88269 - POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN THE GLOBAL WORLD

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

The course aims to give students n in-depth understanding of global events and ofthe causes and consequences of globalisation in a variety of political and social domains. At the end of the course, students will be able to discuss and learn about:the most pressing problems in the global political economy (inequalities, poverty, migration);the major political and societal forces at work in the world system; the actions of governments and other decision-makers within world politics; how the distribution of economic resources is influencing both politics and society; the prospects for global governance.

Contenuti

The course is articulated in two parts (lectures and seminars) and adopts a teaching methodology partly inspired by the logic of the inverted classroom.

Lectures (28 hours) aim to deepen some of the main challenges characterizing the global society. In particular, social processes that shape modern and contemporaries societies will be addressed, comparing theoretical approaches and the results of social research.

The topics covered in the first part of the course are as follows:

- Globalization and Social Change;

- Global Social Change and the Environment;

- Global Inequality: Globalization and the Transformation of Social Inequality;

- Migration in a Global Age: Transnational Migration and Social Transformation;

- Global Cities and Urban Life;

- Globalization and Social Movements;

- Cyber Security and Global Politics;

- How Cyberspace Impacts the Global Order;

- Cyber Weapon as a Global Challenge;

- Digital Inequality: Digital Divide, Net Neutrality and Digital Oligopoly;

- The Geopolitics of Cyberspace: Interdependencies and Balcanization of Internet;

- The Concept of Public-Private Partnership in Cybersecurity.

In the Seminars (20 hours) current debates and empirical cases are discussed, in light of theories and concepts examined during the Lectures. The seminars aim to provide opportunities for in-depth study of the teaching materials assigned during the first part of the course, focusing on the analysis and understanding of the challenges that characterize global society.

Students are expected to read assigned materials carefully before seminars, as active participation is required.

Testi/Bibliografia

The bibliography differs depending on the part of the course.

Regarding lectures, the bibliography is as follows:

• Schuerkens, U. (2017), Social changes in a global world, London, Sage.
• Brantly A.F., Van Puyvelde D. (2019), Cybersecurity: Politics, Governance and Conflict in Cyberspace, Oxford, Polity Press

In relation to the seminars, the texts to be read will be indicated by the professors during the first part of the course, and made available on the Virtual platform (https://virtuale.unibo.it/ ).

Non-attending students, beyond the books mentioned above, are required to read:

- Giddens, A., Sutton, P.W. (2021) Sociology, 9th Edition, Wiley (chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13)

Metodi didattici

Lecture section (28 hours): conventional lectures (with the use of Power Point), during which course content is presented and discussed. The first part of the course is aimed at acquiring knowledge of facts/events, concepts, theories.

Seminar section (20 hours). During seminars, interaction between students and the professor is explicitly encouraged: students are encouraged to compare and verify their acquired knowledge by reading the indicated texts. Students are expected to read assigned material carefully before class, and active participation is required. Specifically, each seminar class includes at least one presentation, by a student, of one of the texts assigned by the professor. In addition, for each text presented, a student is identified as the discussant, who is required to comment in depth on the presentation. For this reason, it is required that the presentation be sent to the professor and the discussant a few days in advance. After the discussant's commentary, the interaction is open to the classroom: active student participation at this stage is very important.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The assessment of the acquisition of expected knowledge and abilities by the attending students is based on:

1. Presentation during the Seminars and active participation to class discussion: accuracy and clarity of presentation, ability to synthesize and make connections between the issues addressed during the course, ability to make critical interventions and/or ask pertinent questions will be assessed (50% of the final grade).

   Grades:

   Insufficient: approximate presentation, lack of clarity, lack of participation in the classroom discussion;

   18-21: sufficient completeness, ability to synthesize and clarity of presentation, limited participation in class discussion;

   22-25: good synthesis and clarity of presentation; moderate participation in class discussion;

   26-29: good ability to synthesize and clarity of presentation; active participation in class discussion;

   30: very good synthesis and clarity of presentation; active participation in the classroom discussion and ability to make connections between different topics;

   30 cum laude: excellent presentation, excellent ability to summarize and explain clearly; active participation in the classroom discussion, ability to make connections between different topics and relevant personal reworking of skills.

2. Short essay (max. 4,000 words, including footnotes and references), take-home (open book), in which the student is asked to answer one question, from among those proposed, on topics covered in class. The essay must be submitted at the end of the seminars by a date set by the professors, and the aspects evaluated will be the following: completeness of the paper, ability to summarize, clarity of exposition and ability to make connections between the various topics covered. (50% of final grade).

Grades:

Insufficient: knowledge of the topic is not even approximate or not correct.

18-21: elementary knowledge of the topic, and/or not always correct, partial ability to argue and elaborate

22-25: satisfactory knowledge of the subject, ability to argue and elaborate fairly solid

26-29: good or very good knowledge of the subject, good or very good ability to argue and elaborate

30: precise knowledge of the subject, ability to argue and elaborate very good

30 cum laude: precise knowledge of subject matter, very good argumentation and elaboration skills, relevant personal review of knowledge.

Non-attending students

The exam consists of a written test (70% of final grade) composed of 3 open questions and will cover the entire program of the course referred to non-attending students. The time available to the student for this test is 45 minutes. During the test, the use of support material (textbooks, notes, computer support) is not permitted. Grades are based on the following criteria: knowledge of topics covered, expository ability, and use of appropriate specialized vocabulary. The grades, in detail, are as follows:

Grades:

Insufficient: approximate or incorrect knowledge of subject matter, insufficient expository ability, and inappropriate use of concepts.

18-21: elementary knowledge of the subject, not always correct, sufficient expository ability, sufficiently appropriate use of concepts

22-25: satisfactory knowledge of the subject, fairly correct expositive ability, fair use of concepts

26-29: good or very good knowledge of the subject, good or very good presentation skills, good use of concepts

30: precise knowledge of the subject, very good presentation skills, very good use of concepts

30 cum laude: precise knowledge of subject matter, very good presentation skills, very appropriate use of concepts and relevant personal reworking of knowledge.

Non-attending students are also required to present a short paper (max. 4,000 words, including footnotes and references) on a topic agreed upon with the professors. The paper must be submitted by a date set by the professors, and the aspects evaluated will be the following: completeness of the paper, ability to summarize, clarity of exposition and ability to make connections between the various topics covered (30% of final grade).

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

The course uses slides in powepoint, which will be made available to the students at the end of each lesson.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Luigi Martino

Consulta il sito web di Alessandro Bozzetti