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Global Studies Program
What is Global Studies?
Global Studies is an interdisciplinary approach to understand essentially “how the world works” and to make it better. By analyzing global phenomena from economic, social, historical, physical, environmental, cultural, biological, political, and other perspectives Global Studies attempts delineate and frame connections and commonalities between these apparently different disciplinary approaches to arrive at an understanding of the interrelationships between the world’s peoples - where we have been, where we are, and were our world is headed. Ultimately, the goal of Global Studies is to educate students to become responsible global citizens – individuals who are aware of the complexities and subtleties of global problems and want to do something about them!
The Global Studies major at SDSU is designed to produce graduates who are globally literate, open to diverse societies and cultures, and skilled in a modern, foreign language. Such majors have a unique opportunity to combine a major or minor in Global Studies with minors in Latin American Studies, European Studies, Global Agriculture, and/or many of the currently existing majors at SDSU. For example a student wishing to pursue a career in international business may wish to double major in the Modern Language Business-Economics Specialization and Global Studies.
A student wishing to work abroad for a non-governmental organization (NGO) may choose to major in Global Studies and minor in Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations. Students seeking careers in international diplomacy may wish to major in Global Studies and minor in Political Science. Students pursuing careers in international agriculture may wish to major in Global Studies and minor in Global Agriculture.
Regardless of the major or minor designations the primary objective of Global Studies is to train students to be globally aware, to think critically, to be conversant in global affairs, to be sensitive to the needs and desires of diverse cultures, to be skilled in a modern, foreign language, and to have the necessary background and tools to analyze global problems in a comprehensive, systems-approach, holistic manner.
The Global Studies Program (Majors and Minors) seeks to:
1. Provide an interdisciplinary, integrated, and academically rigorous undergraduate experience,
2. Gain a broad understanding of global society and the societies of diverse foreign countries by enrolling in coursework in the social and natural sciences,
3. Utilize the humanities to create leaning environments that contribute to students’ global understanding of the human condition,
4. Prepare graduates for employment in the fields of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international marketing and business, journalism, private foundations, and related fields requiring interdisciplinary, systems–approaches and global literacy,
5. Provide analytical tools and philosophical foundations to enable students to address, interpret, and cogently discuss global issues,
6. Encourage critical thinking and development of creative solutions to ongoing and seemingly irresolvable global problems,
7. Promote interdisciplinary study of regional and global topics utilizing current minors (Latin American Studies, Global Agriculture, and European Studies),
8. Facilitate development of communications skills in English and at least one other modern foreign language,
9. Provide a life-changing cross-cultural experience by living and working abroad, and
10. Inculcate in Global Studies students the confidence, desire, tools and motivation to enter the Brave New World of the 21st century and be change agents for the better.
Should I Major in Global Studies?
We live in a chaotic, fascinating, intensively interconnected, rapidly changing, unstable, and often violent world. Somehow we need to come to grips with our world and work towards stability and peace. Global Studies majors will have that opportunity!
The following sample questions are germane.
Are you concerned with global change?
Do you love language and learning about other cultures and places?
How will citizens within Third World nations elevate their standard of living?
Do you wonder about the benefits and costs of globalization? How in fact do we define globalization?
Are we at the point in the evolution of global civilization to create a workable global government – one that recognizes state sovereignty but seeks true global governance?
How will the European Union and the development of China affect global trade over the next 50 years?
What is the International Court of justice and how does it function?
What do you know about the operation of the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank?
Because of vast communications networks, global trade, the Internet, and others, we all now live in ONE WORLD! Are we, the world’s peoples, acting as good global citizens and respectful neighbors?
Students having a serious interest in world cultures and civilizations, global literature and music, world history, global affairs, world governments, global resources, languages, global governance, global bioethics, international business, international law, global treaties, conduct of the United Nations and other international governing bodies, and a wide variety of other global activities are encouraged to carefully consider a major or minor in Global Studies. Because the GS major is flexible, it allows students to choose from a wide variety of minors (European Studies, Global Agriculture, and Latin American Studies) and other SDSU majors to complement their undergraduate experience.
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