David+Sicilia

**David Sicilia: Capitalism and U.S. Foreign Policy**



 * Lecture/discussion led by Professor David Sicilia **

Part I

//America and the World, // pp. ix-xiii, 1-45, 65-68, 90-103, 109-129.
 * Roots of Global Capitalism and Foreign Policy **

Discussion questions:


 * 1) According to the authors, what is new about their approach in this book?
 * 2) On balance, which side benefitted most from the “Columbian Exchange”?
 * 3) How did commerce in humans shape the Atlantic economy?
 * 4) How did Spanish and English government strategies differ in the New World when it came to economics? Diplomacy?
 * 5) How and why was the new United States less global than its predecessor colonies?
 * 6) How was internal migration shaped by international diplomacy?
 * 7) To what extent was the American Civil War international?

Part II //America and the World, // pp. 103-108, 131-173, 191-242, 265-267.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Global Capitalism and Foreign Policy since 1865 **

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> Discussion questions:


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">What was the “second industrial revolution”? Was it international?
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">What were the key arguments for and against “new empire”?
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">According to the authors, in the early 20th century the U.S. commanded an “informal empire.” What do they mean? Do you agree?
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Was the New Deal an American creation?
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">After World War II, how did the U.S. try to shape the world economically and diplomatically? Where did it succeed? Fail?
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Why did the U.S. lose much of its global predominance after 1973?
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Has recent globalization advantaged or disadvantaged the U.S.?