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Semester 1

Globalization (SCIL10067)

Subject

Sociology

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed at least 2 Social Science courses (i.e. Sociology, Politics, Social Policy, Social Anthropology, African Studies, American Studies, Gender/Queer Studies) at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

This course critically examines the subject of globalisation from a sociological perspective. Globalisation is a vast topic, and no one course can cover all its aspects. This course aims to give the student grounding in the most fundamental aspects of globalisation, with exploration of selected substantive topics ('case studies') to help root the general in the particular. We examine the concept itself, the central themes of changing communications, social networks, and experiences of space and time, and the major economic, political and ideological dimensions of globalisation. The view taken in this course is that, while there have been distinctive social changes associated with globalisation in recent decades, to understand this process we need to regularly relocate it in a long-term historical perspective. Globalisation has been happening for centuries, and to understand current processes of globalisation, we need to relate them to a deeper history of globalisation. We also need to be careful about talking of globalisation as if it were one thing. In fact this very broad term encompasses an array of different social processes that need to be distinguished in order to be better understood.

Course Description

This course is taught by the convenor, with several guest lectures on case studies from topical specialists. The general view taken in this course is that, while there have been distinctive social changes associated with globalisation in recent decades, to understand this process we need to regularly relocate it in a long-term historical perspective. Globalisation has been happening for centuries, and to understand current processes of globalisation, we need to relate them to a deeper history of globalisation. We also need to be careful about talking of globalisation as if it were one thing. In fact, this very broad term encompasses an array of different social processes that need to be distinguished in order to be better understood. Although they vary from year to year, typical lecture headings include: 1. Introduction: conceptualising globalisation critically 2. 'Communications', 'networks' and 'space/time compression' 3. Case Study: Global production and China as world factory 4. Economic processes: trade, markets, capitalism 5. Case Study: Financialisation of the economy 6. Political processes: states, nations, empires, colonialism and hegemons 7. Case Study: Globalisation and social/political movements 8. Cultural consumption and globalisation 9. Case Study: 'Neoliberalism' as a world ideological movement 10. Changing our global energy system. There are no set texts for the whole course, but good places to start reading on the topic include: Crouch, C. (2019) The Globalization Backlash. Cambridge, Polity, 2019. Darian-Smith, E., & McCarty, P. C. (2017). The global turn: Theories, research designs, and methods for global studies. University of California Press. Eriksen, T. H. (2014) Gobalization: the key concepts. 2nd ed. Bloomsbury Academic. Held, D. and McGrew, A. (eds) (2003) The Global Transformations Reader, 2nd ed, Polity. Martell, L. (2010) The sociology of globalization, Polity. Michie, J. (2017). Advanced Introduction to Globalisation. Elgar. OByrne, D. J. and Hensby, A. (2011) Theorizing Global Studies. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Osterhammel, J. and Niels P. P. (2003) Globalization: A Short History, Princeton UP. Ritzer, G., (ed.) (2008) The Blackwell Companion to Globalization, Blackwell. Scholte, J. A. (2005) Globalization: a critical introduction. 2nd edition, Palgrave. Steger, M. B. and James, P. (2019) Globalization Matters: Engaging the Global in Unsettled Times. Cambridge: CUP. Therborn, G. (2011) The World: A Beginners Guide, Cambridge: Polity.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

This course is high-demand, meaning that there is a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces. Enrolment is managed by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the departments, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.

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