Core Coursework
Globalization and its Discontent
These courses are the grounding for the Global Studies concentration and you take them as early as possible in your program. Courses touch on issues such as free trade, national debt, the role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in poor countries’ economies and multinational corporations. You examine local sustainability, grassroots activism and international efforts to identify the positive aspects of globalization. An example of a class that would meet this core requirement is Globalization, Development and Grassroots Movements.
Postcolonial Narratives
Courses in this area feature poetry, essays, novels, plays and films by writers/directors from various newly independent countries as they address the socio-political turmoil experienced during and immediately after colonialism. A sample class that meets this core requirement is Postcolonial Literature.
Narratives of Displacement
With a special focus on the second half of the 20th century and opening years of the 21st century, courses in this area combine fiction, film and nonfiction to express the various manifestations of displacement today: exile, diaspora, flight, economic migration, the brain drain and more. There is focus on the circumstances of peoples displaced within their own historical homeland: the Indigenous peoples of the world, from Palestine to North America. Sample qualifying classes include Literature of Displacement or Border Crossings.
World Ideologies Today
This course looks at the construction of ideologies as manifest in some of the political driving forces in various parts of the world today, from Neo-conservatives and the Religious Right in the White House, to Wahhabis in the House of Saud, to Hindu fundamentalism, to Zionist Zealots. You also explore some of the movements arising in response to these dominant discourses, such as the Environmental Justice Movement, antiwar efforts, anti-imperialism and Indigenous Rights. This core requirement also can be met by taking two courses looking at two different, specific ideologies.
Translating Gender
If gender is a social construction, then gender issues are bound to differ from society to society. Courses in this area examine gender dynamics as they pertain to men and women on both the local and transnational levels. An example of a class that meets this requirement is Translating Gender: Perceptions, Misperceptions and Receptions of the “Other.”
War and Peace, Terrorism, Democracy and Nonviolence
Courses in this area address the escalating militarization of the contemporary world, from state- or sectarian-sponsored terrorism, to pre-emptive military strikes for peace, along with an exploration of a variety of grassroots, community-based and international efforts to envision, design and begin to implement changes toward an environmentally sustainable world, greater economic justice, strengthened democracy and peaceful solutions in conflict situations. Sample classes that satisfy this core requirement are Creating a Just, Sustainable, Peaceful Future and Creating a Nonviolent World.
Sample Electives
Foreign language study and study abroad are strongly recommended as electives for the Global Studies concentration area. Elective classes can be taken from a number of disciplines, such as:
Literature
- Contemporary Women Writers
- U.S.-Vietnam in fiction
- Studying Cultures, Writing Ethnographies
Social Justice
- Palestine-Israel Conflict
- Wealth and Poverty
- International activism
History/World Ideologies
- Marxism
- War and Society in Modern Era
- History of the Holocaust
Spiritual Studies
- Ideas of Heaven
- Pilgrimage: Walking With Intention
- Mindfulness, East and West
Translating Gender
- Black Masculinity in the U.S.
- Women’s Health in the Global South
Sample Community/Field-based Learning Experiences
- Volunteer at an international festival at Seattle Center’s Festal
- Organize a speaker/lecture series on a global issue, hosted by Antioch University Seattle
- Train with an international NGO: Global Exchange, ISM, etc.
Sample Synthesis Projects
- Present a research, critical and/or advocacy paper on a panel that addresses a global issue
- Design and host a forum on a global issue
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