Marketing, Microchips and McDonalds: Debating Globalization
This MIT OpenCourseWare course examines what globalization actually means and how it reshapes daily life around the world. It opens with a historical survey of world systems centered in Asia and Europe before turning to contemporary transformations in economics, media, information technology, migration, and consumer culture. Case studies include the impact of computers on Silicon Valley engineers and Tibetan refugees, factory work in the United States and rural Java, the popularity of Bombay cinema in Nigeria, rap music production in Japan, and immigrant life in France. Materials include lecture notes, readings, and assignments drawn from anthropology and area studies, free to access through MIT OCW under a Creative Commons license. The course treats globalization as a contested concept rather than a settled fact, asking students to weigh whether its effects are positive, negative, or simply unavoidable across different regions and historical periods.