Soc 450: Globalization and Social Change Spring 2010                      Instructor: Dr. Gonzalo Santos   Class meets: 9:30 am -10:50 am, MWF       Room: DDH-104K Dr. Santos' Office: DDH-AA205                Phone: 661 654-2191 Office Hours:     11:00 - 12:30 pm MWF.   =  santos_class@csub.edu

This course explores the theory and dynamics of global integration in the contemporary social world, how it affects, and in turn is affected by, the world's economic, political, cultural and social structures, trends, and processes. First, using the Steger anthology of articles, we'll analyze some of the key theoretical perspectives on the origins, many structural dimensions, consequences, and contemporary trends and challenges of  globalization, from some of the principal scholars in the field. Then, using the McMichael anthology, which analyze case studies from specific countries, we explore the many ways humans react collectively, from the bottom up, through social movements of all sorts, to globalization, and in so doing, change the pace and direction of globalization itself. All in all, we'll read and discuss thirty six articles or so, depending on how many students take the class.

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory (no tardiness or early departures please, as these, as well as unexcused absences, will be penalized by one point off the final grade). Furthermore, all students must come prepared to discuss the assigned readings - either when they make their formal presentations, or if they are not presenting, by bringing to class their "reading assessments" (see below).  These reading assessments must be turned in to Dr. Santos at the beginning of each class session.

Class Presentations: The course will be run as a "semi-seminar," whereby on every class session an individual student (or two) will introduce the article(s) assigned, followed by Dr. Santos's lecture and class discussion. Each student presents once in the quarter. Students will be assigned their respective class presentation on the first day of classes. Any article assigned to a dropped student will be covered by Dr. Santos.

Students shall do their presentations in Power Point. Time allotted per individual presentation will be 10 to 15 minutes. Presenting students will introduce, describe, highlight, and summarize his/her own assigned reading, and on the last slide raise one or two key questions for subsequent discussion. As a precaution, please bring your presentations in a USB-type memory stick and also email it to your own email account. Presenting students should show up early to set up & test their presentations prior to the class starting.

The presentations will be graded based on: (a) the analytical strength of the presentation, including its depth & breath (how well it covers all the main aspects), (b) the quality of the question(s) posed at the end, and (c) the quality & style of the oral presentation (including the visuals displayed).

Reading Assessments: To ensure that everybody come to every class prepared to discuss the assigned readings for the day, students who are not presenting must bring to class written "reading assessments," one for each of the assigned readings for the day, each a page to two pages in length, double-spaced text. No late reading assessments will be accepted (nor assessments submitted by email), unless the students has a pre-authorized absence from Dr. Santos.

HOW TO WRITE YOUR READING ASSESSMENTS: In contrast to the presentations, these "reading assessments" must not summarize or describe the readings, but must critically respond to them: express what the you think about them; identify the areas of strong agreement and disagreement with the author, explaining why you do, as well as the areas or topics of most interest to discuss, or anything in particular that caused you amazement, confusion, or surprise. Whatever you write, you should explain your specific analytical (and if relevant, personal) reasons for doing so. The reading assessment need not cover every issue found in the assigned readings for the day, but it should demonstrate you read everything and chose well what to comment on (early topics are always suspect!). A very bad assessment will reveal the student read very little or very superficially just to do the assignment (it's called "going through the motion"). A good assessment will demonstrate the student really read all the material and did a serious effort to select and critically grapple with the main issues involved.

At the end of each reading assessment, students should always write their own question for class discussion. Every class, Dr. Santos will randomly select a couple of assessments to be read and/or questions to discuss. Please always write on top of your reading assessments your name, the date, and the reading you are assessing.

Note: Students presenting on a given day do not need to submit any reading assessment.

Research Papers: Each student will write a mid-term research paper and a final research paper on pre-approved topics related to the class. The papers need to be submitted in both electronic form (in Word) and printed on paper. The first paper is due on May 7 and the second paper is due on Thursday, June 10, before noon, at Dr. Santos' office.

All topics - the group's general topic as well as each individual's subtopic - must be pre-approved by Dr. Santos.

Each paper should be bound and include a title page and an abstract, be between 8 and 10 pages long (excluding the bibliography). For a precise guide on the paper's format and citation style, go to:

http://www.csubak.edu/~gsantos/guide-paper.html

Plagiarism: To prevent students from wittingly or unwittingly engaging in plagiarism, Dr. Santos strongly recommends students to carefully read and abide by the document CSUB Classifications of Plagiarism found at: http://www.csub.edu/tlc/options/resources/turn_it_in_help_page.shtml

Anyone found guilty of engaging in plagiarism will automatically fail the course and be reported to the Office of Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs for further disciplinary action.

Grading: Each research paper is worth 25 points. The class presentation is worth 15 points. The reading assessments are worth the other 35 points. Every absence is penalized by taking one point off the final grade (besides the zero grade you'll get for either failing to present or for missing a reading assessment). The final letter grade will be assigned, on a scale of 0 to 100, as follows:

          Date:                          My presentation will be on:

_________________________________________________________________

My second research paper title: _____________________________________________