Global Studies program concludes exciting first year
April 2016 saw the launch of a new global stuudies program, housed in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures and directed by Dr. Laura Kline.
Global studies is an interdisciplinary program that is overseen by and includes course offerings from numerous WSU programs, including African American studies, anthropology, cmllc, communication, criminal justice, economics, English, gender, sexuality and women's studies, peace and conflict studies, history, international programs, law, medicine, philosophy, political science, public health, sociology. Global Studies is one of the fastest-growing majors at Wayne. In less than a year, it counts over 30 majors and nearly 20 minors."
The Global Studies program offers three "core" courses: GLS 2700: Cultures and Identities, GLS 2800: Issues and Institutions, and GLS 3700: Globalization. Students taking these courses have a number of exciting opportunities, such as Skype conferences with representatives of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, visits from Zero Waste Detroit to discuss how local environmental issues are part of the global environment and the staging of model UNs. Majors can do internships with a wide variety of organizations, including Global Detroit, Global Ties Detroit, The Red Cross's International Services Office, and Zaman International, or study abroad in a wide variety of countries, from China to Mexico, to Russia. More information about the requirements for the Global Studies degrees is available here (http://www.clas.wayne.edu/languages/global-studies).
Outside of classes, Global Studies students were invited to attend weekly Global Studies Hangouts. This past year, these included visits with Andrew Mann of the Department of State on applying for jobs, Prof. Jennifer Hart (WSU, History) on Ghana's 60th anniversary, attorney Robert Chiaravalli on career planning, Prof. Patricia K. McCormick (WSU, Communication) on the world's dependency on satellites and infrastructure in space, and Dr. Saeed Khan (WSU, Near East Studies) on his visits with the Pope and non-traditional career paths. Global Studies also hosted a number of events for both Global Studies students and the university as a whole, including a symposium on "Energy: Issues, Innovations, Implications," devoted to an interdisciplinary and global approach to energy issues, "#RefugeesWelcome?", a speak-out on the refugee crisis, and meet-and-greets with young entrepreneurs from Central and South America and Japanese students from the Kakehashi Project.
As the program continues to grow, exciting plans are in the works for next year. These include webinars, one-credit classes on cutting-edge topics such as global medicine and Brexit, which will be taught over the course of a single weekend, and the creation of a Global Studies student club.
If you're interested in the global studies program or woulld like to be added to our mailing list, contact program director Dr. Laura Kline or our advisor Chris Clark (chris.clark@wayne.edu). Watch our Facebook page for upcoming events, job and internship announcements and more.