Brexit. Trump. Anti-immigration sentiment. Growing economic nationalism. Are we experiencing the end of globalization as we know it?
A new Global Network course hosted by the Yale School of Management seeks to explore these current trends, and what impacts they may have on business and society. The course, taught by Senior Associate Dean David Bach, invites guest lecturers from across Yale University and beyond to explore the drivers behind Brexit and Trump’s victory, the impact of globalization on jobs and inequality, radicalization and terrorism, and diminishing trust in institutions, among other topics.
“The goal of the course is to separate the signal from noise and examine the fundamental changes that have occurred,” Bach said. “Our focus is to piece together a picture that can inform further inquiry, debate, and ultimately decision making.”
Students take on the role of principle investigators in a global context, gathering public opinion and sentiments toward political parties in their own cities; speaking with locals about globalization and business; and assessing the potential risks for businesses in their regions from anti-globalization rhetoric and actions. They will work in virtual teams and collaborate to sort through data they collect across the globe to formulate hypotheses about the shifting landscape.
The course culminates with a series of simultaneous student hackathons on Global Network campuses that will provide the backdrop for panel discussions and expert conversations on the future of globalization at the Global Network’s 5th Anniversary Symposium in New Haven on April 19-20, 2017.
Watch David Bach discuss the course with teaching assistant Sarah Toomey Yale SOM ’17: