Global Studies

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Devin T. Hagerty
Brigid Starkey

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The Global Studies B.A. is an interdisciplinary liberal arts and sciences degree. It combines coursework in 11 departments and programs in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences with a rigorous foreign language requirement, study abroad, and experiential learning in the form of internships and other extra-curricular activities. The collaborating departments and programs are: Africana Studies; American Studies; Asian Studies; Economics; Gender and Women's Studies; Geography and Environmental Systems; History; Media and Communication Studies; Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication; Political Science; and Sociology and Anthropology.

The main objective of the Program in Global Studies is to educate "global citizens" for the global century ahead. We live in a world that is increasingly interconnected – socially, politically, economically, and culturally. More than ever before, globalization requires UMBC graduates to be familiar with the world outside our borders and to understand the deep and ever-expanding links between their lives and those of people in and from other societies. The B.A. in Global Studies equips our graduates with the knowledge, language proficiency, and critical-thinking, conceptual, analytical, and writing skills that will allow them both to do well and “do good” in this world of dizzying change.

Global Studies students choose one of three tracks: Comparative Globalization Studies; Development, Health, and the Environment; or International Affairs. Majors are required to take the following courses:

Core (18 credits)

· GLBL 101 Introduction to Global Studies

· GLBL 301 Approaches to Globalization

Students also take four of the following courses. These courses should be chosen on the basis of the student's likely choice of track. See below for further information on the three tracks.

· AFST 211 Introduction to Contemporary Africa

· ANTH 211 Cultural Anthropology

· ASIA 100 Introduction to Asian Studies

· ECON 101 Principles of Microeconomics

· ECON 102 Principles of Macroeconomics

· GES 102 Human Geography

· GES 120 Introduction to Environmental Science and Conservation

· GWST 340 Global Perspectives on Gender and Women

· HIST 200 Themes in World History

· MLL 280 Introduction to the Spanish-Speaking World

· MLL 305 Introduction to Intercultural Communication

· POLI 260 Comparative Politics

· POLI 280/281 International Relations

Upper-Level Electives (18 credits)

Students choose their electives from approved track lists. Students may also choose to earn three of their upper-level credits in a structured, track-related, semester-long internship or faculty-supervised independent study. Some 125 electives will be available to GLBL majors. A master list of courses approved for Global Studies appears on the GLBL webpage (globalstudies.umbc.edu).

***Please note: Because the Global Studies curriculum draws from 11 departments and programs, it is impossible to note all the prerequisites in this section of the catalog. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of any prerequisites that may be required before taking particular upper-level courses. For example, upper-level courses in the Department of Economics typically require one or more prerequisites.***

Language Requirement

Students are required to acquire a significant second-language capability, defined as courses or proficiency through the 302-level in a language other than English. If UMBC does not offer courses through the 302-level in a student’s chosen language, the student may meet the requirement through another institution.

Study Abroad/Internship

GLBL majors are required to study abroad, except under compelling mitigating circumstances (e.g., work or family obligations). Students in such circumstances may seek a waiver of the study-abroad requirement. If a waiver is granted, the student will be expected to undertake a GLBL-related applied experience (such as an internship with a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to assist in the settlement and acculturation of immigrants and refugees.) Whether or not they study abroad, majors will be expected to pursue GLBL-related internships. With permission, and as appropriate, one three-credit internship may count as one of the student's upper-level electives.

Global Studies Tracks

I. Comparative Globalization Studies compares processes of globalization in different times and locations, with an emphasis on power, place, and identity. Courses in this track consider changes wrought by global flows of ideas, people, and commodities. Those flows have reshaped cultural geographies, regions, borders, contact zones, and accents in complex and sometimes contradictory ways. Course offerings pay particular attention to national and transnational identities, indigenous and diasporic cultures, and colonialism and post-colonialism. While our inquiries are often focused on a specific topic, region, or identity group, coursework consistently situates the local in its global context. This necessarily interdisciplinary track fosters development of the intellectual flexibility needed to study the dynamic and ambiguous objects, identities, and practices that comprise globalization.

Students in this track must complete GLBL 101 Introduction to Global Studies, GLBL 301 Approaches to Globalization, and two of the following core courses (from the list of Global Studies core courses, above):

ANTH 211 Cultural Anthropology

GWST 340 Women, Gender and Globalization

MLL 305 Introduction to Intercultural Communication

POLI 260 Comparative Politics

Students must also complete two additional courses from the list of core courses.

To complete the Comparative Globalization Studies track, students must select six of the following elective courses, selecting one from each of the following groups. Five of the six courses must be at the 300-400 level.

A) AFST 439 Women in Africa and the Diaspora

AMST 352 American Culture in Global Perspective

AMST 420 Seminar in Global America

HIST 340 Atlantic Revolutions

HIST 382 Pacifica Crossings: Race, War, and Gender in Asian Migrations

HIST 405 Comparative Slavery: Africa and the New World

HIST 406 The Atlantic World: The Shared History of Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans

MLLI 255 Intercultural Paris

B) ANTH 367 Anthropology of Gender

GWST 342 Gender in Modern South Asia

GWST 366 Doing It: Case Studies in the History of Western Sexuality

SOCY 333 Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective

SOCY 433 Gender, Work, and Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective

C) AMST 200 Multicultural America

AMST 464 Immigration Nation

ANTH 382 Global Flows in Local Worlds: The Anthropology of Globalization

GWST 320 International Feminist Filmmakers

MCS 334 Media and Globalization

MCS 390: Transcultural Studies in Global Television

D) POLI 337 Comparative Justice

POLI 360 Comparative Political Analysis

POLI 470 Politics of Human Rights

POLI 471 Globalization and Transitional Justice

E) GES 330 Geography of Economic Development

GES 436 Global Environmental Change

HAPP 380 Global Issues of Health and Disease

SOCY 235 Sociological Perspectives on Globalization

F) ANTH 326 American Indian Cultures

AFST 213 Africa: Culture and Development

GWST 390 Gender and Human Rights in Latin America

POLI 371 Comparative Asian Politics

POLI 373 Comparative Middle Eastern and North African Politics

MLL 306 Intercultural Communication: Issues Confronting Immigrant and Heritage Communities

SPAN 308 Latinoamérica y sus Culturas I

II. Development, Health, and the Environment prepares students to identify and analyze the challenges and opportunities posed by economic development and globalization, and the goals of improving human health and sustaining the environment. Sustainable development involves enhancing the quality of life for the human population, protecting the environment, and meeting the growing needs of people today without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their own goals. This track embraces economic, environmental, and social sustainability as well as anticipates and addresses major trends such as climate change, natural resource depletions, food scarcity, and urban expansion. Recognizing the interconnectedness of the global economy and the desire of those in developing countries to improve living standards, development that is sustainable will involve changes in the developed world as well.

Students in this track must complete GLBL 101 Introduction to Global Studies, GLBL 301 Approaches to Globalization, and four additional core courses (from the list of Global Studies core courses, above).

Students must also complete six courses from the following list of track electives. Five of the six courses must be at the 300-400 level.

AFST 212 Introduction to African History

AFST 213 Africa: Culture and Development

AFST 241 The Making of the Caribbean

AFST 312 West African History

AFST 314 Islam in Africa

AFST 320 Contemporary African Politics

AFST 323 Economic Development in Africa

AFST 368 African Religions in Africa and the Diaspora

AFST 411 American Foreign Policy and Africa

AFST 420 Comparative Slavery: Africa and the New World

AFST 430 Health Care in Africa

AFST 439 Women in Africa and the Diaspora

AMST 464 Immigration Nation: Examining Narratives of Immigration to the U.S.

ANTH 311 Urban Anthropology

ANTH 312 Medical Anthropology

ANTH 318 Anthropology of Science and Technology

ANTH 382 Global Flows in Local Worlds: The Anthropology of Globalization

ECON 280 The International Economy

ECON 311 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

ECON 312 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

ECON 382 Asian Economic History

ECON 385 Economic Development

ECON 387 Economic Development of Latin America

ECON 403 Economic Growth and Cycles

ECON 437 The Economics of Natural Resources

ECON 439 Environmental Economics

ECON 442 European Economic History

ECON 467 Health Economics

ECON 481 International Trade Theory

ECON 482 International Finance

GES 328 Environmental Policy

GES 329 Geography Disease and Health

GES 330 Geography of Economic Development

GES 363 World Regions: Contemporary International Issues

GES 428 Scientific Practice and Environmental Policy

GES 429 Seminar in Geography of Disease and Health

GES 435 Global Patterns of Production and Trade

GES 436 Global Environmental Change

GES 451 Urban Sustainability

GES 462 GIS and Human-Environment Systems

GWST 340 Women, Gender, and Globalization

HAPP 380 Global Issues in Health and Disease

HAPP 403 Introduction to International Field Research

HIST 316 Native American History from Contact to 1840

HIST 327 Latin American History

HIST 380 Women and Gender in Asia

HIST 380 Japanese History Through Film and Literature

HIST 388 Society and Culture in China

HIST 389 Islamic Culture and Society: 570-1560 CE

HIST 405: Comparative Slavery and the New World

HIST 406: The Atlantic World: The Shared History of Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans

HIST 480: Contemporary China, 1949 to the Present

MLL 218 Film and Society in Latin America

MLL 220 Film and Society in China

MLL 240 Project in Cultural Sustainability

MLL 305 Introduction to Intercultural Communication

MLL 311 Introduction to Korean Culture

MLL 315 Images of Society in Contemporary Korean Films

POLI 360 Comparative Political Analysis

POLI 373 Comparative Middle Eastern and North African Politics

POLI 377 Latin American Politics

POLI 378 Contemporary African Politics

POLI 380 International Relations Theory

POLI 460 Comparative Institutional Development

POLI 461 Comparative Legislatures

POLI 480 International Organization

POLI 482 International Law

POLI 485 Dynamics of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

POLI 486 Middle East International Relations

POLI 487 International Political Economy

POLI 488 Politics and International Relations of South Asia

SOCY 235 Sociological Perspectives on Globalization

SOCY 315 Population and Society

SOCY 380 Political Sociology

SOCY 391 Seminar on AIDS for Health and Social Service Providers and Administrators

SOCY 406 Social Inequality in Social Policy

SOCY 420 Social Epidemiology

SOCY 433 Gender, Work, and Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective

SOCY 454 Comparative Health Systems

III. International Affairs explores the interaction of sovereign states and the role of governments and non-governmental transnational actors in a rapidly globalizing international system. Course offerings in this track focus on diplomacy and diplomatic history; U.S. and comparative foreign policy; comparative studies of nations and political systems; international trade, monetary, and financial affairs; international law; human rights; international organizations; and global security issues. The track builds upon the traditional "international-relations" emphasis on states, markets, security, and political economy, while significantly broadening that focus to encompass non-state, transnational actors like multinational corporations, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, socio-political movements, individuals, and terrorist networks. The central purpose of the International Affairs track is to explore the dynamics, consequences, and implications of globalization on states and transnational actors in the 21^st century.

Students must also complete six courses from the following list of track electives. Five of the six courses must be at the 300-400 level.

AFST 212 Introduction to African History

AFST 213 Africa: Culture and Development

AFST 312 West African History

AFST 314 Islam in Africa

AFST 320 Contemporary African Politics

AFST 323 Economic Development in Africa

AFST 439 Women in Africa and the Diaspora

AMST 200 Multicultural America

AMST 352 American Culture in Global Perspective

AMST 420 Seminar in Global America

AMST 464 Immigration Nation: Examining Narratives of Immigration to the U.S.

ANTH 316 Anthropology of Religion

ANTH 318 Anthropology of Science and Technology

ANTH 382 Global Flows in Local Worlds: The Anthropology of Globalization

ECON 280 The International Economy

ECON 311 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory

ECON 312 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory

ECON 382 Asian Economic History

ECON 385 Economic Development

ECON 387 Economic Development of Latin America

ECON 403 Economic Growth and Cycles

ECON 442 European Economic History

ECON 481 International Trade Theory

ECON 482 International Finance

GES 328 Environmental Policy

GES 329 Geography of Disease and Health

GES 330 Geography of Economic Development

GES 363 World Regions: Contemporary International Issues

GES 428 Scientific Practice and Environmental Policy

GES 429 Seminar in Geography of Disease and Health

GES 435 Global Patterns of Production and Trade

GES 436 Global Environmental Change

GWST 320 International Feminist Filmmakers

GWST 340 Women, Gender, and Globalization

HAPP 380 Global Issues in Health and Disease

HAPP 403 Introduction to International Field Research Methods

HIST 303 The Second World War

HIST 304 United States and the Vietnam War

HIST 306 The First World War

HIST 327 Latin American History

HIST 348 American Intelligence

HIST 365 War in the Modern World

HIST 376 European Women’s History, 1914-Present

HIST 380 Women and Gender in Asia

HIST 385 Contemporary Japan, 1945-Present

HIST 388 Society and Culture in China

HIST 435 Twentieth-Century American Foreign Policy

HIST 459 Japan since 1800

HIST 473 Twentieth-Century Britain: The Age of Decline

HIST 480 Contemporary China, 1949 to the Present

HIST 484 German History: 1914 to the Present

HIST 486 Soviet History on Trial

HIST 488 Europe, 1914 to the Present

HIST 494 Seminar in World History

MCS 334 Media and Globalization

MLL 305 Introduction to Intercultural Communication

MLL 306 Intercultural Communication: Issues Confronting Immigrant and Heritage Communities

MLL 311 Introduction to Korean Culture

MLL 327 Modern Japanese Culture

MLL 332 Special Topics in German Culture

POLI 337 Comparative Justice

POLI 360 Comparative Political Analysis

POLI 371 Comparative Asian Politics

POLI 373 Comparative Middle Eastern and North African Politics

POLI 374 European Politics

POLI 377 Latin American Politics

POLI 378 Contemporary African Politics

POLI 380 International Relations Theory

POLI 381 International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Region

POLI 385 International Security

POLI 390 American Foreign Policy

POLI 395 National Security Policy of the United States

POLI 437 Human Rights Law

POLI 460 Comparative Institutional Development

POLI 461 Comparative Legislatures

POLI 470 Politics of Human Rights

POLI 471 Globalization and Transitional Justice

POLI 480 International Organization

POLI 482 International Law

POLI 485 Dynamics of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

POLI 486 Middle East International Relations

POLI 487 International Political Economy

POLI 488 Politics and International Relations of South Asia

SOCY 235 Sociological Perspectives on Globalization

SOCY 403 Introduction to International Field Research

SOCY 433 Gender, Work, and Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective

SOCY 454 Comparative Health Systems

For additional details about the Global Studies curriculum, please see the Global Studies webpage (globalstudies.umbc.edu). Questions? Contact:

Dr. Devin Hagerty

Director, Program in Global Studies

317 Public Policy Building

(410) 455-2185

dhagerty@umbc.edu

Dr. Brigid Starkey

Assistant Director, Program in Global Studies

312 Public Policy Building

(410) 455-2182

bstarkey@umbc.edu