BA Global Social Challenges / Course details

The course unit will encourage students to think critically about the notion of global governance, i.e., what the concept means to them, what form it takes, as well as its efficacy and potential alternatives. Local factors will be incorporated into key aspects of discussion to assess how local, national, regional, and global factors can overlap and interact. 

The aims of this unit are to: 

- Provide a critical platform for students to develop their understanding of global governance theories and challenges. 

- Integrate various perspectives on different types of governance that function at local, national, and global levels. 

- Evaluate existing and potential interventions to global challenges and their harms. 

This course unit is designed to run during Semesters 1 and 2. Students will attend a workshop on alternate weeks that will last for 3 hours. 

Teaching delivery will mostly take the form of active on-campus learning in the form of interactive, student-led workshops. This on-campus learning will be complemented by a variety of e-learning tasks that will be embedded into teaching practice – thereby providing a blended learning environment. For example, prior to an on-campus workshop, students will be given a task to complete online as part of their preparation to bring to the workshop and discuss further. This may take the form of watching a video clip or reading a news article and then posting their reactions or answers to a question on a discussion board. The points on the discussion board can then be drawn out in the workshop, thereby ‘warming up’ students to the topic and making them better prepared for discussion. Therefore, students will experience a range of learning styles to inform their overall experience. 

The 30 contact hours are broken down as follows: 10x workshops spread over 2 semesters, each lasting 3 hours. 

• Explain why global governance is a contested issue in the context of different political and organisational approaches.

• Assess the value of global governance mechanisms and propose potential alternatives 
• Integrate disciplinary perspectives and theories on challenges related to global governance 

• Communicate complex ideas on global governance in a succinct way using online platforms 

• Demonstrate high quality communication skills about global governance issues and associated discussion points 

Blog Post (1000 words, end of semester 1, 20%)

Essay (3000 words, end of semester 2, 80%)

Feedback to students is provided in the following ways: 

- Informal and verbal feedback during workshops on student contributions – this can also be discussed with staff beyond workshops 

- Students can discuss and/or submit a detailed one-page plan for their summative work (blog post and essay), staff will provide written feedback within 10 working days 

- Written feedback for summative assessments to be provided within standard SoSS timeframes 

Kirton, J.J., and Larionova, M. (eds.) (2018) Accountability for Effectiveness in Global Governance. London: Routledge. 

Lopes-Claros, A., Dahl, A.L., and Groff, M. (2020) Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Saritas, O., Guttman, R., and Petit, P. (eds.) (2014) Key Issues for Global Governance in 2030. Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. 

Weiss, T.G., and Thakur, R. (2010) Global Governance and the UN: An Unfinished Journey. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 

Zürn, M. (2018) A Theory of Global Governance: Authority, Legitimacy, and Contestation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

The 30 contact hours are broken down as follows: 10x workshops spread over 2 semesters, each lasting 3 hours.