Rethinking Globalization, Neoliberalism and the "Borderless World" in the Time of Trump

press release: This talk examines the ways in which theories of globalization need to be rethought to come to terms with the remaking of international relations in the contemporary moment. It highlights how President Trump and other right-wing populist critics of ‘globalism’ and ‘global elites’ have continued for the most part to pursue the pro-business neoliberal policy norms that previously played such an integral role in both the cultural imagination and the material integration of globalization. The main exceptions such as trade policy, border policy and global environmental policy nevertheless demand close attention in order to disentangle the cultural shifts towards xenophobic, border-building hyper-nationalism from more complex and crisis-bound developments in preexisting practices on the ground. These developments are nevertheless real, and the challenges they have created for neoliberal business as usual in supply chain logistics, in border regions and in environmental resilience planning therefore provide useful prisms through which to re-evaluate the futures for globalization more generally.

The Yi-Fu Lecture Series features a wide variety of U.S. and international guest lecturers from all geographic disciplines. Lecturers at these Friday seminars also often speak at brown-bag lunches, one-on-one student sessions, and breakfast meetings with student interest groups as part of their visit. Doctoral students are invited to present their final research. The lecture series was initiated by Dr. Tuan and receives enthusiastic support as a department and campus tradition.

All lectures are presented on Friday at 3:30pm in Science Hall - Rm 180 unless otherwise noted. Alumni, friends and the public are always invited to attend.