Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2023 - GEOG 321 D100

Geographies of Global Capitalism (4)

Class Number: 3628

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 6 – Dec 5, 2023: Thu, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    At least 45 units, including GEOG 100.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines the historical development, spatial organization, and social impact of market function, firm structure and operation, economic policy, and regulation and deregulation at various scales from local to global, from a geographical perspective.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course examines the geography of modern capitalism. It focuses the real-world impacts of economic ideas and policy, market dynamics, firm structure, regulation and deregulation and more. The course has two emphases: (1) an introduction to the dominant theories through which capitalism has been explained, defended, and criticized; and (2) the effects of capitalist historical development on the world in which we live. Capitalism is a distinct way of organizing the political economy of modern life; the principal objective of the class is to develop an understanding of how it works: the institutions that organize it and the ideas that underpin them. We will consider: (a) the spaces it structures (international trading networks, for example) and restructures (suburbanization of formerly agricultural land, for example); (b) the effect of dynamic flows of capital, goods and people on specific places like “world cities” and “dying small towns”; (c) the many scales capitalist dynamics help produce, and on which they depend, like the nation-state, the “global economy” and resource “peripheries”; and (d) the increasingly expansive geography of “crisis”.

Note: There will be no tutorials during the first week of class.

Grading

  • Response papers (x5) 25%
  • Short paper 25%
  • Final project (poster) 35%
  • Tutorial participation 15%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Selected articles and book chapters circulated by the instructor or available free through SFU Library


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.