Global Studies
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Department Information
Global Studies
Jennifer Pribble, Coordinator (Political Science)
Global Studies is a rigorous but flexible interdisciplinary major with a cross-cultural emphasis. The major offers the opportunity to take courses across departments and schools at the University of Richmond and requires at least a semester of study abroad. Students majoring in Global Studies select one of four concentrations, each coordinated by advisors with special expertise in the areas.
All students majoring in Global Studies take the gateway course, : Introduction to Global Studies, usually in the freshman or sophomore year; and at least one of two other introductory courses, Planet Earth: People and Place or , Introduction to Comparative Politics. At least two advanced courses in a second language are also required, beyond the concentration. During the final year, after study abroad, all GS majors complete a topical capstone Senior Seminar, , during which they will research and write an original scholarly paper. Successful completion of is a prerequisite for .
Students work with faculty advisors to choose additional electives, including courses taken abroad, within each concentration. Course selections should comprise an interdisciplinary mix of courses from anthropology, art history, classics, communications, economics, environmental studies, geography, history, law, leadership, literature, music, political science, religion, sociology, theater, and women's studies. Within each concentration, eight units must be selected from three or more departments with no more than three units from a single department. While studying abroad students are encouraged to work with faculty advisors to identify courses not listed in the Richmond catalog that complement their academic program.
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Major
The Global Studies Major
Note: The grade point average of the coursework comprising the major must be no less than 2.00 with no course grade less than C- (1.7).
13 units, including:
A. Foundational Study in Language and Culture
Students specializing in Global Studies should be competent in at least two languages. For students whose secondary education was in English this requirement can be met by completing two courses taught in a language other than English at the 300 or 400 level in the departments of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures or Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies. Students whose secondary education was not in English may satisfy the requirement with two units of world literature at the 300 or 400 level in any language (beyond the concetration).
B. Approved Experience Abroad
All Global Studies students should experience significant cultural immersion via a study abroad program of at least one semester in length, related to the major concentration. Students requesting an exception to this requirement (usually two summers) may submit a written petition to the program coordinator for review by a committee of Global Studies faculty.
C. Global Studies Foundational Coursework and Capstone
One unit, chosen from:
Introduction to Comparative Politics/ Planet Earth: People and PlaceTwo courses required of all majors:
Introduction to Global Studies
Senior SeminarD. Global Studies Concentration
Eight units selected from three or more departments with no more than three units from a single department
Students are expected to fulfill all prerequisites necessary for courses within the major. Prerequisites do not count toward the major unless otherwise noted.
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Cultures & Communication
Global Studies: Cultures and Communication
Advisors: Tim Barney (Rhetoric and Communication Studies), Yvonne Howell, (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures), Tze Loo (History), Yucel Yanikdag (History)The concentration consists of eight units in at least three different departments or disciplines, selected in consultation with an advisor, structured as follows:
Skills and Applied Courses
Analytic and applied understandings of intercultural communications. Two courses, chosen from:
Field Methods in Ethnography
Museum Studies
Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics
Literary Translation
News Media and Society
Introductory Linguistics
Cross-Cultural Management
Rhetoric in a Globalized World
Complex Problems
Explore challenges and stakes of efforts to communicate across borders, cultures, assumptions, and beliefs. Two courses, chosen from:
Sexuality and Gender Across Cultures
Tourism and Anthropology
ST: Tech, Surveillence and The Media
Economics of the European Union
The Global Impact of Climate Change
Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and After
Human Rights and Revolution in the Atlantic World (1750-1850)
Early Islamic World
Brexit: A History
Food and Power in Africa and Asia
Literature and Social Change in Eastern Europe
Representing the Holocaust
Insiders and Outsiders: Arabic Encounters with the West
Politics of Cultural Pluralism
SOC 308 Sociology of War
Human Rights and Revolution in the Atlantic World (1750-1850)
Area Studies & Contexts
Investigate cultural specificity. Two units chosen from regional courses:
Additional Concentration Electives
Two additional courses, chosen from those above.
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Development & Change
Global Studies: Development and Change
Advisors: Mary Finley-Brook (Geography and Environmental Studies), Manuella Meyer (History), David Salisbury (Geography), Jonathan Wight (Economics)
Note: Within the concentration, the eight units must be selected from three or more departments with no more than three units from a single department.
Eight units, including:
Economic Development in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Developmental Courses
At least three core unit courses, one from each of the following groups:
Group 1: Geographies
Power, Space and Territory: Geographies of Political Change
/ Global Sustainability: Society, Economy, Nature
Geographies of Economic Development and Globalization
Group 2: Politics and Policies
Economic Policy
International Environmental Law
Politics of Developing Nations
Globalization
International Political Economy
International Development Policy
Group 3: Human Experience
Medicine and Health from a Global/Anthropological Perspective
Biopolitics in Medical Anthropology
Anthropology of Human Rights
Food and Power in Africa and Asia
Area Studies Courses
Three elective units covering at least two different 'developing' regions, selected from the regional courses or comparable courses of study abroad.
Development Related Courses
Possible additional electives from courses listed above, selected topics, courses studied abroad, internships, independent study, or the following courses:
Sexuality and Gender Across Culture
Biopolitics in Medical Anthropology
Anthropology of Human Rights
Introduction to Global Economics
/ Environmental Economics
International Trade: Causes, Consequences, and Controversies
International Macroeconomics
/ Ecotourism
Transnational Social Reform
Global Governance
Social Change in a Global Perspective
Feast and Famine: Inequalities in the Global Food System
All students concentrating in Development are encouraged, but not required, to conduct independent research, in consultation with their GS faculty advisor. Summer research may be eligible for University funding.
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Economics
Global Studies: International Economics
Advisor: Jonathan B. Wight (Economics)
Core Teaching Faculty: Maia Kersti Linask (Economics), Jonathan B. Wight (Economics)
Students are strongly encouraged to develop proficiency in economics with either a minor or double major (see Economics department listings for requirements).
Note: Within the concentration, the eight units selected from three or more departments.
Eight units, including:
Three units, chosen from:
The Economics of the European Union
Economic Development in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
International Monetary Economics
International Trade: Causes, Consequences, and Controversies
International Macroeconomics
Global Power, Politics, and Culture
Two units from two different departments, chosen from:
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
/ Global Sustainability: Society, Economy, Nature
Russian Empire, Soviet Union and After
International Business Environment
Cross-cultural Management
International Marketing
International Political Economy
Feast and Famine: Inequalities in the Global Food System
History, Culture, Societies, Politics, and Religions of Regions or Nations in the World System
Two units, chosen from:
Biopolitics in Medical Anthropology
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
Latin America: An Ethnographic Perspective
The Economics of the European Union
Economic Development in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
International Monetary Economics
International Trade: Causes, Consequences, and Controversies
International Macroeconomics
International Financial Management
Geographic Dimensions of Global Development
Power, Space, and Territory: Geographies of Political Change
Geographies of the Amazonia
Geographies of Economic Development and Globalization
The French Revolution
Modern Germany
Propaganda State
Russia in Revolution, 1905-1934
Modern East Asia 1600-1960
Chinese Revolutions
Modern China: 1900-1940
Meiji Japan: An Emperor and the World Named for Him
Modern Latin America
The Making of Modern Brazil
The Modern Middle East
The Ottoman Empire
Africa in the Twentieth Century
Britain and the World
Communism
History and Memory: WWII in East Asia
Food and Power in Africa and Asia
International Business Environment
International Business Issues and Topics
International Business Strategy
Contemporary Continental Philosophy
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Modern Political Theory
Humanitarian Intervention
Politics of Asia
Europe Today
Politics of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
Politics of Cultural Pluralism
Politics of Developing Nations
Politics of Africa
Politics of Latin America and the Caribbean
American Foreign Policy
Globalization
International Relations of the Middle East
International Relations of East Asia
Global Governance
International Development Policy
Across the Pond: Europe vs. USA
Postsocialism in Russian and Eastern Europe
One additional unit chosen from courses above.
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Politics and Governance
Global Studies: Politics and Governance
Advisors: David Brandenberger (History), Stephen Long (Political Science), Jennifer Pribble (Political Science), Carol Summers (History)
The concentration is comprised of eight units selected from at least three departments and in the following categories
Diplomacy and World Order
Two units, chosen from:
Anthropology of Human Rights
International Environmental Law
Power, Space, and Territory: Geographies of Political Change
United States and the World Since 1945
Cold War Europe, 1945-1991
British Empire and the World
History and Memory: WWII in East Asia
Intro to International Relations
American Foreign Policy
International Security
Global Governance
Media and War
Economic Integration or Interdependence
Two units, chosen from:
Introduction to Global Economics
The Economics of the European Union
Economic Development in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
/ Environmental Economics
International Trade and Finance
Food and Power in Africa and Asia
/ Global Sustainability: Society, Economy and Nature
Geographies of Economic Development and Globalization
Globalization
Social Change in a Global Perspective
Feast and Famine: Inequalities in the Global Food System
World Regions
Two units focused on the same world region selected from regional courses or study abroad.
Additional Concentration Electives
Two units chosen from the areas above.
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Regional Courses
Regional Studies Courses
Africa
African LiteratureLiteratures of AfricaIntroduction to Magrhebian Literature and CultureAfrica c. 1500-1900Africa in the Twentieth CenturyFood and Power in Africa and AsiaPolitics of AfricaAsia
Art and Asia
Art and Culture of JapanAsian Art
ARTH 383 East Asian Painting, Poetry and CalligraphyENGL 214 Literature of IndiaModern East Asia 1600-1960Modern China 1900-1940History and Memory: WWII in AsiaFood and Power in Africa and AsiaChinese Culture and CivilizationAction Genre in East Asian CinemaRevolution and Modernity in Chinese LiteratureChinese CinemaIndonesian Theatre and MusicPolitics of AsiaPolitics of China, Hong Kong, and TaiwanHealing and Medicine in China
Sacred Arts of IndiaChinese Healing ArtsBuddhism in India and TibetSelected Asian ReligionsBuddhist PhilosophyST: Rhetorics in South AsiaLatin America
Indigenous Peoples of the AmericasLatin America: An Ethnographic PerspectiveENGL 238 Readings in Caribbean Literature*Literatures of the Caribbean*/ Geographies of Amazonia
Colonial Latin AmericaModern Latin AmericaThe Making of Modern BrazilGender & Sexuality in Latin American HistoryIntroduction to Latin American StudiesLuso-Brazilian Studies: A Global PerspectivePolitics of Latin America and the CaribbeanThe Middle East
Sex and Gender in the Middle EastIntroduction to Magrhebian Literature and Culture
Early Islamic WorldThe Modern Middle EastContending Visions of the Middle EastPolitics and Social Movements in Modern Middle Eastern LiteraturesInsiders and Outsiders: Arabic Encounters with the WestIslam, Nationalism, and the West: Modern Thought in the Arab WorldST: Modern TurkeyInternational Relations of the Middle EastIntroduction to IslamThe History of Israel
Ninety-nine Names of GodSaints and Sinners in Muslim LiteratureSufism: Introduction to Islamic MysticismEastern Europe and Eurasia
Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and AfterPropaganda StateRussia in Revolution, 1905-1934Cold War Europe, 1945-1991CommunismLiterature and Social Change in Eastern EuropeIntroduction to 19th-Century Russian LiteratureIntroduction to 20th-Century and Contemporary Russian
Russian and East European FilmBolsheviks, Bombs and Ballet: Soviet Culture and CivilizationPostsocialism in Russia and Eastern EuropeWestern Europe
The Economics of the European UnionTwentieth-Century British and Irish LiteratureFrench Film
Culture Wars & Identity Debates in German Society from Empire to EUModern GermanyEuropean Diplomacy from Bismarck to HitlerCold War Europe, 1945-1991Brexit: A History
Italian Culture and SocietyItalian Identities: Sicily, Veneto, and TuscanySpanish in Politics and SocietyPerspectives on People and Cultures of SpainVisions of Contemporary SpainSpanish CinemaTwentieth-Century Continental PhilosophyEurope Today
Courses
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GS 210 Planet Earth: People and Place
Units: 1
DescriptionIntroduction to our earth as home to people and place through geographic approaches that analyze cultural, societal, economic, political, and environmental change. Topics include: human dimensions of climate change; sustainability; spatial analysis techniques and theories; population distributions and migration; cultural geographies; global economic development and its distribution; urbanization; political geography; and human-environment relations. (Same as Geography 210.)
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GS 250 Selected Topics
Units: 1
DescriptionTopics and issues in international studies. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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GS 290 Introduction to Global Studies
Units: 1
DescriptionIntroduces methods and questions of the international studies field through regionally diverse case studies and analyses. Topics may include identity, culture, geopolitics, war, environment, health, media, migration, and inequality.
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GS 350 Selected Topics
Units: 1
DescriptionSelected topics in related subjects as arranged by the program coordinator. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
PrerequisitesPermission of department.
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GS 388 Internship
Units: .5-1
DescriptionMay be taken for a grade or pass/fail. Up to one unit may be applied towards the major, only when a grade is awarded. No more than 1.5 units of internship in any one department and 3.5 units of internship overall may be counted toward required degree units.
PrerequisitesGlobal Studies 290 and permission of department.
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GS 390 Independent Study
Units: .25-1
DescriptionTopics independently pursued under supervision of faculty member.
PrerequisitesPermission of department.
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GS 400 Senior Seminar
Units: 1
DescriptionFollow up on core concepts and approaches introduced in International Studies 290; sets of international issues and relationships are studied using tools and approaches of several disciplines. Seminar topics change from semester to semester. While readings are common, student's area of individual inquiry is, where possible, related to the concentration.
PrerequisitesGlobal Studies 290.
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GS 406 Summer Undergraduate Research
Units: 0
DescriptionDocumentation of the work of students who receive summer fellowships to conduct research [or produce a creative arts project] in the summer. The work must take place over a minimum of 8 weeks, the student must engage in the project full-time (at least 40 hours per week) during this period, and the student must be the recipient of a fellowship through the university. Graded S/U.
PrerequisitesApproval for summer Arts and Sciences fellowship by faculty mentor