The
University of California at Santa Barbara houses one of the country’s
oldest global studies programs—it stretches all the way back to the
20th century. And it is one of the most innovative.
Founded
in 1995, the global and international studies program at UC-Santa Barbara
became the incubator of academic and research units that relate to the
world’s
rapidly changing global society. In 1999, it launched one of the country’s
first global studies B.A. degree programs. To the surprise of the small group
of faculty who were on volunteer loan from other departments in the social
sciences and humanities, the global studies major quickly gained popularity.
Within a few years the number of majors had peaked to over 800, making it one
of the largest on campus. When the global majors were polled, they gave it
the campus’s highest satisfactory rating.
Graduate
programs soon followed. In 2003 a PhD emphasis in global studies was established.
Coordinated by the global and international studies program, it was supported
by six departments—anthropology, political science, sociology, history,
religious studies, and English. Doctoral students in those departments
take interdisciplinary seminars in global studies and receive what amounts
to a graduate-level minor. On graduation their diplomas state that they
have a PhD in sociology (or one of the other five participating disciplines)
with an emphasis in global studies. The departments of economics and geography
may soon join the consortium.
In 2006,
a new MA in global and international studies was launched. The two year
program provides an academic background for students preparing for leadership
in international agencies, especially international non-governmental organizations
(NGOs). Funds
to help create the program and a new research and programmatic center were
provided by Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko’s international chain
of copy centers. The Orfalea Center supports the new MA program and provides
an intellectual focus for global and international activities throughout
the campus. Four new endowed chairs in global studies will be added to
the campus in 2008, to be placed in several departments, including the
global and international studies program.
At the heart of the UC-Santa Barbara programs are several features:
- a commitment to creating global citizens. This means providing information and intellectual resources that will allow students to critically examine the complex forces that are shaping the contemporary world.
- a focus on global civil society. Though the program examines organizations and trends, it emphasizes the agency of individuals and groups in affecting social change and helping to determine the course of global social, political, economic, cultural and environmental forces.
- an
approach that is interdisciplinary. The undergraduate curriculum
is balanced between courses in the social sciences and the humanities.
One of the two introductory courses examines the history and culture
of globalization; the other focuses on socio-economic patterns and
processes.
- an
emphasis on real-world experience. Undergraduates in the
global studies major are expected to study abroad at some point
in their career; many combine their international experience
with required language training. MA students have a six-month
internship abroad built into their academic program. Guest lectures
from government, business, journalism and social service agencies
lecture in classes and give seminars.
The aim
of these programs and activities is to create an approach to global studies
that interacts with a wide range of disciplines and fields. The hope is
that the students in the program will gain a critical awareness of the
complex features of the contemporary world and be able to become more effective
global citizens in the world’s emerging cosmopolitan society.
Mark Juergensmeyer is a professor of sociology and global studies and director of the UC-Santa Barbara’s Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies. Giles Gunn is chair of the Global & International Studies Program at UCSB and Rich Appelbaum is director of the MA in Global & International Studies.