Sociology of Globalization

Globalization is a widely used 'buzzword' but also widely misunderstood. In this course, we will bust the common myths that surround globalization and explore the contemporary globalization of social life. We will come to understand globalization as a set of processes. Our study will first consider the economic, cultural and political processes independently but we will also reflect on how they operate in conjunction with one another. We will apply this understanding to survey several sub-themes of globalization including global inequality, global migration, climate change, and infectious disease. The course also has a broader intellectual goal to help students think about complex social issues in a thoughtful manner that critically reads, interprets and reflects upon sociological perspectives of globalization. To do so, the assessments place a large emphasis on communicating using logic and argumentation.

KNOW: the different sociological approaches to understanding globalization
COMPREHEND: the various social, political and economic aspects of globalization and their influence on global and local society
APPLY: sociological perspectives to specific examples and case studies of globalization
ANALYZE: the role of power, inequality and conflict in global relations
SYNTHESIZE: information about globalization from diverse sources and approaches to communicate relevant ideas and arguments
EVALUATE: the role of globalization and anti-globalization in social life from a knowledge-based perspective