Unit Outline

This unit explores the different ways in which our everyday lives are connected increasingly to global events, issues and problems. Through three core modules – Approaches to Globalisation; Global Challenges and Threats; and, Global Futures – you will discover why globalisation is an important area of sociological inquiry, and how sociological concepts and theories are useful in understanding the causes of global issues and problems, and in contributing to solutions. You will engage with important questions that are central to the future of humanity such as: In ways are global changes transforming how we think about and experience the world? How does increasing global mobility and inter-connectedness contribute to new forms of solidarity and belonging as well as social inequality? How might we explain the recent rise of populism and nationalism? What are the challenges and prospects in creating a more socially just and environmentally sustainable world?

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Recognise and explain the power relations, social inequalities and conflicts underpinning globalisation.
2.	Apply sociological concepts and theories to global issues and problems.
3.	Analyse different ways in which sociologists can contribute to understanding the causes of global issues and problems, and developing solutions.
4.	Produce written and/or oral work that communicates your ideas clearly, conforms to academic standards, and accurately acknowledges the work of others.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	25 credit points at Introductory level or higher
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	HGA262/362: Social Inequalities: Global and Local

Alterations as a result of student feedback

In response to student feedback, the following alterations have been made to the unit for 2024:

Assessment task 3 - increase in the maximum time for presentation from 7 mins to 10 mins.

More flexible options for online students to achieve their participation grade.

Introduction of two new topics - Globalisation and Global Poverty, and Adaptive Governance for a Changing World

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Assessment Task 1: Conceptual analysis and application	Week 5	15 %	LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Assessment Task 2: Essay	Week 9	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Assessment Task 3: Recorded presentation	Week 13	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 4:	Participation	Refer to Assessment Description	15 %	LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Assessment Task 1: Conceptual analysis and application

Task Description:

Select a concept or theory from ONE of the weekly topics in Module 1 of the unit (I.e., Weeks 1-5) and address the following question:

How, and in what ways, does this concept or theory highlight (or conceal) the power relations and/or social inequalities underpinning globalisation? Use an example or examples to help support your argument.

Task Length:

500 Words

Due Date:

Week 5 (27/Mar/2024)

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse why the selected concepts and/or theoretical approaches is useful for sociologists in making sense of globalisation	LO3
2	Illustrate how a selected concept and/or theories is applicable to a relevant topic, issue or problem	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Assessment Task 2: Essay

Task Description:

Select ONE transborder challenge or threat from the Module 2 topics in the unit schedule and address the following questions in an essay-style format:

1. What are the main debates surrounding the causes of this challenge, which voices dominate in this debate, and why?
2. How might sociologists contribute to a deeper understanding of the causes of this challenge?

Task Length:

2500 words

Due Date:

Week 9 (01/May/2024)

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Explain the power relations, inequalities and/or conflicts underpinning the selected transborder challenge	LO1
2	Apply relevant concepts and/or theories to make sociological sense of the selected transborder challenge	LO2
3	Analyse the ways in which sociologists can contribute to understanding the causes of the selected global challenge	LO3
4	Provide an essay that is logically argued and structured, concise, and conforms to academic standards	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Assessment Task 3: Recorded presentation

Task Description:

Drawing upon the global challenge or threat outlined in your second assessment (essay), complete the following tasks:

Record and submit a 10-minute (maximum) powerpoint-supported oral presentation that:

• briefly outlines the sociological analysis of the global challenge/threat discussed in your second assessment assignment (Note: this may be revised based on the marker feedback you received for that assignment); and,
• develops an argument, engaging with one or more of the topics in Module 3, that shows how sociologists can contribute to the development of responses for addressing that global challenge/threat.

Task Length:

Recorded presentation, 10mins

Due Date:

Week 13 (29/May/2024)

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Explain how the selected concept incorporates a concern with the power relations, inequalities and/or conflicts underpinning globalisation	LO1
2	Apply relevant concepts and/or theories to make sociological sense of the selected transborder challenge	LO2
3	Analyse the ways in which sociologists can contribute to the development of responses for addressing the selected global challenge	LO3
4	Provide an oral presentation and written synopsis that is logically argued and structured, concise, and conforms to academic standards	LO4

Assessment Task 4: Participation

Task Description:

Participation is an important part of your studies, helping you to build your sense of connection with the unit, its content, and your peers. Your participation in this unit is assessed in two ways.

Part 1 - Experiencing Globalisation (10%)
By the end of Week 1, you must sign up to lead a workshop presentation (on-campus students) or discussion on MyLO (online students) that relates clearly to the content of the weekly topic for which you have signed up.

For this task, you should consider how and in what ways the weekly topic connects and is relevant to your own everyday experiences of globalisation. You are welcome to use materials to help support your presentation/discussion post, for example short media sequences, news articles, or anything else that you feel comfortable sharing with your peers. You should conclude with one question that to provoke discussion amongst your fellow students.

To keep your presentation/discussion post focused and succinct, it is recommended that you choose a concept, theory, or idea discussed in your selected weekly topic and apply it to your own experiences. This is better than trying to cover everything in the topic.

If you are an On-Campus student, your presentation is restricted to FIVE MINUTES and, if used, THREE PowerPoint slides (you do not need to use PowerPoint; it is optional). Presentations will be done at the start of the workshop, and therefore it is vital that you are ready to start on time.

If you are an Online student, you must add your discussion post and question to stimulate discussion (up to 500 words), by 9am Wednesday of the relevant content week.

Extension requests, and requests to swap weeks, must be submitted to your Unit Coordinator at least three working days in advance of your allocated week, and will only be approved in exceptional circumstances.

Part 2 - Student Engagement (5%)
The remaining 5% of Assessment task 4 will be assessed as follows:

On-campus students

Engagement in workshop activities.

Online students

One of the following

Replying to five discussion board posts from other students (one mark for each reply). Note that to receive a mark, your reply must be in the same week as the post to which you are responding.

Engagement in at least five online tutorials.

A mix of replies to discussion board posts and engagement in online tutorials. Please let your Unit Coordinator know if you wish to select this option.

Assessed during the semester.

Task Length:

Part A – 500 words (off-campus students); five minute presentation and prompt question (on-campus students) Part B – regular workshop engagement (on-campus students); replying to at least four discussions OR participation in at least four online tutorials, OR a mix of discussion board posts and online tutorial participation (off-campus students)

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse why the selected concepts and/or theories are useful for sociologists in explaining globalisation	LO3
2	Illustrate with examples how selected concepts and/or theories are applicable to a relevant topic, issue or problem	LO2

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes and achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

There is no required textbook for this unit. All required and recommended readings for each topic can be accessed directly through the weekly topic pages on MyLO (under Content) or via the Library reding list for this unit.

Week 1

Eriksen, T.H. (2014) Globalization: The Key Concepts (2nd edn), Bloomsbury: London (Introduction: A Shrinking Planet)

Kennedy, P. (2010) Local Lives and Global Transformations: Towards World Society, Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke (Chapter 2 – Theorizing Globalization: Linking the World)

Week 2

Mignolo, W.D. (2021) Coloniality and globalization: a decolonial take, Globalizations, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 720-737.

Bhambra, G.K. (2014) Postcolonial and decolonial dialogues, Postcolonial Studies, 17(2), pp. 115-121.

Week 3

O’Byrne, D.J. and Hensby, A. (2011) Theorizing Global Studies, Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke (Chapter 2: Liberalization: A Borderless World).

Babb, S. and Kentikelenis, A. (2018) International financial institutions as agents of neoliberalism, in Cahill, D., Cooper, M., Konings, M. and Primrose, D. The Sage Handbook of Neoliberalism, Sage: London, pp. 16-27.

Week 4

Sklair, L. (2006) Capitalist globalization: fatal flaws and necessity for alternatives, Brown Journal of World Affairs, 13(1): 29-37.

Bartley, T. (2018) Transnational corporations and global governance, Annual Review of Sociology, 44: 145-165.

Week 5

Pieterse, J.N. (2012) Globalization as hybridization, in Lyall Smith, K.E. (ed.), Sociology of Globalization: Cultures, Economies, Politics, Routledge, Abingdon.

Kraidy, M.M. (2002) Hybridity in cultural globalization, Communication Theory, 12(3): 316-339.

Week 6

Horner, R., Schindler, S., Haberly, D. and Aoyama, Y. (2018) Globalisation, uneven development and the North–South ‘big switch, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 11(1): 17-33.

Kacowicz, A.M. (2007) Globalization, poverty and the North-South divide, Current International Studies Review, 9(4): 565-580.

Week 7

Lawrence, G. (2017) Re-evaluating food systems and food security: a global perspective, Journal of Sociology, 53(4): 774-796.

Fouilleux, E., Bricas, N. and Alpha, A. (2017) ‘Feeding 9 billion people’: global food security debates and the productionist trap, Journal of European Public Policy, 24(11): 1658-1677.

Week 8

Mykhalovskiy, E. and French, M. (2020) COVID-19, public health, and the politics of prevention, Sociology of Health and Illness, 42(8): 4-15.

Weir, L. and Mykhalovskiy, E. (2006) ‘The Geopolitics of Global Public Health Surveillance in the Twenty first Century’ Chapter 13 pages 240-263 in Bashford, Alison. (ed) Medicine at the Border: Disease, globalisation and security, 1850 to the present. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Week 9

Rosa, E.A., Rudel, T.K., York, R., Jorgenson, A.K. and Dietz, T. (2015) The human (anthropogenic) driving forces of global climate change, in Dunlap, R.E. and Brulle, R.J. (eds), Climate Change and Society: Sociological Perspectives, Oxford University Press, New York.

Norgaard, K.M. (2018) The sociological imagination in a time of climate change, Global and Planetary Change, 163: 171-176.

Week 10

Szetela, A. (2020) Black Lives Matter at five: limits and possibilities, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43(8): 1358-1383.

Rojas, F. (2020) Moving beyond the rhetoric: a comment on Szetela's critique of the Black Lives Matter movement, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43(8): 1407-1413.

Szetela, A. (2020) Race, class, and the retreat from debate, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43(8): 1414-1419.

Week 11

Keen, D. (2008) ‘Introduction’ and ‘War’, Complex Emergencies. Polity, Cambridge (pp.1-24).

Choudry, A., and Kapoor, D. (2013) ‘Introduction’, NGOization: Complicity, Contradictions and Prospects, Bloomsbury Publishing, London. (pp. 1-23).

Week 12

Berkes, F. (2017) Environmental governance for the Anthropocene? Social-ecological systems, resilience, and collaborative learning, Sustainability, 9, 1232, doi:10.3390/su9071232.

Von der Porten, S., Loë, R.C., and McGregor, D. (2016) Incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems into collaborative governance for water: Challenges and opportunities, Journal of Canadian Studies, 50(1): 214-243.