SOC 460 - Social Change
Fall 2022, Section 001 - Economic Globalization
Instruction Mode: Section 001 is  In Person (see other Sections below)
Subject: Sociology (SOC)
Department: LSA Sociology
See additional student enrollment and course instructor information to guide you in your decision making.

Details

Credits:
3
Waitlist Capacity:
99
Repeatability:
May not be repeated for credit.
Primary Instructor:
Start/End Date:
Full Term 8/29/22 - 12/9/22 (see other Sections below)
NOTE: Drop/Add deadlines are dependent on the class meeting dates and will differ for full term versus partial term offerings.
For information on drop/add deadlines, see the Office of the Registrar and search Registration Deadlines.

Description

Economic globalization is one of the most powerful drivers of social change in the contemporary world. Global economic integration has been underway for at least 500 years, but that process took a new turn in the 1980s. In this course, we’ll focus on the causes and consequences of this new turn, which we’ll call the neoliberal model of economic globalization. We’ll also ask what it would take to change that model, and with it, the dynamics of economic globalization. The course is divided into three parts. In Part 1, we’ll begin with the international institutions and rules -- above all, the neoliberal free trade agreements of the 1990s -- that shape neoliberal globalization. We’ll look at the origins of these agreements, with particular attention to the prototypical North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the political struggles surrounding it. We’ll also examine the process by which other countries – particularly France and Germany -- in which corporate cultural and political power was less unbalanced than it is in the USA nevertheless agreed to participate in the neoliberal model of global economic regulation. Part 2 of the course will assess three debates about the consequences of neoliberal globalization: (1) has it created a “race to the bottom” for the wages, working conditions, and levels of organization of workers in the global North and the global South? (2) has it eroded the capacity of democratic national governments to regulate and redistribute? (3) has it exacerbated global climate change? In Part 3 of the course, we’ll ask two questions about alternatives to neoliberal globalization. First, can economic globalization be made just and sustainable through changes to the rules and institutions of international trade, and if so, how? Second, what are the prospects for the shift in the balance of political power – in the United States in particular -- that would be necessary to bring about the required changes in institutions and policy?

Schedule

SOC 460 - Social Change
Schedule Listing
001 (LEC)
 In Person
30198
Open
23
 
-
MW 11:30AM - 1:00PM
8/29/22 - 12/9/22

Textbooks/Other Materials

The partner U-M / Barnes & Noble Education textbook website is the official way for U-M students to view their upcoming textbook or course material needs, whether they choose to buy from Barnes & Noble Education or not. Students also can view a customized list of their specific textbook needs by clicking a "View/Buy Textbooks" link in their course schedule in Wolverine Access.

Click the button below to view and buy textbooks for SOC 460.001

View/Buy Textbooks

Syllabi

Syllabi are available to current LSA students. IMPORTANT: These syllabi are provided to give students a general idea about the courses, as offered by LSA departments and programs in prior academic terms. The syllabi do not necessarily reflect the assignments, sequence of course materials, and/or course expectations that the faculty and departments/programs have for these same courses in the current and/or future terms.

Click the button below to view historical syllabi for SOC 460 (UM login required)

View Historical Syllabi

CourseProfile (Atlas)

The Atlas system, developed by the Center for Academic Innovation, provides additional information about: course enrollments; academic terms and instructors; student academic profiles (school/college, majors), and previous, concurrent, and subsequent course enrollments.

CourseProfile (Atlas)