Course on Globalisation 1 (Autumn)

There are two courses on’ Globalisation’ offered by the Sociology Department for the third year (level 3) and these courses are 30 credits each. These courses will investigate the causes, nature and consequences of globalisation. The course which is offered in Autumn term focuses on 'history, theories, culture' and the other course which will be offered in Spring will focus on 'migration, economy and  politics'.

The overview of the Autumn course is-'Globalisation: History, Theories and Culture'.It also covers different meanings or concepts of globalisation. It analyses the history of globalisation and the extent to which it is a premodern, modern or postmodern phenomenon. The course examines perspectives on globalisation, such as those from globalist, transformationalist and sceptical perspectives. It examines theories of globalisation from key sociologists. The course goes on to look at technological developments in media and the way they have led to the globalisation of culture, and whether culture has been made more homogeneous or hybrid. The course looks at the way processes of globalisation have intersected in global cities.

The contents of the above course were delivered in the class in ten lectures. One hour lecture per week. There were seminars of two hours duration during every week on the same topic which is covered in the lectures. Under each topic questions are given to help reading and discussion during the seminar. The students should think about the answers for the questions ( while reading) and come prepared for the seminar.

Reading

Substantial reading is recommended to get a good understanding of the course. The seminars assume that the students have done substantial reading every week. Nine hours work is expected for this course.These are some core books, journals and websites recommended for reading.

Books:


1. Jan Aart Scholte, Globalization, 2000 and later edition in 2005,

2. Larry Ray, Globalization and Everyday Life, 2007,

3. Charles Lemert et al eds, Globalization: a Reader, 2009

4. Frank Lechner, Globalization: The Making of World Society, 2009,

5. Andrew Jones, Globalization: Key Thinkers, 2010,


Journals:
Global Networks
Globalizations
Review of International Political Economy
Journal of World Systems Research
Millennium
International Studies ReviewElectronic resources

Websites:

http://www.zcommunications.org/zmag

http://www.opendemocracy.net/

http://www.oneworld.net/; http://www.tni.org/

http://www.economist.com/

http://www.global-politics.co.uk/index.htm


Assessment: 100%
For this Autumn Term course, assessment is a 6000 word essay (or Undergraduate Thesis) to be submitted at the start of the spring term. There are essay titles given in the course document.