LundU: Globalisation and Social Change (SOCI20010)

The aim of the course is to present major social scientific concepts referring to trends and problems of the current transformation of societies throughout the world. The key concepts are globalisation and social change. The concepts should enable the students to better understand causes, processes and consequences of globalisation of all major action spheres of societies. The core-module is divided into three parts: a/ Modernisation. b/ Globalisation and social change in different parts of the world. and c/ Prospects of globalisation processes. The first part refers to the concepts surrounding modernisation in a long-term perspective: the emergence of modern states and nations, industrialisation, urbanisation, the development of democratic governance and welfare states. The second part focuses on globalisation processes in the world after the Second World War: changes between different phases of capitalism and between socialism and capitalism. The last part discusses how the systematic comparison of common features and differences in current development of societies in the world opens new vistas to the explanation and management of social processes.