Overview
As interactions between states, societies, and cultures increase, so too do the responses to these interactions multiply. The Global Studies major allows students to explore such interactions and their outcomes. By bringing in both historical and contemporary material, the major provides students with the tools that they need in order to make sense of the world in which they live—as well as understanding how it got to be that way. Students pursuing an undergraduate degree in global studies will engage in thinking critically about how global change has (and can) come about during the course of their lifetimes. The major aims to have students focus on relevant issues to them in a way that provides intellectual flexibility. The major will offer solid training in how to use acquired knowledge to become agents of positive change on the global issues that matter most to people here, and elsewhere around the world.
The Global Studies major requires students to choose a concentration and a geographic region in which to become an expert. It connects this regional specialization to language training. Global Studies majors will choose one of three concentrations: (1) Global Development; (2) Global Peace and Conflict; or (3) Global Societies and Cultures. This will allow students to focus their studies on a specific aspect of the “global.” At the same time, those pursuing this major will choose one of five regions (Asia, Africa, Europe/Russia, The Americas or the Middle East) in which to specialize, both in terms of content and language. In doing so, students have an opportunity to become an expert in a specific region, especially as it relates to larger questions that arise from global interaction. In addition, the major requires training in critical thinking–that is how to study a particular problem in a consistent and rigorous way. Students will work with faculty and the Global Studies advisors to devise a program that best captures their interests and allows them to reach their intellectual and professional potentials.
Concentrations
- Global Development
This concentration area will focus on the relationship between “developed” and “developing” societies. Looking at the ways in which states around the world interact with local, regional, and global economies, the global development concentration examines the problems, processes, and prospects associated with differing levels of development across societies. Students who choose this concentration will explore the ways in which inequality between societies relates to inequality within societies.
- Global Peace & Conflict
This concentration considers the relationship between peace and conflict, both among and within societies. It explores the ways in which conflict arises around the globe, and considers ways in which existing conflicts can be identified, studied, and (potentially) resolved. Students who pursue the peace and conflict concentration consider power relationships between states and supranational institutions. They explore the ways in which justice is defined in a variety of settings and how to apply such principles of justice in resolving difficult conflicts in order to achieve peaceful outcomes.
- Global Societies and Cultures
This concentration considers the internal workings of various societies around the world. Explicitly comparative, students who choose this topic will engage with the ways in which local, regional, and national cultures are produced. In this sense, students who choose this concentration will consider cultural artifacts and forms, such as literature, film, the visual arts, and performance, like theatre and music. History, Philosophy, and Rhetoric also play significant parts in this concentration area, giving students an opportunity to think about the ways in which culture and society interact to form coherent national and global narratives.