The Global Studies Minor

I recently received a few Formspring questions about my experience with the Global Studies (GL) minor so this post will be dedicated to answering those. The reason I chose to minor in Global Studies is because it combines my interests in languages, linguistics, anthropology and politics while exposing me to disciplines that I hadn't explored before like economics and geography. It's also a good way to keep up with current events since examples of ongoing issues are taken from the news in every class. 


"How do you like it?"
I really appreciate the flexibility of the Global Studies minor in being able to essentially shape the minor around your regional or thematic interest. The only required courses are Foundations of Global Studies and Global Studies Senior Seminar so students are given a lot of freedom to pursue their interests in terms of choosing what language to learn, what type of study abroad experience they want as well as which regionally focused course to take. 


"How are the professors?"

So far, I've only experienced having Katherine Kirby as a GL instructor for Foundations of Global Studies. She's originally a Philosophy professor so sometimes she will link the material with a philosopher's theory which is pretty interesting and because there is no real ideal 'global studies' professor, she acknowledges that she's not an expert in certain fields like economics or geography and will actually bring in guest speakers to elaborate on these topics. A few weeks ago, Joanne Scott, who is a professor in the Business department gave us a presentation on stocks and the global economy, which allowed us to make more sense of our assigned readings. A couple other professors I've encountered are Tara Natarajan in the economics department who I met at the 'Faith and Food' panel discussion and Kimberly Sultze who is my first year seminar professor and academic advisor. I can honestly say that these professors truly care about their students and their work - I've continued discussions with all of these professors outside of class, especially Prof Sultze who I visit during office hours at least twice a month. So from my experience, they're very accessible and will give you copious notes on how to improve on your assignments. Finally, your greatest ally during your study abroad application process and re-integration experience is Peggy Imai. I've had three appointments with her and she's really knowledgable about the different types of programs available as well as what types of students they might appeal to. 

"How are the classes?"
I think how the classes are depends on which departments you choose to study with, but the two required GL courses are discussion-based. 


"What is interesting about it?"
This minor is what you make it, so what's interesting about it is what's interesting to you.