Global spaces for the expansion of transnational capital in the Americas

Seminar 1926

Chair: CLACSO
Coordination: Juan Manuel Sandoval Palacios and Alejandro Fabián Schweitzer (GT Borders, Regionalization and Globalization)

Teaching team: Alejandro Fabián Schweitzer, Juan Manuel Sandoval Palacios, Rafael Sandoval Álvarez, Marcela de Lourdes Orozco Contreras, Silvia Carina Valiente, William I. Robinson, Marcela Orozco, Horácio Antunes, Edgar Talledos Sánchez, Luis Martínez, Luz Dary Rivera, Bárbara Jeréz (GT Borders, regionalization and globalization)

Home: 29 / 07 / 2019 | Registration: 04/02/2019 al 27/07/2019

Workload: 12 weeks – 90 hours.

Payment methods
If you have a link with a CLACSO Associated Center:

Paying in one payment: USD 95 (includes issuance and shipping costs of the digital certificate).

If you have a link with a Network or Institution Associated with CLACSO:

Paying in one payment: USD 140 (includes issuance and shipping costs of the digital certificate).

If you do NOT have a link with a CLACSO Associated Center:

Paying in one payment BEFORE 19/07/2019: USD 150 (includes issuance and shipping costs of the digital certificate).
Paying in one payment: USD 190 (includes issuance and shipping costs of the digital certificate).

Course presentation:

This course will analyze and discuss the theoretical foundations of global capitalism in the current scenario, from the particular perspective from which the concepts of transnational state, transnational capitalist class and global spaces for the expansion of transnational capital, as well as specific spaces or zones of accumulation, are derived.
We recognize at least four global spaces in the American continent: 1) the Mexico-United States Border, 2) the region encompassed by the Mesoamerica Project (from south-southeast Mexico to Colombia), 3) the Amazon and 4) the Southern Andean-Patagonian Region.
In this comparative course, we will emphasize how these spaces have been constructed and intertwined. We will study the processes of constitution of "national" classes subordinated to the transnational class, the policies they implement—with varying degrees of conflict—in territories, and the resulting processes of spatial production. We will address the strategies of territorial appropriation and control, as well as the projects that materialize them in the form of strategic plans and megaprojects.
An essential element in our Working Group is the development of action research, which allows us to collaborate with social organizations. For this reason, we will dedicate a module to discussing the question of the subject from critical methodologies, incorporating experiences from social movements.

Contents:

International and global scenario.
Global spaces. Definition and presentation of global spaces.
Research methodology. The perspective of the subjects and the territory.
Geostrategic plans. Geopolitics of global spaces.
Specific spaces for capital accumulation.
Borders and geographical expansion of capital.
Megaprojects within the framework of the expansion of transnational capital.
Political ecology of global spaces.
Political economy of global spaces.

General Bibliography of the Seminar

Harvey, David, 2006. Spaces of global capitalism. Towards a Theory of Uneven Geographical Development. Verso, London and New York.

Robinson, William I. (2013) A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and the State in a Transnational World. Siglo XXI Editores, SA de CV; Mexico.

Sandoval Palacios, Juan Manuel, "US-Mexico borders states and the US Military Industrial complex. A global space for expanding transnational capital" in Regions and Cohesion, Volume 7, Issue 1, Spring 2017: 87–121.

Santos, Milton, “The spaces of globalization” in Complutense University of Madrid, section: Complutense Scientific Journals. Accessed: January 2016.

Sandoval, Rafael. Methodology Notebooks 1. Ways of doing methodology in research. Critical reflexivity on practice. Mexico, 2016. Grietas Editores. Pp. 25 to 48.

Zemelman, Hugo. The method as the subject's attitude towards reality. Mexico, n.d., working document.

Lenkersdorf, Carlos. Learning to listen: Maya-Tojolabal teachings. Mexico: Plaza y Valdés, 2008.

Orozco Contreras, Marcela de Lourdes, 2018. “Colombia as a bridge between global spaces for the expansion of transnational capital.” Paper presented at Symposium No. 18/8, Thematic Axis: International Relations, of the 56th International Congress of Americanists. July 19, University of Salamanca, Spain.

Sandoval Palacios, Juan Manuel, 2017. The United States-Mexico border: a global space for the expansion of transnational capital. National Institute of Anthropology and History; Mexico. ISBN: 978-607-484-925-7.

Schweitzer, Alejandro: Southern Patagonia as a global space for the expansion of transnational capital, Theomai Journal, Critical Studies on Society and Development, No. 34, second semester 2016. Pp139-151. ISSN 1515-6443.

“The Mesoamerica Project, regarding geostrategic plans in Latin America” in Adriana Dorfman, Carlos Iván Pacheco and Sara Yaneth Fernández Moreno (organizers), Geostrategic plans, migrations and forced displacements in the American Continent. Editora Letra 1/Instituto de Geociencias/Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre, 2014.

Schwzeiter, Mariana, “IIRSA in UNASUR. Changes and continuities” in Furlong, Aurora, Raúl Netzahualcoyotzi Luna and Juan Manuel Sandoval Palacios (Coordinators), Integration in the American continent. Geostrategic plans, regional and border security, vol. I, Faculty of Economics/BUAP, ISBN 978-607-525-011-3.

Schwzeiter, Alejandro Fabián, “Southern Patagonia as a global space for the expansion of transnational capital” in Theomai Journal, number 34, second semester 2016. ISSN 1515-6443: 139-151.

Latin America Thinks 10. The question of development.

Schweitzer Alejandro: International borders, natural resources and regional integration in the southern cone of South America, in Para onde? Vol 5 No. 1 special (2011).

Schweitzer Alejandro: Developing the desert. Border processes in the province of Santa Cruz, in Revista de Ciencias Sociales year 5 N°24, 2013, pp 51-70. ISSN: 2347-1050.

Schweitzer, Alejandro: Borders, natural resources and crisis in Southern Patagonia, in Sandoval, Juan Manuel; Álvarez, Raquel; Saavedra Luis Angel (coord.) (2011) Geostrategic Integration, Security, Borders and Migration in Latin America, pp33-68, Quito, INREDH.

Ibarra García, María Verónica and Talledos Sánchez, Edgar, 2016. Megaprojects in Mexico. Mexico City: Itaca. Introduction and chapter 1, Ibarra García, María Verónica "Megaprojects from a critical geography", pp 9 - 42.

Lins Ribeiro, Gustavo (1987) The bigger the better? Large-scale projects: a form of production linked to the expansion of economic systems, in Economic Development, Vol. 27, No. 105 (Apr. - Jun., 1987), pp. 3-27.

Schweitzer, Alejandro: “Spatial dynamics and territories of integration in the transboundary space of Iguazú, Guibert, Martine, Carrizo, Silvina, Ligrone, Pablo, Mallard, Bruno, Ménenteau Loic, Uribe Guillermo (editors): (2009), Le Bassin du Rio de la Plata: intégration régionale et développement local, Toulouse, Presses Universitaires du Mirail, pp 313-330.

MOORE, Jason. Capitalism in the Web of Life: Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital, London – New York: Verso, 2015.

O'CONNOR, James. Natural Causes: Essays in Ecological Marxism. Mexico: Siglo XXI.

Vega Vantor, R. (2006) Ecological imperialism. The endless plundering of nature and the outcasts of the southern world, in Herramienta, 31.

Furlong, Aurora, Raúl Netzahualcoyotzi, Juan Manuel Sandoval and Jadson Porto (Coordinators), 2018. Geostrategic Plans, Securitization and Resistance in the Americas. Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla; Universidade Federal do Amapá and Latin American Council of Social Sciences. Macapá, Brazil. ISBN: 978-85-5476-062-5.

“The US shadow on geoeconomic relations between Mexico and Central America” in Willy Soto Acosta (editor), International Politics and Comparative Regional Integration in Latin America. National University of Costa Rica/Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences-Costa Rica. Costa Rica, 2014.

Composto, Claudia and Mina Lorena Navarro (Compilers), 2014. Territories in Dispute. Capitalist Dispossession, Struggles in Defense of Natural Commons and Emancipatory Alternatives for Latin America. -1st ed.- Mexico City: Bajo Tierra Ediciones.

Gandarillas Gonzáles, Marco (Editor), 2014. New contexts of domination and resistance, Cochabamba; Bolivia Documentation and Information Center CEDIB.

Sandoval, Juan Manuel; Raquel Álvarez and Sara Fernández (Coordinators), 2011. Geostrategic plans, displacements and forced migrations in the area of the Mesoamerica Development and Integration Project. University of Los Andes (Venezuela), University of Antioquia (Colombia); Center for Research on Society, Health and Culture (Colombia); Mexican Network for Action against Free Trade; and Center for Strategic Studies of North America, AC (Mexico). Medellín, Colombia, 2011, pp. 109-140.

FAQ

What do I need to take a CLACSO virtual seminar?

The basic requirements for taking a seminar are:

Availability of at least 4 hours per week to dedicate to the seminar course.
Internet access.
Reasonable handling of communication and computer tools.
Language proficiency in the language in which the course will be taught. The official languages are Spanish and Portuguese.

What is the length of a CLACSO virtual seminar? What is the total number of hours?

The seminars last 12 weeks, plus the completion of a final project. A total of 90 hours of dedication will be credited.

What is the work modality and dynamics?

A course consists of twelve classes, each accompanied by required readings, supplementary readings, discussion forums, and learning activities proposed by the teaching team, as well as partial submissions and a final project. The course is delivered online and asynchronously. Some instructors may propose synchronous activities. In these cases, the time and date will be agreed upon in advance between the teaching team and the students to ensure everyone's participation. To pass the seminar, students must participate in at least 80% of the discussion forums and activities proposed by the instructors, complete all scheduled partial submissions, and pass the final project.