Global Studies (GLS) Courses
GLS1001 Introduction to Global Studies
This course is the first in the Global Studies program and introduces students to key concepts and issues in the field. Students discuss globalization as both a historical and ongoing process and study key geographic areas and participants in global issues. Global issues including those in politics, the economy, society, information sectors, the environment and others are examined within the context of global studies.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits
GLS2100 Latin American History, Culture and Society
This survey course is a multidisciplinary introduction to the diverse cultures and societies of Latin America from Pre-Columbian times to the present. Students explore the cultural and ideological impact of conquest on colonial societies and look closely at specific problems that Latin American peoples have faced in the 20th century and contemporary challenges for the present millennium. Topics include society and culture, history, politics, strategies for economic development, and U.S.-Latin American relations.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits
GLS2200 Asia in Global Perspective: Peoples, Cultures and Politics
Asia is a vast geographical region that encompasses several sub-regions, peoples, cultures, countries, economic and political systems. Asia remains a crucial site of global economic and geopolitical interest for the U.S., Europe and Russia. This course explores the cultures, languages and patterns of living in this diverse region in order to grasp more deeply the ways in which the global, local and regional intersect and shape patterns of everyday life in Asia. Students explore specific themes distinct to particular areas of Asia, and its relationship to the world. Topics include human diversity of Asia and its cultural lifeways; China, Japan and India and their role in global geopolitics; tourism and urban hubs; economic change and globalization; conflict and post-conflict societies; climate change; natural disasters; and religion.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits
GLS2240 Middle East in Global Perspective: Peoples, Cultures and Politics
This course explores the threads and connections that the Middle East's human diversity, politics, geography, cultural lifeways and on-going armed conflicts weave in a region defined by great human and geopolitical insecurity. The course centers on the complex ways in which everyday life is forged in the wake of these daunting dynamics that shape the tempo and patterns of daily life. Topics include cultures; languages; places; ethno-religious diversities; economic, political, ecological and geopolitical dilemmas; globalization and its impact on the region; popular culture; youth; gender; and sexuality.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits
GLS2280 World Regional Geography in Global Perspective
Utilizing the geographical imagination and a critical lens to examine the world, this course explores key issues in understanding how regions come to be in human terms — how they are distinct in the ways people make meaning of the location and territories they inhabit. Focus is on the distinctions and geographical approaches to the study of peoples, cultures, and economic and political activities by region. From the Arctic to the southern reaches of the Pacific Ocean, this course compares how regions are vital in the making of the globalized world. Topics include tourism, ecological destruction, regional-global dynamics, economical patterns, commodities, commerce, geopolitics, development, human cultural diversity and conflict.
Offered at Providence
3 Semester Credits