Understanding Globalization: Global Issues in Historical Perspective Interdisciplinary Studies Program Spring 2025 Semester - Barcelona

This course provides a historical understanding of global issues related to the increasing connectedness of the world, by examining processes of interaction and exchange but also the sources and impact of the backlash against globalization from the first globalization up to the present. The course analyzes the history of globalization by offering a clear set of theoretical frameworks about concrete themes link to the interactions of Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe from the Columbian exchange or the Manila Galleon to the early twenty first century. All in all, the course offers a historical and a global perspective to the current discussions around globalization and reactions against globalization. Students will compare the evolution of different issues related to political institutions, economic activity, social transformations and intellectual life, from a historical, transdisciplinary and transnational perspective. By using concrete examples and case studies, students will analyze this set of global issues, from the perspectives of different regions of the world, to rethink the social, economic, political, technological or cultural ways of relation within and between societies.
The course will address methodologically important issues, such as cultural encounter, international relations, environmental history and global economic history, as well as a trans-disciplinary engagement with the economics of institutions, cultural anthropology, historical geography and the politics of state formation.