Global Studies Lecture

Paradigm

A framework/perspective through which we understand the world

Explanatory model

A framework used to explain how the world works

Epistemology

How we know what we know

Epistemic hierarchy

Ranking certain forms of knowledge as more authoritative than others

Experiential knowledge

Knowledge based on lived/direct experience

Productive discomfort

Staying engaged with ideas that challenge your assumptions

Global imaginary

A way of conceptualizing what "the global" is

Holism

Understanding things in context and relationship to one another

Decentering

Moving away from treating one perspective as naturally central

Historicizing

Examining where an idea came from historically

Contextualizing

Understanding an idea within its particular context

Modernist assumptions

Ideas such as hierarchy, center/periphery, progress, linearity

Nation-state

Political entity connecting a nation/community to governance over territory

Sovereignty

Authority to establish/control rules over territory

Citizenship

Belonging/rights/participation within a state

Nationalism

Ideas concerning nations, national identity, and political belonging

Assemblage

Disparate elements connected together to accomplish something

Nested scale

Hierarchical model from global → regional → national → local

Mutually constitutive

Two things that help create/constitute one another

Non-state actor

An influential actor that isn't a government/state

Non-Western epistemology

Ways of knowing that originate outside dominant Western knowledge systems

Transdisciplinary

Bringing different ways of knowing/theoretical and methodological tools together

When looking at media coverage of a world event, what questions should you ask?

Whose perspectives are highlighted? Whose perspectives are treated as expert analysis? Whose perspectives appear only as raw material for someone else's story? What does this reveal about which forms of knowledge are treated as authoritative?

What does media representation reveal about knowledge?

It shows that different forms of knowledge are not treated equally; some voices are granted greater authority and credibility than others.

What is experiential knowledge?

Knowledge gained through a person's direct or lived experience.

Why is experiential knowledge important in Global Studies?

Because people's lived experiences provide knowledge about events and systems, even though institutions may treat that knowledge differently from expert or official knowledge.

Why does experiential knowledge matter?

Because someone's personal experience can give them important knowledge about something, even if they aren't considered an "expert."

What is an epistemic hierarchy?

When we treat some types of knowledge as more trustworthy or important than others.

Easy way to remember:

"Whose knowledge counts more?"

What is an example of an epistemic hierarchy?

reating a scientist's explanation as automatically more valid than someone's personal experience simply because the scientist is considered an expert.

What does the professor mean by your paradigm being "behind your head

Your beliefs and assumptions affect how you see things without you consciously thinking about them.

What can your paradigm affect?

What you notice, what you believe, what you trust, what seems normal, and how you interpret information.

What is positionality?

How your background, experiences, identity, and position in society affect how you see and experience the world

What does the professor mean by "productive discomfort"?

Being willing to sit with an uncomfortable idea and think about it instead of immediately rejecting it.

What is an explanatory model?

A way of explaining how or why something works.

Why were World War I and World War II important to the development of global thinking?

they showed how deeply connected people and countries were and how events in one place could affect people elsewhere.

What happened after World War II that encouraged global cooperation?

There was a stronger push toward international cooperation and institutions.

What major organization was created after WWII?

The United Nations.

How did the Space Race change people's understanding of Earth?

Seeing Earth from space helped people understand it as one interconnected planet.

What other historical developments influenced Global Studies?

The Cold War, postcolonial conflicts, decolonization, and changes in political and academic systems.

What was the main unit of analysis in traditional Global Studies?

The nation-state.

What does "unit of analysis" mean?

The main thing you're studying when trying to understand a problem.

What is a nation-state?

A political system where a nation/community of people is connected to a government that controls a particular territory.

Why has the nation-state been so important?

It has traditionally been treated as the main way the world is politically organized.

What three concepts are closely connected to the nation-state?

Sovereignty, citizenship, and nationalism.

sovereignty

The authority to make and enforce rules over a territory.

What questions does sovereignty involve?

• Who controls the territory?

• Who makes the rules?

• Who has authority?

• Who decides what happens?

Does sovereignty only involve governments?

No. We also need to look at relationships between governments and non-state actors.

What is a "global imaginary"?

A way of imagining and understanding what "the global" actually is.

How did the traditional global imaginary view the world?

It focused heavily on nation-states, international institutions, and relationships between countries.

How was globalization often described in the late 1990s/early 2000s?

As the world becoming increasingly connected, with things moving faster across borders.

What phrase captures this old idea of globalization?

"Everything is moving faster, everywhere, all the time."

What is the new global imaginary trying to change?

It tries to move beyond modernist and Eurocentric assumptions about how the world works.

What are the four major ideas in the new global imaginary?

1. Holism

2. Decentering epistemic hierarchies

3. Recognizing non-Western ways of knowing

4. Thinking about assemblages instead of only nation-states

What does holism mean?

Looking at the whole picture and understanding how different parts connect to one another.

Why is holism useful in Global Studies?

Because global problems usually involve many connected political, economic, social, cultural, and historical factors.

What does decentering mean?

Questioning the idea that one particular perspective should automatically be the center or default.

What does decentering the West mean?

Not automatically treating Western ideas and experiences as the universal or default way to understand the world.

What two things help us decenter an idea?

Historicizing and contextualizing it.

What does historicizing mean?

Asking where an idea came from and how it developed over time

What does contextualizing mean?

Asking where, when, and under what circumstances an idea developed.

What is developmental progression?

The idea that societies or systems move from less developed → more developed.

What is the "narrative of progress"?

The belief that change generally means moving from something worse or less developed to something better or more developed.

What is linear causality?

The idea that A directly causes B, creating a simple chain of cause and effect.

What is an assemblage?

A group of different people, institutions, ideas, resources, and systems that come together and interact to make something happen.

What can be part of an assemblage?

Governments, corporations, NGOs, universities, communities, people, ideas, resources, media, and places.

What is nested scale?

A way of organizing the world into hierarchical levels.

What is the traditional nested-scale model?

Global → Regional → National → Subnational → Local

What does nested-scale thinking assume?

That these levels are organized in a hierarchy, with the global at the top and local at the bottom

Why does Global Studies question nested scales?

Because real-world processes don't always move neatly from one level to another.

What is the difference between nested scale and assemblage?

Nested scale:
Global → Regional → National → Local

Assemblage:
Different actors and systems at different scales connect and interact without necessarily forming a hierarchy.

What is a non-state actor?

An influential person, organization, or institution that isn't a government/state.

What are examples of non-state actors?

Corporations, NGOs, universities, media organizations, and community organizations.

Why are non-state actors important in Global Studies?

Because governments aren't the only actors that have power or influence over global processes.

What does "postnational" mean in this context?

Processes that cannot be fully understood through the boundaries and actions of individual nations alone.

What is the biggest question behind epistemic hierarchies?

Whose knowledge counts, and why?

What is the biggest question behind decentering?

Why am I treating this particular perspective as the center/default?

What is the biggest question behind assemblages?

What different things have to come together to make this happen?

What is the biggest question behind holistic thinking?

How are all these different pieces connected?

Who wrote An Ethnography of Global Connection. Her core concept of "friction" describes the awkward, unequal, unstable, and creative qualities of interconnection across difference, showing how global forces—like capitalism, science, and politics—are practically enacted and charged through concrete, messy worldly encounters

Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing