Requirements

Requirements:

Gettysburg College's Globalization Studies major is both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary in nature.  The four sets of course requirements for the twelve-credit major consist of the following:

I.  Core requirements:  The major requires three foundation courses and one methods course.  The purpose of these courses is to provide a common core of knowledge for all students as well as a basic set of skills and tools with which they can analyze global issues from the perspective of cultures, states, non-state actors, and systems. 

Foundation courses:

• Introduction to International Relations or Introduction to Comparative Politics - POL 103 or POL 104
• Principles of Economics - ECON 101
• Introduction to Cultural Anthropology - ANTH 103
• Twentieth Century World - HIST 110

Methods course:
Students will take one course from among the discipline-based methods courses currently offered on campus.  Students should take the methods course that best fits with the thematic track they choose for the Globalization Studies major.  The methods courses students may choose from include:

• ANTH 323 - Field Methods in Social Research
• ECON 241 - Introductory Economics and Business Statistics
• ES 230 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems or ES 196 - Environmental Science and Society 
• HIST 300 - Historical Method
• POL 215 - Political Science Research Methods
• SOC 302 - Research Methods
• VAS 120 - Theory of the Visual Arts

In addition to the Foundation courses, all students will take courses in the following two tracks, with up to three courses being taken off campus, but not all from the same track:

II. Regional and comparative track:  The major requires three courses with a regional and comparative focus.  The purpose of these courses is to ground students in the realities of a geographic region outside the United States.  Students can choose to take courses that examine independently and comparatively the history, politics, economics, cultures, literatures, and fine arts of one of the following regions - Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.  One of the three courses should focus on some historical aspect of the region in question and one course on some aspect of society and culture in the region.  These courses must be taken at the 200 level and above, with at least one course at the 300 level or higher.  Finally, students should complete the College's foreign language requirement in a language appropriate to the region on which they have chosen to focus.

Examples of regional and comparative tracks Gettysburg College can support through currently offered courses (the courses listed below are examples; students choose their own courses for the tracks listed below):

Africa
AAS 233 - Southern Africa: History, Conflict, and Change
ANTH 239 - Peoples and Cultures of Africa
HIST 373 History of Sub-Saharan Africa in the Twentieth Century

East Asia
VAS 234 - Arts of China
HIST 224 - Modern Japan
REL 352 - The Tao of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Europe
VAS 210 - Twentieth-Century European Painting
HIST 319 - Europe since 1945
POL 414 - Europe in Transition

Latin America
LAS/HIST 361 - Mexican Revolution
LAS/ECON 214 - Latin American Economic History and Development
LAS/POL 275 - Latin American Politics

III.  Thematic track:  The major requires three courses with a thematic focus.  The purpose of these courses is for students to gain in-depth knowledge of some substantive area of globalization studies that combines different disciplines. The courses that make up the thematic track must draw from at least two disciplines. As part of the process of declaring the Globalization Studies major, students will be asked to provide a rationale for their choice of thematic track. The courses for the thematic track must be taken at the 200 level and above, with at least one course at the 300 level or higher. 

Examples of thematic tracks Gettysburg College can support through currently offered courses (the courses listed below are examples; students choose their own thematic track and courses):

Global Gender Equity
PHIL 218 - Gender and Identity
ANTH 228 - Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Gender and Sex Roles
POL 412 - Women and the Political Economy of Development

Justice in a Global Context
PHIL 222 - Philosophical Perspectives on Justice
POL 267 - Settlers and Indigenous Peoples
REL 320 - Religion and Colonialism

The Arts in a Global Society
VAS 234 - Arts of China
THA 330 - World Theatre
IDS 375 - Comparative National Cinema

The Environment in a Global Society
ANTH 223 - Indigenous Peoples, the Environment, and the Global Economy
ES 212 - Environmental Science and Society
ECON 341 - Environmental Economics

International Development
WS 230 - Women and Development
ECON 250 - Economic Development
POL 363 - Politics of Developing Areas

Science and Technology in a Global Society
IDS 255 - Science, Technology, and Nuclear Weapons
ES 240 - Energy: Production, Use, and Environmental Impact
REL 331 - Religion and Technology

Global Conflict
IDS 223 - Literature of Anger and Hope
HIST 318 - Europe and the Two World Wars
POL 303B - Political Economy of Armed Conflict

Democracy and Human Rights
PHIL 224 - Philosophy and Human Rights
IDS 260 - The Holocaust and the Third Reich
POL 415 - Contemporary Democracies

IV. Capstone/senior seminar:  Students will take an interdisciplinary seminar, during their senior year, offered by faculty teaching in the Globalization Studies program.  The topic of the seminar will vary depending on the faculty teaching it; all seminars will require students to conduct research on some challenge currently facing the global system.  When financially possible, the seminar will involve travel abroad by the course (most likely during the two weeks in January prior to the beginning of the seminar or during the Spring break).

Students who declare a major in addition to the Globalization Studies major may count up to three courses from their other major toward the requirements for the Globalization Studies major.

Procedures for declaring a major