Global Studies: Overall Outcome
Discover the global society and process of globalization from mostly, but not exclusively, non-Western, local and indigenous perspectives.
Guidelines
To receive the Global Studies (GS) designation, courses must address each of the three student learning outcomes listed below. Courses may address these outcomes to greater or lesser degrees depending on the focus of the course; however, taken together, these outcomes must constitute a substantial and integral part of the course.
Student Learning Outcomes (1-3) and Suggestions for Curriculum Design Elements
1. Describe and analyze the historical, social, cultural, political and/or economic structures/processes of the global society.
Suggested Curriculum Design Elements
- Describe the development of the global society by examining its history, structures, cultures, and processes of global inequalities.
- Delineate the elements of the global society by analyzing and synthesizing the interconnections among the individual, the local community, the nation-states, and the world economic system
- Explore the meaning of globalization – the network of interconnections between people, places things and ideas. Examine interconnections in both past and present to understand the impact of these interconnections.
- Understand the social, economic and cultural dimension of globalization. How language, art, music, food, clothing styles of different groups are influencing each other.
- Understand global power relations and the role of the U.S. as the only super power and examine the gap between the rhetoric and actions.
- Explore, describe and analyze the development of technology from its in different parts of the world, and its contemporary dissemination in the context of global power relations. Show how technological innovations have moved from the East to the West in the past.
2. Analyze the beliefs, attitudes, experiences, and ideologies of non-Western societies.
Suggested Curriculum Design Elements
- Include perspectives of indigenous groups, the poor, peasants and other minorities because their voices are often ignored even in their own countries. ( Example: Three Gorges Dam in China)
- Analyze and outline complex global events, trends, and issues from non-Western, local and indigenous viewpoints.
- Understand the connections between the western and the non-western world using a framework which recognizes the power differential present at different levels of influence.
- Examine global issues/events such as Gulf War, Iraq War, Poverty and Hunger from multiple perspectives which should include the diverse views present in both the western and non-western world.
- Emphasize the complexities of each broad cultural perspective.
- Study the impact of fiscal austerity, privatization and market liberalization on Third World countries’ economy and lives of people.
- Recognize that the American media provides an incomplete and often an American centered view of a global event/issue/problem. Emphasize the value of consulting other sources such as BBC news, Al Jazeera, Asia News, and The Guardian.
3. Apply critical thinking and reasoned analysis to transcend overgeneralization and stereotyping.
Suggested Curriculum Design Elements
- Recognize the assumptions, perspectives, evidence, inferences, conclusion and implications in readings and videos, etc.
- Distinguish between facts and opinions.
- Construct explanations of social phenomena with logical reasoning (theory) and supporting evidence (empirical study).
- Apply findings to the extent that is warranted by theoretical reasoning and empirical evidence.