The Department of Global Studies' Colloquium Series is a lecture series, which has been made possible by the generosity of the Orfalea Endowment for the Master's Program in Global Studies.  The Colloquium Series strives to open and explore a wide range of interdisciplinary debates and their interaction and engagement with the global, hosting new guest speakers each quarter from UCSB and beyond.  The upcoming event will be hosted via Zoom on Wednesday, November 3rd at 12:30pm. Zoom link is https://ucsb.zoom.us/j/84246564996 (Meeting ID: 842 4656 4996). Please see below for the featured talk:

James H. Mittelman, Runaway capitalism: The greatest pandemic

Runaway capitalism is spreading across territorial borders with only light regulation and growing increasingly out of control. This turn in capitalism is novel because it morphs into “the greatest pandemic”: simultaneous crises in public health, democracy, the economy, the environment, race relations, and higher education. In these perilous times, runaway capitalism materializes in three ways: as algorithmic, cognitive, and philanthropic capitalism. These paths are converging in a manner that has commanded little notice. This talk will cite specific instances of the trifecta of capitalist pathways in the global South and global North, and note proposals for structural reform.

James H. Mittelman is Distinguished Research Professor and University Professor Emeritus at American University. Previously, he served as Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies (today the Korbel School) at the University of Denver and Professor and Dean of Social Sciences at Queens College, City University of New York. He was appointed as a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in 1998 and received the International Studies Association’s 2010 International Political Economy Distinguished Scholar Award in 2010. He is the author or editor of several books on global political economy, globalization, and development, most recently, Implausible Dream: The World-Class University and Repurposing Higher Education (Princeton University Press 2018).

For more information about the Colloquium Series, please contact Professor Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Global Studies Colloquium Director:
jnp@global.ucsb.edu