This course examines "globalization" and its effect on a world language like Spanish. We will trace some of the debates and discussions surrounding language issues in a global era, attempting to identify those aspects of globalization of particular interest when it comes to explaining language behavior. We will seek to identify some of the key agents acting as the forces of globalization on language processes and will discuss the nature of this relationship. We will explore how far any discussion and analysis of globalization and world languages are of any particular and specific relevance to an understanding of the case of Spanish and the languages of what is commonly referred to as the Spanish-speaking world.