SOCIOLOGY OF GLOBALIZATION
Stampa
Enrollment year
2020/2021
Academic year
2020/2021
Regulations
DM270
Academic discipline
SPS/07 (GENERAL SOCIOLOGY)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT
Course
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Curriculum
PERCORSO COMUNE
Year of study
Period
1st semester (28/09/2020 - 22/12/2020)
ECTS
6
Lesson hours
44 lesson hours
Language
Italian
Activity type
WRITTEN AND ORAL TEST
Teacher
RAMPAZI MARIA RITA (titolare) - 6 ECTS
Prerequisites
No specific prerequisite is requested. Considering the interdisciplinary nature of the matter, it is however useful an open approach, in order to establish connections between different theories and phenomena, to focus on the ambivalent feature of social problems and to link their analysis to the historical dimension of social change processes.
Learning outcomes
The course aims to provide theoretical and methodological instruments in order both to understand the complexity of the process usually intended by the word "globalization" and to analyse its main aspects. A specific emphasis will be placed on the changes taking place in the fields of work and consumption. By the analysis of these phenomena, the course aims to improve the student's knowledge of the origins, the historical development and the social effects of contemporary changes. The main objective of the course is, however, to stimulate the student's capacity to "see" the ambivalent feature of social phenomena and to develop an autonomous capacity to analyze the risks and opportunities arising in contemporary landscapes. This capacity will be stimulated not only by a stronger interaction between teacher and students during the lessons, but also by organizing working groups on specific aspects of to-day's labour market and the new approach of individuals to the processes of consumption.
Course contents
The course is divided into two parts.

- The first part focuses on the definition, the historical development, the social consequences of globalization and the main risks and opportunities of contemporary global reality. A specific attention is given to 1) the changes in the time-space definition of the social contexts - mainly the relationship between global and local -; 2) the temporal acceleration; 3) the new forms of mobility, including international migrations; 4) the question of sustainable development; 5) global inequalities; 6) the difficult control of economic and financial processes; 7) the problems of the globalized labour market. The question of sustainable development is illustrated by focusing on the "Sustainable Development Goals" of the UN Agenda 2030, with a specific attention to the Goals nr 1 and nr 12.

The Goal nr 12 concerning responsible production and consumption is deepened in the second part of the course, focusing on the changes taking place in consumers' orientations and choices: the new reflexivity of contemporary consumer, the logic of the sharing economy, etc
Teaching methods
The course consists both in class lessons with the support of slides (PowerPoint) and in working groups which will develop the empirical analysis of some questions illustrated by class lessons.
The lessons will be made in presence if possible and following the decisions of the University governance. For the students that cannot attend the lessons, an online version will be made available. Detailed information will be uploaded on the Kiro platform as soon as possible.
Reccomended or required readings
For the first part: M. Rampazi, "Dilemmi globali. Introduzione alla sociologia della globalizzazione", Egea, Milano, 2020. Both the paper and the online editions are available.

For the second part: articles, essays and documents that prof. Rampazi will upload on the Kiro platform

On the Kiro platform the students will also find a detailed programme.
Assessment methods
The exam is written and, if possible, in presence. It consists in some open questions, to answer in 90 minutes. The student is asked to answer three questions out of the six proposed (two for the first part of the course, two for the second part and two for both parts). Further details and examples will be published on the Kiro platform.
If the the exam cannot be made in presence, detailed information about it will be uploaded on the Kiro platform as soon as possible.
In order to pass the exam, the student will show: 1) a good knowledge of the topics proposed by the textbooks (and the class lessons); 2) the capacity to see the connections between the theoretical analysis and the empirical dimension of the problems studied.
Further information
Sustainable development goals - Agenda 2030