of the integration of the global economy through colonialism which led to the making of metropolitan centres and the peripheries. The post–Second World War period also witnessed the emergence of multiple social movements both in the North and the South. The primary focuses of these movements were the issue of human rights, ecology and environment and the feminist movements. Emergence of consumerism, consumer culture, changes in the media and the cultural transformation due to globalization are also dealt with in this course. This course will help the learner to understand, conceptualize and comprehend the important issues in the contemporary world. A thorough introduction to the main issues which determined the making of the contemporary period will provide the learner with a comprehensive understanding of multiple issues which have shaped the political, economic, cultural and environmental landscape.
Overview
Syllabus
Week 1: Colonialism, Anti–Colonial and Nationalist Movements in Asia, Impact of World Wars, Decolonization of South and South East Asia
Week 2: Colonialism, Nationalism and Decolonization of Africa, USSR from Stalin to Gorbachev.
Week 3: Disintegration of Soviet Russia, End of Socialist Bloc in Eastern Europe and Civil War in Yugoslavia, Communism in Eastern Europe, North Korea, Cuba and Vietnam, People’s Republic of China Under Mao, Cold War 1 (Origins of The Cold War: Reasons and Debates)
Week 4: The Cold War: The First Few Decades, The US-Soviet Rivalry During the Cold War: 1970s-1991, Non-Aligned Movement – An Introduction, An Introduction to The United Nations: Principles and Organs.
Week 5: The Role of the UN: International Security and Development, The UN: An Assessment and Reforms, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Neo-Liberalism: An Introduction)
Week 6: The ‘End of History or the ‘End of Neoliberalism’,Neoliberalism and Its Impact on Latin America-I, Neoliberalism and Its Impact on Latin America-II, Economic Neoliberalism and African Development
Week 7: Neo-Liberal Globalization in Asia, Globalization: Concept and History, Cultural Globalization, Media and Globalization, Sports and Globalization, Globalization of the Environmental Issues, Political Globalization
Week 8: Immanuel Wallerstein And World System Theory, Andre Gunder Frank and the Dependency Theory, The Bretton Woods System: An Overview, GATT And WTO: An Introduction
Week 9: The International Monetary Fund and The World Bank: An Introduction, Regionalism: An Overview, Resistance Against Globalization and Neo-Liberalism, Ecological Movements and International Organizations
Week 10: Pollution and Its Effects, United Nations and Global Environmental Governance, Global Warming and Climate Change, Deforestation, Sustainable Development, Loss of Biodiversity, Human Rights: An Introduction
Week 11: Development Of Human Rights: 1st World War And 2nd World War, UNO And Human Rights, International Human Rights: Treaties and Organizations, Human Rights in the Context of Vulnerable Groups
Week 12: First, Second, Third and Fourth Wave Feminism.
Week 13: Women’s Movements in the Arab World, Africa and India, Understanding Consumption, Consumerism and Consumer Culture, Expansion of Consumer Culture in the 19th Century in Western Countries and America, Global Consumer Culture
Week 14: Global Consumer Culture and The Problem of Sustainability, Cultural Flows: Homogenization, Heterogenization or Hybridization, Popular Culture: An Introduction, Culture Since 1945: An Introduction -Part I
Week 15: Culture since 1945- An Introduction- Part II, Technological Developments in Communications Relating to Media, Emerging Trends, Globalisation and Media.
Taught by
Dr. Chandan Kumar Sarma
