Time Schedule:
Donald C Hellmann
SIS 410
Seattle Campus
Impact of the Internet revolution on structure and operating procedures of the international system. Effects of Internet-driven forces on aspects of the global political economy: cultural and political identities; interactions between states and markets; meaning of the boundaries of sovereignty and civil society.
Class description
The rapid spread of the Internet has created a revolution affecting all aspects of the global political-economy: cultural identity; interactions between states and markets; sovereignty and civil society. This course is an attempt to introduce students to how Internet driven forces (bandwidth, innovation, web) are affecting the orthodox mores and rules of the contemporary world system. After introducing the basic features of the Internet revolution, the course will study how technology is changing the nature of trade, international relations, and institutional reform. Topics such as the Internet’s role in shaping a new economy based on the exchange of knowledge will be examined through academic, business, and government perspectives. This introductory interdisciplinary course offers a broad survey of a complex topic in ways that are accessible to advanced undergraduates and graduate students with social science or technical backgrounds. It is the first course in a curriculum being organized by the Center for Internet Studies of the Institute for International Policy. The course is built around required weekly readings on which the lecture/discussion sessions will be based. Undergraduates will take a mid-term or write a short paper, and complete a final examination. Graduate students will write a paper on a topic to be discussed with the instructor.
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Class assignments and grading