Global Studies, Bachelor of Arts
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: History, Philosophy, and Theology
Student Type: Traditional Undergraduate
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Campus: Lisle Campus
The different disciplinary or methodological skills required for Global Studies are broken down into the following five Foundational Concept Areas (FCA’s). Each FCA is followed by a list of characteristic concepts and topics. All 5 FCA’s will be addressed in the Global Studies core courses, and students must take at least one elective related to each of the FCA’s.
- FCA 1 social structure & politics (class, race, gender, power, organizational & political hierarchies, law, empire, state, bureaucracy, social capital)
- FCA 2 meaning & culture (semiotics and the study of traditions, objects, &c., as culture, e.g. in relation to racial, national, & gender identity, religion)
- FCA 3 media (images, writing, print, TV & film, social media, narrative)
- FCA 4 trade & exchange (economics, political economy, capital, labor, debt, surplus value, incentives, comparative advantage, supply & demand, prices, public goods, risk & expected value, utility & fixed vs marginal costs/returns, human capital)
- FCA 5 theory & methodology (the different methodological approaches used in the social sciences, e.g. qualitative vs quantitative, precision modeling vs thick-descriptive; political theory; theories of knowledge/epistemology)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses (12 credit hours) | ||
| GBLS 1101 | Introduction to Global Studies | 3 |
| GBLS 2202 | World Systems and the Global Imaginary | 3 |
| GBLS 3302 | Theories of Global Studies | 3 |
| GBLS 4399 | Senior Thesis | 3 |
| Global History & Geography (9 credit hours) Choose three of the following: | 9 | |
| Special Topics in Global Studies | ||
| World History to 1600 | ||
| World History Since:1600 | ||
| Survey of East Asia: Ancient to 1600 | ||
| Contemporary Latin America, 1898-2000 | ||
or HIST 3313 | Contemporary Latin America, 1898-2000 | |
| The African Diaspora in Latin America, 1492-1899 | ||
or HIST 3314 | The African Diaspora in Latin America, 1492-1899 | |
| The African Diaspora in Latin America, 1899-2000 | ||
or HIST 3315 | The African Diaspora in Latin America, 1899-2000 | |
| The French Revolution in the Wider World | ||
or HIST 3355 | Modern Russia | |
| Modern Russia | ||
or HIST 3355 | Modern Russia | |
| 20th-Century Social and Political Movements in a Global Context | ||
or HIST 3357 | 20th-Century Social and Political Movements in a Global Context | |
| Women in American Society | ||
or HIST 3360 | Women in American Society | |
| Modern Middle East | ||
or HIST 3371 | Modern Middle East | |
| Classical Islamic Civilization, 1000-1700 | ||
or HIST 3373 | Empires and Cultures of Islamic World | |
| Survey of East Asia 1600-Present | ||
| Topics | ||
or HIST 2291 | Topics | |
or HIST 3391 | Topics | |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational Concept Area Electives (15 credits) | ||
| FCA 1 social structure & politics: Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Law and Politics | ||
| Introduction to International Relations | ||
| American Foreign Policy | ||
or PLSC 3313 | American Foreign Policy | |
| Genocide: The Politics of Hate, Fear, Terror and Power | ||
or PLSC 3316 | Genocide: The Politics of Hate, Fear, Terror and Power | |
| Revolutions and Political Violence | ||
or PLSC 3317 | Revolutions and Political Violence | |
| Democracy & Democratization | ||
or PLSC 3324 | Democracy & Democratization | |
| The Law: Sex and Gender Discrimination | ||
| Belonging, Inclusion and Exclusion: Political Identities and the Politicization of Identity | ||
| Racial and Ethnic Groups | ||
| Social and Cultural Change | ||
| Gender, Crime & Justice | ||
| Health Systems, Law and Policy. 2 | ||
| FCA 2 meaning & culture: Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| International Film | ||
| World Literatures | ||
| U. S. Multiethnic Literature | ||
| African-American Literature | ||
| Gender and Literature | ||
| Religions of Asia | ||
| Abrahamic Traditions | ||
| Cultural Anthropology | ||
| Themes in Arabic Literature 1 | ||
| Survey of Arabic Literature 1 | ||
| Advanced Topics in Arabic Culture 1 | ||
| Latin American Civilization and Culture 1 | ||
| Global/Postcolonial Literature and Theory 1 | ||
| Religion and Culture | ||
| Female Figures in the Qur'an 1 | ||
| Culture and Tradition in the Arab Countries 1 | ||
| Arab Political Life Through Literature and Film 1 | ||
| Studies in Chinese Culture 1 | ||
| Directed Studies in Chinese 1 | ||
| Social Determinants of Health 2 | ||
| FCA 3 media: Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Advertising Persuasion and Consumer Society | ||
| Sociology of Popular Culture | ||
| Media and Society | ||
| Global Journalism | ||
| Images of Men and Women in Advertising | ||
| Health Communications 1 | ||
| Mass Media and Democracy 1 | ||
| FCA 4 trade & exchange: Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Economics | ||
| Principles of Microeconomics | ||
| Principles of Macroeconomics | ||
| The Global Economy | ||
| Comparative Economic Systems | ||
| International Trade and Finance 1 | ||
| FCA 5 theory & methodology: Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Statistics 1 | ||
| Basic and Applied Statistics 1 | ||
| Feminist Philosophy | ||
or PHIL 3307 | Feminist Philosophy | |
| Theory of Knowledge | ||
or PHIL 3315 | Theory of Knowledge | |
| Philosophy of Religion | ||
or PHIL 3385 | Philosophy of Religion | |
| Social & Political Philosophy | ||
or PHIL 3360 | Social and Political Philosophy | |
| History and Philosophy of Science | ||
or PHIL 3390 | History and Philosophy of Science | |
| Seminar on International Theories 1 | ||
| Probability and Statistics I 1 | ||
| History of Political Thought: 17th Century to the Present 1 | ||
| Introduction to GIS for Business Analysis | ||
| Social Theory 1 | ||
| Research Methods in the Social Sciences 3 | ||
| Introduction to Biostatistics 2 | ||
| Total Hours | 39 | |
- 1
Check course prerequisites.
- 2
Limited to 9 credits at graduate level for undergraduate degree unless admitted to 4 + 1 Masters in Public Health program.
- 3
While SOCL 4351 satisfies the FCA 5 requirement, it may only be taken by students simultaneously completing a BA in Sociology
This list is not exhaustive, and students are encouraged to consider requesting permission from their academic advisor to have other relevant courses, especially “Topics” courses on global or transnational themes, counted as FCA electives.
At least 9 credit hours of the Foundational Concept Area courses and 3 credit hours of the Global History and Geography courses must be at the 3000 level or above.Of these courses, at least 3 credit hours in either category must be at the 4000 level or above.
Language requirement (0-16 hours):
Students must either complete ARBC 2202 Intermediate Arabic II , CHIN 2202 Intermediate Mandarin II, or SPAN 2202 Intermediate Spanish II, or an approved (more advanced) alternative; OR demonstrate oral and written proficiency in a language other than English at the intermediate-mid level for languages defined as Category I by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (including but not limited to Spanish) or intermediate-low level for a non-Category I language (including but not limited to Chinese and Arabic) according to the 2012 ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Students should arrange to take the relevant proficiency exam(s) during the semester PRIOR to the semester in which they plan to graduate. This ACTFL oral proficiency exam is administered online for a modest fee. After taking the test, students receive a nationally-recognized certificate of their oral Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, or other language proficiency from ACTFL. For information on the ACTFL online test should contact Dr. Rafael Iglesias for Spanish, Dr. Steven Day for Chinese, or Dr. Latifa Bounou for Arabic. Students who wish to study a language other than Arabic, Chinese, or Spanish may take coursework in other languages at North Central College or Aurora University, which have a consortium agreement with Benedictine.
Study Abroad, or alternative engaged learning experience approved by the program director:
The Study Abroad experience will typically be linked to one of the global history and geography or language courses. Benedictine has offered study abroad trips every year to locations including Spain, Vietnam, and Morocco. Alternatives to Study Abroad may include Study Away (service-related trips to another region of the US), or internships at Chicago-based organizations such as the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/about-us/career-opportunities/internship-program ). Site approval by program director would be required, however the internship may be one managed by another program, and does not need to count for credit as a Global Studies course.
Combined Bachelors and Masters Program in Global Health
With its rigorous training in writing, critical thinking, research, and multiple social-scientific methodologies, Global Studies offers excellent preparation for graduate study in fields such as public health. Students of Global Studies may be eligible for early admission and accelerated completion of the Masters in Public Health, and obtain both a BA in Global Studies and a Masters in Public Health in 5 years. There is no requirement that students take courses in Health Sciences or other health-related academic programs, however students may certainly find it beneficial to do so.
Students who wish to pursue a Masters in Public Health would complete courses in Global Studies, including core courses and electives, complete an application during junior year, then complete the Graduate Public Health core courses during their senior year. These courses may be counted towards the 120 credits required for a Bachelors Degree and towards the Global Studies major as well as towards the Masters in Public Health. PBHL 5505 Health Systems, Law and Policy. may be counted towards the FCA 1 elective requirement. Students must complete at minimum 30 additional graduate Public Health credits not applied towards the Bachelors Degree minimum requirements, to earn an M.P.H. degree.
To be eligible for early admission, students must:
- Declare a major in Global Studies and make satisfactory progress in the program
- Submit an application during junior year
- Have a GPA of 3.0, which must be maintained for entry into the MPH program.
- Complete 3 Graduate Public Health core courses (9 credit hours) during undergraduate study including: PBHL 5501 Introduction to Public Health, PBHL 5505 Health Systems, Law and Policy.
Students who earn a Global Studies major will achieve the following student learning outcomes (SLO), as evidenced by the relevant Performance Indicators (PI):
Student Learning Outcome 1: Demonstrate the ability to define Global Studies including the methodologies of the field.
Student Learning Outcome 2: Be able to identify key aspects of transnational flows.
Student Learning Outcome 3: Communicate effectively orally, in writing, and via a variety of media; tailor message to a variety of audiences.
Student Learning Outcome 4: Information Literacy