The course on Issues
in Contemporary World deals with a synoptic view regarding colonialism and
nationalism which mostly defines the early 20th century global
history. Anti-Colonial movements and the new political order after the end of
the 2nd World War determined the course of decolonization and the
making of the independent states of Asia and Africa. Another important global
development which was instrumental in multi-dimensional transformation across
the world is the process of globalization.
Globalization in the late 20th century should be analyzed in
the context of the integration of the global economy through colonialism which
led to the making of metropolitan centres and the peripheries. The post–Second World War period also
witnessed the emergence of multiple social movements both in the North and the
South. The primary focuses of these movements were the issue of human rights,
ecology and environment and the feminist movements. Emergence of consumerism, consumer culture,
changes in the media and the cultural transformation due to globalization are also
dealt with in this course. This course will help the learner to understand, conceptualize
and comprehend the important issues in the contemporary world. A thorough
introduction to the main issues which determined the making of the contemporary
period will provide the learner with a comprehensive understanding of multiple
issues which have shaped the political, economic, cultural and environmental
landscape.
| Course Status : | Ongoing |
| Course Type : | Core |
| Language for course content : | English |
| Duration : | 15 weeks |
| Category : |
|
| Credit Points : | 5 |
| Level : | Undergraduate |
| Start Date : | 15 Jul 2024 |
| End Date : | 31 Oct 2024 |
| Enrollment Ends : | 31 Aug 2024 |
| Exam Date : | 08 Dec 2024 IST |
| Exam Shift : | Second |
Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.
Week
1:
Colonialism, Anti–Colonial and Nationalist Movements in Asia, Impact of World
Wars, Decolonization of South and South East Asia
Week
2: Colonialism,
Nationalism and Decolonization of Africa, USSR from Stalin to Gorbachev.
Week
3: Disintegration
of Soviet Russia, End of Socialist Bloc in Eastern Europe and Civil War in
Yugoslavia, Communism in Eastern Europe, North Korea, Cuba and Vietnam, People’s
Republic of China Under Mao, Cold War 1 (Origins of The Cold War:
Reasons and Debates)
Week
4: The Cold War: The First Few Decades, The US-Soviet Rivalry During the
Cold War: 1970s-1991, Non-Aligned Movement – An Introduction, An Introduction to
The United Nations: Principles and Organs.
Week
5: The Role of the UN: International Security and Development, The UN: An
Assessment and Reforms, United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Neo-Liberalism: An Introduction)
Week
6: The ‘End of History or the ‘End of Neoliberalism’, Neoliberalism and Its Impact on Latin America-I, Neoliberalism and Its
Impact on Latin America-II, Economic Neoliberalism and African
Development
Week
7: Neo-Liberal
Globalization in Asia, Globalization: Concept and History, Cultural
Globalization, Media and Globalization, Sports and Globalization, Globalization
of the Environmental Issues, Political Globalization
Week
8: Immanuel
Wallerstein And World System Theory, Andre Gunder Frank and the Dependency
Theory, The Bretton Woods System: An Overview, GATT And WTO: An Introduction
Week
9: The International Monetary Fund and The World Bank: An Introduction, Regionalism:
An Overview, Resistance Against Globalization and Neo-Liberalism, Ecological Movements and
International Organizations
Week
10: Pollution and Its Effects, United Nations and Global Environmental
Governance, Global Warming and Climate Change, Deforestation, Sustainable
Development, Loss of Biodiversity, Human Rights: An
Introduction
Week
11: Development
Of Human Rights: 1st World War And 2nd World War, UNO And Human Rights, International
Human Rights: Treaties and Organizations, Human Rights in the Context of
Vulnerable Groups
Week
12:
First, Second, Third and Fourth Wave Feminism.
Week
13:
Women’s Movements in the Arab World, Africa and India, Understanding
Consumption, Consumerism and Consumer Culture, Expansion of Consumer Culture in
the 19th Century in Western Countries and America, Global Consumer
Culture
Week
14: Global
Consumer Culture and The Problem of Sustainability, Cultural Flows: Homogenization,
Heterogenization or Hybridization, Popular Culture: An Introduction, Culture Since 1945: An Introduction -Part I
Week
15: Culture since 1945- An Introduction- Part II, Technological Developments in
Communications Relating to Media, Emerging Trends, Globalisation and Media.
Dietmar Rothermund. (2006). The Routledge Companion to Decolonisation. Routledge.
Falkner, R. (Ed.). (2013). The Handbook of Global Climate and Environment Policy. John Wiley
& Sons Inc.
Fitzpatrick, S. (2022). The Shortest History of the Soviet Union. Picador India.
Khapoya, V. B. (2015). The African Experience. Routledge.
Lowe, N. (2013). Mastering
Modern World History. Palgrave.
Sepulveda, M., et al. (2004). Human Rights Reference Handbook. University for Peace.
Steger, M., & Roy, R. (2010). Neoliberalism: A Very Short Introduction.
Oxford University Press.
Storey, J. (2008). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction (5th ed.).
Pearson.
Walters, M. (2006). Feminism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Dr. Chandan Kumar Sarma is an Associate Professor in
the Department of History, Dibrugarh University, Assam. His area of interest includes
History of North East India, Environmental History and Historiography.
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