TO: Beth Dobkin, Provost
FROM: Hisham Ahmed, Chair
Academic Senate
DATE: April 11, 2016
RE: Senate Action S-15/16-53CA
New Course Proposal
SOC 119: Social Globalization
At the April 6, 2016 meeting of the Academic Senate, the attached New Course Proposal for SOC 119: Social Globalization was approved on the Consent Agenda.
The proposal was submitted to the Academic Senate from the Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee, where it was unanimously approved by a vote of 9-0-0 at the April 4, 2016 meeting.
This action was assigned Senate Action #S-15/16-53CA.
Attachment
cc: President James A. Donahue
Dean Sheila Hassell Hughes
Application for approval of a new course in Sociology:
SOC 119, Social Globalization
1. School, Department, Course Number and Course Title:
School: School of Liberal Arts (SOLA)
Department: Sociology
Course number: SOC 119
Course title: Social Globalization
Course level: Upper division
Upper division course rationale: This class meets all of the criteria because it has prerequisites (see below), it requires an in-depth study of globalization, and it demands focused reading/writing/discussion skills of advanced students.
2. Justification for the Course:
A. JUSTIFICATION: In the last twenty years, the process of globalization has dramatically altered the theories, methods, and assumptions of an overwhelming number of academic disciplines. In sociology, efforts to transcend methodological nationalism and to incorporate the linkages between the local and the global into analytical frameworks have amounted to nothing less than a paradigm shift. The American Sociological Association’s Task Force on the Undergraduate Major has recommended that sociology departments “structure the curriculum to increase students’ exposure to multicultural, cross-cultural, and cross-national content relevant to sociology” (McKinney et al. 2004: 19).
The 2010 external review of the SMC sociology department recommends integrating global perspectives into the curriculum by stating that the department “needs to incorporate a more global and international focus with its existing courses and, more importantly, it needs to include more courses with an explicitly global content.” This course is designed to help students see contemporary social problems and institutions not as primarily determined by national configurations of power but as part of the global context. As such, it is an important addition to the curriculum in expanding it to a more global and international direction.
B. OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
· Explainthe leading theoretical perspectives on globalization
· Describethe key issues that shape the political, social and cultural dimensions of the globalization process.
· Explainthat the neoliberal capitalist system relies on an interdependent division of labor between the core and peripheral countries.
· Identify the ways in which economic, cultural and political globalizations are embedded in gendered structures.
· Write a thesis-driven research paper that demonstrates the student’s ability to formulate a precise research question, identify relevant academic sources, and present information in accordance with the standards of the American Sociological Association.
C. RELATIONSHIP TO DEPARTMENT, SCHOOL, AND COLLEGE GOALS:
Department Goals:
The objectives listed above support the Sociology department’s learning goals which include 1) understanding sociological theory and methods and being able to apply theoretical explanations to empirical examples, 2) researching and analyzing a sociological topic using the appropriate library resources, 3) writing research papers with a clear thesis statement, sufficient support for that thesis, and in accordance with the standards of the American Sociological Association.
This course meets the department’s learning goals as it analyzes the economic, political, and cultural processes of globalization by using key theoretical approaches. The course starts with a module on key theoretical perspectives on globalization: the world-systems theory, the neoliberal turn, and global governance. In the rest of the semester, students are expected to apply these theoretical models to various institutions and issues of globalization.
The semester-long research project of the course addresses the second and third learning goals of the Sociology department. This assignment is designed to allow students to explore economic, political, and cultural globalization in detail. Students choose a case study early in the semester, conduct literature research on the topic, submit an annotated bibliography, and write a thesis-driven term paper. At the end of the semester, students present their research to the class. In previous semesters, students worked on various topics ranging from economics of human trafficking, the social welfare consequences of the Greek austerity measures, and global arms trade to the hybridization of Italian food, global diffusion of reggae, and global food production.
College Goals:
The objectives listed above also support the Global Perspectives Learning Outcomes of the Core Curriculum. The Global Perspectives Learning Outcomes of the Core Curriculum state, “Students will study and compare the social, economic, religious, and political structures of different global communities and cultures, and gain an understanding of the interdependence of these communities.”
The course materials are grouped under four categories in order to explore the complex political, social, and cultural implications of the globalization process: (1) Globalization and Inequality, (2) Global Migration, (3) Culture and Consumption, and (4) Global Social Movements. The specific topics in each module allow students to compare social, political, and economic structures across cultures and study the economic, cultural, and social linkages between the core and periphery nations. For instance, by analyzing the politics of development aid, global commodity chains, and the production networks of pharmaceutical and agricultural corporations, students understand that the neoliberal capitalist system relies on an interdependent division of labor between the core and peripheral countries. The module on global migration approaches globalization from a gender-based perspective and examines the ways in which global capitalist system positions men and women differently and produces new modes of power and privilege. The third module analyzes the hybridized and “glocalized” elements of culture. By focusing on global consumption patterns, students observe the constantly evolving forms and identities produced by globalization.
D. EVALUATION: Student learning in this course is assessed using various methods. Course requirements include a semester-long research project, class presentations, a midterm and a final exam, quizzes, reading worksheets, short writing assignments, and news updates on class topics. Please see the attached syllabus for further information.
3. Student Population:
The Sociology department expects SOC 119 to be a full upper division elective course. The majority of the student population will be senior and junior sociology majors. Minors and other interested students are also expected to enroll. It has been offered twice as a Special Topics Course and cross-listed with both Women and Gender Studies and Global and Regional Studies, and has attracted majors from both programs.
4. Relationship to Present College Curriculum:
Relationship to the Sociology curriculum: By approaching power and inequality from a global perspective, this course is a much-needed addition to the Sociology curriculum. The existing courses in the department do not need to be modified or deleted as a result of offering this course.
Relationship to the College curriculum: Globalization is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that encompasses a variety of economic, social, and cultural dimensions. As such, its analysis requires multidisciplinary attention. The critical methodology of the sociological discipline makes a unique contribution to this multidisciplinary conversation as it identifies systems of power and inequality and analyzes relationships between micro and macro structures. In other words, the sociological perspective helps students understand the interrelationships between individuals, organizations, cultures, and societies in a world that is shaped by the forces of globalization.
Currently, there are four globalization related courses across college offered in Anthropology, Business Administration, and Justice, Community and Leadership departments. These courses approach the economic, cultural, and political dimensions of globalization based on their disciplines’ theoretical and methodological foundations. By adding this course to the curriculum, the sociology department seeks to complement the multidisciplinary interest on globalization and to contribute to the efforts of St. Mary’s College in moving towards a more global and international direction.
5. Any extraordinary implementation costs:
There will not be any extraordinary implementation costs.
6. Library Resources:
The library review is complete and a report by Patty Wade is attached.
7. Course Credit and Grading Options:
The credit for this course will be 1 (one) full credit. Students must pass the class with a grade of at least C- to receive credit in the major. The class will meet for 3.25 hours per week. The format of the course will be that of lecture and discussion. A minimum of two hours of student work will be expected for every hour of in-class instruction. Grading: Letter Grade.
8. Prerequisites, Corerequisites
Students are required to take either SOC 2 (Introduction to Sociology) or SOC 4 (Social Problems) prior to enrolling in SOC 119. Approval from the instructor is required for students from other majors.
9. Course description Wording for the Appropriate College Catalog:
This courser examines the global nature of contemporary social, economic, political, and cultural change. It reviews the multidisciplinary theoretical approaches that analyze the origins, dynamics, and consequences of globalization. Provides students with an understanding of an array of issues that stem from global changes, including global inequality, third-world poverty, labor rights violations, natural resource constraints, and environmental problems. Prerequisites, Soc 2 or 4, or consent of the instructor.
10. Course Content:
Please see attached syllabus.
11. Review of Experimental Offering:
This course was offered in the Fall of 2013 and Spring of 2015 as Sociology 135: Special Topics. In Spring 2015, some of the pedagogical methods were adjusted in order to make the course content more accessible to students. The changes to the course are reflected in the improved student performance as well as course evaluations. There were two major adjustments:
· Choice and length of readings: Some of the foundational works on globalization theory can be challenging for undergraduate students who have no prior knowledge of the subject matter. In Spring 2015, the length of reading assignments was adjusted to make them more manageable, and theoretical readings were paired with monographs and case studies.
· Research paper assignment: As mentioned above, the course requirements include a semester-long research project. In Spring 2015, the annotated bibliography was added as a grade component. Students were expected to conduct a literature review on their chosen topic and submit an annotated bibliography by week 7. This way, students could receive feedback on the relevance of their sources and make the suggested changes.
February 18, 2016
To: Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee
From: John Ely, Chair
Department of Sociology
Saint Mary’s College of California
RE: “Soc 119: Social Globalization”
This letter is to convey the Department of Sociology’s full support for having “Soc 119: Social Globalization” made a permanent part of our curriculum. In our last Program Review, our external reviewer noted:
While the curriculum demonstrates some strength around issues of social inequality, it is still largely focused on the United States. But the overarching trend within Sociology is to approach social problems and institutions from a more global perspective. Thus the curriculum needs to incorporate a more global and international focus within its existing courses and, more importantly, it needs to include more courses with an explicitly global content.
One of the reasons we hired Dr. Atalay was to help address our department’s lack of a global perspective. Her course “Soc 119: Social Globalization” is key to adding a more international perspective to our curriculum.
She has put a great deal work into this course and a great deal of effort to catering it to Saint Mary’s students. Her work has paid off. Both enrollments and evaluations or up since she first offered this course in Fall ’13. We in the Sociology Department look forward to this class being a foundation for a growing global perspective in our curriculum.
Respectfully,
John Ely
SOC 119: Social Globalization
Review of Library Resources
Patty Wade, Sociology Librarian Subject Selector
Spring 2016
Collections
Books (including eBooks):
Overall, the book collection is adequate to support the needs of this new course. The library has a large number of books on the subject of globalization (631 books with the subject heading globalization and almost 3,000 books with the associated keyword). These range across disciplines including sociology, anthropology, politics, history and more. Other areas of focus for the course such as the cultural dimensions, social problems, and social movements are also well represented.
Reference Books:
The library owns several excellent reference sources that are specifically focused on globalization. These sources can help students gain an overview of their topics and determine the nature of the existing literature. Some examples are:
SAGE Handbook of Globalization
Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization
Encyclopedia of Globalization
The library also has a variety of reference sources and databases in sociology and other disciplines that could be used for this course.
Periodicals:
A search of the Periodicals List with the keyword Globalization yields 65 journal titles that treat globalization across a number of disciplines. The library has access to many other journals whose main emphasis is not necessarily globalization but which contain articles on globalization. The faculty should inform the Sociology Librarian of any important journals in this field.
In addition to academic journals, the library has access to newspaper content from around the world through the Lexis-Nexis database. The campus access to NYTimes.com may also provide students with current information on news events and analysis related to globalization.
Databases:
For articles focusing on Sociology, the Library has a subscription to Sociological Abstracts. This would be the best starting place for students in this class, however they could also benefit from searching databases in other subject areas, particularly some of those listed on the Politics Subject guide. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the course, students might also want to use Multisearch, which searches across many of the Library’s databases at once.
Media:
There is no mention of media use in the course proposal. The library purchases many DVD’s and videos for use in courses and also subscribes to several collections of streaming video—Films on Demand, VAST, and Kanopy, all of which contain a wealth of information in video format. A search of the Library’s catalog, using the keyword globalization limited to videos, yields 382 titles, most of them available through streaming. If specific videos are needed for this class they can be purchased as long as the budget can support it.