Understanding Global Society - SOC00040M

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Module summary

What does it mean to live in a global society? Is there global culture and how is it theorised and practised? This module will answer such questions by exploring major ideas and themes that explain, describe, or critique our contemporary world.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2025-26

Module aims

This module aims to introduce students to various sociological approaches to global society and culture. By examining different theories and perspectives, students will be equipped with a conceptual toolkit that will be used to examine how global processes intersect with and shape our politics, culture, and societies, and to investigate how groups perceive these processes, accommodate, or resist them. Drawing on social science scholarship from different fields, the module will explore recent developments such as populism, social movements and protest, celebrities, citizenship and shifting forms of urbanism. Throughout this module, students will foster analytical skills to critically understand, evaluate, and conceptualise contemporary issues and social research by drawing on real world examples, cases, and phenomena.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of core sociological approaches to global society and culture;

2. Critically evaluate the global-local tension and its manifestations;

3. Effectively communicate complex ideas through both oral and written formats;

4. Engage in informed discussions on current global trends, themes, and issues;

Analyse patterns of resistance and accommodation in response to global social life

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Module feedback

For formative work – open letter to author – students will receive written or verbal feedback on how to improve their skills in areas that will contribute towards their summative assessment. The formative assessment provides practice for the summative tasks which is in line with MLOs 1-5.

For summative work – essay – students will receive an overall mark and grading according to clearly defined criteria for assessing their knowledge, skills and abilities in line with MLOs 1-5. They will also receive written feedback showing areas in which they have done well and those areas in which they need to improve that will contribute to their learning progress.

Indicative reading

Lash, S. and Lury, C. (2007). Global Culture Industry: The Mediation of Things. Cambridge: Polity

Manfred B. Steger, M. B., Benedikter, R., Pechlaner, H. and Kofler, I. (Eds.) (2023). Globalization: Past, Present, Future. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.