This course will help you to 'get beyond the newspaper headlines' and learn some tools for being able to analyse and interpret what is going on in our globalised world.
topThis is an exciting and innovative Social Sciences course. It builds on from the Social Sciences Foundation courses DD100 and DD121/DD122 and is part of the Geography Diploma (with U216 Environment and DD304 Understanding Cities) and also links well with other Social Sciences and Environment courses.
The course looks at lots of real-world examples such as sweatshops, climate change and fair-trade and offers geographical understanding of these important world issues.
This is a geography course - but maybe not like the kind you studied at school!
This example calendar shows how the workload of the course is organised, including the range of materials and when assignments are to be completed
This section introduces one of the key arguments of the course, that 'globalisation is everyday'. Other key arguments focus on the debated character of globalisation, and its complexity.
Course Guide, Section 2.1 'Globalisation is Everyday'
This material is taken from the first DVD. It explores some of the everyday experiences of those living along the Mexico-US border, and how globalisation impacts on all kinds of issues, from migration to competition over water resources.
Quicktime format, 4.4Mb
Sample material from DVD1 Chapter 1.1 'Where Worlds Meet'
This section comes from the first of a set of four Learning Companions, designed to help you get the most from studying DD205. Here the focus is on the skills of 'Learning from DVD', and you might like to look at this section directly after watching the DVD taster material.
Study skills material from Learning Companion 1
This is section 1 of the first chapter in Book 1. The particular example used here is about the relationships and responsibilities linking consumers in Europe and North America with factory 'sweatshops' in East Asia.
If you liked this section, you can read the whole chapter in the Learning Space of the OU's OpenLearn Website.
Book 1, Claiming Connections: a distant world of sweatshops, Section 1
Another extract from Book 1, this time from Chapter 8 and focusing on geopolitical imaginations through the issue of taking responsibility for the humanitarian disaster in Rwanda.
Book 1, Chapter 8, Section 3.2
This section shows how the world is still being made, and that our actions are entangled with processes found in nature. Consequently we all have responsibility for the planet's future. This chapter section focuses on the case study of the islands of Tuvalu in the Pacific in a world facing global climate change.
Climate Changes: island life in a volatile world, Section 1
This section examines the migration of medical professionals from Ghana to the UK, and its impact on health services between the two countries. It includes an activity (Activity 7.5) which involves reading a short newspaper article by John Carvel 'Nil by Mouth'
This section looks at the increasing globalisation of our food production and the growth of ethical consumption practices. The example here is 'Fairtrade coffee'. When you read the section you may find it useful to note that 'MNC' stands for Multinational Corporation and 'AFN' stands for Alternative Food Network.
If you like what you see, please check the details on 'Entry' and 'What you will Need' included in the online course description (please link to the C&Q page for DD205) and register for the course.
Once you have registered on a course you will have access to Learning with the OU at www.open.ac.uk/learning. This link provides information on topics such as getting started, study strategies, personal and career development, planning studies and moving on.
