This course is the culminating experience in the Sociology Major at College of the Canyons. As such, we will explore 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 McMichael book, we attempt a serious periodization of the models of political economy, or types of capitalist  globalization, implemented in the modern world-system over the course of the 20th century, up to the first decade of the 21st. We pay particular attention to what led to the crisis of each model, and what caused the next one being adopted and by whom. Then, using the Lechner & Boli anthology of articles, we'll analyze some of the key theoretical and empirical perspectives on the origins, aspects, trends, and multiple challenges of contemporary globalization, from some of the most renowned experts in the field.

Course Format and Class Attendance: The course will be run as hybrid -- students will do extensive reading, writing, testing and researching on their own, but the class will meet for four sessions on two weekends consisting of a  Friday (5:00pm-8:30pm)  session, and a Saturday (9:00am-12:30pm) session. The two weekends scheduled to meet at COC are April 27/28 and May 18/19. Attendance is mandatory for every one of those four sessions and for the full three-and-a-half hours - serious penalties will be given for absence, tardiness, or leaving early. Please plan your time accordingly.

Class Presentations: The class sessions will be run as a seminar. In each session, all students will do a PowerPoint presentation, the first two must be on two different chapters of the McMichael book, while the last two must be on two articles in the Lechner & Boli anthology. You must email Dr. Santos your choices so he can "reserve" those chapters/articles for you -- first come, first served.  Time allotted per individual presentation will be 30 minutes. Presenting students will introduce, describe, highlight, and summarize his/her own assigned reading, and on the last slide raise a few meaningful questions for class discussion. Please bring your presentations in a USB-type memory stick. Also, prior to each session, please upload your PowerPoint presentation in the course's BlackBoard site (there is a link for that).

The students presentations will be graded based on: (a) the analytical strength and relevance of the presentation, including its depth on the selected issues and the breath of the overall analysis  (how well it covers all the main aspects), (b) the quality of the questions posed at the end, and (c) the quality of the visuals included,  and (d) the poise, clarity, length, and effectiveness of the oral presentation. Please avoid the following: slides so" crowded" with text and/or font so small that the rest of the class cannot read it!; slide designs and styles so busy or with such bright ugly colors that one cannot see the text!; images that make no sense whatsoever and just fill space frivolously: if you insert a picture, a chart, a map, etc., you will be expected to discuss it, so make sure you know who's in those pictures, when & where was it taken and about what it refers, what does the graph or chart or map show us, etc. Countries, and other places mentioned should be accompanied by a map. Do some research - don't just slap the first image you track in Google!

Essay Quizzes: For two textbooks, students must do, on Blackboard, essay quizzes: ten short-essay chapter quizzes for the McMichael book, and eleven short-essay "Part" quizzes for the Lechner  & Boli. All quizzes are due on by the Sunday the chapter (McMichael) was assigned, or when a "Part" (Lechner & Boli) has ended being assigned -- please refere to the schedule of reading assignments below. All quiz answers will be graded for clarity,length, demonstrated comprehension and extensive critical thinking. Each answer should be a couple of full paragraphs long, at least.

Research Paper: Each student will write an individual research paper on a topic related to globalization (political, social, historic, economic, cultural, techonological, scientific, etc.). Prior approval by Dr. Santos is required for each student's topic, which we will discuss in class; please come prepared with a couple of posible topic proposals. The papers need to be submitted in electronic form (in Word) in the course's Blackboard account. The  paper is due on Wednesday, June 13, before noon.

Each paper should include a title page and an abstract page, then between 6 and 8 pages of body text  (excluding the bibliography), a bibliography, and finally an appendix for whatever charts, maps, and figures are included. For a precise guide on the paper's format and citation style, go to:

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

Grading: Each class presentation is worth 5 points. The ten McMichael chapter quizzes are together worth 30 points. The eleven Lerner & Boli "Part" quizzes are together worth 40 points. The research paper is worth 20 points. Extra credit/absence-tardiness penalty may apply. The final letter grade will be assigned, on a scale of 0 to 100, as follows:

94-100+ = A         84-86 = B            74-76 = C
90- 93 = A-           80-83 = B-           70-73 = C-
87- 89 = B+          77-79 = C+           65-69 = D       < 65 = F

Email Communication with Dr. Santos & Mr. Campos: Students may communicate with both Dr. Santos & Mr. Campos by email to the class email address above. Mr. Campos, will be in charge of grading the written submissions in Blackboard,  and may also be reached directly and privately at his own email address above. Please be advised that email communication has to be very brief and to the point. Expect a one line reply. Always sign off with your FULL NAME, do not assume we know who you are! You may also reach or leave messages for Dr Santos at his office phone (above). If you send an email message to Mr. Campos requesting to talk to him, include a phone number so he may call you back.

          Date:                          My presentation will be on:

1.April 27                        McMichael  Chapter: ______________

2.April 28                         McMichael Chapter: ______________


3.May 18                          Lechner Article: __________________

4.May 19                          Lechner Article:__________________