POL 310 Issues in Transnational Politics

Climate change, pandemics, human rights, global inequality, and terrorism constitute some of the major political challenges of our time. All are transnational in that they reflect the heightened interconnectedness of the planet. They are complex issues that cannot be effectively addressed within the confines of a single state. In this course we investigate the global flows of wealth, trade, human bodies, and infectious disease, along with the ways in which international organizations and social movements have emerged to meet these challenges. We will also examine how through collective agency on a global scale, Indigenous peoples are generating strategies for decolonization. Students will be challenged to connect their understanding of transnational issues to local, community-based realities and experiences.