8.viii.05 Course Syllabus: Please bring hard copy to each lecture USA 401 H-F Fall Term, 2005 THE CANADIAN – AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP . NAFTA and the Political Economy of the Post-National State . Lectures: Mondays 10 a.m.- noon in Sidney Smith 1088 Instructor: Professor Stephen Clarkson Office: Sidney Smith 3121 Office Hours: by appointment on Mondays between 12.15 and 5 p.m. Telephone: Office - (416) ___-____ (leave a message if I’m out) Home - (416) 925-7596 (early evenings only; leave a message if I’m out) Fax: Office - (416) 978-5566 Web site: www.chass.utoronto.ca~clarkson Teaching Assistant: Jim Farney [email protected] OBJECTIVES The implementation of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) on January 1, 1989 marked a watershed in Canada's relationship with the United States. In the eyes of the Agreement's opponents and proponents alike, CUFTA's ratification by the Mulroney government would transform the Canadian economy. Critics believed that "free trade" (expanded in January 1994 to include Mexico via NAFTA would seriously undermine Canada's fragmented political system and already vulnerable culture. Advocates maintained that these dangers were negligible and that there was no alternative given the regional integration happening in Europe (EU) and South America (Mercosur). Besides, NAFTA’s rules were consistent with the obligations Canada assumed by joining the World Trade Organization in 1995 This course will apply to the Canadian-American relationship the theoretical issues and policy problems central to globalization’s effects on sovereign states and cultures. As "political economy," this course rejects the conventional boundaries that isolate political science from economics. According to this perspective, Canada's position in the world cannot be studied just as a question of politics or of economics. Our intellectual challenge in studying Canada's global challenge in North America is to master analytical frameworks that give us a sophisticated understanding of the multi-dimensional dynamics of Canadian development. This subject matter is prone to highly ideological treatment, for it touches one of the most sensitive of Canadian nerves. Nevertheless, our objective will be to deal fairly, factually, and rigorously with the assumptions, theories, and arguments used in the debate between nationalists (who believe that Canada suffers from and should resist its economic, political, and cultural domination by the United States) and continentalists (who believe that Canada should optimistically embrace the forces of integration that it has opposed for too long and in vain.) Note: Students may not take this course and its companion, Pol. 341 H-F, in the same term. USA 401 H-F, fall 2005 1 PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH 1. Lectures Central to the course are its weekly lectures. They will discuss the basic theoretical issues raised by the literature about Canada's position in North America, give the historical background and analytical context, and examine the implications of continentalism for Canada's economy, polity and culture. Regular attendance is expected and will be rewarded; an attendance record is kept. The reading log and each student’s lecture notes may be submitted for appraisal at the Christmas exam for a possible bonus of up to 2 per cent. Short readings are specified for each lecture in this syllabus. To get the most out of the lectures, students should read these passages beforehand. For those participating in discussion groups, it is mandatory to read this material in advance. Periodically, special guests will apply their expertise to the specific topic under discussion. 2. Tests A final examination worth 25 per cent will be held in the UC East Hall. Test questions will be based on the weekly readings and the material covered during the lectures. The questions will be distributed in advance at the last lecture, and the exam will be held one week later. 3. Office Hours I want to meet each member of the course during my office hours early in the term. Please drop by for a brief chat bringing a small photograph I can attach to your file. 4. Essays Because "we write to learn," essay writing is the principal focus for your individual work. In order to generate a common vocabulary for the course, every student will do a book review by Lecture 4. An outline for the major essay must then be submitted for approval by Lecture 6. 5. Learning Options Three options offer you a range of learning experiences from which to choose. Option A. All Written Work This involves solo study. The book report, outline, and essay entirely determine the term mark: book review (1,500 words or 6 pages) worth 15 percent essay outline (3 pages) worth 20 percent essay (3,500 words or 14 pages) worth 40 percent Option B. Written Work plus Weekly Discussion Group In addition to the written work of Option A this option involves participation in a weekly, student-run discussion group that allows time for debating the issues raised during the lectures, self-help in essay, and test preparation, plus getting to know a small number of fellow students. Once this option is chosen (and approved by me), regular attendance at tutorials is mandatory. USA 401 H-F, fall 2005 2 Weekly reports are submitted to me evaluating your participation in each session and alerting me to problems that may need resolving. Participation accounts for 10 per cent, with the book review and essay each worth 5 per cent less than in Option A. Option C. Morph Pol. 318 into a year-long, Research Opportunity Course, Pol. 397Y This involves doing the book review and attending the lectures for Pol. 318 but doing the rest of the work as part of a research collective contributing to work I am finishing on the governance of North America. Each member of the group will research a specific issue within the area I am investigating. In the first term, the paper will review the relevant literature and pose the research questions and methodological issues to be addressed in the second term’s original research. The group will meet occasionally to discuss research problems, but students will mainly interact directly with me throughout the academic year – and probably beyond. As climax of the research – thanks to generous financial support from the Dean of the Faculty of Arts – the top six students will spend one week at the end of the winter term in Washington being briefed by some experts and interviewing other officials to obtain first-hand information on their subject. The standard comparative book review (10 percent), a project outline (10 percent) and the background paper worth (30 percent) are due in the first term. The remaining 50 percent of the mark consists of the final 6,000 word, 24-page essay. Prerequisite: students electing this option must have reached an A level in their previous essays and a GPA of 3.75. To proceed further they must produce an A for the book review. Summary of Marking Coefficients for Options A, B, and C OPTION A B C First term book review 15 10 10 outline 20 15 10 essay 40 40 30 discussion group 10 Term work 75 75 50 Christmas test 25 25 Second term 50 Final mark 100 100 100 USA 401 H-F, fall 2005 3 SCHEDULE, DEADLINES, and PENALTIES for TERM WORK and EXAMINATION Options A and B: Book review: L 4, October 3 returned with comments L6, October 17 Outline:** L 6, October 17 returned with comments L7, October 24 Essay: L10, November 14 returned with comments L12, November 28 Final exam: L12, November 28 Questions distributed December 5 Test held in UC East Hall 10 to 11.55 a.m. All assignments are due on the specified date by 10:10 a.m. that is, before the lecture begins, when the TA will pick them up. The penalty clock for lateness will start at that time. LATE Assignments are to be handed in to Sidney Smith 3018 * Penalties for lateness: Book reviews: 5 percent per day, to a maximum of 25 per cent. Outlines: 5 percent per day, to a maximum of 25 per cent. Essays: 2 percent per day, to a maximum of 20 per cent. Extensions may be granted for incapacitating medical problems notified before the deadline and documented subsequently by a doctor. Extensions are not granted for computer failure or other work commitments. ** See page 10 for what is required in an outline. Option C (Pol 397Y): Book review: L4, October 3 returned with comments L 6, October 17 Project outline: (+) L6, October 17 returned with comments by appointment Background paper December 5 returned with comments December 12 Final research report May 1, 2004 USA 401 H-F, fall 2005 4 LECTURE SCHEDULE and WEEKLY READINGS Those readings for each lecture that do not come out of the required texts and are not available on line are compiled in a xeroxed compendium available from Alico’s Copy Centre, 203-A College Street, 599-2342. L. 1 Introduction: Continentalism ’n’ Us Sept. 12 A systematic explanation of my pedagogy -- options, essays, bibliographies, outlines, weightings, deadlines, penalties, tests and such other necessary evils as lecture topics and weekly readings -- will introduce you to the course’s ends and means. Read: Nothing required: it’s your time for getting over any qualms before the storm. PART I -The DEBATE over CANADA'S ECONOMIC (MIS)DEVELOPMENT L. 2 The Battle of the Paradigms: (1) Innis's Political Economy and Its Critics Sept. 19 In intellectual opposition to the school of neo-classical economics, the `political economy' interpretation of Canada's international position traces its roots back to the magisterial, technology-focused work of Harold Innis.