Class Schedules

One of the most significant trends of the current era has been globalization: the shrinking of distances, the greater interpenetration of the world's peoples, and the rise, perhaps, of a so-called global culture. Yet it is too simple to say, "it's all a big mix," for the questions of how the mixing is done, and who mixes, are complex. The study of literature illuminates these questions. By reading important recent texts, this course tackles "world" questions: what does it mean to be from a certain place? what is a culture? and who are we in it? We'll work to link our own personal readings with the texts in dialogue with the world. Texts will be drawn from U.S. multicultural, "world," and travel literature, and rich theoretical readings. Open to first- and second-year students, or permission of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): Open only to First Year students and rising sophomores.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

One of the most significant trends of the current era has been globalization: the shrinking of distances, the greater interpenetration of the world's peoples, and the rise, perhaps, of a so-called global culture. Yet it is too simple to say, "it's all a big mix," for the questions of how the mixing is done, and who mixes, are complex. The study of literature illuminates these questions. By reading important recent texts, this course tackles "world" questions: what does it mean to be from a certain place? what is a culture? and who are we in it? We'll work to link our own personal readings with the texts in dialogue with the world. Texts will be drawn from U.S. multicultural, "world," and travel literature, and rich theoretical readings. Open to first- and second-year students, or permission of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): Open only to First Year students and rising sophomores.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

One of the most significant trends of the current era has been globalization: the shrinking of distances, the greater interpenetration of the world's peoples, and the rise, perhaps, of a so-called global culture. Yet it is too simple to say, "it's all a big mix," for the questions of how the mixing is done, and who mixes, are complex. The study of literature illuminates these questions. By reading important recent texts, this course tackles "world" questions: what does it mean to be from a certain place? what is a culture? and who are we in it? We'll work to link our own personal readings with the texts in dialogue with the world. Texts will be drawn from U.S. multicultural, "world," and travel literature, and rich theoretical readings. Open to first- and second-year students, or permission of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): Open only to First Year students and rising sophomores.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Global media collectively have tremendous influence in how many see and comprehend the world and therefore on the information and beliefs upon which they feel or act. While media are central to the continued production of a sense of "the world" at large or the "global" scale, media industries are situated geographically, culturally and institutionally. Even if they promise worldwide coverage or are multinational companies, there is much to be gained from studying how media are produced and distributed differently according to specific social, political, economic and historical conditions. This course considers media industries around the world with a focus on the relationships between the labor and infrastructures behind representations in a broad range of media (television, radio, cinema, news, telecommunications, internet).

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This class will examine food distribution, production, policy, and hunger issues from an economics perspective.  It explores and compares food and agriculture issues in both industrialized and developing countries. Basic economic tools will be applied to provide an analytical understanding of these issues.  Topics such as hunger and nutrition, US farm policy, food distribution, food security, food aid, biotechnology and the Green Revolution, the connection between food production and health outcomes, as well as others related themes will be explored in depth throughout the semester.  This course counts as a Group E elective for the Economics major. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119 or ECON 129. C- or higher required for Economics major prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The USSR's 1991 dissolution ended one of history's great experiments. Socialism sought to dissolve ethnicity and overcome ethnic conflict with a focus on equality. Instead it exacerbated nationalism and created-separated identities. But how? Topics include ethno-creation, control, and resistance; ethnic animosities and the USSR's destruction; new states after 1991; "diaspora" populations beyond ethnic homelands; local rebellions; new "native" dictatorships; and recent international organizations.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course introduces and explores the major health problems facing developing countries, and the main approaches to remediation. The course considers the social determinants of health, and the need for public health programs to address the root causes of health inequities as well as illness itself. Focus is at the country, international-organization, and donor levels. Attention will be given to major indicators, recent trends, policies, and metrics for monitoring progress. A case study, such as international tuberculosis control, will be used as an applied analysis.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to the history, politics, and aesthetics of Middle Eastern cinema. Over the course of the semester, we will examine the development of both local and regional cinematic traditions; the role of cinema in the production of collective memory of conflict and war; the international circulation of film as a form of soft power; and, not least, the profound discursive power of cinematic humor. Readings will offer an introduction to methods of film analysis as well as to the political and artistic history of the modern Middle East.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

CBPR, and related-Participatory Action & Community-Engaged Research, is defined as a "collaborative approach that equitably involves all partners in research…with the aim of combining knowledge and action for social change to improve health and eliminate health disparities” (Kellogg Foundation). Not simply a set of research methods, CBPR fundamentally changes the relationship between researchers and those being researched. In this introductory course, learners will be immersed in the study and application of CBPR with the ultimate aim of adding to their repertoire of effective approaches to understanding and addressing social and health disparities. Topics in the course will explore the purpose and applications of CBPR; partnership formation and maintenance; issues of power, trust, race, class, and social justice; conflict resolution; ethical issues; CBPR's relationship to cultural knowledge systems, and funding CBPR projects. Working in small groups, learners will identify a small-scale CBPAR project on campus and develop a research proposal to address the health disparity they identify with their on campus partners. This is NOT a methodology course. CBPR is an approach to conducting research that is amenable to a variety of research designs and methodologies and will NOT cover topics such as survey design, quantitative methods, qualitative methods, focus groups, community needs assessment procedures, etc.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

In this course, learners will be immersed in the study of health justice, the social and structural determinants of health, and the principles of global health delivery as it relates to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Learners will be introduced to and explore major health problems facing BIPOC and low-income communities both locally in the Twin Cities and globally and examine how and why systemic racism and other forms of oppression are contributing to a disproportionate COVID-19 infection and case mortality rate in BIPOC communities and low income communities. The course considers the social, structural, and political determinants of health and the need for public health programs to address the root causes of health inequities as well as poor health itself. Attention will be given to major indicators, recent trends, policies, and metrics for monitoring progress. Learners will participate in several workshops throughout the semester to develop their skills as future public health professionals and leaders. The Covid-19 case study will be used as an applied analysis throughout the semester.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

In the early days of the internet, many people predicted that the increased speed and scale of communications would make for a more homogenous world. Now, decades later, we see something different: a proliferation of cross-fertilizing cultures, sub-cultures, and counter-cultures online. This course explores some of this rich variety, studying online social worlds (from influencers to hacktivists) and the ways in which IT-informed ways of being seep into social life offline (from ideologies of innovation to algorithmic oppression). Critically deploying the concept of culture and the tools of ethnography to understand these emergent formations, this course will pay particular attention to difference and power while situating “the digital” in international context.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Traces the evolution of (global) political economy as a peculiarly modern way of understanding and organizing (global) social life. Particular attention will be paid to how the distinction between the political and the economic is drawn and implemented in interconnected ways within nation-states and in international society. Course includes a detailed study of one of the key components of the international political economy: international trade, international finance, technological processes, etc. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

From Italian Mafia dons to famous American philanthropists; from the knitting of "trauma teddies" in Helsinki to gift shopping in London; and from ceremonial exchange rings in Melanesia to the present day global refugee crisis: this course will investigate how generosity is understood and practiced in global perspective. We'll begin the semester by examining key debates surrounding reciprocity, gifts, and exchange, theories of altruism and generosity, and patron-client relations. We'll then explore the birth of the "humanitarian spirit," and the complicated ethics and politics of humanitarian intervention. We will compare diverse religious traditions' approaches to giving, including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Jainism. And we'll explore contemporary debates surrounding volunteerism within sectarian and neoliberal political regimes.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Can we all live by one set of rules? This course investigates the broad field of global studies by addressing fresh and age-old issues in international law from the personal to the global, including borders, sources and enforcement of international law, law of the sea, immigration and asylum, post-national federation, colonization, world order, and global citizenship. Readings include case studies, memoirs, fiction, and other texts focusing on individuals, cultures, and states. Open to first- and second-year students, or permission of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Can we all live by one set of rules? This course investigates the broad field of global studies by addressing fresh and age-old issues in international law from the personal to the global, including borders, sources and enforcement of international law, law of the sea, immigration and asylum, post-national federation, colonization, world order, and global citizenship. Readings include case studies, memoirs, fiction, and other texts focusing on individuals, cultures, and states. Open to first- and second-year students, or permission of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines the workings of economic systems from the perspective of the incentives facing the firm and consumer. The course provides an introduction to the economics of information and organization which is used to evaluate resource allocation under the specific institutional environment of different economic systems. Our understanding of the incentive system is then used to evaluate the overall economic system. The focus of the course is primarily on the U.S., Japan and the former Soviet Union/Russia. As time permits the course may examine China, Germany and Central Europe. Counts as Group E elective for the Economics major. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119 or ECON 129. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course offers a theoretical and practical introduction to the study and promotion of human rights. Using broad materials, it focuses on the evolution and definition of key concepts, the debate over "universal" rights, regional and international institutions, core documents, the role of states, and current topics of interest to the human rights movement.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines the Qur'an and hadith, and other authoritative texts that ground Islamic jurisprudence, and explores the diverse ways in which Muslims have understood and interpreted these teachings in locations across the world (i.e. Indonesia, the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and the United States) and at various points in history.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism OR U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

When communication takes place across language barriers, it raises fundamental questions about meaning, style, power relationships, and traditions. This course treats literary translation as a particularly complex form of cross-cultural interaction. Students will work on their own translations of prose or poetry while considering broader questions of translation, through critiques of existing translations, close comparisons of variant translations, and readings on cultural and theoretical aspects of literary translation. Prerequisite(s): Advanced proficiency in a second language.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

During the last three decades, a global indigenous rights movement has taken shape within the United nations and other international bodies, challenging and reformulating international law and global cultural understandings of indigenous rights. The recognition of indigenous peoples' rights in international law invokes the tensions between sovereignty and human rights, but also challenges the dominant international understandings of both principles. In this course, we examine indigenous peoples' movements by placing them in a global context and sociologically informed theoretical framework. By beginning with a set of influential theoretical statements from social science, we will then use indigenous peoples' movements as case studies to examine the extent to which these theoretical perspectives explain and are challenged by case studies. We will then analyze various aspects of indigenous peoples' movements and the extent to which these aspects of the movement are shaped by global processes.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

From notions of the "pure self" to teenage ganguro ("face-blackening"), Japanese culture is rife with instances of ideology and performance that reflect a deep complexity in its engagement with issues of identity and foreignness. This course traces the roots of this complexity back to Japan's beginnings as a modern nation and examines its cultural development into the present day. Works of fiction will be paired with readings in history and criticism to explore the meanings of identity, race, and ethnicity as they are expressed and contested in Japanese culture. The course will cover the literature of Korea and Taiwan, the experience of domestic minorities, and the contemporary cultures of cos-play ("costume-play") and hip-hop. No prior knowledge of Japanese required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Food has been a global issue for over half a millennium. The intercontinental movement of potatoes, sugar, rice, tobacco and more has shaped populations, economies, empires, and environments, while food today inflects the worldwide experience of nationality, ethnicity, religion, health, gender, race, class, culture, rights, and indeed life. Thus this course explores global food from many disciplinary, geographical, and thematic perspectives. We will also interact with local food institutions, address in a limited way our own food practices, and cook and eat a bit too.Al

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course considers surveillance as a social formation, inseparable from the theory and exercise of power. On the one hand, it takes up the pressing questions surveillance raises, from the development of cutting-edge technologies to the complex work of international regulation. On the other hand, it situates surveillance historically as central to projects of imperial conquest, state formation, and colonial rule. Engaging with theoretical works, primary sources, empirical studies and artistic renderings, students will grapple with problems of surveillance and power across contexts while developing a multi-modal research project.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Infrastructure is infamously boring – as sociologist Susan Leigh Star once put it, infrastructure is “the forgotten, the backgrounded, the frozen in place.” But as events of recent years have demonstrated – from the pipeline protests at Standing Rock, to Russian hacks on U.S. power grids, to concerns over Chinese construction in Africa – infrastructure is a political project of vital importance. Infrastructure is a site where hopes and dreams are invested. It is also a place where unequal influence is laid bare. In this course we will consider infrastructure’s technical politics, tracing water pipes and railway networks; interstate highways and fiber-optic lines. Through close attention to the making, maintenance, and end user experience of these systems, we will practice reading the politics built into our built environments. Students in this course will complete a portfolio project using different research methods to closely examine an infrastructure of their choice.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Conflict is a familiar component of narrative structure and a regularly applied criterion of newsworthiness for journalism. Representations of extreme forms of conflict, including warfare, are frequently found in both fiction and non-fiction. And the ways in which violent conflict is represented in the media has significant implications for conceptualizing world affairs and politics, whether it involves warfare between nations, religious conflict, civil war among ethnic or kinship groups, political conflict or terrorist activities. This class focuses on the analysis of media representations of wars and conflicts in various cultures and regions of the world (including patterns of visual representation found in photography, film, television and online) and the ways in which these representations are shaped by the structures and practices of media industry production and transnational circulation across media systems and cultures. Students will study and analyze historical patterns of representation in war reporting and news broadcasts, literature, photojournalism, fiction film and non-fiction documentary, and relate those patterns of representation to contemporary descriptions and depictions of national and international war and conflict. In the second half of the term, each class member will choose a particular case study to research, resulting in a final course project that can take several possible forms: a term paper, multimedia presentation, video, etc. The goal of the course is to deepen awareness of culturally specific, and media specific, approaches to representation, and how the manner of representing conflicts reflects particular cultural perspectives, national or regional interests, specific media practices, the economic and political motivations of institutionalized media, and historical relationships of power across nations and social groups.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

In a notable turn around, a significant number of African societies, in recent years, have experienced both economic growth and renewal of the spirit of women and men acting as citizens. These are commendable achievements. Yet, old quotidian urgencies such as precarious personal safety, hunger, poor health, and political disorder are still prevalent. This is the dialectic of development. This course explores these contradictions. Most of the attention will be given to the concepts of power, politics, and development in contemporary Africa. The course concludes with each student submitting a research paper on a specific problem (e.g. environment, economic, social, cultural, political) confronting one country of the student’s choice. No prerequisites or restrictions.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course explores the rapidly evolving field of transitional justice, examining how and why regimes respond to wide-scale past human rights abuses. Drawing on examples worldwide, it asks why states choose particular strategies and examines a variety of goals (truth, justice, reconciliation, democracy-building), approaches (trials, truth commissions, file access, memorialization, reparation, rewriting histories), actors (state, civil society, religious institutions), experiences, results, and controversies. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Globalization has helped the international community to come together with an unprecedented immediacy. It has also enabled individuals and on-state actors to assume powers and duties formerly exclusive to state. The dispersion of state prerogatives can be liberating, as when oppressed people use new communication technologies to overthrow their masters. It can also provide opportunities for criminal enterprises and other agents of disorder to act with impunity. Our senior seminar will explore the tensions between the centripedal forces that bring us together, and the centrifugal forces that tear the global community apart. The state will most often be the law. The Westphalian sovereign state has often been declared vanquished by globalization, yet it is still very much alive, and has proven creative in deriving new means to control its subjects. It must do so because those subjects have proven equally creative in resisting state control; and globalization, in both its modern and older forms, has provided those subjects with many tools of resistance. Prerequisite(s): Senior standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

For more than a century, many fine minds - St. Lucian poets, Russian linguists, Mexican mystics, German forest historians, American sociologists, Bengali novelists, and Macalester International Studies students among them - have been drawn to thinking on a world scale. This senior seminar begins by reading some of them at essay length, then tackles current world-scale books the instructor himself has not yet read. Finally we generate some world-scale writing of our own. Open to all geographies and disciplinary specialties. Corequisite(s): Senior standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Capitalism, for many, is synonymous with the "natural" exchange of goods and services through "the free market." But fuller examination shows capitalism to be neither natural, free, nor limited to economic transactions. Capitalism more precisely is a historical social system and a way of being which now penetrates all forms of life: cultural, ecological, civic and more. This senior seminar aims to identify capitalism's origins and development, and interrogate its contemporary status. Thinkers such as Smith, Marx, and Braudel will loom, but readings will focus on works by Beaud, Weber, Tawney, Kotz, Wallerstein, and others. The course concludes with a significant research paper on a topic, relevant to the theme, of a student's choice. Prerequisite(s): Senior standing or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials