Requirements for a Major or Minor in Global Studies
An Interdisciplinary ProgramPrograms offered:
• Major in Global Studies
– Global Systems and Issues Track (10.0 course credits)
– Cultural and Regional Studies Track
• Asian Studies Concentration
(8.0 course credits plus language requirement)
• European Studies Concentration
(8.0 course credits plus language requirement)
• Latin American Studies Concentration
(8.0 course credits plus language requirement)
• Russian Studies Concentration
(8.0 course credits plus language requirement)
• Scandinavian Studies Concentration
(8.0 course credits plus language requirement)
– Worlds in Dialogue Track (10.0 course credits)
Faculty
Global Studies Program Steering Committee
| Rebecca R. Moore, chair | Linda L. Johnson |
| Francisco L. Cabello | Jan H. Pranger |
| Jonathan P. Clark | Ronald G. Twedt |
| Nicholas R. Ellig |
Global Systems and Issues Track Steering Committee
| Rebecca R. Moore, chair | Linda L. Johnson |
| Per M. Anderson | Ronald G. Twedt |
| Nicholas R. Ellig |
Cultural and Regional Studies Track Steering Committee
Jonathan P. Clark, European studies, chair
Eduardo Gargurevich, Latin American studies
Linda L. Johnson, Asian studies
Worlds in Dialogue Track Steering Committee
Francisco L. Cabello, chair
Dawn E. Duncan
Gregg A. Muilenburg
Jan H. Pranger
Sonja P. Wentling
Concordia’s global studies major is unique in that it engages students in dialogue across the traditionally disparate areas of global and regional (or area) studies. Students majoring in global studies apply multiple disciplinary and regional perspectives to study global issues in one of three tracks: global systems and issues, cultural and regional studies or worlds in dialogue. They also take three required courses for the major: GS 117 — Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies; GS 118 — Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies; and GS 410 — Global Studies
Senior Seminar
While many students will choose to focus on either global or regional matters by choosing either the global systems and issues track or the cultural and regional studies track, all students will receive a taste of both the global and the regional through the required introductory global studies courses. The senior seminar course will pull together students from all three tracks and allow for the exchange of both global and regional perspectives on the course theme. Similarly, the worlds in dialogue track serves as a bridge between the other two tracks by inviting students to reflect on how diverse religious, philosophical, cultural and historical experiences may influence thinking about how global problems should be addressed.
The global studies program provides learning experiences that prepare students to achieve the following outcomes:
• gain an understanding of the evolution of the current social institutions, assumptions and practices that shape the interactions of peoples around the globe. Students will also be encouraged to look beyond these current arrangements and think critically and imaginatively about possible new ways of managing global interactions.
• explore how trends that are contributing to an increasingly borderless world and growing human interaction might be serving to both fragment and integrate the global community. These trends include new technologies, environmental changes, population growth, growing economic inequalities, trade and investment, contagious diseases and possibly the emergence of global norms of democracy and human rights.
• develop a greater appreciation for the role that religion plays in public life throughout much of the non-Western world.
• explore whether universal values exist that might guide our interactions with each other and shape institutions and principles for global governance.
• reflect on their own individual responsibility to the increasingly borderless world in which we all must reside. Given the unprecedented level of wealth, military power, and cultural/ideological appeal currently enjoyed by the United States, we believe that students must also be encouraged to consider whether “great powers” and their citizens have a unique responsibility for the world outside their borders.
Department Course Descriptions
Major in Global Studies:
Global Systems and Issues Track
Students pursuing this track will explore the contemporary institutions, assumptions, norms and practices that transcend individual states and civilizations and shape the interactions — social, political, economic and religious — of the peoples and states of the world. Students will not only explore the evolution of these various arrangements (including institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization), they will also be encouraged to think about the implications of current trends and developments for the future of these arrangements. Requirements for a major in global studies: global systems and issues track are 10.0 course credits:
• GS 117 — Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• GS 118 — Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• ECON 333 — International Economics I, 0.5 credit
• ECON 335 — International Economics II, 0.5 credit
• HIST 152 — World in Perspective since 1500, 1.0 credit
• P SC 241 — International Politics, 1.0 credit
• REL 392 — Religion and World Affairs, 1.0 credit
• SOC 312 — Global Development Issues, 1.0 credit OR
SOC 328 — Class, Race, and Ethnicity, 1.0 credit
• 1.0 additional course selected from the following:
– HIST 314 — U.S. Foreign Policy, 1.0 credit
– HIST 336 — Clash of Cultures: The World and the West, 1.0 credit
– P SC 332 — U.S.-China Relations, 1.0 credit
– P SC 352 — U.S. Foreign Policy, 1.0 credit
• 1.0 additional course credit selected from the following:
– GEO 201 — World Geography, 1.0 credit
– HIST 365, P SC 365 — Global Issues, 1.0 credit
– P SC 360 — International Security, 1.0 credit
– P SC 441 — Ethics and International Relations, 1.0 credit
– REL 340 — Ethics of Aid and Development, 1.0 credit
– REL 348X — Ethics of Sustainable Community, 1.0 credit
– SOC 217 — Cultural Anthropology, 1.0 credit
• GS 410 — Global Studies Senior Seminar, 1.0 credit
Major in Global Studies:
Cultural and Regional Studies Track
(five regional concentrations offered)
Students pursuing this track will focus their study in a particular geographical and cultural region. Attention will be devoted to exploring a region’s unique history, institutions, assumptions and practices. Students selecting this track will be expected to complete a language requirement linked to their particular region of study.
Required supporting language courses are not considered part of the global studies major. Additional language department courses that appear as required courses or electives in a language major or minor and also appear as electives in the global studies area concentration may not be counted toward more than one major.
Asian Studies Concentration
The requirements for a major in global studies: cultural and regional studies track, Asian studies concentration, are 8.0 course credits plus language requirement:
• GS 117 — Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• GS 118 — Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• Language requirement: Chinese (Mandarin), 2.0 credits; or the transfer of 2.0 Asian language credits from another institution.
• 5.0 additional course credits selected from the following courses. To fulfill these requirements courses must be primarily focused on Asia; if comparative, a minimum of one-half of the course content addresses Asia and a comparison with Asia is integral to the course (courses must be selected from no fewer than three academic departments).
– PHIL 314 — Asian Philosophy, 1.0 credit
– REL 338 — Religions of Asia, 1.0 credit
– P SC 332 — U.S.-China Relations, 1.0 credit
– GS 240 — Introduction to Asian Studies, 1.0 credit
– HIST 341 — Foundations of East Asian Civilization, 1.0 credit
– HIST 342 — Modern East Asian History, 1.0 credit
– HIST 344 — Women’s History in Cross-Cultural Perspective, 1.0 credit
– India Program: Social Justice, Peace and Development: A Semester in India (4.0 credits available)
– Hangzhou Program (2.0 non-language credits available)
– Kanda Program (4.0 credits available)
• GS 410 — Global Studies Senior Seminar, 1.0 credit
Recommended Study Abroad Options:
• India Program: Social Justice, Peace and Development — A Semester in India
• Hangzhou Program, Zheijiang University, Hangzhou, China (This is a Valparaiso University program available to Concordia students through the Lutheran Colleges’ China Consortium.)
• Kanda Program, Japan
• May Seminars
European Studies Concentration
The requirements for a major in global studies: cultural and regional studies track, European studies concentration, are 8.0 course credits plus language requirement:
• GS 117 — Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• GS 118 — Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• Language requirement — 2.0 credits. One year of a non-English European language in addition to the college’s Core language requirement, fulfilled in one of the following ways:
– Completion of a 212 (fourth semester) language course or its equivalent in any one European language
– Completion of two semesters of a second non-English European language or its equivalent
– Completion of one semester each of two additional non-English European languages or their equivalents
These languages may be taken abroad.
– HIST 132 — European History in Perspective since 1500, 1.0 credit
• 4.0 additional course credits selected from the following:
These courses may be completed at a European university with the permission of the Global Studies Committee. No more than two of these courses may be taken within the same discipline. Many of these electives require language proficiency at the 212 level or above. See catalog course descriptions for prerequisite information.
– ART 365 — Art of the Italian Renaissance, 1.0 credit
102 GLOBAL STUDIES
– ART 367 — 20th Century Art, 1.0 credit
– CRDO 131 — Germany, the Third Reich and the Holocaust, 1.0 credit
– ENG 150 — Literature, Self and Society, 1.0 credit
– ENG 346 — British Literature: Empire to Independence, 1.0 credit
– FREN 331 — Culture and Civilization, 1.0 credit
– FREN 360 — French in the Business World, 1.0 credit
– FREN 370 — Current French Political, Social and Economic Affairs, 1.0 credit
– FREN 410 — Introduction to French Literature through Poetry, 0.5 credit
– FREN 411 — Development of French Theatre, 1.0 credit
– FREN 412 — Development of French Prose, 1.0 credit
– GER 220 — Wittenberg Summer Program, 1.5 credits
– GER 314 — German in the Business World, 1.0 credit
– GER 320 — German Cultural History in Overview, 1.0 credit
– GER 321 — The Fine Arts in German Cultural History, 0.5 credit
– GER 322 — Politics, Economics and Social Structure, 0.5 credit
– GER 323 — Literature and Society, 0.5 credit
– GER 360 — German Contribution to World Culture, 1.0 credit
– GER 361 — Myth, Folk Heroes and Fairy Tales, 1.0 credit
– GER 362 — The German Art Song, 1.0 credit
– GER 420 — Contemporary German Society and Culture, 1.0 credit
– GER 421 — Advanced Topics in Swiss and Austrian Culture and Society, 0.5 credit
– GER 422 — Advanced Topics in German Culture and Society, 0.5 credit
– GER 440 — Topics in German Film, 1.0 credit
– HIST 132 — European History in Perspective since 1500, 1.0 credit
– HIST 333 — Modern European Thought and Culture, 1.0 credit
– HIST 338 — Hitler’s Germany, 1.0 credit
– MUS 101 — Music Appreciation, 1.0 credit
– MUS 356 — History and Literature of Music II, 1.0 credit
– PHIL 220 — Modern Philosophy, 1.0 credit
– PHIL 330 — Existentialism, 1.0 credit
– P SC 241 — International Politics, 1.0 credit
– REL 324 — The Legacy of Luther, 1.0 credit
– SPAN 341 — The Culture of Spain, 1.0 credit
– SPAN 386, P SC 386 — Modern Spain: A Critical Look (Segovia program), 1.0 credit
– THR 224 — Theatre and Cultures, 1.0 credit
– THR 324 — European Theatre — Renaissance to Revolution, 0.5 credit
• GS 410 — Global Studies Senior Seminar, 1.0 credit
Recommended Study Abroad Options:
• Semester or Year-Long Programs
– Jena Study Abroad Program
– International Business Program in German
– Lancaster, England
– National University Ireland — Galway or Cork
– International Business Program in French
– Universidad de Navarra Program
– Segovia, Spain Semester
• May Seminars
– ENG 300 — British Heritage: The Celtic Connection
– ENG 300 — British Heritage: Shakespeare and the Renaissance
– ENG 300 — Travel Writing
– HIST 300 — The Twin Faces of Fascism — Historical Roots of German National Socialism and Italian Fascism
– GER 300 — Myth, Folk Heroes, and Fairy Tales
– The French department also organizes a one-month travel and study seminar to France and/or another French-speaking country.
• Exploration Seminars
– ENG 355 — Americans in Paris
– ENG 401 or 410 — The England of Chaucer and Shakespeare
– ENG 451 — Irish Troubles and Writers’ Responses
– The French department offers the opportunity to spend a week in a French-speaking country as part of certain course offerings.
• Summer Programs
– Wittenberg Summer Program
– French Practicum
• Other Programs
– Federation of German-American Clubs Scholarship, a one-year program
– French Government Assistantships
Latin American Studies Concentration
The requirements for a major in global studies: cultural and regional studies track, Latin American studies concentration, are 8.0 course credits plus language requirement:
• GS 117 — Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• GS 118 — Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• Language requirement: Students must demonstrate competence in Spanish. Competence may be proven with a grade of B or better in SPAN 321 (Advanced Conversation and Composition) or a higher course. Native speakers of Spanish who have had extensive experience in the language should consult with a Latin American member of the faculty.
• HISP 310 — Introduction to Latin American Studies, 1.0 credit
• HISP 311 — U.S.-Latin America Relations, 1.0 credit
• HIST 320 — Latin American History, 1.0 credit
• 2.0 additional course credits from the following:
Courses taught in English:
– ART 373 — Pre-Columbian Art, 0.5 credit
Courses taught in Spanish:
– SPAN 250 — Pre-May Seminar to Latin America, 0.5 credit
– SPAN 300 — May Seminar to Latin America, 1.0 credit
– SPAN 331 — Business Spanish, 1.0 credit
– SPAN 351 — Contemporary Latin American Culture, 0.5 credit
– SPAN 361 — Latin American Views, 0.5 credit
– SPAN 363 — Mexican Culture, 0.5 credit
– SPAN 412 — Contemporary Spanish-American Narrative, 1.0 credit
– SPAN 413 — Topics in Latin American Literature, 0.5 credit
• GS 410 — Global Studies Senior Seminar, 1.0 credit
Recommended Study Abroad Options:
• Semester Study Abroad at the University of the Americas in Mexico City. Courses in English and Spanish and semester-long internships in international politics, trade and economics.
• Universidad Latina de Costa Rica: This program offers students the opportunity to learn about culture, human development, and environmental issues in Central America. This semester-long interdisciplinary program is taught in English.
Russian Studies Concentration
The requirements for a major in global studies: cultural and regional studies track, Russian studies concentration, are 8.0 course credits plus language requirement:
• GS 117 — Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• GS 118 — Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• Language requirement — 4.0 credits:
– RUSS 111 — Beginning Russian I, 1.0 credit
– RUSS 112 — Beginning Russian II, 1.0 credit
– RUSS 211 — Intermediate Russian I, 1.0 credit
– RUSS 212 — Intermediate Russian II, 1.0 credit
• HIST 132 — European History in Perspective since 1500, 1.0 credit
• 4.0 additional course credits selected from the following:
– HIST 300 — May Seminar to Russia, 1.0 credit
– HIST 331 — Imperial Russian History, 1.0 credit
– HIST 332 — 20th Century Russian History, 1.0 credit
– P SC 256 — Comparative Politics, 1.0 credit
– REL 327 — Eastern Orthodoxy, 1.0 credit
– RUSS 341 — Russian Literature since the 19th Century, 1.0 credit
– RUSS 490 — Practicum, 1.0 credit
• GS 410 — Global Studies Senior Seminar, 1.0 credit
Recommended Study Abroad Options:
• RUSS 300 — May Seminar — The Imperial Grandeur of Russia
Scandinavian Studies Concentration
The requirements for a major in global studies: cultural and regional studies track, Scandinavian studies concentration, are 8.0 course credits plus language requirement:
• GS 117 — Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• GS 118 — Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• Language requirement (to be fulfilled on campus or on an approved study abroad program):
– NORW 211 — Intermediate Norwegian I, 1.0 credit
– NORW 212 — Intermediate Norwegian II, 1.0 credit (or equivalent)
Other courses — Students who choose one of the study abroad options listed below may substitute their course work abroad for any or all of these courses if content is similar.
• SCAN 201 — Scandinavia in the Modern World, 1.0 credit
• SCAN 337, HIST 337 — History of Scandinavia, 1.0 credit
• 3.0 additional course credits (two must be at the 300-level or above):
– SCAN 271 — Nordic Mythology and the Viking Age, 1.0 credit
– SCAN 272 — Scandinavia Through Folklore, 1.0 credit
– SCAN 317 — Scandinavian Immigration and Settlement in America, 1.0 credit
– SCAN 318 — Kierkegaard and Scandinavian Literature, 1.0 credit
– SCAN 338 — Søren Kierkegaard, 1.0 credit
– SCAN 410 — Ibsen and His Age, 1.0 credit
– SCAN 380 — Special Topics, 1.0 credit OR
SCAN 480 — Independent Study, 1.0 credit
• GS 410 — Global Studies Senior Seminar, 1.0 credit
Recommended Study Abroad Options:
• SUST (Scandinavian Urban Studies Term): University of Oslo
• ISS (International Summer School): University of Oslo
• Hedmark University College
• University of Minnesota/University of Iceland, Minneapolis and Reykjavik
• May Seminar
Please see the chair of the Scandinavian studies department for information on other summer schools and semester programs in Sweden and Denmark.
Major in Global Studies:
Worlds in Dialogue Track
Students selecting this track will explore the interaction or dialogue between different “worlds” (e.g. geographical, cultural, philosophical) with an eye to proposing solutions for the global issues (political, social, cultural, technological, etc.), that arise when “worlds” in the interdependent global environment interface with each other.
The requirements for a major in global studies: worlds in dialogue track are 10.0 course credits:
• GS 117 — Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• GS 118 — Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies, 1.0 credit
• 1.0 foundation course (introduce students to modes of inquiry and theories of cross-cultural analysis) selected from the following (no more than 1.0 credit may be selected from any one department):
– COM 316 — Intercultural Communication, 1.0 credit
– ENG 160 — Global Literature, 1.0 credit
– P SC 256 — Comparative Politics, 1.0 credit
– PSYC 420 — Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1.0 credit
– REL 339J — World Christianity, 1.0 credit
– SOC 217 — Cultural Anthropology, 1.0 credit
– SOC 328 — Class, Race, and Ethnicity, 1.0 credit
• 3.0 global discourse courses analyze contemporary global problems from multiple intercultural perspectives (political, cultural, geographical, religious, historical or philosophical) selected from the following (no more than 1.0 credit may be selected from any one department):
– ENG 451 — Literary Texts and Context: Postcolonial Literature, 1.0 credit
– FREN 223 — Race, Gender, and Power in the Francophone World, 1.0 credit
– HIST 151 — World in Perspective to 1500, 1.0 credit
– HIST 152 — World in Perspective since 1500, 1.0 credit
– HISP 311 — U.S.-Latin American Relations, 1.0 credit
– HIST 336 — Islam and the West, 1.0 credit
– HIST 344 — Women’s History in Cross-Cultural Perspective, 1.0 credit
– P SC 256 — Comparative Politics, 1.0 credit
– P SC 332 — U.S.-China Relations, 1.0 credit
– REL 334 — Monotheisms: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim, 1.0 credit
– REL 339J — World Christianity, 1.0 credit
– REL 386J — Religion in the Postcolonial World, 1.0 credit
• 3.0 world community courses (engage students in critical analysis of possible solutions — world views, norms, policies, social movements, law — to contemporary global problems) selected from the following:
– ECON 333 — International Economics I, 0.5 credit
– ECON 335 — International Economics II, 0.5 credit
– P SC 241 — International Politics, 1.0 credit
– P SC 352 — U.S. Foreign Policy, 1.0 credit
– P SC 360 — International Security, 1.0 credit
– P SC 441 — Ethics and International Relations, 1.0 credit
– REL 340 — Ethics of Aid and Development, 1.0 credit
– REL 348X — Ethics of Sustainable Community, 1.0 credit
– REL 392 — Religion and World Affairs, 1.0 credit
– SOC 312 — Global Development Issues, 1.0 credit
– SOC 328 — Class, Race, and Ethnicity, 1.0 credit
– SPAN 386, P SC 386 — Modern Spain: A Critical Look (Segovia Program), 1.0 credit
Students must complete seven distinct courses in the above three categories.
• GS 410 — Global Studies Senior Seminar, 1.0 credit
Global Studies
