Teaching Across Borders: Making Local-Global Connections in Sociology Teaching

In recent years, there is a growing awareness that teaching sociology should include topics related to globalization. While a limited number of authors provide important suggestions for sociological curricula, we feel that there should be a more systematic approach to introducing theories and concepts of globalization in sociology classes. In this paper, we present our strategies of teaching about globalization in sociology. We understand globalization as a series of significant changes in social relations due to interconnectedness of the world. We look at different economic, political, social, and cultural connections between different countries and locales. We developed class activities to examine each dimension of globalization. By analytically emphasizing economic, political, social, and cultural flows of globalization, we want our students to see how different institutions and actors initiate, cooperate, and negotiate transnational connections within each sphere.