POLS 261 - Globalization and Social Change

3 Credit(s)

This course explores the emergence of globalization as a contested concept and a transplanetary process. Many definitions of globalization exist, with some authors asserting the dominant and omnipresent nature of this phenomenon in world affairs, and others rejecting its existence altogether. We will explore these divergent views and examine their theoretical underpinnings. The course will specifically explore the impact of globalization on human security and global governance issues more broadly. Globalization generally refers to cross-border processes related to the transnational flow of people, goods, services, information, and ideas. This phenomenon creates an intensification of interdependent (reduction of barriers, greater interconnections) or independent (increase in barriers, reduced connections) relations between economic, political, and social structures and groups. We will explore the impact of globalization through various flows, including economic trade; global governance and transnationalism; religion; media; environmental degradation; and human (in)security issues; as well as the counter or alter-globalization movements.