• define and discuss key concepts in globalisation theory,
• summarise, discuss and compare readings of the course,
• select and apply appropriate readings and theories from the course literature in the analysis of empirical phenomena in order to sort out and account for the concrete manifestations of globalisation,
• distinguish between theoretical conception and empirical description, and
• develop an academic argument.

Globalisation is a contested concept. It has been vividly discussed by economists, political scientists, sociologist, anthropologist and geographers and other academics since the 1990s, echoing classical problems and discussions in social theory. As concept, globalisation has also become popularised and is being used strategically by various social actors across the globe, including politicians, business, media and social activists operating in various regional, national and local settings.

Globalisation typically refers to profound transformations taking place within and across contemporary societies, challenging conventional distinctions between the public and private, the national and international, the global and local. It raises important questions about sameness and difference, that is, whether we a moving towards a more homogenous world or the opposite. It addresses shifts in the power of business and states, the rise of new technologies and changing patterns of economic production and consumption at the local, regional and global levels. Globalisation also relates to the construction of knowledge, identity, interaction and social bonds, including to the role of the media in changing our experience of proximity and distance. Globalisation can have very different expressions in different societal contexts. And, depending on the theoretical perspective and the moral position we choose to take, the causes and effects of globalisation can be understood, discussed and acted upon in very different ways.

This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of globalisation studies. In particular, it provides a foundation for linking important concepts from globalisation debates to the area studies components of the BLC programme, as well as to the subjects taught in other courses, including individual and group projects. Part and parceling this, the course also provides students with basic methodological skills, such as developing a research question, with a specific view to conducting small-scale empirical investigations while drawing on basic concepts of the course.