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Division of Sociology School of Humanities and Social Sciences Nanyang Technological University
HS 103 Social Problems in a Global Context
Email: sulfikar@ntu.edu.sg
In the contemporary society, globalization is always taken for granted as an era marked by the proliferation of information technology and the widening of borderless economy. While globalization may bring about benefits to some people, it simultaneously heightens the spread of social problems from one locality to the others caused by the structure of today’s networked society. This course introduces students to sociological concepts to understand how social problems, though local in nature, are produced and reproduced by the global process of social, economic, and political practices.
Social problems can broadly defined as sets of conditions, arrangements, and practices social actors perceive as the sources of inconveniences, direness, and insecurity. From a sociological analysis, a problem emerging in society is social because it is constituted through the interaction of social actors. In this light, social problems are socially defined in that the significance and meaning of a problem in society is determined by social conditions.
While social problems appear to be locally situated, many of their causes are engendered by the circulation and transmission of goods, capital, information, images, and human labors that constitute the process of globalization. Thus understanding how social problems emerge cannot be completely done without having a lens that allows us to observe the impact of social activities in one specific locality to the life of those living in other localities. This subject will provide a sociological tool to understand how the globalized network produces social problems in different places with different scale and different implications. In this course, students will learn a range of selected social problems from poverty and inequality, to war and violence, to environmental degradation and energy crisis. In each of the topics, students will learn relevant sociological theories that can be used to examine the case discussed in the lecture.
READINGS
Textbook: Scott Sernau, “Global Problems: The Search for Equity, Peace, and Sustainability”. Pearson. 2006. It is highly recommended that each student has a copy of this book, which should be available in the university bookstore. In addition to the textbook are articles assigned every week as material for tutorial session. You must do the assigned readings before coming to the class.
COURSE EVALUATION
Global Problems Blog (20%)
You must sign up for a wordpress account (www.wordpress.com). Once done, send your account address to the instructor so it can be linked to the course website. Every week, write up a 600-word note that presents your critical thoughts on the topic discussed in the lecture. You should bring this note to the tutorial session to be discussed with fellow students in your tutorial group. After the tutorial session, your note should be posted on your wordpress blogspace set for public access. You can add relevant images, videos, links, and other elements to make your post more attractive to wide audiences. Students are encouraged to give comment each other on their postings. Following the number of topics covered in this course, you should have at least 11 postings by the end of the term. The instructor will check each blog once awhile for course evaluation. If you encounter technical difficulty in setting up your blog, let the instructor know.
Class Presentation (20%)
In every tutorial session, there will be a presentation conducted by a group of two or more students. The responsible group is encouraged to create an innovative format to stimulate participation of fellow students in the discussion. Videos, photos, games, etc are among possible formats the group can utilize for its presentation as long as it is within the time limit. The group members should consult the instructor a week in advance regarding their presentation format.
Members of this group will work together to coordinate the whole discussion during tutorial session. They are responsible for taking attendance, generating discussion questions, and facilitating discussion. During the discussion, the tutor intervenes only if it is necessary. The tutor will use the last 10 minutes for the tutorial session to summarize main points that have been discussed.
Participation (10%)
Participation in the tutorial is compulsory. Your attendance to every tutorial session does not count if you do not actively engage in the discussion. The tutor will make a note of participation from each student. As noted above, you should bring your weekly note to the tutorial session and share what you think about the issue discussed by bring up your arguments and critical points. Being a good listener is not sufficient. Every student must respond to others’ comments. To have a healthy debate, students should respect each other despite different views. Final Exam (50%)
A final exam will be administered at the end of the term. This will assess your general understanding of the whole material of the course. Please keep in mind that some of the exam questions will be drawn from tutorial discussions.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Week 1 (7 August) Introduction: Social Problems and Globalization
Sernau. Chapter Introduction
Skolnick, J. (2004). “Approaches to Social Problems.” in Crisis in American Institutions. J. e. Skolnick. Boston, Pearson Education Inc.
Week 2 (14 August) Class and Inequalities
Sernau. Chapter 1. Class: A World of Rich and Poor.
Reeves, D. (2001). “Poverty in a Global Economy.” In Introducing Global Issues. S. a. Snarr, Lynn Renier.
Week 3 (21 August) Work and Trade
Sernau. Chapter 2. Work: the Global Assembly Line
The Dollar and Sense Collective “The ABCs of the Global Economy” in Eitzen and Zinn (eds.) Globalization: the Transformation of Social Worlds. Wadsworth. 2006
David Moberg, “Maytag Moves to Mexico,” in Eitzen and Zinn (eds.) Globalization: the Transformation of Social Worlds. Wadsworth. 2006
Week 4 (28 August) Women and the Family
Sernau. Chapter 3. Gender and Family: Overburdened Women and Displaced Men Huang Ping “Talking about Gender, Globalization, and Labor in a Chinese Context”. Signs, Vol. 26, No. 4, Globalization and Gender (Summer, 2001), pp. 1278-1281 Week 5 (4 September) Crime
Sernau. Chapter 5. Crime: Fear in the Streets. Mark Findlay, “Globalisation and Urban Crime: Mean Streets or Lost Suburbs” Current Issues in Criminal Justice 17 (2005-2006) (available at NTU online journal)
Week 6 (11 September) War and Violence
Sernau. Chapter 6. War: States of Terror
Turk, A. T. (2004). "Sociology of Terrorism." Annual Review of Sociology
Week 7 (18 September) Democracy and Human Rights
Sernau. Chapter 7. Democracy and Human Rights: Having Our Say. Frank Cunningham. “Democracy and Globalization” In Richard Sandbrook Civilizing Globalization: A Survival Guide SUNY Press 2003
Week 8 Recess
Week 9 (2 October) Globalized Identity
Sernau. Chapter 8. Ethnicity and Religion: Deep Roots and Unholy Hate
KA Appiah. “The politics of identity” Daedalus Fall 2006, Vol. 135, No. 4, Pages 15-22
Week 10 (9 October) Urbanization
Sernau. Chapter 9. Urbanization: Cities without Limits. Jan Lin. “Globalization and the Revalorizing of Ethnic Places in Immigration Gateway Cities” In Jan Lin, Christopher Mele The Urban Sociology Reader Routledge 2005
Week 11 (16 October) Population and Health
Sernau. Chapter 10. Population and Health: Only the Poor Die Young George Armelagos and Kristin Harper. “Disease Globalization and the Third Epidemiological Transition” In Greg Guest Globalization, Health, and The Environment: An Integrated Perspective. Rowman Altamira. 2005
Week 12 (22 October) Technology and Energy
Sernau. Chapter 11. Technology and Energy: Promotheus’ fire or Pandora’s Box.
M. Castell. Information Technology, Globalization and Social Development UNRISD Discussion Paper No. 114, September 1999
Week 13 (30 October) Environment
Sernau. Chapter 12. Ecology: How much can one planet take?
Mark Seis “Protection of the Atmospheric Commons.” In Introducing Global Issues. S. a. Snarr, Lynn Renier.
Week 14 (6 November) Course Review
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