Global Tribes

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This course examines the vital role that diasporic populations play in the global economy. Its aim is to show how ethnic and cultural networks challenge modern theories of capitalism outlined in the work of thinkers such as Marx and Weber.  The course will focus on the Chinese in South East Asia, the Indians in Silicon Valley and the diasporic Jews -- who are often seen as the prototypical middlemen minority -- in order to analyze how dispersed groups with cultural and ethnic ties are creating an alternative model of globalization that operates in conjunction with, but is importantly different from, the modern mainstream economy. The course will draw on Amy Chua’s book World on Fire, Joel Kotkin’s book Tribes: How Race, Religion and Identity Determine Success in the New Global Economy,  as well as the extensive sociological literature on ethnic economies and middlemen minorities.