Managing Globalization: The Role of Business and the State An inter-disciplinary perspective

The Mississippi Gulf Coast, October 21-23, 2004 Venue: University of Southern Mississippi

This international conference seeks to offer a general perspective on the role of business and the state as institutions that mediate the process of globalization. Although controversies over NAFTA and outsourcing cast globalization as a new and uncontrollable force, American business and political leaders have long dealt with changing international markets. Historians of the Atlantic World, for example, are delineating the exchange of slaves, staple crops, and manufactured commodities between four continents. On the Gulf Coast, the site for the conference, entrepreneurs have reaped profits by meeting shifting demands in international markets for animal hides, processed seafood, forest products, and tourism. At the same time, immigrant entrepreneurs from Vietnam have revitalized the shrimp industry. The initiatives taken by firms, industries, and governments to manage globalization invites further analysis.

This conference also seeks to overcome disciplinary boundaries and foster scholarly dialogue on this timely subject. Consequently, researchers from various fields that include but are not limited to anthropology, economics, geography, history, literary studies, management science, political science, and sociology are invited to submit proposals for panels as well as individual papers. By exposing participants to different theoretical perspectives and empirical data, the conference aims to promote new approaches to the subject of globalization.

The program committee encourages proposals in the following three areas:
1. Assessing Policies That Foster Globalization

• International trade agreements
• Outsourcing and the geographic mobility of jobs
• Offshore manufacturing and its impact on blue-collar workers
  and consumers
• The recruitment of foreign-owned companies to the United States

• Tourism as an engine of globalization and economic development
• The emergence of multinational corporations
• Immigrant entrepreneurs as a catalyst for economic development
• Opportunities for small business in the international marketplace

• The relevance of the nation state in a global age
• Foreign trade policies and partisan politics
• Reconciling geopolitical and economic agendas
  

Edited conference proceedings: A selection of refereed papers from the conference is sought for publication.

The deadline for the submission of proposals is June 30, 2004. During the following week, decisions regarding acceptance will be made and e-mails will be sent out immediately thereafter. The abstract (300 word maximum) should summarize the argument of the paper, the sources on which it is based, and its relationship to existing scholarship. Individual paper proposals should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae. For panel proposals, include a cover letter stating the rationale for the session, an abstract of each paper, a c.v. for each author, and a list of preferred chairs and commentators with contact information for those who have agreed in advance to participate.

Proposals should be submitted by e-mail or mail: Douglas Bristol: douglas.bristol@usm.edu The University of Southern Mississippi 730 East Beach Boulevard Long Beach, MS 39560 (228) 867-2603