The Many Faces of Globalization (Autumn Semester)*
Globalization is one of the most contested concepts of the last decade. What does it mean to live in a “global” world? What are the implications of international flows for politics, culture and social structures? The set of courses, offered by prominent sociologists, political scientists and communication scholars, addresses these questions (and others) through two perspectives: globalization processes from a bird’s-eye view and globalization as expressed at the Israeli “receiving end.” The cluster thus combines a highly engaging and relevant topic with a focus on its intersection with the Israeli context – a unique “lab” for exploring globalization. The courses will provide students with both theoretical foundations and hands-on experiences of negotiating and finding solutions to globalization-oriented problems.
*The courses in the cluster are MA level courses, open to advanced BA students.
Culture and Inequality in Global Perspective
Dr. Joshua Guetzkow
The course will provide an overview of key sociological theories and research on the many ways in which culture (defined variously as values, frames, repertoires, narratives, symbolic boundaries and cultural capital) is shaped by and, in turn, shapes social hierarchies along lines of class, gender and race/ethnicity. We will also explore how these features of inequality intersect with processes of globalization.
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Global Protest Communication
Dr. Christian Baden
Public communication as a means to mobilize support is a necessary prerequisite for any kind of political change: Both in democracies and in authoritarian systems, political innovations usually originate in social movements and groups that are distant from political power. To affect politics, these groups need to campaign in public, rally their supporters, and strategically insert their ideas into the political debate. This course investigates both the opportunity structures that shape the possibilities for political activism, and the strategies and tactics used in communicating protest. We look at a wide variety of cases around the world, ranging from opposition movements in Socialist and authoritarian countries, over environmental and civil rights protests, to peace movements and protests on behalf of foreign nations. Examining the successes and failures of different groups, we will in a first block lay the theoretical foundations for a deepened understanding of protest communication. The second block builds upon the foundations discussed in the first part, and examines the working of these conditions in different political, media, and cultural contexts around the world. We will develop small, group-based empirical research projects that look into some recent case of activist communication and investigate their rhetorical, communicative and media-related strategies for rallying support.
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Globalization, Minorities, and Technology: A Research Workshop
Dr. Elyakim Kislev
This course is a research workshop on the global nature of technology and how it has the potential to empower minorities. The main argument is that technology, which is more universal in nature, can help minorities to overcome discrimination and provide a real opportunity to improve their social and economic condition. Thus, the first part of the course includes a methodological introduction to comparative policy and a description of the foundations of globalization and global policy. The second part includes special lecturers from the Israeli hi-tech industry and focuses on the Israeli case study: the integration of Israeli-Arabs into the Israeli hi-tech industry. Finally, the third part focuses on students’ presentations: every student will have the opportunity to author a small-scale research article on the topic of minorities’ participation in technology as a mechanism for social mobility and integration. This collaborative effort is expected to produce an edited book on this topic, published by a highly respectable publisher that has already contacted us.
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Introduction to Development
Dr. Reut Barak Weeckes
What are the pillars of international development? What supports communities and individuals in their journey to social and economic independence and better quality of life? What are the links between development theory and practice? This course provides students with an introduction to the field of international development, while focusing on community development and the impact of development interventions on disadvantaged individuals and communities. The course discusses the evolution of development theory since the 20th century; the various world events which led to changes in development theory and were significantly affected by them; and influential approaches to development practice. Historically, the course provides students with a broad understanding of power relations between the developed and the developing worlds since the 15th Century. The course exposes students to case studies and best practices from Israel and around the world and includes interviews and conversations with development practitioners from a variety of fields.
The course includes two components, an online 1 credit course, which the students are expected to study in the own time before the beginning of the school year; and a second credit, which will be taught during the first semester. All together the course includes 2 credits.
Public Policy in the Global Age
Prof. Sharon Gilad
This MA seminar will provide students with tools to analyze the factors that shape processes of public policy inertia and change in the global age. During the first part of the seminar, we will examine patterns of policy stability and change, inter alia in the context of international policy diffusion. Thereafter, in the second part of the seminar, we will assess how global factors, such as international organizations, and local factors, such as media and social movements, interact in spurring changes in local policy agendas. Finally, in the third part of the seminar, we will examine how institutional structures, such as existing laws, constrain policy change, and the role of agents of change in overcoming such constraints.
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Terrorism Docudrama: Political Violence, Cinema and Television in the Global Age
Dr. Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann
The latest attacks in Europe proved: terrorism persists to be a global challenge. Indeed, during the short 21st century, experiences of global terrorism became a central aspect of public life and culture in many societies worldwide. Audio-visual media offer specific frames to understand and interpret this experience. Especially the docudrama genre with its inherent crisis structure and heterogeneous narrative and visual elements shows a specific affinity for collective experiences of violence. By investigating the depiction of terrorist events in international docudramas, the course offers the opportunity to explore the interrelation between popular culture, the perception of political violence and global media formats. It introduces ways of understanding and analyzing interpretative frames of terrorism in visual media and discusses different theoretical concepts and approaches in order to explore, how the experience of global terrorism is mediated and framed on television and in the cinema
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The Transition to a Low Carbon Society: Israel as a Lab
A 3-day field workshop
Dr. Itay Fischhendler
Topic: The world is undergoing a transition from fossil fuels to the use of renewable energy sources such as solar farms and wind turbines. While many countries are becoming front runners in this transition, others lag behind. Israel is no different as it zigzags between the need to free itself from the fetters of oil/coal import and the need to continue to provide cheap energy. This workshop aims to introduce students to the social complexity of shifting to a new economy and technology based on new energy sources that are more environmentally friendly but impinge upon previous technologies, behaviors, and institutions.
Venue: The workshop will be held during a three-day period at Kibbutz Ketura in Israel’s Negev in December 2017 (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday). During the workshop, students will see the latest technological developments in solar energy, will meet policy makers, will learn about the potential of renewable energy to foster cooperation between Israel and its neighbors, and will seek social solutions that can revolutionize the way that Israel consumes energy. Three preparatory meetings will be held at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) prior to the 3-day workshop.
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