GEOG 276 - Economic Geography: Spaces of Global Capitalism

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as INTL 276) We live in turbulent times. Over the past decades, global capitalism has profoundly reorganized the spatial patterns of production, distribution, and consumption. Geography—particularly economic geography—is uniquely positioned to analyze the spatial dynamics of the global economy. Unlike other disciplines concerned with economics, economic geography examines the relationships between economy, space, and place. Economic geographers emphasize that accessibility, proximity, and spatial agglomeration shape the location, organization, and performance of economic activities. The resulting spatial inequalities and uneven development are defining features of capitalism’s emergence, evolution, and transformation. This course focuses on two major themes: the globalization of the world economy and regional development across the Global North and South. Through these lenses, we trace the historical formation of the capitalist world system and explore topics such as the commodification of nature, the transformation of agriculture, the global spread of manufacturing, and the restructuring of transnational corporations, technology and works, and their regional impacts. Yu Zhou.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS