MYTHOLOGIES OF GLOBALISM
36. Monday, Nov. 27. Beyond the Nation-State: International Terrorism.
Mythology #1: "Global Terrorism is Irrational."
de Gramont, “Transformation of Moral Idealism” (Reader, pp. 319-328);
P. Bergen and S. Pandey, “The Madrassa Myth,” New York Times, June 14, 2005 (Reader, p. 333);
And Osama bin Laden, “Transcript of Speech,” AlJazeera.com, Nov. 1, 2004 (Reader, p. 329).
Is the "war on terrorism" winnable? Interpret this essay: "British Terror Trial Traces a Path to Militant Islam"
37. Wednesday, Nov. 29. Global Liberalism and the Spread of Western Values.
Mythology #2: "The Spread of Global Liberalism is Rational."
Scruton, The West and the Rest , ch. 4.
John Rapley, "The New Middle Ages," Foreign Affairs (May-June 2006) (Reader, pp. 334-342).
Look through the following statistics. What do they reflect about the distribution of opportunities across the world? Are they likely to improve? Will they become more equal over time? Will there be any political consequences?
38. Friday, December 1, Discussion Section.
Discussion #13: Are we at the “End of History” or the beginning of the “Age of Rage”?
Read the following articles as soon as possible and at least by this date. They are challenging, but crucial for this section:
Francis Fukuyama, “End of History,” selections (Reader, pp. 355-367); and
W. Pfaff, “Progress” (Reader, 367-375). Bill Pfaff, ND '49. He writes for the International Herald Tribune and is one of the most prominent commentators on international affairs in the world.
39. Monday, December 4. Liberal Democracy: My Bias for Hope.
Today's Assumption: It's hard to be optimistic about the chances for global liberalism, but it's reasonable to be hopeful.
Samuel Hungtington, "A New Era in Democracy," Reader, pp. 343-354.
Reflect: Congregation of Holy Cross
's contributions: Holy Cross Missions
Also, World Distribution of Generosity
Apocalypse and other academic fantasies
40. Wednesday, December 6. History and Us.
Mythology #3: "We are the End of History."
Orenstein, “Stepford is us” (Reader, pp. 376-7).
Richard Shweder, Atheists Agonistes
Select your "history is not over" link here:
International Protest Organizations
Resistencia Global: Argentina IndyMedia (spanish)
Left Behind
Series
or No End in Sight
Photo of Comparative Politics Student at Protest in Argentina
Photo by Comparative Politics Student at Riot in Dublin
Dubai: Osama's Nightmare
Ecclesiastes 9:11 (Reader, p. 378).
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