Globalization and Society Minor

The globalization and society minor provides students with an understanding of the complex phenomenon of globalization. By using the disciplinary perspectives of anthropology, communication, economics, literature and sociology, the minor provides students with two things. One, it expands their disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge. Second, it makes them better prepared for employment opportunities in an inter-connected world.
The minor is offered jointly by the department of Literature, Language, Writing and Philosophy and the department of Social Sciences and History.
Since most theorization of globalization is rooted within the sociological perspective, students are required to take SOCI 2248 Globalization, Culture, and Identity and five other courses from the following list, making selection from at least two different disciplines.
Anthropology
Communication
- COMM3019 Global Communication
Economics
- ECON3310 Current Economic Problems
English
- LITS3303 World Folk Literature: Tales of Wonder
- ENGL3044 SS: The Environment in Literature and Culture
- ENGL3045 Myth
- ENGL3065 Contemporary World Literature
- ENGL3066 Nobel Literature
- ENGL3070 Women Writers
- ENGL4435 Children’s Literature
History
- HIST1201 Ancient Civilizations
- HIST1202 Medieval World
- HIST2368 Survey of India
- HIST3318 History of the Vietnam Conflict
- HIST3322 The Roman Empire
- HIST3326 Islam & Christianity in Africa
- HIST3343 20th-century Revolutions
- HIST3347 History of Modern China
- HIST3349 Modern Middle East
- HIST3366 Modern Japan: Perry to Pearl Harbor
Philosophy
- PHIL2205 Social and Political Philosophy
Political Science
- POLS1220 Comparative Government
- POLS2223 Conflict Resolution in the Middle East
- POLS2230 International Relations
- POLS2313 Intergovernmental Relations
- POLS3320 Chinese Politics
- POLS3321 Russian Politics
- POLS3323 Middle East Politics
- POLS3329 Japanese Politics
- POLS3336 War, Peace and Arms
- POLS3337 Low-intensity Warfare
- POLS3338 India and its Neighbors
Sociology
- SOCI2248 Globalization and Culture
- SOCI2319 SS: Nationalism and Ethnicity
- SOCI2950 Identity Puzzle
- SOCI3001 Minorities in the Middle East
- SOCI3337 Social Movements and Social Change
- SOCI3354 Conflict in Social and Cultural Perspectives
- SOCI3501 Globalization and World Citizenship
- SOCI3365 Sociology of Religion
- SOCI 4430 Comparative Studies of Middle East Constitutions
Course Descriptions
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ANTH1202 The study of the culture and social institutions of human societies with special emphasis upon the many small-scale societies that make up the majority of the people of the world. Attention is given to marriage and family life, patterns of equality and inequality, collective violence and war, religion and the impact of globalization upon the diversity of the world's peoples.
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ANTH2001 The anthroploogical study of kinship and family relations. Attention is given to different forms of family and marital relations throughout the world. Emphasis is upon the impact of globalization and modernization in traditional forms of family and kinship and upon the status of women and children. Students will also explore their own family histories using modern genealogical methods.
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ANTH3349 A historical and comparative of social, ethnic, religious and national conflicts with special emphasis upon understanding and analyzing the customary, moral and legal regulation of armed conflict. A case analysis approach is used to illustrate the complexity subjecting warfare to legal regimes.
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COMM3019 This course surveys a broad range of communication issues related to globalization. It will explore international and intercultural communication, diversity issues relating to gender race and ethnicity, postmodernism, the role of technology, and the impact of the "global village" on the nature of work. Time will also be spent exploring how globailization has led to com- pressions of time and space and significant changes in our social relationships.
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ECON3310 Current economic (natinal and international) problems facing the United States.
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ENGL3044 As we enter the 21st century, our national environment has become a source of global concern. The impact of human activity on water, air, and land is reflected in and represented by the stories we create about the environment. We will read literary narratives of the environment emerging through UN policy papers, news reports, documentaries, photographs, and artwork. Such comparative and intertextual readings will hopefully help us to understand not only how we construct our relations to the environment but will also enable us to conceive of reconstructing future alternatives.
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ENGL3045 Theory and approaches to mythology. Study of ancient, Northern and Eastern mythologies. Archetypal thematic patterns in myth. Fall or Spring
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ENGL3065 The study of international fiction at the end of the 20th century, with emphasis on comparative literature and assessment of the impact on American fiction and poetry.
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ENGL3066 Focus on recent Nobel Prize winners in literature, exploring cultural aesthetic, and political dimensions in their work; investigation of the Nobel award process.
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ENGL3070 Consideration of traditions of women's literature both historical and contemporary; focus on theoretical issues of gender in wri- ting. Specific authors and works vary from semester to semester.
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ENGL4435 The cultural ideas about stories and storytelling for children with attention to the historical evolution of children's literature. The course will cover the literary genres of fable, folktales, nursery rhymes, myths, legends, and poetry.
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HIST1201 A survey of the various cultures of the ancient world from the beginning of civilization in the Near East, India, China, Africa and Central America to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. Fall
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HIST1202 A survey of the development of global civilization from the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity to the Renaissance. Spring
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HIST2368 Introduction to the vast panorama of Indian history, art, cultures, philosophies, and politics from ancient through pre-colonial times.
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HIST3318 This course covers the Vietnam War from 1954 to 1975, including military advisers, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, gradual escalation, the draft, the Tet Offensive, and eventual withdrawal. Other topics include the effect of the Vietnam conflict on America's social structures and on political institutions as well as the rise of the counter-culture.
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HIST3322 Roman civilization from the creation of the imperial system by Augustus to its collapse in the West under the impact of the Germanic invaders.
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HIST3326 This course examines aspects of world history in more depth than allowed by a survey course. Topics will change each time course is offered with emphasis on research and writing.
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HIST3343 An analysis of the mechanics of revolution, with special attention to the Russian, Nazi, Italian, Chinese, Cuban and Czech revolutions.
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HIST3347 An introduction to the history of China, focusing on the 20th century, but also providing background to its 4,000-year-old culture; the Communist Revolution and the political system so long under the influence and domination of Chairman Mao Tse-tung; and the forces of "hard line" Communism that are restraining the powerful drive for democratization.
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HIST3349 The history of the Middle East focuses on Islamic societies in Arab and Berber states as well as Iran and Turkey. The role of Arab nationalism and Islam in its various forms will be examined in addition to the social, economic and geographic determinants of political behavior and institutions in the region. The role of the military and styles of leadership will be compared as well as some of the relationships between the states of the Middle East.
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HIST3366 Introduction to modern Japanese culture and history begins with the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration. Japanese culture is emphasized as the setting for important political developments. Visual arts are used in class as a key to understanding Japanese ability to adapt and synthesize knowledge from abroad.
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LITS3303 Study of fairy tales, marchen, wonder tales and legends from diverse cultures; examination of universal patterns in folk narrative; differences in oral vs. written storytelling; roles of the storyteller; function of folk tales in children?s psychological development; modern critical evaluation of folk literature; influence of folk literature in contemporary culture.
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PHIL2205 Philosophical theories of the state and society from Plato to present.
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POLS1220 Analysis and comparison of contemporary political institutions and processes of selected countries.
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POLS2223 This course examines domestic, regional and international conflicts in the Middle East and modalities for conflict resolution. The first segment, on "the Arab-Israeli Conflict," addresses the record of wars and peacemaking efforts, including the diplomatic stalemate after the breakdown of the Oslo peace process and the prospects for Palestinian independence. The second segment on "Arab Leadership, Unity, Intervention" studies regional rivalries in the Arab east and the Gulf. culminating in an assessment of the Iraq War and its repurcussions.
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POLS2230 Theories and problems of international politics and foreign policy.
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POLS2313 This public administration course focuses on the competitive and cooperative processes of managing agencies and departments of government.
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POLS3320 An examination of the government, political institutions and political party structure of the People's Republic of China; the evolving systems and policies from the time of Imperial, Nationalist and "liberation" China, as well as those of the Cultural Revolution and post-Mao eras; the forces of "hard-line" Communism that are restraining the powerful drive for democratization.
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POLS3321 Russian political institutions and domestic policies. The role of the Communist Party, relationship between theory and practice in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia.
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POLS3323 Political institutions, organizations and groups. Relations between Arab nations and the rest of the world.
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POLS3329 Answers the question: in what ways is the Japanese polity similar to and different from the political systems of Western industrialized democracies.
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POLS3336 War as a recurring phenomenon of international politics and the relation between military strategy and foreign policy. The causes and nature of wars, the causes and nature of peace and the relation of technology to the political outcomes of war and peace.
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POLS3337 Analysis of three types of low-intensity, or subconventional warfare: guerilla warfare, terrorism and the coup d'etat; the relation between these types of violence and the political ends they are meant to obtain; the responses of various regimes to counter these forms of violence.
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POLS3338 Survey of institutional structures of, and relations among, the South Asian countries including: India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
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SOCI2248 An exploration of the phenomenon of globalization, including its effects on understanding contemporary ethnic, national and cultural identities. The course also examines the impact of technological developments in communication and transportation on our "global village" culture.
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SOCI2319 This course will explore the various meanings of nationalism and ethnicity, historically and in more recent context, and provide examples of where these phenomena have been particulrly evident. Special emphasis will be put on the power of modern nationalism as it has become all too apparent in various regions of the world, including the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and parts of the Third World. Also, the course discusses nationalism as a political force which has often combined with ethnicity to create conflicts that have had frightful consequences.
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SOCI2950 Who am I? The answer to this question is not simple. Some aspects of our identity, such as our name, are most often given to us at birth; others such as our occupation, gender, social status, political affiliation, etc. come later. In simple words, our identity is the product of multiple forces. It is the product of social and individual claims. Importantly, there is no match between how we perceive ourselves, and how others perceive us. From a historical perspective, some aspects of identity, such as race, gender, religion have been more significant than others vis-a-vis access to economic, social, and political resources in a given society. These are some of the subjects this course focuses on. With the use of a variety of materials, such as novels, movies, journal articles, case studies, students will learn various experiences of individual as well as , collective identity in the USA and internationally.
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SOCI3001 The course provides a comprehensive overview of the various minority groups through out the Middle East. It discussed the political, social, economic, and cultural life of those groups and their relations to majority groups within those countries. Some of the case studies included in this course are Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Iraq, and Sudan.
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SOCI3337 Social Movements and Social Change explores how ordinary citizens join forces to form social movements and bring about social change in their societies. The course uses various sociological perspectives to examine how social movements form, what strategies they employ, and how they accomplish their goals. It discusses local, regional, and global social movements from the Middle East, Latin America, the USA, etc., aiming at bringing about social change in the economy, politics, the environment, gender, and racial relations.
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SOCI3354 An introduction to sociological and cross-cultural perspectives on social, ethnic and national conflicts. A case analysis approach is used to illustrate the complexity of conflict situations across the world.
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SOCI3365 The social functions of religion, institutions and ideologies, the impact of religious problems associated with secularization of religion, economic and political dimensions of religious change and new religious movements.
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SOCI3501 This course examines the impact of globalization and the case for world citizenship. Students will study the elements of globalization and the evolving netqorks that transcend the nation-state. They further will explore the foundation for world citizenship and the potential rights, responsibilities, and opportunities.
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SOCI4430 Specialized areas of studies, including communications, educa- tion, medical sociology, political institutions, religion and culture and personality.