McMichael, Philip. 1996. Development and Social Change. A Global Perspective. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press.

Schnaiberg, Allan, and Kenneth Alan Gould. 1994. Environment and Society, The Enduring Conflict. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Tomlinson, John. 1991. Cultural Imperialism. A Critical Introduction. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

This course focuses on three broad areas of great importance and urgency to the world today and in the upcoming XXI Century: (a) the great unfulfilled promise of modernity to bring "development" to humanity, or at least to its vast majority in the so-called Third World; (b) the tremendously negative impact our modern material culture and social organization of production have had upon the environment, and the challenge to envision an alternative model of social existence capable of valuing and sustaining the environment; (c) the immense problems of modern culture in an intensely integrated world-system, including the pitfalls and dead-ends of our "isms", our identities, our brain-deadening, mass-homogenizing entertainment indulgences, our hyperwired virtual existence, the increasing commodification of all our social relations, and the problem of who should speak for whom. The emphasis will be on deepening our understanding of these issues from a serious, critical, analytical perspective.

The course will be run as a seminar and all students must come prepared to discuss the assigned readings for each class. There will also be student presentations over their research papers.

Research Papers: Each student will design, research, write, and present in class two research papers on topics related to the main areas of the course: global development, ecology, and culture . The first paper must be on global development and is due on October 9th in class. The second paper can be on any of the other two areas, and is due on November 25, before 4:00 pm at the instructor's office. Each paper should be 15-20 pages long in standard format: double spaced, 1-inch margins, font 12; citation = "(Author's last name, year: page numbers)." Students must seek timely authorization on their specific topics from the instructor: for the first paper, no later than September 20th; for the second paper no later than October 9th. The papers should pose a central argument, thesis, or hypothesis (or a set of them), and include the following sections: an introduction (stating the thesis & theoretical approach); a section on the relevant historical & contemporary facts & processes related to the topic; your analysis & a critique of the existing alternative approaches; your conclusions; bibliography; appendices. The bibliography ought to reflect a significant search in the World Wide Web, as well as consulted books and scholarly journals in the library. Appendices should include charts, graphs, and figures global in nature.

Paper Presentations: Each student will be given an opportunity to present their papers to the class, the first one as a finished product, the second one as a work in progress. Time allotted will be 30 minutes per presentation (including discussion). Each student must schedule their presentations with the instructor in advance.

Grading: Each research paper is worth 30 points. The two paper presentations are worth 10 points each. Class participation is worth 20 points. Each absence is worth one point off (1/2 point off for tardiness), but presentation no-shows = 10 points off! The final letter grade will be assigned, on a scale of 0 to 100, as follows:

94-100 = A .............84-86 = B .................74-76 = C

90-93 = A- ..............80-83 = B-............... 70-73 = C-

87-89 = B+ .............77-79 = C+ .............65-69 = D ...................< 65 = F

Office Hours: All students are encouraged to visit the instructor regularly, especially to make sure their individual research paper s are well focused, or to discuss any question they may have from the class lectures, the textbooks, or anything else .