PROGRAMS
GLOBAL STUDIES MAJOR - ABOUT
Global Studies was established as an interdisciplinary undergraduate major
in the College of Letters
and Science at UCSB in 1998. The major is one of the first in the nation
to offer a program of international studies with contemporary globalizing
trends as a central organizing theme, and is distinctive in its emphasis
on the transnational processes and interactions that are bringing the world
together across traditional national boundaries.
The goal of the Global Studies major is to prepare students for further
graduate study in international studies and world affairs, and give them
a solid Liberal Arts background for positions that involve decision-making
in a changing world. It seeks to instill in the student a solid knowledge
of particular cultures, while also providing training in the analysis of
global trends --- a way of thinking that will be consistent with the world
of the 21st century. Global Studies majors are encouraged to become "global
thinkers:" they learn how to relate their knowledge of a particular
part of the world to the larger trends and issues that affect all societies:
the transnational interactions of peoples, cultures, economies, and polities;
the globalizing processes of the communications media; technological and
environmental changes; the search for world order, law and human rights;
and the sometimes violent political, ethnic and religious responses to
what is perceived as cultural and economic homogenization on a global scale.
The major allows the student to choose one of two emphases: Global Culture
and Ideology, or Global Socio-economic and Political Processes. The first
emphasis involves courses largely taught in departments in the Humanities,
and the other emphasis courses largely taught in the Social Sciences.
Two lower division courses have been created as introductory, gateway courses;
and eight other courses have been created as the core global studies courses
for the two emphases. Students must also choose one area of the world for
which they must take four courses -- cultural "areas" such as
East Asian studies, South Asian studies, European studies, and the like.
In addition to offering its own courses, the major utilizes courses offered
in twenty-two other departments.
The Global Studies Major is supervised by an interdisciplinary faculty
advisory committee. The major has experienced extraordinary growth
in just a few years with over 700 current majors.
For more information about this program, contact:
Giles Gunn
Chair
Global & International Studies
English
Tel: (805) 893-4299
Email: ggunn@global.ucsb.edu
Jodi Cutler
Undergraduate Advisor
Global & International Studies
Tel: (805) 893-7860
Email: cutler@global.ucsb.edu