Democracy and Globalization

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

The unit is organized in weekly three-hour seminar sessions. The chosen modality of seminar implies the adoption of teaching/learning methods based on pro-activity, not only of teachers, but also of students, who must read the assigned papers and prepare contributions to the discussion in advance of each session.

Learning Outcomes

Democracy(ies) is(are) undergoing transformation in response to particular contemporary phenomena, especially the rise of global capitalism and the globalization. The aim of the course is to study the interrelations between processes of economic globalization and changes in the processes of building/reinforcing democratic regimes.

The course offers the students an overview of the broader social and political developments raised by the impact of the globalisation on social, cultural, economic and political life in contemporary societies, especially in the European context. The aim is that students may acquire a critical and comparative perspective on theories of globalisation, democracy and socio-political change, in order to be able to compare and to use a range of social sciences tools and theories to understand the substantive issues involved in globalisation. Moreover, the multidisciplinary approach will expand transferable skills of verbal and written communication.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Five main themes are proposed:

1 - Main theoretical debates on globalization

2 - Globalization, Democracy and Social Movements

3 - Democracy and Human Rights

4 - Europe, Democratic Citizenship and Religious Identity

5 - Racism and anti-racism in European and other contemporary contexts

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Other: 25.0%
Synthesis work: 75.0%

Bibliography

ALLEN, M (2009) “Civil rights and political human rights”, Politics, 29, 1.

BACCHI, C; EVELINE, J, (2010) Mainstreaming politics. U. of Adelaide Press.

BADER, V (2009), “Religious Pluralism: Secularism or Priority for Democracy?.” Political Theory 27, 5.

BAUMAN, Z (2010) Living on Borrowed Time, Polity Press.

CALHOUN, C (2008), “Secularism, Citizenship, and the Public Sphere.” The Hedgehog Review 10, no. 3: 7-23.

GOLDBERG, D T (2006), “Racial Europeanization”, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 29(2): 331-364.

HESSE, B (2004) “Im/plausilbe Deniability: Racism's Conceptual Double Bind”, Social Identities 10, 1.

ILCAN, S; Philipps, L (2008) “Governing through Global Networks”, Current Sociology, 56, 5.

LENTIN, A (2008) “Europe and the Silence about Race”, European Journal of Social Theory, 11.

SHOLTE, J A (2003) Globalization: A Critical Introduction. Palgrave.

SOMERS, M R (2008) Genealogies of Citizenship. Cambridge University Press.