GS 120 - Global Transport and Logistics

Professor: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue
Department of Global Studies and Geography
Hofstra University
Hempstead, New York 11549 USA
Jean-paul.Rodrigue@hofstra.edu
Phone: (516) 463-5765. Fax: (516) 463-6519.

Outline

This interdisciplinary course introduces the major components of the rapidly evolving global transport and communication systems, showing how this evolution has enabled the spread of global production networks and has facilitated greater access to new modes of data and information. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives, the course highlights the ways in which transportation and the management of distribution are fundamental to the understanding of globalization, trade, and the use of logistics by corporations. The course also shows how the new modes of communication have transformed both trade and culture, altering not only the way we buy, sell and produce commodities, but also the social organization of place and space.

The general goals of the course are:

• Students will be provided with an introduction to theoretical and practical concepts of transportation and logistics.
• Students will understand the role of transport infrastructures, modes and policies in the organization of space at the international and regional scales.
• Students will be able to understand economic processes such as globalization, trade and transportation and their impacts on economic, cultural and social activities.
• Students will understand the fundamental concepts of spatial interaction and diffusion, which explain how human activities are influenced by the concept of distance.

PowerPoint Slides

• Topic 1 – The Global Economy: Emergence and Convergence
• Topic 2 – Global Markets, Global Products, Global Firms
• Topic 3 – Trade and the Global Economy
• Topic 4 – Transportation and Globalization
• Topic 5 – Intermodal Transportation Systems
• Topic 6 – Logistics and Supply Chain Management

 

Dr. Rodrigue's research interests mainly cover the fields of transportation and economics as they relate to logistics and global freight distribution. Area interests involve North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and East and Southeast Asia. Specific topics over which he has published extensively cover maritime transport systems and logistics, global supply chains and production networks, gateways and transport corridors. Current projects involve:

• The Governance of Intermodal Transportation Assets
• The Transport Geography of Logistics
• Gateways, Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution
• Globalization and Transport Terminals