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2017/2018  BA-BBLCO1224U  Globalisation Studies

English Title
Globalisation Studies

Course information

Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc og MSc in Business, Language and Culture, BSc
Course coordinator
  • Lotte Thomsen - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Globalization and international business
Last updated on 28-06-2017

Relevant links

Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors:
  • Discuss the implications of globalization as a context for business and organization.
  • Define, discuss and compare the concepts in globalization studies, introduced in the course.
  • On the basis of a journalistic text on a current issue, formulate a research problem, select readings from the course literature and apply them in an academic analysis.
  • Distinguish between theoretical conception and empirical description.
Examination
Globalisation Studies:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 5 pages
Assignment type Essay
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content and structure

The course is designed to integrate with parallel courses in British and American studies, and French, German and Spanish studies.

The course consists of 12 lectures that introduce students to globalisation debates as well as three workshops, each of them three days, in which the students will be trained in problem-oriented research within the subjects taught in the lectures. The course is roughly divided into three modules, following an introductory lecture which addresses key concepts from globalisation debates such as globalisation and localisation, proximity and distance, homogenisation and heterogenisation, and hybridisation:

• Cultural globalisation and media, focusing on different conceptions of globalisation, the transformation of identity and the role of traditional and new media.
• Political globalisation, highlighting the notion of territoriality, the shifting role of state and non-state actors, activism and transnational organising.
• Economic globalisation, focusing on changing forms of production, business practice and consumption.



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.

Teaching methods
The string of lectures on globalisation debates draws on multimedia input, offers a number of voluntary multiple-choice tests and is complemented with a workshop that combines focused lectures on how to develop an academic argument based on the literatures of the course with group work, student presentations and discussants' critique supervised by faculty.
Feedback during the teaching period
The principal way for students to receive feedback on their readings and work for this course is through active participation in lectures.
Student workload
Lectures 30 hours
Workshop 12 hours
Exam and preparation 164 hours
Total 206 hours
Expected literature

To be announced on Learn

Last updated on 28-06-2017