SOC 4321 is also offered in Spring 2024
Summer 2014 | SOC 4321 Section 001: Globalize This! Understanding Globalization through Sociology (89027)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- A-F or Audit
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person Term Based
- Meets With:
- CHN 3022 Section 001CHN 4004 Section 001GLOS 4221 Section 001
- Times and Locations:
- May Session05/27/2014 - 05/30/2014Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri 09:00AM - 01:00PMUMTC, West BankBlegen Hall 24006/02/2014 - 06/12/2014Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu 09:00AM - 01:00PMUMTC, West BankBlegen Hall 240
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- Globalization of organizations, political relations, and culture. Dependency, world systems theories. Growth of international nongovernmental organizations, their impact on state policies and civil society. Expansion of international norms. Globalization of popular culture.
- Class Description:
- Just what is 'globalization'? What are the forces behind it? How are people around the world involved in globalization and under what circumstances? Some say the world has become a village, but has it? And, if so, for whom? Globalization typically refers to the complex social, cultural, political and economic changes instigated by increasingly interconnected economic and communication networks. Rather than understand globalization as a downward force happening to people around the globe, this course seeks to present globalization as a historical and current phenomenon we are all participating in, albeit in a variety of ways and with different outcomes. From universities in Addis Ababa to sweatshops in Dhaka to trading floors in New York City, people's lives are increasingly intertwined. These interconnections both maintain historical continuities while generating new forms of power and exploitation and terrain for social justice claims. We will first learn and apply sociological tools to see, learn about, and understand the social world in complex ways. We will then discuss the 'project of development' as a Western and colonizing force that is part and parcel of global capitalism; debate both the positives and negatives of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and United Nations as institutions with far-reaching consequences in people's lives around the globe; and interrogate the universality of human rights and understand how this discourse has been used to justify intervention into other countries while simultaneously helping people's movements claim rights. This will be a small discussion-based class where we will talk and debate the realities of globalization as experienced by people and as an abstract ideal. Throughout the course, we will explore how people around the world are creatively engaging with globalization on their own terms, resisting, negotiating, and recreating the meaning of globalization. We will discuss globalization theories, taking care to read scholars from around the globe, and seek to apply them to real life cases. Likely case studies include: anti-retroviral therapy medication for HIV/AIDS and World Trade Organization patent protection laws, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a compliance mechanism for human rights discourse and practice, and global monitoring and evaluation practices as a new form of colonialism. About the instructor: I am a PhD candidate in Sociology with a minor in Development Studies and Social Change. I have worked in Ethiopia and Washington D.C. implementing USAID projects and in Sierra Leone and other African countries for non-profits. I have an interdisciplinary background and draw upon Development Studies, Policy, Gender and Women's Studies, Geography, and Anthropology. I have lots of experience teaching and am eager to teach a course on a topic I am passionate about.
- Grading:
- 20% Final Exam
10% Reports/Papers
10% Special Projects
10% Quizzes
10% Attendance
20% Reflection Papers
20% Class Participation Other Grading Information: I reserve the right to make any changes deemed necessary to class content, assignments, and grading as I finalize the syllabus. The course syllabus is influenced by the ideas and work of Professor Michael Goldman. - Exam Format:
- Final exam will include a combo of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. The personal narrative paper will ask you to connect your own life to class concepts. We only meet 12 times, so be ready to come to each and every class session.
- Class Format:
- 25% Lecture
15% Film/Video
30% Discussion
25% Small Group Activities
5% Guest Speakers Class will be a combination of interactive lecture, group discussions, exercises, and writing time. In addition to academic articles, we will read newspaper articles, watch short films and a few full length documentaries and have guest lecturers. - Workload:
- 125 Pages Reading Per Week
20 Pages Writing Per Term
1 Exam(s)
1 Paper(s)
1 Special Project(s)
8 Homework Assignment(s)
3 Quiz(zes)
Other Workload: Assignments will likely include: readings summaries/reflections, a personal narrative paper exploring your own relationship to globalization, and a final exam. I will also give quizzes on lecture material so I can adjust my teaching accordingly. - Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/89027/1145
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 25 March 2014
ClassInfo Links - Summer 2014 Sociology Classes Taught by Emily Springer
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