This course examines the emergence of a more integrated global marketplace. The focus is on the last 60 years but we will begin with a look back to the origins of ‘globalization.’ We will look at changes in capitalism and the class structure of Western societies since the Second World War, with a focus on the USA. We will examine the general rise in economic prosperity between 1950 and 1975--its possible economic causes, its social, cultural, political impact. We will look at the varying interpretations of the causes of the economic slowdown which began in the mid-1970s. We will attempt to discern the various domestic and international forces that may be increasing income inequality and/or raising (or lowering) general levels of wealth. Towards the end of the semester we will look at the history of development, the rise and fall of statism in parts of the developing world and in middle income nations, the emergence of a unipolar world in the wake of the USSR's collapse, etc. This year's version of Hist 411 borrows some material from the full year version, Hist 410, in that we will also look briefly at developing societies.
